Moving over from FB: 107 blood glucose; IDK what I'm doing :)

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toomanycats

toomanycats

Member Since 2020
Hi Chris, wherever you are!

So, I'm moving this over here to follow rules - my vet is unavailable with no on-call number, and apparently started my cat on a very high insulin dose, aaaand so now I'm taking things into my own hands against her recommendation but...anyways.

The background:
Buzzy is 13; he was dx-ed diabetic 2 weeks ago.
Before diagnosis, he was eating a mix of dry & wet food (I'd actually moved him to a low-protein food for a month-ish right before diagnosis thinking his kidneys were a problem).
The last 2 weeks, we have moved him to Purina DM wet food only - no insulin. However, based on fructosamine & a glucose spot test (and the fact that powerful antibiotics had still not cleared his UTI), the vet said we should start him on insulin.

He is on Lantus; he weighs 12 pounds; she wanted to start him on 3 units, but I talked her down to 2.5 units 2x a day. He has had 2 doses at this level before I got a glucose meter to test him.

I just tested his blood glucose for the first time this PM at insulin time, and it came back 107; I tested same blood again & it was 117 so basically the same. Worth noting - I have not been able to test this new meter with control solution as it's not sold in stores as far as I can tell -- it is the Relion premier classic.

Based on Facebook forum feedback, I did NOT give him insulin at this time. I will test him again after 2 hours & food to see where he's at, but I won't give insulin tonight & I'm trying to figure out what to do tomorrow.

I do not know what his blood glucose was at the vet's.

I'm just trying to figure out what to do tomorrow... at what reading SHOULD I give insulin, and how much?...
Can I even trust this meter?
IDK what I'm doing -.-
And I cannot afford to fork out a bunch of money to keep dragging him to the vet to compare our results or whatever. I just can't. We're already broke after all the testing we've done & supplies & food... :(

And he's supposed to go back next Friday...and then the 3 Fridays after for fructosamine & spot blood glucose checks.... so, that will already be money...
 
So - 90 minutes later & after food, he read 120.
He just got his last little bit of food for the night.

Also, y'all he HATES testing/hates me touching his ear. Growling...was worse this time than last time...he does not want me touching his ears.
 
toomanycats said:
So - 90 minutes later & after food, he read 120.
He just got his last little bit of food for the night.

Also, y'all he HATES testing/hates me touching his ear. Growling...was worse this time than last time...he does not want me touching his ears.
Click to expand...

I think you can give him a break now....

I used to really have a tough time with Luci - she was never a lovey dovey lap cat in the first place - so when we started 'handling' her she was highly insensed about the whole thing! Then to top it off I was poking her ears and she thought that was pretty intolerable! She would growl and buzz and make noises to threaten me if I didn't back off - but every time we did it, I gave her a treat - freeze dried chicken or salmon - or a dab of her Fancy Feast low carb food. It was soon then that I learned she would 'work for food' - that girl loves to eat! Of course this didn't happen overnight - we'd have our wrestling matches - and it took two of us to hold her in place so that I could get that poke - the first time I poked her five times without getting blood; various things would happen - the meter would shut off - and finally I splashed the drop I did collect on the floor - I scooped it off the floor onto the strip - what an ordeal! We'd all be exhausted and worn to a frazzle after every test...I dreaded them!

It will get easier, I promise!!! People said that to me too...and I said, NO WAY! We'll I started telling her that I didn't like the testing any more than she did - but I had to do this to save her life - I literally said those words out loud to her - and you know what - she finally settled down and accepted the testing routine - now she purrs through the whole thing. I knew we'd turned a corner when I found her lying on the testing towel one day - apparently waiting for me!

The rest is history...here we are over two years later...I hope you've caught your kitties blood sugar issues early enough so that changing food will do the trick! It happens...so rest easy tonight...

I don't think I asked on FB if in fact you'd given any insulin at all previously? Have you?
 
He doesn't like the freeze-dried treats ...or tuna...or any meat... he is my kibble fiend...
Is there an "ok" kibble I can give him a few pieces of as a treat maybe?

He has gotten 2 doses of insulin.
2.5 units of Lantus last night at 5pm
2.5 units this morning at 5am.

The 5pm reading tonight was 109/117 (I tested twice to be sure) when y'all said "don't shoot!" ... so I didn't...and then 120 at 90 min later (after his meal and no insulin).
I'll test him again tomorrow 5am.
I'm just not sure if I should give ANY insulin tomorrow or not.
 
toomanycats said:
He doesn't like the freeze-dried treats ...or tuna...or any meat... he is my kibble fiend...
Is there an "ok" kibble I can give him a few pieces of as a treat maybe?

