First Post for Tippy

[dwildha]

Hello All,

I hope you all are well! We would love for you to meet Tippy! She is our sweet mama kitty. She is 10 years old and is the sweetest baby. We like to call her our little purr motor, as she loves to purr. She recently recovered from a 9 day hospitalization for DKA resulting in a 10k vet bill! What an expensive lesson! Yet, we are grateful that she has survived and for the care she received at NC State Vet School. We are busy learning everything we can and we hope that with your knowledge and help we will be able to better care for our baby.

This is our first post. We wanted to say hi and introduce ourselves. Thank you to everyone in advance for all of your help. We know that the info we learn here is invaluable. So from the bottom of our hearts, thank you! I’ve attached a link to Tippy’s spreadsheet. We can definitely use help with dosing and learning all there is to learn.




https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1qte1CueEkYw4E3zNC85a2rFL6TkQlsuGfPH5ZUjeYAM/edit

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Welcome to the FDMB!! Glad to see you over here from the Facebook group!

It's great that she had such a flat day today and I'm glad you went down to 2.5 from 4 so we could get a better idea of what was going on with Tippy. Just a heads up though....sometimes those flat yellow cycles can be an early warning that she may have an active cycle tonight (doesn't help that most cats go lower at night anyway)

I'd plan on getting a +2 and go from there.

When you get a few, it'll also help for you to fill out your "Signature". If you click on you sign on name, you'll get the option. A new box will pop up for you to enter basic information in so we don't have to keep asking the same questions over and over again. Info like:

Your name/cat's name, age, sex, date of diagnosis, type of insulin, type of meter, type of food, any other health issues or meds?

I'd also like to invite you over to the Lantus forum when you get that done. You'll not only get the most experienced eyes there, there's a lot of others using Lantus there and it can be really helpful to read other people's threads. They may ask a question you never even thought you needed to! Also, every time somebody new explains something, it may all the sudden make sense to you too. Sometimes it helps to have the same thing explained several different ways until one of them clicks that light bulb over your head and you say "I understand!".

Since Tippy is still more prone to DKA's since she just had one, it's great that you're testing for ketones too. You might want to add that information in the "Remarks" cell of your spreadsheet when you are able to get a ketone test in.

Let's see how tonight goes before considering going up to 2.75. Do you have syringes with half unit marks?

 

[dwildha]

Hi,

Thank you for having us. We are glad to be here. Unfortunately, we don’t have syringes with .5 marks yet. We are using the sure comfort brand and any u100s we can get our hands on as money is a bit tight right now. We will do our best to get everything in order for her and we certainly appreciate the advice and help we have been receiving from this group.


Thank you!

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Unfortunately, we don’t have syringes with .5 marks yet. We are using the sure comfort brand and any u100s we can get our hands on as money is a bit tight right now.

Totally understand! Lots of people are having trouble making ends meet! You can get a box of 100 syringes with half unit marks from WalMart for $12.58 but you might also want to apply to Diabetic Cats In Need. We're a charity that helps both low income caregivers and people who just need help getting started with the cost of treatment of their diabetic cats. DCIN has a Facebook page you can message to get more information!

Did you go back to 4U tonight? Tippy was looking really good at 2.5....still higher than we'd like, but at least nice and flat. That's exactly what we want a lantus cycle to look like (although we like it to be blue and green, but that takes time)

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hi Sarah @dwildha
I have just located your post thanks to Chris who pointed me on the right direction.

Is Tippy eating on her own now and is the feeding tube out?
She needs to be eating 1 1/2 times as many calories as she normally would eat. This is to help keep the ketones at bay. Food is like a medicine when a cat has had DKA.
Also make sure you don’t skip any doses of insulin as that is as important as the food.
Is she also drinking plenty?
And are you testing daily for ketones?

I see she had 80 at PMPS today....have you tested the BG since then?

 

[dwildha]

Hello!

