"Hi" Introducing myself & Max

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Dotty

Member Since 2016
I'm thrilled to learn of this group-support-team-lifesaving 'new' friends. We like many on this board, are trying to help our 15 year old boy, Max. He's a gray stripped tabby diagnosed now about 2-months. We're being positive and doing everything we're reading. Max's BG goes up & down. Taking our vets & everyone's advice - going slow and low. He started out up there; 400-500-600. Started at 1U, slowing increasing up to 4u's. We're now trying a lower carb / lower dose treatment - which seemed to be going very well - BG starting to drop he's been in the high 200/low 300. Lowered him slowly down to 2.5u then 1.5u. Seemed we were finding the right path until 2-days ago. Like many, Max is also immune deficient, and having some issues with his kidneys. He's on 62.5mg Clavamox 2X day. So hard if he's not eating since it can give him an upset stomach. We purchased a BG test kit and use it in determining food & drug course of action. For the life of me I rarely get blood and the several attempts for a sample seem to be upsetting and impacts his eating. He will not want to eat post. Purchased lots of types of cat food, fishy food and even cooked some chicken and beef. It works for a little but now - past 1.5 day - he really isn't interested in eating at all from a dish, turns his head. He'll eat some off my finger. He'll lick. He'll eat baby food more than anything else. I'm beginning to freak out - last time we took him to the vet he freaked out and didn't eat for 2-days and lost weight. Took days for him to rebound. I want to avoid taking him back. Should we try a mobile vet? Can I give 'some insulin" if in the high 500's and eating maybe 2 tablespoons of food?
 
Clavamox makes lots of kitties so nauseous that they won't eat...You may need to find a different antibiotic or see if your vet will give you some Cerenia or ondansetron to help with the nausea

Dotty said:
For the life of me I rarely get blood and the several attempts for a sample seem to be upsetting and impacts his eating.
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Are you warming his ear up really well before trying to poke? A small sock filled with rice and microwaved or a small pill bottle filled with warm water can make a big difference in success rates

Dotty said:
Can I give 'some insulin" if in the high 500's and eating maybe 2 tablespoons of food?
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What type of insulin are you using?
 
He decided he likes deli roast beef meat. He's eating it like he's starved ... so, that (about 2-big slices) and 1/2 jar of baby food now total. Not ideal as I rather he was eating his FF classic. But I'm thrilled he ate.
 
Kentucky Fried Chicken seems to be another thing most cats can't resist

Glad to hear he ate for you! I know how upsetting that can be!!

Since you're using Vetsulin, it IS important that he eat a pretty normal amount before giving it since it tends to hit pretty "hard" and it needs something to "work on" to keep him from dropping too low
 
Huge thanks for the support. XXXOOOO Gave him his 2.0u injection just now and I'll watch him for the next 30 minutes to the hour. Funny you mention Vetsulin hitting hard. I was telling our vet he got so lethargic post his shots... no one was believing me because it was only happening at his PM shot. I took it upon myself to slowly back him down. They had us up to 4.0u's which seemed like too much. I'm testing in-between getting some numbers when it (me) works. Again BIG thanks!!!!
 
When our Callie was on Vetsulin, her BG was always lower in the late night/ early morning. I learned to test her at 1am. Set alarm, test, go back to sleep. I had to give her .5 less for her PM dose.

I found that it was easier to get blood from her ear if I held a wash cloth in hot water and put it in a zip lock bag. It would conform to the side of her head and warm up her ear.
 
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Welcome! This is a wonderful community and you've been given great advice already. I know how upsetting it is when kitty doesn't want to eat. I'm all for getting anything into them then - deli roast beef, KFC, sardines, whatever ...
 
Welcome :bighug: :bighug:

Eating is very important when using Vetsulin, since it acts faster than some insulins and can drop numbers a lot in the first 2-4 hours after the shot. I would be careful about feeding too much deli meats since most of them are too high in salt and have other spices added. Same with baby food...you want to make sure it has no garlic or onion in it.

Some people using Vetsulin have found that their kitties can be more "drained/lethargic" for a period after the shot. Home-testing will make sure that this is not from the numbers dropping too low. It can take a kitty awhile to get used to any insulin type so you do need to allow time for Max's body to adjust to having "outside" insulin added in. Home-testing before each shot and during the cycle (time in between shots) and recording this data on the spreadsheet provided on the forum will give a clearer picture how the insulin and dose is working.

If you have specific questions you can post on the Health forum:


http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/feline-health-the-main-forum.28/

There tends to be more "traffic" there and you should be able to get more help and responses to your questions.
 
High-Five to that! I have a question with Vetsulin and every 12 hr scheduled: so, yesterday was a challenging day with Max not wanting to eat. His injection time came and went. Since we were not able to get him to eat what he should before his injection we elected to skip it to be safe. (He's on a 7:00-7:30 feeding followed by a 7:30-8:00 injection am/pm.) Late last night he wanted to eat. I tested him and he was still up there at 519. I fed him, he's been showing weight lost, I was thrilled he wanted to eat... and I gave him his 2.0u injection. Now what - am I to keep this new 12 hr schedule or can I edge it back to 8:00 am/pm that works best with a home schedule as well? Thanks!!!
 
Dotty said:
am I to keep this new 12 hr schedule or can I edge it back to 8:00 am/pm that works best with a home schedule as well? Thanks!!!
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Since you are home testing you will see how long the Vetsulin is lasting. Vetsulin is more of an "in and out" insulin which tends to last about 8-10 hours with most kitties, although every cat is different (ECID) and some kitties will get a longer duration out of it. You do have more flexibility about shooting a bit earlier AS LONG AS YOU KNOW THE NUMBERS ARE RISING. The 12 hour schedule is more "important" with the long lasting insulins that can have a bit of a carryover between cycles.

A good time to test for how the Vetsulin is working is at +2 hours after shot and if possible at +3 hours. This would be the time you should be starting to see the effects of the insulin working
 
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