Suspected Possible Diabetes

Status
Not open for further replies.
Jacque- Tiger & Jazz Man

Jacque- Tiger & Jazz Man

Member Since 2014
Hi, Tiger he's 17 for about a week now has been drinking more water and acting a little lazy, not lethargic. Haven't taken him to the vet yet. I checked his glucose at home(I have a sugarcat named Jazz Man) with Reli on meter. It read 450 about 15mins ago. I'm going to give him his dinner in about an hour. Should I just go ahead and give him 1 unit of Prozinc while he is eating? He doesn't have a problem eating ff pate. We know he's high right now. Or should I wait a half hour after he eats and retest. Then if still high give him 1 unit or .5 to start with? And recheck in a couple hours?
 
I wouldn't start insulin until he has been checked out by the vet. An infection could raise bg. Just keep feeding low carb and hope his bg can be controlled with diet alone. I think I would start with only .5u. It's easier to find just the right dose if you start low and make small increases until you reach b the right dose. You will be less likely to have hypos that way.
 
donnalea said:
I wouldn't start insulin until he has been checked out by the vet. An infection could raise bg. Just keep feeding low carb and hope his bg can be controlled with diet alone. I think I would start with only .5u. It's easier to find just the right dose if you start low and make small increases until you reach b the right dose. You will be less likely to have hypos that way.
Click to expand...
Thanks yeah I gave him .5 about an hour ago. If he has an infection would his bg stay high even with the shot?
 
I know what you are going through. My Callie's twin brother ,Patches, was showing symptoms of having diabetes. I took him to vet and she found he had a UTI.I had been testing his BG and they were running between 200 to 410. Vet didn't want to start him on insulin until she had all his blood tests back. We are hoping it can be controlled by diet.He had blood drown last October and all was good then. Of course anything can happen with a 15 year old cat.I should know tomorrow what vet recommends.
That's why I suggested waiting on the insulin. I will start on Lantus when I have vet's ok.
 
Maybe create a spreadsheet for Tigger, and we can follow the blood glucose readings and help you out.

Great directions on how to do that are here.
No waiting after eating to inject insulin when you are using Prozinc.
For Prozinc the order is test, feed, shoot in a short window, 10-15 minutes if you can get the routine that short.
You only want to /need to do that "waiting after eating" with the faster acting insulins like the NPH and Vetsulin/Caninsulin insulins. That wait is so the food starts to be digested, processed and can get into the bloodstream to intersect the onset of those faster acting insulins and slow down the steep drop.
 
Deb & Wink said:
Had not realized @jkhabitat was posting in both forums. Copied what I said in the Prozinc forum over here.

Recommended starting dose for Prozinc is 0.5U twice a day.

PROTOCOL FOR PROZINC / PZI
BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO PROZINC/ PZI INSULIN FOR DIABETIC CATS

Not sure if you've seen the above 2 documents. These got created back in the Fall of 2016 with the efforts of many members here. Take a peek at them, for a mini-refresher course in using Prozinc.
Click to expand...
Yes sorry about the duplicate posts. I was freaking out. And thank you I'll take a look see. Been awhile since starting over.
 
Ok. Please continue to post here in the Feline Health (Welcome & Main) forum for now. PZI ISG (insulin support group) is lightly viewed, not many people peeking in over there.

Certainly ok to move over there eventually.
Would really like to see a SS (spreadsheet) and signature from you first.
Info on how to do that setup is in here.
New? How You Can Help Us Help You!

Developed the summer of 2019, to try and help new members or returning members get started. One of the last documents Jill & Alex worked on before she passed away. Updated by Bron & Sheba this fall.

More people here to keep an eye on you.
We all have to sleep sometime, and can't be here 24/7.
So that is one reason we like people to start out in Feline Health.

You may get bombarded with TMI (too much information).

Just tell people that enough is enough. Give you time to digest everything coming your way.
Tell us to 'go fly a kite.' or words to that effect.

Remind folks this is not "your first rodeo" and you have dealt with feline diabetes before.
 
  • Freakouts and nervousness and fear are SOP (standard operating procedure) here.
  • Mindfulness breathing, yoga, tai chi, active sports, are all ways various members deal with the stress.
  • Ok to vent too. No religion, no politics, try to keep the language 'clean', no "vet bashing" are all good ideas.
  • What else do you want to know?
Or is that already TMI?
 
+5 is 5 hours after the insulin shot
+ hours are always counted from the time of the insulin shot.

AMPS is morning or AM pre-shot test. To make sure the BG is high enough to give the insulin.
PMPS is evening or PM pre-shot test.

We suggest a BG threshold of >200 for new or returning members using a human meter, with Prozinc, AT THE beginning.

Higher BG at pre-shot test if using a pet meter to test with.
Until you learn how YOUR cat does on this insulin, on this dose.
ECID Every Cat is Different.
 
Deb & Wink said:
+5 is 5 hours after the insulin shot
+ hours are always counted from the time of the insulin shot.

AMPS is morning or AM pre-shot test. To make sure the BG is high enough to give the insulin.
PMPS is evening or PM pre-shot test.

We suggest a BG threshold of >200 for new or returning members using a human meter, with Prozinc, AT THE beginning.

