Feeling lost and discouraged

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Lisa and Smoky

Lisa and Smoky

Member Since 2016
My Smoky was recently diagnosed on Sept 1, 2016. I had taken him to his vet three weeks prior to that as he was losing weight- 14 lbs down to 12 lbs in 30 days . I was told to take him home and feed him extra food to see if he wld put on weight and come back in for blood work in 2 weeks. He dropped down to 10 and a half pounds. The blood work came back and found out he was diabetic. The vet didn't want to start him on insulin since it was Labor Day weekend, he wanted to wait until Sept 7th. I am so frustrated now because now he is very thin and had to put him in an animal hospital for a week. By the way, I switched to a more modern vet whose speciality is diabetic cats.
 
Hi Lisa,

I just posted that I am feeling discouraged for different reasons, but I sure understand the feelings and I'm sorry you're feeling that way too.

I am by no means an expert but there are people here who are and they will help you. They will need more info about Smoky - what kind of insulin he is on and what the dose is. If you can add some of that to your signature, that will be helpful.

Also if you start a Google Drive spreadsheet and link it to your signature that will enable people to see Smoky's numbers.

Are you home testing? If not, I recommend starting that.

Hang in there - I know it is overwhelming but you will learn and you will be amazed by yourself! You are in good hands here.

Take care,
Jeanette
 
Don't feel lost, you have come to the right place! I understand feeling discouraged, you and Smoky have had a rough few weeks. There are lots of great people here, with tons of knowledge, who will be more than willing to help you. :)

First of all, I'm glad you have found a vet you are comfortable with, that's very important.

@jacereske has given you some very good advice to get started with. Here are a couple of links to information about setting up a spreadsheet, and about home testing BG levels:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/understanding-the-spreadsheet-grid.156606/

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

I know you are giving Smoky extra food because of his recent weight loss. We recommend a wet/canned diet that is under 10% carbohydrates. You don't need high-dollar, prescription food, lots of us feed Fancy Feast Classic pates, Friskies, etc, foods you can get in almost any pet store. Here is another link to a great list of foods and their % of carbs:

http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf

Don't get discouraged, feline diabetes is very treatable! :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Most of us have felt the discouragement and stress you are feeling now when we got the diagnosis. There are very knowledgeable people on here to give you advice and support. I definitely know how overwhelming it all feels but promise it gets easier.

Do you have any specific questions?

For now my best advice us to get your cat on low carb wet food.... Fancy Feast classic wet food is the go to for many of us.
 
jacereske said:
Hi Lisa,

I just posted that I am feeling discouraged for different reasons, but I sure understand the feelings and I'm sorry you're feeling that way too.

I am by no means an expert but there are people here who are and they will help you. They will need more info about Smoky - what kind of insulin he is on and what the dose is. If you can add some of that to your signature, that will be helpful.

Also if you start a Google Drive spreadsheet and link it to your signature that will enable people to see Smoky's numbers.

Are you home testing? If not, I recommend starting that.

Hang in there - I know it is overwhelming but you will learn and you will be amazed by yourself! You are in good hands here.

Take care,
Jeanette
Click to expand...
Hi Jeanette,
Thanks for responding to my thread. I am on vacation this week and am picking up smoky on Friday from the animal hospital. They had to feed him small amounts of canned food every 3 to 4 hours to get him to eat. Plus my poor guy had diarrhea and had to be given a laxative since he was constipated at the same time. His new vet will be showing me how to home test and adjust his insulin as needed. I haven't read your post yet about you feeling discouraged, keeping you and your kitty in my thoughts.
Lisa
 
Squalliesmom said:
Don't feel lost, you have come to the right place! I understand feeling discouraged, you and Smoky have had a rough few weeks. There are lots of great people here, with tons of knowledge, who will be more than willing to help you. :)

First of all, I'm glad you have found a vet you are comfortable with, that's very important.

@jacereske has given you some very good advice to get started with. Here are a couple of links to information about setting up a spreadsheet, and about home testing BG levels:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/understanding-the-spreadsheet-grid.156606/

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

I know you are giving Smoky extra food because of his recent weight loss. We recommend a wet/canned diet that is under 10% carbohydrates. You don't need high-dollar, prescription food, lots of us feed Fancy Feast Classic pates, Friskies, etc, foods you can get in almost any pet store. Here is another link to a great list of foods and their % of carbs:

http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf

Don't get discouraged, feline diabetes is very treatable! :bighug::bighug::bighug:
Click to expand...
Thanks very much for the links, I will be looking into them.
 
jayla-n-Drevon said:
very glad you have a specialist!!
how are things going??
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I am on vacation Mon thru Fri this week. Smoky is boarding at the animal hospital until I pick him up Friday evening. He is doing much better, his vet said he is eating well and BG levels were around 120. He was constipated and had diarrhea which is almost cleared up now. His new vet will be showing me how to home test, the vet I was seeing seemed to think that wasn't necessary, just wanted me to bring him in once a week to have his BG tested.
 
