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Caring4Claire

Caring4Claire

Member Since 2017
Hi everyone!

Today I was able to get more tests in with Claire.

For those I haven't met (or anyone with a memory like my own) we adopted Claire 2 months ago. She was diagnosed with FDM two years ago and has been given 1/2 U NPH twice a day since that time without any further testing or complications. She is a healthy weight and a very sweet, active girl. I am now able to home test and she is on a low carb diet. We are planning to move to the Young Again zero carb food in a month or so.

I have added her chart to my signature. I could really use some help from those who know all about this for what we should do next. She is still at 1/2 U twice a day, but it seems to not have much effect on her BG. She hovers between 240-290. My meter seems to be accurate. Reading my civvie in the 60s and when I've run 2-3 strips per test they come out within 10 points of each other.

My thoughts - possibly go up to 1 U to see if her numbers fall, or try a better insulin. She was put on this one by the shelter due to the cost. I am also interested to see how much lower her numbers could go by switching to YA Zero food, then possibly coming off insulin all together and monitoring ketones and BG often.

Tested her urine for ketones today just before PMPS. Nada! :)
 
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Also a side note - in my sheet comments I have "fur shot" twice. These are times I am pretty sure I got the insulin in her but not positive. 1/2U is such a tiny amount that even if the whole thing ends up on her black fur I really can barely tell. Still trying to get the hang of this!
 
I have been trying to find this information online. What is considered remission? #s under 300 without insulin? or #s near the normal range for a cat?

I'm not sure what chance we have at remission considering she was diagnosed two years ago and she has FIV. I really wish they had managed her diabetes better. The more I learn, the more I get aggravated! But the rescue we have adopted both cats from is wonderfully big-hearted and doesn't have a lot of resources. I have to believe they did their very best just like I am trying to do.
 
Caring4Claire said:
What is considered remission? #s under 300 without insulin? or #s near the normal range for a cat?
Click to expand...

We consider the cat in remission when they can stay in normal numbers for 2 weeks without insulin (50-120 on a human meter is normal)

If you're feeding low carb now, I doubt if switching to Young Again is going to make much of a difference.....It's actually better for her if you just stick to canned foods and eliminate the dry completely.....kidneys are the weakest point in any cat (and even more fragile in a diabetic).....keeping as much water in them as possible is important

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...r-more-than-just-carbohydrate-content.175004/
 
Caring4Claire said:
Hi everyone!

Today I was able to get more tests in with Claire.

For those I haven't met (or anyone with a memory like my own) we adopted Claire 2 months ago. She was diagnosed with FDM two years ago and has been given 1/2 U NPH twice a day since that time without any further testing or complications. She is a healthy weight and a very sweet, active girl. I am now able to home test and she is on a low carb diet. We are planning to move to the Young Again zero carb food in a month or so.

I have added her chart to my signature. I could really use some help from those who know all about this for what we should do next. She is still at 1/2 U twice a day, but it seems to not have much effect on her BG. She hovers between 240-290. My meter seems to be accurate. Reading my civvie in the 60s and when I've run 2-3 strips per test they come out within 10 points of each other.

My thoughts - possibly go up to 1 U to see if her numbers fall, or try a better insulin. She was put on this one by the shelter due to the cost. I am also interested to see how much lower her numbers could go by switching to YA Zero food, then possibly coming off insulin all together and monitoring ketones and BG often.

Tested her urine for ketones today just before PMPS. Nada! :)
Click to expand...
Yep I would do 1 unit. No doubt. Make sure to test


I love ya food, but I feed fancy feast classic morning and night and the Yaz is out for whenever. Cats really could use some wet food in their diet. That said if you look at my spreadsheet the Yaz seems to have had a major hand in improving my cats numbers.
 
Good point on wet food for kidney function. It also makes it easier to give her shots and they just love it. Either way we will be trying out YA as the dry we leave out. Both cats have a history of being free fed dry without overeating, and it being zero carbs makes me feel better about leaving it out so her snacking doesn't affect her BG numbers as much.

I'm going to go to .75U today and see how she does for a week or more, taking frequent BG readings and doing another curve in a week. She seems to respond a bit to the novolin, but it's definitely not enough to get her lower so her little body will catch a break. When we switch the dry food in a month I'll be testing a lot to make sure she doesn't nosedive, but I'm thinking it's not going to have a big impact on her numbers.

Feeling encouraged. Thank you all!
 
@Yong no friskies on that list! :(

I'll look into it later on. Thankfully, with just two cats, we can probably swing more expensive food if necessary.
 
