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AnnieL

AnnieL

Member Since 2017
Hello everyone I came across this forum site by googling a lot :)
I have a male cat named Beani he's almost 13 years old on 2/13 and he has diabetes. :( He eats a lot, as in he thinks he is starving all the time and pee's a lot too.
I feed him twice a day around 0700/0800 am and then about 12hrs later for his evening meal a fancy feast wet can food. Also, He does have constant dry food available to him as well.
He was first diagnosed about 1 1/2 years ago and I had given him Prozinc at that time. At one point he didn't seem to do to well (diarrhea) so I stopped all together. I believe the diarrhea was mainly because I didn't home test and pretty much just guessed units and he's very sensitive to change. So I don't think it was the prozinc in itself that gave diarrhea.

So now I'm back at it again hopefully going to do it right this time around so I can stabilize him somehow. He was at the vet last Saturday and his BG was 511, but he also gets very nervous and anxious when going to the vet.
So I'm going to be given Prozinc again. But I really just need to figure out how to curve, as I have never done this, how to poke his little ear without freaking out myself, and what monitor to use as in which one reads the best and does the job well etc...
I do have a freestyle freedom lite monitor for humans but never used it as mentioned above I'm probably more scared about poking my cat than he is.

I just feel so unsure about everything and just would like to get some ideas/opinions from people who have been doing this.

Thanks for listening and anything you may feel like sharing with me

Annie & Beani
 
Welcome!!! I'm glad you've made the decision to put him back on the Prozinc! (Or any insulin, really.)

I'm not really good with the advice part yet, but hopefully my comment will bump this post to the top and more seasoned members will help out. :)

The ear poke thing does get easier, I promise!!!
 
i too am new but i can tell you that i really like the Freestyle lite because it requires such a small amount of blood - 1 microlitre. i've been testing at home for only four days and am still struggling with the blood letting. i've found it's useful to warm their ear and your hands prior to testing. you've definately come to the right place for assistance and reassurance
 

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Welcome... Glad you found us and that you have decided to home test! It makes a huge difference.
 
thank you everyone for the encouragement and tips. so I should test him always before food and insulin... then for the 12hr curve after I give him food then every 2hrs ? am i understanding this correctly

thanks
 
AnnieL said:
thank you everyone for the encouragement and tips. so I should test him always before food and insulin... then for the 12hr curve after I give him food then every 2hrs ? am i understanding this correctly

thanks
Click to expand...
Yes, test AM and PM before feeding and giving his shot. For a curve test every 2 hours after the AM shot up to the PM pre-shot test.
 
thank you for the advise ... anybody had ever run into expired test strips and or lancets ?? is that a real thing or ??
 
AnnieL said:
thank you for the advise ... anybody had ever run into expired test strips and or lancets ?? is that a real thing or ??
Click to expand...
Lancets can't expire. They are plastic and metal. Strips can expire but they usually have a long shelf life that's printed on the box.
 
Managing feline diabetes involves 3 things: diet, hometesting and insulin. Before every insulin shot you should check his bg to be sure it is safe to give insulin, especially with Prozinc which can have a fairly steep initial drop. Then be sure he is eating, then shoot. Where possible, get a few tests during the day, and just before bed (for example). You want to get a sense of when the insulin is at its peak ie when the bg is the lowest. When you have testing down pat, it would be beneficial to begin limiting the dry food as it is high carb and contributes to high bg. As for the hunger, you are right - he is starving because his body cannot use the food he eats. Feed more cans of Fancy Feast (pates, no gravies). You can mix in a little water wit the FF to help him feel more full. As his bg becomes better regulated, both his hunger and peeing will decrease.

As for doing a curve, there is nothing special about it. It is simply a series of bg tests at specific intervals, either one hour or two hour, to map out exactly how the insulin is working. If you set up a spreadsheet and record your numbers, you will begin to see patterns emerging. I don't have the link, but others are expert and will help you with it.
 
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