He has gotten 2 doses of insulin.
2.5 units of Lantus last night at 5pm
2.5 units this morning at 5am.

The 5pm reading tonight was 109/117 (I tested twice to be sure) when y'all said "don't shoot!" ... so I didn't...and then 120 at 90 min later (after his meal and no insulin).
I'll test him again tomorrow 5am.
I'm just not sure if I should give ANY insulin tomorrow or not.
Click to expand...


Post your numbers in the morning - and let us help you.

You may want to move over to the Lantus forum - but first you'll need to set up a spreadsheet (as mentioned in that hyperlink I sent you)...and set up your signature. Lots of posters on these forums so it's helpful to prepare as much as you can - otherwise people will ask you the same questions over and over - I post regularly on the Lantus forum...here's the link: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/lantus-basaglar-glargine-and-levemir-detemir.9/
 
Oh, and as for treats - you can look on Chewy.com - they have a nice variety of crunchy and soft treats for dogs and cats that are all meat - no fillers, no carbs - Luci liked some and not others. Orejin makes an all meat treat - she likes that one. I've bought freeze dried rabbit, lamb, liver, etc - Chewy will work with you on returns if there are some that he doesn't like - usually they don't even ask for the item to be returned - just that you take it to the shelter and donate it - which is very nice of them.

The problem with kibble is if you take a look at the ingredients - it's typically all carby stuff like corn, rice, sweet potatoes, starches/grains, etc. All of which will raise his blood glucose - the exact thing you don't want to happen. IF he really hates all that stuff, try cooking some meat of some kind and cut it into little bite sized pieces - if he gets hungry enough he might find something that tempts his little palate to give it a taste...:D
 
OK ty I will post on the Lantus forum tomorrow morning...but very early before anyone is awake I'm sure lol 'cus he's supposed to be dosed at 5am. ugh.
 
toomanycats said:
OK ty I will post on the Lantus forum tomorrow morning...but very early before anyone is awake I'm sure lol 'cus he's supposed to be dosed at 5am. ugh.
Click to expand...

I was up at 4 today... although I'm hoping to not repeat that again tomorrow!

Although I'm not sure where you're at...I'm in SW Florida, so I'm on eastern standard time...
 
toomanycats said:
Hi Chris, wherever you are!
Click to expand...

Hi!! Sorry I've been busy with new members on the FB group and answering stupid phone calls (well, not all of them were stupid but when you've got other things to do, it's annoying to have it keep interrupting!...LOL)

It's great that he's staying in decent numbers! He'll probably need some insulin, but 2.5 is just too high of a starting dose. Usually you won't see a drastic change in numbers for at least 3-5 days after starting Lantus. He's only been given 2.5U twice, right? That's a good sign that it's too much.

Lots of us have had to go it alone, without our vets. The sad truth is that vets only get about half a day of "formal" education on diabetes when they're in school and that covers every type of animal. Once they're in practice, they just don't have time to stay up to date on the latest treatments for every disease in every type of animal they see. They'd never have time to see actual patients if they tried!

That's why places like this board are such a valuable resource. The people here not only have time to research the latest treatments, but they live and breathe feline diabetes with their own cats. They have the real life experience to share. Most vets only see a handful of diabetic cats in their entire career (although they're becoming more common)

Once I got my script for Lantus, China never went back to the vet for her diabetes again. I trusted the people here who deal with this disease 24/7/365. They know what works and what doesn't.

When I did have to take her in for something else like dental work or a URI, I'd start the appointment with "She's on X units of Lantus and her blood glucose runs between Y and Z" and that was usually pretty much the end of the conversation. If the vet did feel the need to add her 2 cents, I'd smile, nod and say "I'll have to think about that!" and come right back here and ask the experienced folks what they thought.

Hang in there. It will get easier and it will make more sense as you gain experience. You can do this!!
 
Hi - I posted over in the Lantus forum this morning.
Just hoping I haven't killed my cat; I had to make a call on my own, and I decided to "trust my vet's dosing," and do the 2.5 this AM & test throughout the day ...but I think you're probably right, and it's too high, and I just hope I haven't hurt him by trusting her ugh...

Anyways, this discussion moved now to:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...120-no-insulin-last-night-201-this-am.225406/
 
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