I emailed the shelter to get more info about her diabetes. I was told "two years ago" when we adopted her, but that was from memory not records. Claire's actual story is this -

Taken in from a bad living situation in 2010 with her 5 kittens. She was FIV+.
In her time at the shelter she became pretty overweight. Free feeding a high carb food and being in a small room without much exercise at all.
In 2016 she started losing weight and drinking a lot of water.
March 2016 BG was 440. They started insulin a few months later and symptoms improved.

I feel so encouraged that she is down under 300 right now even though she isn't responding too much to her insulin (working on that!). Also glad to know she was only diagnosed a year ago, not two like we previously thought! She is maintaining her weight and a happy girl!
 
Also to add - we have her at .75 U now and are her numbers are coming down. Nadir today was 220 which is the lowest I've seen so far.
 
Caring4Claire said:
I emailed the shelter to get more info about her diabetes. I was told "two years ago" when we adopted her, but that was from memory not records. Claire's actual story is this -

Taken in from a bad living situation in 2010 with her 5 kittens. She was FIV+.
In her time at the shelter she became pretty overweight. Free feeding a high carb food and being in a small room without much exercise at all.
In 2016 she started losing weight and drinking a lot of water.
March 2016 BG was 440. They started insulin a few months later and symptoms improved.

I feel so encouraged that she is down under 300 right now even though she isn't responding too much to her insulin (working on that!). Also glad to know she was only diagnosed a year ago, not two like we previously thought! She is maintaining her weight and a happy girl!
Click to expand...
sounds like being so long at high numbers it's what her body thinks is normal. It will take some convincing to change her mind. Lol. I'm sure you will find that break through dose.
 
JanetNJ said:
It does look like you will have to move to 1 unit though.
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I am thinking you're right.

I got a sample of Young Again and left it out overnight instead of the EVO. Her AMPS was the lowest it's been at 240. So we are going to buy a bag of YA and start mixing with the EVO to switch them over. Then after we see what her numbers do I will go to one unit. May need to consider a better insulin for her to get the best results. I have noticed her nadir is within 4 hours. We will figure this out!

Considering she was diagnosed a year ago and has probably had high numbers most of this time, being given such a low dose, and she has FIV to boot, I don't know that remission is achievable. But if I can get her feeling her best, that is what we want for her.

Anyone know where I can find a list of recommended insulins and approximate prices? Her Novolin is $25 for 100U, which I know is insanely cheap for insulin. Thanks!
 
So far her numbers aren't that bad on Novolin. If you can make it work, there's no need to change. I would suggest, though getting more tests in the +4 to +7 range. It does seem as though a dose increase to 1.0 u is in order. :)
 
Caring4Claire said:
I am thinking you're right.

I got a sample of Young Again and left it out overnight instead of the EVO. Her AMPS was the lowest it's been at 240. So we are going to buy a bag of YA and start mixing with the EVO to switch them over. Then after we see what her numbers do I will go to one unit. May need to consider a better insulin for her to get the best results. I have noticed her nadir is within 4 hours. We will figure this out!

Considering she was diagnosed a year ago and has probably had high numbers most of this time, being given such a low dose, and she has FIV to boot, I don't know that remission is achievable. But if I can get her feeling her best, that is what we want for her.

Anyone know where I can find a list of recommended insulins and approximate prices? Her Novolin is $25 for 100U, which I know is insanely cheap for insulin. Thanks!
Click to expand...
Her numbers aren't bad, you just don't have the right dose yet. Remission may take a little longer, but I don't think it's impossible.

Eta... I think even 1 is not going to be enough and you will need to do at LEAST 1.5, but I can see you're cautious so we will take it slow.
 
thanks!

Considering she is doing very well (playful, no diabetes symptoms, no ketones) and her diabetes has probably not been controlled for some time, we will take the slow approach. Switch out the YA for the Evo dry and then go to 1 unit. Then up from there if needed.

I read the best chance of remission is achieved with Lantus? Even if we can get her #s lower, the novolin seems to work quickly and have a very short life in her. Will keep testing and adjusting for a while before thinking too far forward. Thanks for all the advice. I would feel very alone in this otherwise!
 
Caring4Claire said:
thanks!

Considering she is doing very well (playful, no diabetes symptoms, no ketones) and her diabetes has probably not been controlled for some time, we will take the slow approach. Switch out the YA for the Evo dry and then go to 1 unit. Then up from there if needed.

I read the best chance of remission is achieved with Lantus? Even if we can get her #s lower, the novolin seems to work quickly and have a very short life in her. Will keep testing and adjusting for a while before thinking too far forward. Thanks for all the advice. I would feel very alone in this otherwise!
Click to expand...
Any increase in BG at PMPS is small, as is the dip at nadir. She's certainly not overreacting to the Novolin so it's worth sticking with it through the food change and dose increase. Her responses aren't over the top and that's good. She might not be a bouncy girl. That will make it easier for you for dosing.
 
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