Maya's BG curve results

[LauraGirling]

Hi there.

Maya has been slowly moving onto her new diet since Monday. As of Saturday she was on wet food only. Her last dose of insulin was on Xmas eve at about midnight befriend bed we check her BG and it was around 14 so decided on 1 unit of insulin instead of her usual 2 units. Prior to this we had not seen her BG come much below 22. Feeling very happy with the results, slightly do centred as to what we do next. It's fantastic to see her get back to normal.

Maya's results for today:
10 am- 8.4
12 noon - 6.3
2 pm - 4.7
4 pm- 6.7
6 pm- 6.8
8 pm - 7.9
10 pm - 6.9

What are the next steps and how do we progress with testing BG and how often etc?

Thank you

 

[Critter Mom]

Wow! Those are really good numbers.

Laura, please can you answer the following so that members will have a full picture of Maya's status:

1. Are those numbers measured on a human meter or a veterinary meter?

2. Which insulin is Maya being treated with?

3. Please can you confirm that Maya received one unit of her insulin on Christmas Eve and hasn't received any insulin since.

The information you provide will help members to make better suggestions about what to do next.

It's fantastic to see her get back to normal.

That's what this sugar dance is all about. I'm very happy for both of you.


Mogs
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[LauraGirling]

These numbers are being measured on an AlphaTrak 2. Maya has been on caninsulin and her last insulin shot was on Christmas Eve - 1 unit (reduced from her usual dose of 2 units) as her BG was around 14 and prior to that had barely ever dropped below a BG of 22.

 

[Critter Mom]

Thanks for the additional info, Laura.

It's very good news indeed that those are Alphatrak readings: they are all in the normal feline blood glucose reference range as measured on an Alphatrak for a non-diabetic cat (3.9-8.3 mmol/L according to my vet).

I strongly recommend you contact your vet before giving insulin again. I'd also suggest getting spot checks of Maya's blood glucose throughout the day and evening whether or not she is on Caninsulin. Counting Christmas Day as Day 1, if Maya stays in the healthy range for 14 days without receiving any insulin then she would be considered a diabetic in remission (diet-controlled, not insulin-dependent). Even if an odd reading here and there is a little above the top end of the reference range it's OK as long as the bulk of the readings stay in the healthy reference range. Good times to test are just before a feed and then 2-3 hours after food. This will give you a picture of her fasting blood glucose levels and also how well her pancreas responds to the carbs from a meal. It's good to get daytime and evening readings, too, since blood glucose levels can vary based on time of day.

Out of curiosity, what were you feeding Maya before the switch to low carb wet food?

Fingers and paws crossed ... (anti-jinx, anti-jinx!)


Mogs
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[LauraGirling]

Thanks for your reply.

I will do all that monitoring and tell the vet the god news. They said it was madness what I wanted to do, (I will try not to look too smug.)

Maya was fed on Felix as good as it looks 2 sachets a day and Royal Canin indoor dry food. She was a dry food addict but she loves the cat food tins I ordered off happy kitty.

Thanks Laura

 

[Critter Mom]

Happy Kitty, eh? That puts you in the UK. Saoirse and myself are in the UK, too.

I hear you about the vets. Our experience was similar. Saoirse was on vet-prescribed Royal Canin prescription dry foods before she became diabetic. The vet at the practice where she was diagnosed insisted on putting her on Hill's w/d Dry along with the Caninsulin that UK vets are legally required to prescribe in the first instance. I wanted to switch Saoirse to low carb wet and hopefully get her onto a longer-acting insulin. The diagnosing vet was adamant that the only thing Saoirse would ever be able to eat for the rest of her life was the w/d kitty cornflakes. They were completely against my wish to home test as well. Thankfully there was another practice nearby who were much more switched on to feline diabetes (one of the vets has a diabetic cat). They fully supported my wish to switch Saoirse to a low carb wet diet and are also supportive of home testing (though I don't think they were ready for how frequently I test!).

At the start of Saoirse's food transition Saoirse was getting stupidly high preshot numbers despite being on 3IU Caninsulin twice a day. Immediately we started the transition I had to drastically reduce her Caninsulin dose. In less than a week she was on only 0.5 IU BID. Saoirse also has chronic pancreatitis so I had to keep her on insulin for several months afterwards (we were able to switch to Lantus - the Caninsulin drops were dangerous, even on a once-a-day microdose) and she achieved official remission six months to the day after her Dx. If I'd kept Saoirse on the w/d kibbles I don't know whether she'd ever have achieved remission.

For information, sometimes kitties need a period of tapering to ensure a solid remission. If Maya does drift up a little be sure to post again. That can be tricky on Caninsulin because it can drop BG levels quite sharply - even on a microdose. We will be able to give you some suggestions about how to tackle things should the need arise.

Be gentle with your vets!



Mogs


EDITED TO ADD:

I envy you that Maya gets on so well with the foods from Happy Kitty Company. They really are the best quality, no-nonsense foods available in the UK. Unfortunately Saoirse can't handle them because of her pancreatitis problems.

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[Elizabeth and Bertie]

Hi Laura,

As has been said, those are fab numbers for a cat not on insulin.

It could well be that Maya is headed for remission (touch wood/anti-jinx!)
'Remission' isn't 'cure'. Maya would always be diabetic; but while in remission her diabetes would be able to be diet-controlled by low carb wet food.

Remission can be temporary or permanent. And some cats who come out of remission can attain it again, although it can be harder to achieve the second time around.

Common factors that can knock cats out of remission are; infections (esp. dental and urinary tract); the use of steroids (difficult to avoid if the cat needs them); and feeding high carb food.

I see that you had been feeding Felix 'as good as it looks'. I'd suggest you steer clear of that one also, just as a precaution, as it has caused problems with some diabetic kitties on the forum. Although it's technically low carb it has caused some cats here to have high blood glucose. I think it's because it contains 'vegetable protein extract' (usually derived from soya); and some cats are very sensitive to this.
There was a UK cat here in remission whose blood glucose went up to 31 (558) after eating a pouch of this food! (Thankfully, his blood glucose dropped down again and he remained in remission... (phew!) It was fortunate that his caregiver was hometesting and noticed the problem..).
Vegetable protein extract is also included in some other cat foods, especially the ones that have those rather artificially shaped 'meaty pieces' (not sure I described that very well ...) If in doubt, check the ingredients list....

I don't know how often you feed Maya, but it can help a pancreas to recover if a number of small mini-meals are fed rather than two large meals. Small meals can stimulate the pancreas to work without giving it too much to do at any one time.

Keeping fingers and paws crossed for you here, Laura.
Do keep us updated with how Maya is doing.

Eliz