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Baby boy

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Hello, I'm autumn and we live near Detroit michigan. Our 10 year old cat was diagnosed over a year ago. We have been to 3 different vets and 2 different insulins. He is not getting better. I am here for guidance on how to help him. His current vet does not seem concerned about his condition. They are not taking his diabetes seriously. They just keep increasing his insulin dose. His hind legs are giving out. The vet just laughs and says don't worry about the legs. He is currently on 8 units of lantus two times a day. He has been on lantus for several months. I home test when he lets me but it's very difficult. It's been too long and I am at your mercy. I will do exactly what I need to do to get him better but nobody seems to know what to do or how to treat him. I am very frustrated that I can't find a good vet for him. Can someone please tell me where to start. Thank you all.
 
Hello, I'm autumn and we live near Detroit michigan. Our 10 year old cat was diagnosed over a year ago. We have been to 3 different vets and 2 different insulins. He is not getting better. I am here for guidance on how to help him. His current vet does not seem concerned about his condition. They are not taking his diabetes seriously. They just keep increasing his insulin dose. His hind legs are giving out. The vet just laughs and says don't worry about the legs. He is currently on 8 units of lantus two times a day. He has been on lantus for several months. I home test when he lets me but it's very difficult. It's been too long and I am at your mercy. I will do exactly what I need to do to get him better but nobody seems to know what to do or how to treat him. I am very frustrated that I can't find a good vet for him. Can someone please tell me where to start. Thank you all.
Hi Autumn and Baby Boy Glad to see you found this forum. The more experienced members here are Very knowledgeable and can help you with everything .
For starters what was Baby Boys BG to have the Vet increase him to 8 units twice a day ? That is a lot ......
What are you feeding him ?
Is he on any other medication?
They will take time to take to you about his back legs and a supplement you can use to help him . I by no means as knowledgeable as the other members are I just didn’t want you to be alone . It can all be Overwhelming and so much to process so you just hang in there I’m sure you will be getting responses
 
Hi Autumn, sorry to hear you aren't getting much help from your vet
So glad you found us, this is the best place you could be.
First off if you could please set up your signature, here are the instructions it will help the members here to see your information rather than asking you over and over again


Make sure your signature is up-to-date.
  • On the left, under Settings, Click on Signature. This is where you will put information that helps us give you feedback.
    • There is a limit of two lines which may include two links; you may separate pieces with commas, dashes, | etc. This is where you paste the link for your spreadsheet, once it is set up.
    • Add any other text, such as
    • Caregiver & kitty's name (optional)
    • DX: Date
    • Name of Insulin
    • Name of your meter
    • Diet: "LC wet" or "dry food" or "combo"
    • Dosing: TR or SLGS or Custom (if applicable)
    • DKA or other recent health issue (if applicable)
    • Acro, IAA, or Cushings (if applicable)
    • Spreadsheet link. Please put the signature link on the bottom line of your signature information, on its own, so it is easy to find.
    • Please do not put any information about your location in the signature for security reasons. If you wish to add your country location, please add it to your profile.
Be sure to click the 'Save Changes' button at the bottom. If you need help urgently it is important we know these things at a glance. We don’t want to waste valuable time finding out information.


I'm not as experienced as some of our members but 8 units of lantus seems like an awful lot.
Did the vet increase Baby boy's dose by full units?
We increase doses by 0.25 units at a time

You said you are home testing but it's difficult, I'll try to find the link that will give you helpful info on testing

We have a spreadsheet here where we record our cats BG numbers so that if you need help with dosing the experienced members can take a look and give you advice, without any data it's difficult for them to see how the insulin is working for Baby boy.

Take a look at my spreadsheet, go to my page and you will see at the bottom where my signature is it will say Tyler's spreadsheet, click on that, or anyone else's
That will give you an idea
You will see it has the date, AMPS means the morning test, then the dose we are shooting
You will then see columns that say 1, 2, 3 4, all the way up to 12 which will be the night test PMPS
the 2 means 2 hours after giving the dose, 3 means 3 hours after giving the dose, and so on and so forth
Everything is color coded

Most likely Baby boy has neuropathy in his hind legs due to the fact that his diabetes is not regulated.
Once he is it will most likely get better, Tyler had the same problem
There is also a supplement that will help, but he really has to get the diabetes under control.
You can start it now though. I'll post what it is, some members use what's called Zobaline , but it's expensive in my opinion. I'll post it for you.

I know this sounds overwhelming but we are all here to help you with your kitty

I will post the link for you to set up your spreadsheet for Baby boy, if you are having trouble doing it , we have a wonderful member that will set it up for you, I will tag her for you @Chris & China (GA) thanks in advance Chris

Are you using syringes with the half unit markings?
It makes it a lot easier when decreasing or increasing the doses

Sorry if I overwhelmed you
So the best thing to do right now is set up your signature, take a look at mine or any other members.