Lisa and Smoky said:
I am on vacation Mon thru Fri this week. Smoky is boarding at the animal hospital until I pick him up Friday evening. He is doing much better, his vet said he is eating well and BG levels were around 120. He was constipated and had diarrhea which is almost cleared up now. His new vet will be showing me how to home test, the vet I was seeing seemed to think that wasn't necessary, just wanted me to bring him in once a week to have his BG tested.
Click to expand...
That is great news. It is wonderful that you have found a vet that will work with you to manage Smokey's diabetes.
 
Lisa and Smoky said:
Hi Jeanette,
Thanks for responding to my thread. I am on vacation this week and am picking up smoky on Friday from the animal hospital. They had to feed him small amounts of canned food every 3 to 4 hours to get him to eat. Plus my poor guy had diarrhea and had to be given a laxative since he was constipated at the same time. His new vet will be showing me how to home test and adjust his insulin as needed. I haven't read your post yet about you feeling discouraged, keeping you and your kitty in my thoughts.
Lisa
Click to expand...

Thanks Lisa, things have gotten a bit better for me.

I saw in your signature that you are feeding Weruva. One thing I want to share is my experience with a Weruva's Paw Lickin' Chicken. Even though it is only 3.3% carb, I am reasonably certain it was causing very high BGs for Keno. You might want to read though my thread about being discouraged since that's where it comes up - another member of the board had the same experience.

I halved the Weruva I was giving to Keno yesterday and saw a dramatic drop in her BGs and I'm really glad I was home testing. She went from testing in the high 200's/300s AMPS to 165 this morning.

Here is a link to the thread:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/feeling-discouraged.164884/#post-1778019

Take care and I hope Smoky's situation improves.

Jeanette
 
jacereske said:
Thanks Lisa, things have gotten a bit better for me.

I saw in your signature that you are feeding Weruva. One thing I want to share is my experience with a Weruva's Paw Lickin' Chicken. Even though it is only 3.3% carb, I am reasonably certain it was causing very high BGs for Keno. You might want to read though my thread about being discouraged since that's where it comes up - another member of the board had the same experience.

I halved the Weruva I was giving to Keno yesterday and saw a dramatic drop in her BGs and I'm really glad I was home testing. She went from testing in the high 200's/300s AMPS to 165 this morning.

Here is a link to the thread:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/feeling-discouraged.164884/#post-1778019

Take care and I hope Smoky's situation improves.

Jeanette
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I have fed Squallie certain low-carb foods that raised his BG significantly, although it should not. I'm guessing it must be some component in the food that he is sensitive to; he is very carb-sensitive anyway.
 
Lisa and Smoky said:
I am on vacation Mon thru Fri this week. Smoky is boarding at the animal hospital until I pick him up Friday evening. He is doing much better, his vet said he is eating well and BG levels were around 120. He was constipated and had diarrhea which is almost cleared up now. His new vet will be showing me how to home test, the vet I was seeing seemed to think that wasn't necessary, just wanted me to bring him in once a week to have his BG tested.
Click to expand...
U bet. More money in his pocket despite the fact that the numbers would not be accurate sure to stress. Good call switching vets.
 
Squalliesmom said:
I have fed Squallie certain low-carb foods that raised his BG significantly, although it should not.
Click to expand...
jayla-n-Drevon said:
My BF always has said the freeze dried chicken raises Dre's bg which makes no sense but now I am wondering?
Click to expand...
My own take on such observations after 2 years of membership here and watching how Saoirse responds to her insulin is that there may be two reasons for such reactions:

1. There is something in the food that disagrees somewhat with the individual cat (e.g. some cats will have BG spikes if they eat beef protein).

2. There is some anecdotal evidence on this forum that, while all diabetic felines need to eat food containing less than 10% calories from carbs, some cats seem to have an 'optimum' carb level where they feel more comfortable in themselves and where the insulin seems to work better. For example, some cats don't do so well on ultra-low carb foods (e.g. <2%) but respond well and become better regulated on a moderate amount of carbs (e.g. 4-6%).


Mogs
.
 
Critter Mom said:
My own take on such observations after 2 years of membership here and watching how Saoirse responds to her insulin is that there may be two reasons for such reactions:

1. There is something in the food that disagrees somewhat with the individual cat (e.g. some cats will have BG spikes if they eat beef protein).

2. There is some anecdotal evidence on this forum that, while all diabetic felines need to eat food containing less than 10% calories from carbs, some cats seem to have an 'optimum' carb level where they feel more comfortable in themselves and where the insulin seems to work better. For example, some cats don't do so well on ultra-low carb foods (e.g. <2%) but respond well and become better regulated on a moderate amount of carbs (e.g. 4-6%).


Mogs
.
Click to expand...
Squallie has always been what I call "carb-sensitive." If he eats foods that are over about 3% carbs his BG will go up, without fail I have also seen cats who seemed to do much better eating foods around 5-7% carbs. I think it's a very individual thing and each cat has it's own optimum "carb zone." :):):):)
 
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