Jerida...new member

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Jerida and Caesar

Jerida and Caesar

Member Since 2016
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I'm new to the forum, my cat Ceasar has been diabetic for 4 years. He had been well controlled till about 8 weeks ago his sugar dropped to 32 and he was hospitalized with pancreatitis. In the hospital his sugar went high and then when given even a unit of insulin it would go extremely low. My vet took him off insulin completely for 6 weeks. We did a fructosamine test which was in the normal level. I started doing home testing finding his sugars to be above 300 almost every check. We started him on 1 unit of insulin. (he is on Lantus) and been checking his blood sugars for over two weeks at different times. His lowest was 43 and his highest was 456. I give his shot 2 times a day.I try to give his shot 6am and 6pm. I'm trying to understand the glucose curve. I feed wet food (friskies or 9lives) and dry purina DM . I have 8 cats so the feeding is difficult. I feed my other cats Science diet and the same can food. My question is when should I not not give a shot I've read under 200...Today his sugar was 138 so I didn't give his shot. Im trying to get him to eat only wet food. I want to get him more regulated . Any help or advice is greatly appreciated....

Jerida, Today at 2:38 PM Edit Report
 
Welcome. My cat was well regulated for about 4 years and then all of a sudden his numbers were all over the place. This forum was a tremendous help. I'll leave commenting on the dosage and the Lantus to more experienced members. It's a little busy at the moment, but someone will come along. If you could start a spreadsheet, filling in what numbers you have, it will help. Also, if you need help getting a spreadsheet up and running, there are members who are spreadsheet wizards. Just ask.

A fructosamine test only gives you an average of what the last couple of weeks have been like. A glucose curve can tell you where the nadir (lowest point of the insulin cycle) is. Lantus dosage is based on the lowest point of the cycle. You can learn more by keeping track of BG numbers by staring at a spreadsheet than you can by a fructosamine test.

Good that you are trying to get Caesar off the dry food. Purina DM dry is high carb.
 
At first, we suggest that if you get a number under 200 that you Stall, don't feed and post for help....it doesn't necessarily mean you don't shoot

As you get used to home testing and get some data on your spreadsheet, that "stall" number starts to come down...those of us with enough data will shoot anything over 50 (on a human meter) or 68 (on a pet meter)

Lantus dosing is based on how low it takes them, so it's important to get mid-cycle tests every day....as you've seen, the numbers can really jump around, but there are usually reasons for it, like "bouncing"....when the numbers go too low, drop too quickly or just drop into numbers the cats body isn't used to, the liver releases stored sugars and hormones to bring it back up quickly....it's called a "bounce"

Pancreatitis can really screw with things, so it's not at all unusual for a cat that was pretty well regulated to be "all over the place" after an attack of pancreatitis, but we've got lots of other members here that have dealt with both acute and chronic pancreatitis and will be able to help you

Do you have some test results from home testing already? It will really help if you can get our spreadsheet started and plug some of the numbers you have into it. Here are Instructions on getting the FDMB spreadsheet...It requires a Google account, but it's very easy to use once you have it set up. If you have trouble with it, let us know and we can help you.

If you have some test results for the last 2 weeks or so, that will really be useful
 
The Vet started him on the Purina DM just recently if its high carb why would they recommend it.. He's always ate Science diet original and hairball plus the canned. I'm trying to understand the spreadsheet, but haven't figured it out yet. I'm trying to do a curve on him today. I have kept a record of my past BG checks.
 
Vets get no education on nutrition in school....and the only education they get after they're in practice comes from the salesmen at Hills....they also have a financial stake in selling that cr**......there's nothing at all special in "prescription" foods....the word "prescription" actually has no meaning whatsoever when it comes to the pet food industry

Here's a great article explaining the connection between veterinarians and the "prescription" pet food industry

I'd be happy to set up your spreadsheet for you....just send me a private message by clicking on my name and choosing "Start Conversation"...it only takes about 30 seconds
 
So far today he was 1:30 am BG 46 / 6:30 am BG 138 (so I didn't give his shot)/ 6:45 pm BG422 (gave 1 unit Lantus and he ate can food) /9:00 am BG371..I will check him again in 2 hours... My vet said to always make sure he eats with his shot is that good or bad...
 
Jerida said:
My vet said to always make sure he eats with his shot is that good or bad...
Click to expand...

It's not necessary with Lantus....it was important for other more harsh insulins, but not Lantus....it sounds like your vet doesn't understand how to use Lantus....especially if they're telling you to shoot 3 times a day

We generally Test/Feed/Shoot in 5-10 minutes....You Test to make sure they're high enough for insulin, Feed to make sure they're at least "willing" to eat and not sick and refusing to eat at all and Shoot
 
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