I am going to tag the more experienced members for you, so hang in there until tomorrow .
Baby boy is a cutie, he looks like a chocolate color.
Hang in there ok, we will get Baby boy on the right track, I'm sure you will get some advice once you set up your signature
@Deb & Wink

@Bron and Sheba (GA)

@Wendy&Neko

@Nan & Amber (GA)

@Marje and Gracie

Thank you ladies in advance ♥
 
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Autumn here is the supplement. Just go to their site Vitacost.com and type it in, Alot of members use this , I use it myself you can buy it on line from Vitacost
Vitacost Vitamin B-12 Methylcobalamin -- 5000 mcg - 100 Capsules
It's 17.99 just be sure this is the one you buy
The only difference is the Zobaline has 200 mcgs of folic acid
So I buy the folic acid at the supermarket and crush it up and add it to the B-12
If you can't find the 200 mcg get the 400 mcg and cut it in half
The Vitacost brand is a capsule so just open it and pour the powder on the wet food
Has no taste, no need to crush it up
The Zobaline is 33.99 for 60 pills, too expensive
I saw a big improvement I'd say 3 months, could be sooner. One capsule a day


Vitacost Vitamin B-12 Methylcobalamin -- 5000 mcg - 100 Capsules

  • SKU #: 835003001804
  • Shipping Weight: 0.23 lb
  • Servings: 100
 
Hi Autumn and Baby Boy and welcome.
If you could get your signature and spreadsheet up as Diane has mentioned that would be a great help. Without being able to look at blood glucose data we can’t help much really.
Testing is the key to not only keeping him safe but also seeing how the Lantus is working. I would try really hard to get more tests in.
What type of food are you feeding?
Here is a link to testing and some hints to make it easier.
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

keep asking questions
 
Hi Autumn and a Baby Boy and welcome.
If you could get your signature and spreadsheet up as Diane has mentioned that would be a great help. Without being able to look at blood glucose data we can’t help much really.
Testing is the key to not only keeping him safe but also seeing how the Lantus is working. I would try really hard to get more tests in.
What type of food are you feeding?
Here is a link to testing and some hints to make it easier.
Thank you Bron , Bron the link isn't there for testing :bighug::cat:
 
Just click on the page you want to copy and paste. Then copy the URL at the top of the page by tapping it and options will come up. Press copy. Then go to your message and tap the page and options will come up. Choose paste.

Thank you Bron , Bron the link isn't there for testing :bighug::cat:

Because I am in my iPhone I have to post the message then find the link and copy and paste it. You were too quick for me.
 
Just click on the page you want to copy and paste. Then copy the URL at the top of the page by tapping it and options will come up. Press copy. Then go to your message and tap the page and options will come up. Choose paste.



Because I am in my iPhone I have to post the message then find the link and copy and paste it. You were too quick for me.
Sorry about that Bron , I will try what you told me above the next time , I'm just not good at these things. How have you been :bighug:
 
I’m fine thanks. You are good at things. I didn’t know how to do that until I did. ;)
Hope things are pretty ok for you.
I just tried it out and did it yeah, now I won't have to keep going to the search area and typing a few words in to see if anyone posted what I was looking for lol, it was starting to get on my nerves that I didn't know how to do it. Thank you again Bron
I'm glad you are doing good @Bron and Sheba (GA) :cat:
 
Welcome Autumn and Baby Boy!

8 units of Lantus twice a day seems like a huge amount to me. I honestly didn’t event know it could go up to that much. When you are able to test, what kind of numbers are you getting? I don’t think your vet is very experienced with feline diabetes. A lot of them aren’t. The first vet I took Minnie too had the same reaction to her neuropathy and she developed a very severe one. It happens when the excess glucose damages the nerves in the legs. Usually the back legs. I’m here to tell you she recovered fully and Baby Boy will too as soon as his diabetes is regulated. I’m going to guess that you’ll need to start decreasing the dose. Too much can be as bad as too little. The supplement Diane mentioned is what helped Minnie and I still have her on it for maintainable. You already got great guidance on how you can help us help you so we look forward to getting your answers about food and everything else.
Welcome again!
 
WELCOME Autumn and ? (insert kitties name here)
You've landed in a safe place!
Theres a wealth of information here (you already know that) with good folks with MUCH experience to help you navigate it all.
We are a dedicated to help others through what we already have and are going through. KEEP asking questions we WUVS em!
jeanne
 
Hello and welcome.
QUOTE="Aleluia Grugru & Minnie, post: 2595692, member: 28971"]8 units of Lantus twice a day seems like a huge amount to me[/QUOTE]
My girl got up to 8.75 units of Lantus - we've seen higher. Some cats just need more insulin, though it's less common. As Bron said, if you can share some of your testing data with us, we can help you decide if the 8 units is too little, too much, or just right. Once you get to a better dose of insulin, that will help the hind legs if it's neuropathy that is causing the problem. The methyl B-12 or Zobaline will also help.

It's also not unusual to find vets don't know enough to really help you. They deal with a lot of conditions and a lot of types of animals. And frankly, not all caregivers seem to care as much as you do.
 
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