TravisCat
Member Since 2017
I found these forums last year when Travis was diagnosed, but I've never posted in them. Mostly, I've let my vet be my guide (they're the expert), but I'm starting to worry that I'm not doing enough. There's a lot that's happened, so I'll try to be brief, yet thorough. 
Travis started ProZinc and a diet of Purina DM when first diagnosed. We took him to get his BG checked every other week, then monthly. Starting out, he was a 17 pound cat. They slowly upped his insulin levels until he was at 3 units. He also lost some weight, as I gave him less food, and the vet wasn't happy about that. My argument was that he needed to lose weight, as that's probably part of his problem. Their argument was that it was a bad sign when having diabetes to lose weight. At that time, I started to do more and more research and just felt like I wasn't doing enough. I suggested to the vet I get a BG monitor, and she seemed hesitant (she only had dog owners that did that), but agreed to let me do it if I didn't change dosage on my own, didn't go overboard on checking, and gave her the numbers as updates periodically. I also changed his food, because DM was so expensive, and from what I read, wasn't the best for him. I put him on EVO dry food. When I switched food, after a month, he gained a lot of weight, and his insulin need went up to 5 units! UGH! I figured out that he needed less food than the DM. I promise I read the bag, but he's a big cat, so I gave him the upper amount. Since then, I've lowered his amount to something appropriate, and he's lost weight again. As his weight goes down, so seems his insulin needs go down. I started doing AMPS and PMPS readings during the weekdays, and ps, 1+, 4+, 8+ on weekends. I could see he needed less, and I started giving him 3. A month later, I notice that 3 units seems too much, so I start giving him 1 1/2 units. When I gave the vet my update about 1 1/2, she did not really like that I changed things on my own. She also politely tried to indicate to me to be careful I wasn't being hyper vigilant. She wanted me to give him 2 units since I don't see him being shaky or wobbly.
Here's the reason for my post... I didn't want to give him 2 units - that seemed too much for him at the moment. So, I've been giving him 1 unit. His pre-shot readings have been in the lower 200s. My vet said the typical curve should look like this: ps - low 300s - 1+high/mid 200s - 4+mid 100s - 8+mid 200s. When I see low 200s for ps, I feel like I shouldn't give him a full dosage. Over the weekend, I checked him, and he seemed to stay in the 200s through the day at 1 unit. For two meals this week, I tried no shot, and his ps always stays in the low 200s (around 218). I work, so since I can't do a curve on a weekday, I asked my Mom to come over and test him today. This morning, he was 194 ps. I gave him 3/4 unit. At 1+ he was 233 and at 4+ he was 234. I'm so confused! Just when I thought I was getting things adjusted, his curve seems backwards. I will add that my husband thinks he's acting a bit strange because he's been jumping up on counters and tables to try and find cups of milk and food, which he has done before occasionally, but more so lately.
I'd appreciate any wisdom. I really want to do what's best for him and understand these things better. I know it's not really an excuse, but I work full time and have two kids - and though my learning has come a long way, I just feel like I'm still not doing all I should.
Thanks in advance,
Desiree
Travis started ProZinc and a diet of Purina DM when first diagnosed. We took him to get his BG checked every other week, then monthly. Starting out, he was a 17 pound cat. They slowly upped his insulin levels until he was at 3 units. He also lost some weight, as I gave him less food, and the vet wasn't happy about that. My argument was that he needed to lose weight, as that's probably part of his problem. Their argument was that it was a bad sign when having diabetes to lose weight. At that time, I started to do more and more research and just felt like I wasn't doing enough. I suggested to the vet I get a BG monitor, and she seemed hesitant (she only had dog owners that did that), but agreed to let me do it if I didn't change dosage on my own, didn't go overboard on checking, and gave her the numbers as updates periodically. I also changed his food, because DM was so expensive, and from what I read, wasn't the best for him. I put him on EVO dry food. When I switched food, after a month, he gained a lot of weight, and his insulin need went up to 5 units! UGH! I figured out that he needed less food than the DM. I promise I read the bag, but he's a big cat, so I gave him the upper amount. Since then, I've lowered his amount to something appropriate, and he's lost weight again. As his weight goes down, so seems his insulin needs go down. I started doing AMPS and PMPS readings during the weekdays, and ps, 1+, 4+, 8+ on weekends. I could see he needed less, and I started giving him 3. A month later, I notice that 3 units seems too much, so I start giving him 1 1/2 units. When I gave the vet my update about 1 1/2, she did not really like that I changed things on my own. She also politely tried to indicate to me to be careful I wasn't being hyper vigilant. She wanted me to give him 2 units since I don't see him being shaky or wobbly.
Here's the reason for my post... I didn't want to give him 2 units - that seemed too much for him at the moment. So, I've been giving him 1 unit. His pre-shot readings have been in the lower 200s. My vet said the typical curve should look like this: ps - low 300s - 1+high/mid 200s - 4+mid 100s - 8+mid 200s. When I see low 200s for ps, I feel like I shouldn't give him a full dosage. Over the weekend, I checked him, and he seemed to stay in the 200s through the day at 1 unit. For two meals this week, I tried no shot, and his ps always stays in the low 200s (around 218). I work, so since I can't do a curve on a weekday, I asked my Mom to come over and test him today. This morning, he was 194 ps. I gave him 3/4 unit. At 1+ he was 233 and at 4+ he was 234. I'm so confused! Just when I thought I was getting things adjusted, his curve seems backwards. I will add that my husband thinks he's acting a bit strange because he's been jumping up on counters and tables to try and find cups of milk and food, which he has done before occasionally, but more so lately.
I'd appreciate any wisdom. I really want to do what's best for him and understand these things better. I know it's not really an excuse, but I work full time and have two kids - and though my learning has come a long way, I just feel like I'm still not doing all I should.
Thanks in advance,
Desiree
