Hello, I'm Madeline! Layla, is 7yrs old & was diagnosed on Oct 22! I'm a nervous mommy!!

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Madeline528

Madeline528

Member Since 2015



I've been feeding her 3/4 of 3oz can fancy feast classic 2x day 12 hrs between. Sometimes little more then 3/4 of a can. She gets 1 unit of insulin 2x day, 10 to 15 minutes after eating. She had fructosamine test done on 11/2/15, which came back in normal range. I check her blood glucose before each meal. I find that they range from 60 to 240. I'm not sure if this is ok & is she eating the proper amount? (her weight is 8lbs) Please any advise would be greatly appreciated.
 
Hi, Madeline - and welcome to FDMB! Good for you that you're home-testing before injecting Layla's insulin - that's excellent!

A few questions:
- Which type of meter are you using to test Layla? Human glucose meter or pet-calibrated meter (AlphaTrak2).?
- Which insulin are you using? ProZinc? Lantus? Another type?
- Does Layla have any other health issues besides diabetes?
- Is she on any other medications - antibiotics, etc? And/or has she recently been on steroids?

We generally don't recommend that someone with a newly diagnosed kitty shoot insulin if the blood glucose # at preshot time is less than 200 mg/dl.

If your kitty hasn't made it up to 200 at test time, we recommend that you stall for 15-20 minutes - withholding any food - and then do a retest, as anticipating a meal can often raise a cat's BG # naturally. Sometimes you may need to do 2 to 3 rounds of stalling before the blood glucose rises to 200. But if an hour goes by and kitty's # is showing you that you're not going to get to at least 200, you'd usually just skip that dose. (More about such things later ... I'm sure you'll have other questions for us, too.)

We'd love to see you get started with a spreadsheet (we have a template available for either type of meter used). That's an easy way to keep track of your at-home test results, dosing, and other info pertinent info that may be helpful to you and others helping you in getting Layla well-regulated and - hopefully - off insulin altogether. (Sounds like she's doing pretty darned good so far!):)
 

When you have a moment, could you add a few tidbits to your signature? It will help us give you feedback.

Editing your Signature

In the upper right corner of the screen, within the dark blue bar, you will see ID, Inbox, and Alerts

Click on your ID.

On the left, under Settings, Click on Signature.
This is where you will put information that helps us give you feedback. You are limited to 2hard returns, so separate pieces by | or -.
This is where you paste the link for your spreadsheet, once it is set up.
Add any other text, such as your name | cat's name | date of Dx (diagnosis) | insulin | meter general location (city and state/province) any other pertinent issues like if there are any food issues, history of DKA, hepatic lipidosis, pancreatitis, allergies, IBD, etc.

Click the Save Changes button at the bottom.

Always click the Save Changes button at the bottom when you have changed anything.
 
Robin&BB said:
Hi, Madeline - and welcome to FDMB! Good for you that you're home-testing before injecting Layla's insulin - that's excellent!

A few questions:
- Which type of meter are you using to test Layla? Human glucose meter or pet-calibrated meter (AlphaTrak2).?
- Which insulin are you using? ProZinc? Lantus? Another type?
- Does Layla have any other health issues besides diabetes?
- Is she on any other medications - antibiotics, etc? And/or has she recently been on steroids?

We generally don't recommend that someone with a newly diagnosed kitty shoot insulin if the blood glucose # at preshot time is less than 200 mg/dl.

If your kitty hasn't made it up to 200 at test time, we recommend that you stall for 15-20 minutes - withholding any food - and then do a retest, as anticipating a meal can often raise a cat's BG # naturally. Sometimes you may need to do 2 to 3 rounds of stalling before the blood glucose rises to 200. But if an hour goes by and kitty's # is showing you that you're not going to get to at least 200, you'd usually just skip that dose. (More about such things later ... I'm sure you'll have other questions for us, too.)

We'd love to see you get started with a spreadsheet (we have a template available for either type of meter used). That's an easy way to keep track of your at-home test results, dosing, and other info pertinent info that may be helpful to you and others helping you in getting Layla well-regulated and - hopefully - off insulin altogether. (Sounds like she's doing pretty darned good so far!):)
Click to expand...
Robin&BB said:
Hi, Madeline - and welcome to FDMB! Good for you that you're home-testing before injecting Layla's insulin - that's excellent!

A few questions:
- Which type of meter are you using to test Layla? Human glucose meter or pet-calibrated meter (AlphaTrak2).?
- Which insulin are you using? ProZinc? Lantus? Another type?
- Does Layla have any other health issues besides diabetes?
- Is she on any other medications - antibiotics, etc? And/or has she recently been on steroids?

We generally don't recommend that someone with a newly diagnosed kitty shoot insulin if the blood glucose # at preshot time is less than 200 mg/dl.

If your kitty hasn't made it up to 200 at test time, we recommend that you stall for 15-20 minutes - withholding any food - and then do a retest, as anticipating a meal can often raise a cat's BG # naturally. Sometimes you may need to do 2 to 3 rounds of stalling before the blood glucose rises to 200. But if an hour goes by and kitty's # is showing you that you're not going to get to at least 200, you'd usually just skip that dose. (More about such things later ... I'm sure you'll have other questions for us, too.)

