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Debbie & Mishka

Debbie & Mishka

Member Since 2018
Well, me and Mishka are new to the site. He's two months shy of 17 years old. In 2016, he went into remission very easily and in January 2018 diagnosed and put on 1U of Prozinc. We've had our issues, to say the least. Most of all, Mishka is a very fincky and picky eater. He has chronic URIs and if he can't smell his food, he will not eat. Currently, I home test (irregularly) because my boy doesn't always let me fool with his ears and sometimes I can't get blood even when he's being a good boy. When he eats well, his low BG has been 86 and then I panic and give him food because that's only 4-1/2 hours out from AM shot. He is so used to free feeding (about 4 3-oz cans of FF per day). The thing that worries me most is this -- he NEVER seems like he feels good. He actually seemed to feel better BEFORE insulin. Now, all he does is sleep, sleep, sleep. After the shot is wearing off, or on the days I do not shoot, he seems like his old self, purring, preening, and perky!

Thank you all for your swonderful support. I've been observing for a long time without membership and now I guess me and Mishka are here to stay :)
 
Welcome to the forum. Mishka is a cute kitteh.

Kudos to you for testing at home. We recommend it to all owners - as it helps with dosing accuracy. And you are correct to be concerned about hypos. It sounds like you have done some good reading about diabetes so far.

Many free feed their kittehs. I do with all 3 of ours, and only Leo is diabetic. He seems to sleep a lot - before diabetes, and now when he is treated.

For testing, I developed a routine with Leo. There is a dedicated towel on the kitchen floor. I call him over, then he gets on it and gets tested. He knows that he gets an immediate treat or a meal right after testing. Anyhow, that works for us.
 
OMG Jeff J....I looked at your spreadsheet and am totally overwhelmed. What is "regulated"? If AMPS is 200 (or so) and PMPS is 200 (or so), is that ok? I think Mishka would be a lot happier if he was free fed like he always was. He seems happier with being able to have food out most of the day (and picked up 2 hours before testing). He is definitely a nibbler....only eats a few bites at a time, then sleeps, then wakes up in about an hour and eats. It's hard to "retrain" a 16 year old cat to eat his entire meal at one time, like the vet wants us to do. BTW...Leo is a Beautiful Boy too!!!
 
Thanks for the Leo kudos. We also call him Leo the Loverboy. He loves everybody and all kittehs too.

Generally regulation is when you are consistently getting nadirs in the 80-150 range. That range is below renal threshold. So the kidneys are not filtering out excess blood glucose (BG) all the time.

Leo had Acromegaly, then had SRT (radiation) in Sept 2016, and has reduced acro now. So he is not a good example. I test him all the time, still. But I'm too lazy to type the numbers in. However, good example numbers for most kittehs would be:
- AMPS (A.M. preshot) of 250-350
- A.M. dose
- nadir (which is +6 to +8 hours) value of 100-120
- PMPS (P.M. preshot) of 200-300
- P.M. dose

Some kittehs get a reduced dose in the PM. That is the case with Leo. Also if they don't eat as much, then consider a reduced dose. You might find the Prozinc subforum helpful. (I helped write the Beginner's Guide there).

Yeah, it's hard to train cats to do anything. Leo loves dental diet treats. So we trained him on carb treats. And he gets a few each day. ....picture of Leo resting his head on the best orange pillow in the world (Little Dude). Our boys - aren't they great!
 

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Thank you so much Jeff. Poor Leo -- with cancer and radiation, he must be one tough Boy! Mishka's nadir seems to be +5-1/2 and has been as low as 86. That's what worries me -- is it doing to drop lower? Both times it was at 86, I allowed him to nibble. It's hard to know what to do when he doesn't eat that much preshot. But when I reduced to 1/2 U Prozinc, he started drinking more. Maybe a reduced dose in the AM? Since he seems to eat more in the evening and at night. I am trying to allow free feeding. Off to the vet today, so we'll see what he says. That'll stress my boy, for sure. Your kitties are so very cute!!!
 

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Welcome! It would definitely be helpful if you could put your test results and doses given in one of the spreadsheets. As you get more data, you can see patterns. You will have a good idea when his nadir normally occurs, so you will know whether to be concerned about a number like 86. Are you using a human meter or pet meter? 86 is a good number as long as you are fairly close to nadir.

Mishka is a pretty boy, and so good with that big doggie laying his head on him! :cat:
 
Thanks for the kudos. The BG=86 is not really very low. I agree with the others
- get a spreadsheet setup, so we can help you with better dosing suggestions
- the prozinc subforum is a good place for getting deeper help

That is a great picture of Mishka and her doggie friend. They look like good buddies:bighug:
 
FurBabiesMama said:
Welcome! It would definitely be helpful if you could put your test results and doses given in one of the spreadsheets. As you get more data, you can see patterns. You will have a good idea when his nadir normally occurs, so you will know whether to be concerned about a number like 86. Are you using a human meter or pet meter? 86 is a good number as long as you are fairly close to nadir.

Mishka is a pretty boy, and so good with that big doggie laying his head on him! :cat:
Click to expand...
Using AlphaTrak2 Meter....trying to do a spreadsheet, but it's all so very overwhelming.
 
JeffJ said:
Thanks for the kudos. The BG=86 is not really very low. I agree with the others
- get a spreadsheet setup, so we can help you with better dosing suggestions
- the prozinc subforum is a good place for getting deeper help

That is a great picture of Mishka and her doggie friend. They look like good buddies:bighug:
Click to expand...

Thanks Jeff! I'll try to get the spreadsheet set up this weekend.
 
JeffJ said:
Here are the spreadsheet setup instructions. It looks daunting, but isn't that hard once you get into it. Of course I'm a computer guy so I can get away with that statement.:D
https://www.google.com/url?q=http:/...428000&usg=AFQjCNEhRjighEWoPH4rrMI2-8UOlsoctA

Also. Alphatrak2 strips are expensive. You can use Freestyle Lite strips instead. I get mine off ebay. Just bought some. I think 300 strips, and they cost $0.30 apiece. So quite a cost savings.
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Click to expand...

Thanks for the encouragement with the spreadsheet and the advice re: the Strips -- so Freestyle Lite works with the Alphatrak? Who knew...LOL
 
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