Higher BG at pre-shot test if using a pet meter to test with.
Until you learn how YOUR cat does on this insulin, on this dose.
ECID Every Cat is Different.
Click to expand...
Oh yes..it's coming back to me now
 
Callie & Patches said:
I know what you are going through. My Callie's twin brother ,Patches, was showing symptoms of having diabetes. I took him to vet and she found he had a UTI.I had been testing his BG and they were running between 200 to 410. Vet didn't want to start him on insulin until she had all his blood tests back. We are hoping it can be controlled by diet.He had blood drown last October and all was good then. Of course anything can happen with a 15 year old cat.I should know tomorrow what vet recommends.
That's why I suggested waiting on the insulin. I will start on Lantus when I have vet's ok.
Click to expand...
Did you hear from the vet?
 
Deb & Wink said:
+5 is 5 hours after the insulin shot
+ hours are always counted from the time of the insulin shot.

AMPS is morning or AM pre-shot test. To make sure the BG is high enough to give the insulin.
PMPS is evening or PM pre-shot test.

We suggest a BG threshold of >200 for new or returning members using a human meter, with Prozinc, AT THE beginning.

Higher BG at pre-shot test if using a pet meter to test with.
Until you learn how YOUR cat does on this insulin, on this dose.
ECID Every Cat is Different.
Click to expand...
One Step Vet-10 strips Ketones +15 and Glucose ++500 all the other tests were normal range. I'm in a fb group and they are freaking out. Take him to the vet take him to the vet..I'm like..I've been down this road. I've had cats with fiv, felv, chf, uti's and urinary crystals, uri's and have subq'd a zillion times. I told them I want to give the antibiotic time to work and that .5 is nothing for Tiger since his bg is so high. My Vet is fine with this. Talked to her today.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
He may come down some, but still be above normal numbers. 450 is pretty high and 0.5 is a low dose. Since you are experienced and can test, it was fine to shoot, but I would still get him checked by the vet. And I would also check his urine for ketones.
Click to expand...
Used One Step Vet-10 strips Ketones +15 and Glucose ++500 all the other tests were normal range. The Ketones are what I'm not familiar with. I never had to get one with Jazz Man.
 
jkhabitat said:
I'm in a fb group and they are freaking out
Click to expand...

The only Facebook group associated with this site is the Feline Diabetes Group, not the Feline Diabetes Support group. It may be easier for you to choose one so you don't get conflicting information.

We should go ahead and get you set up with a spreadsheet for keeping track of Tiger's numbers. If you need some help with that, feel free to send me a PM by clicking on my name and choosing "Start a conversation" so I can get some information.
 
Chris & China (GA) said:
The only Facebook group associated with this site is the Feline Diabetes Group, not the Feline Diabetes Support group. It may be easier for you to choose one so you don't get conflicting information.

We should go ahead and get you set up with a spreadsheet for keeping track of Tiger's numbers. If you need some help with that, feel free to send me a PM by clicking on my name and choosing "Start a conversation" so I can get some information.
Click to expand...
That would be awesome. I think I'm a member in that group and I posted about Tiger in it too. The group I'm referring to isn't your group.
 
I just wish everyone would quit telling me to take him to a vet in those other groups. He is one of those cats that get REAL STRESSED OUT, screams bloody murder and pants on the way in. It takes about half an hour to get him to my Vet.
 
Repeating what's been suggested in the FD group:

Giving 50mls of fluids (she has the supplies) to help flush any ketones. Tiger is eating well and acting fine, so the presence of ketones on the strip doesn't really point to going into DKA and with her problems getting him to a vet, thinking giving the fluids and keeping a close eye on him is a reasonable choice.

Repeat ketone test ASAP.

Jacque...on most strips, when you compare to the guide on the side of the bottle, it will say "None, Trace, Small, Moderate, Large".....is that what yours have?
 
Chris & China (GA) said:
Repeating what's been suggested in the FD group:

Giving 50mls of fluids (she has the supplies) to help flush any ketones. Tiger is eating well and acting fine, so the presence of ketones on the strip doesn't really point to going into DKA and with her problems getting him to a vet, thinking giving the fluids and keeping a close eye on him is a reasonable choice.

Repeat ketone test ASAP.

Jacque...on most strips, when you compare to the guide on the side of the bottle, it will say "None, Trace, Small, Moderate, Large".....is that what yours have?
Click to expand...
No let me see if I can find a picture of the bottle on line
 
Which color matched the test strip the best in this line?

upload_2020-2-15_0-23-43.png


Those are neg, trace, small, medium, high, dangerously high
 

Attachments

  • upload_2020-2-15_0-23-43.png
    upload_2020-2-15_0-23-43.png
    82.5 KB · Views: 476
We'll try not to "freak out" too much with you here on the FDMB message board.
Some of the folks on those fb groups are not as experienced and more prone to "yelling to get your attention" shall we say. Not calm in many situations. Not aware that you are experienced in treating a diabetic cat.

Chris is more "level headed." As are some of the moderators and admins over on our sister FB page
the Feline Diabetes Group. Plus a few people like BJ Mattson and Cat Dickerson I would trust what they say.
SS will be really helpful. Hope Chris has gotten over her "stomach bug" and can help you set it up.
 
Prozinc doesn't "build up" in the body like the depot insulins (Lantus, Basaglar, or Levemir) do. You should see some sort of curve fairly quickly.
 
Jacque, first name and first initial of last name ok. But there are spammers here, so we suggest you do not have your full name in your signature.

No location in signature either. Only location info in your user profile. Harder to "skim" that way.
Trying to protect your security a bit.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top