We'd love to see you get started with a spreadsheet (we have a template available for either type of meter used). That's an easy way to keep track of your at-home test results, dosing, and other info pertinent info that may be helpful to you and others helping you in getting Layla well-regulated and - hopefully - off insulin altogether. (Sounds like she's doing pretty darned good so far!):)
Click to expand...
 
Hi Robin! When Layla was diagnosed 10/22/15, she spent 3 days in hospital for ketones. She has no other health issues then diabetes & no other medication. I'm using the AlphaTrak 2 meter & Lantus 100 insulin. The vet specialist has told me as long as I get reading over 50 she can get her insulin. I started her on 1/2 can ff classic 2x day. I thought that might be to little food. So now I'm feeding her 3/4 of ff classic can 2x day. Should she be eating 1/2 a can 2x a day? I would love for her to be well regulated & hopefully off insulin! I'm so scared of the ketones!! Where do I find the template for spreadsheet? Thank you :)
 
Last edited:
BJM said:
When you have a moment, could you add a few tidbits to your signature? It will help us give you feedback.

Editing your Signature

In the upper right corner of the screen, within the dark blue bar, you will see ID, Inbox, and Alerts

Click on your ID.

On the left, under Settings, Click on Signature.
This is where you will put information that helps us give you feedback. You are limited to 2hard returns, so separate pieces by | or -.
This is where you paste the link for your spreadsheet, once it is set up.
Add any other text, such as your name | cat's name | date of Dx (diagnosis) | insulin | meter general location (city and state/province) any other pertinent issues like if there are any food issues, history of DKA, hepatic lipidosis, pancreatitis, allergies, IBD, etc.

Click the Save Changes button at the bottom.

Always click the Save Changes button at the bottom when you have changed anything.
Click to expand...

Hi! Thank you, I added the information to my signature!! :)
 
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Madeline528 said:
Hi Robin! When Layla was diagnosed 10/22/15, she spent 3 days in hospital for ketones. She has no other health issues then diabetes & no other medication. I'm using the AlphaTrak 2 meter & Lantus 100 insulin. The vet specialist has told me as long as I get reading over 50 she can get her insulin. I started her on 1/2 can ff classic 2x day. I thought that might be to little food. So now I'm feeding her 3/4 of ff classic can 2x day. Should she be eating 1/2 a can 2x a day? I would love for her to be well regulated & hopefully off insulin! I'm so scared of the ketones!! Where do I find the template for spreadsheet? Thank you :)
Click to expand...

Hi Madeline!

If Layla has a history of ketones, I would not recommend withholding insulin, even if she's below 200. You do have the option of shooting a reduced dose of insulin if necessary with a preshot number of less than 200, especially if you're home testing (which is great!). You would just need to test a few more times during the cycle if she gives you a lower number to make sure she doesn't go too low. With Lantus, if you can get a daily test in the middle of one of her cycles along with your tests at the meals, it would help you a great deal in determining if the dose is too high or low. :)

If she gives you a low preshot number and you're confused on what dose to give, you can always head over and ask the folks in the Lantus forum...they have a lot of experience with the insulin you're using and can guide with how much insulin would be appropriate in that case. It sounds like your vet specialist may be using the Lantus Tight Regulation Protocol, which many people in the Lantus forum have experience with. It is a safe and effective way to get your cat's blood glucose under control quickly, which is especially important after an incident with ketoacidosis. However, your vet may have a few things confused. It does require that 3rd test at the nadir (middle of the cycle) to use safely, however. It is that third test that determines whether you raise or lower the dose, not the tests before each meal. Also, with a human meter, we reduce the dose using Tight Regulation with Lantus if the cat falls below 50, but that low number is different with AlphaTrak meters--you would want to reduce the dose if she falls below 70. If you need a copy of the guidelines to show your vet, they're in the Tight Regulation post I linked to above, just let me know and I can point out the section for you.

Best of luck to you and Layla!
 
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Hi again - Here's a link to the spreadsheets:
FDMB SPREADSHEET INSTRUCTIONS
As I haven't used Lantus since 2013 (and was not yet closely involved with FDMB at that time, either), I will defer to experienced Lantus users here for any dosing advice you may need.

However, I will say this: A BG result of 50 - whether that's from a human-type meter or an AlphaTrak2 - is a NORMAL blood glucose number, so there is no need to be shooting insulin into a cat with a preshot # of 50. I don't think there's anyone here who would recommend you shoot a cat with insulin at such a low #.

Not to mention that shooting insulin at a number that low can cause a serious hypoglycemic event. And on an AlphaTrak that is a really low number. Are you absolutely, 100% certain your vet specialist said "50?" In my humble opinion, if that was the advice you were given - forgive me, but that's an accident waiting to happen.

Please scroll down to the "Lantus/Levemir" Forum and read the dosing protocols re: Lantus. As it is most important that you keep your kitty within safe range at all times.
 
But again: Check with the good folk on the Lantus forum - there are some very experienced people there who can help you greatly re: any dosing advice you may need ...

Best of luck to you with your sweet Layla.:) -
 
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