Sarah here. Yes, the feeding tube is out and she's been back at home for about 3 weeks now. I'm feeding her low carb Weruva wet food and for nearly the last full week we now mix water into her meals. So when she was first diagnosed for about an entire year she drank water constantly which I now know meant her diabetes wasn't being managed. It was one of the reasons I took her to the vet in the first place which led to her diagnosis. After coming back from her 5 day stay at the NC State Veterinary Collage (they put her on Lantus) she actually doesn't drink water now. With the exception of one day last week where I was scared she was getting DKA again because she kept drinking water that day. She apparently just had high BG which made her want to drink again. I think not drinking water (especially since she is on only wet food plus I add water to it) is normal for her. The last week we went back to feeding two main meals only and trying not to give snacks throughout the day because her BG is higher than we would like. She does have a voracious appetite so I'm hoping that is enough calories. I can definitely go back to feeding her more throughout the day if needed. Right now she is given a whole can or pouch of her wet food in the morning and evening and still does get some snacks. I haven't cut them out completely. We do not skip insulin and I'm testing every few days to once a week for ketones with the blood meter and in between that every time I catch her peeing I get a urine ketone test. Her spreadsheet should be updated with more BG readings now. I have tried to get more readings and also vary the testing times. The 3 or 4 blood ketone test results I have should be in the comments section of each row. The urine ketone results were all negative.

Thank you!

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Really good to hear an update.
I can’t see your spreadsheet anywhere. Can you link it to your signature please.
I would definitely go back to feeding snacks in the first half of the cycles It’s very important post DKA kitties eat plenty of food. If the appetite is voracious she needs more food. The insulin dose can be adjusted if the BGs are still high. But we need to see the SS before we can comment on the dose. mill watch for the SS in the signature

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

I’ve just found your SS up in an earlier post. It needs to be linked to the signs so we can see it moving forward.
One comment... can you get some more tests in during the cycles please because at the moment there are not a lot and we need to see how low the dose is taking her. Try and get one every pm cycle if you can

 

[dwildha]

I can do that. So for the evening cycle do you just need random times like +4 +6 +8?

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

I can do that. So for the evening cycle do you just need random times like +4 +6 +8?

For the evening cycle.....it depends how late you stay up normally after the PMPS.
If you stay up several hours you could get a couple of tests in, taken at random times. If you don't, you could get a +2 or a before bed test in. If that test is the same or lower than the preshot BG, I would get another test in a couple of hours later to see it isn't dropping too low. Most of us go to bed and set the alarm.
How does that sound?

 

[dwildha]

Thank you so much! I linked the spreadsheet in the signature. Please let us know if you’re able to see it.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Thank you so much! I linked the spreadsheet in the signature. Please let us know if you’re able to see it.

Yes I can see it. Thanks!

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Didn't you have some information in your signature? I've just realised it isn't there now?

 

[dwildha]

Yes, my husband accidentally deleted it when he added the spreadsheet to the signature. I'll have him add it back. I have a question about what to do when she misses a dose. My husband thinks that he shot the pm insulin out the other side of her skin tonight. Not 100% sure because it's hard to tell because of the fur. Her blood ketone test tonight was 1.4 which is still safe for her but I had it down to 0.6 last week. I gave her a couple syringes of water tonight since I think the shot might have been missed. Should I get more water into her? Also, I'm trying to get more night BG tests in. I did one last night at +6. I'll try to get another in tonight. She has pretty high BG today. Can we increase the insulin yet? Also, she was just treated for roundworm, she threw up some grass I let her eat last week and I found some parasites in her vomit. I'm wondering if that was contributing to some of her hunger or the high BG?

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Yes, my husband accidentally deleted it when he added the spreadsheet to the signature. I'll have him add it back. I have a question about what to do when she misses a dose. My husband thinks that he shot the pm insulin out the other side of her skin tonight. Not 100% sure because it's hard to tell because of the fur. Her blood ketone test tonight was 1.4 which is still safe for her but I had it down to 0.6 last week. I gave her a couple syringes of water tonight since I think the shot might have been missed. Should I get more water into her? Also, I'm trying to get more night BG tests in. I did one last night at +6. I'll try to get another in tonight. She has pretty high BG today. Can we increase the insulin yet? Also, she was just treated for roundworm, she threw up some grass I let her eat last week and I found some parasites in her vomit. I'm wondering if that was contributing to some of her hunger or the high BG?

If you. Think she got a fur shot can you put in the SS next to where you wrote 3 units..F/S. Then we will know. Get a +3 tonight and that might tell us if she got the fur shot. It happens..so don’t worry...but I would give her some more water and food. Never give another dose if you think you gave a fur shot.

I’d like to see some more tests in during the cycles if you can before increasing the dose although we need to keep an eye on the ketones. Did she ever have ketones?

 

[dwildha]

Thank you, I'll update the chart with F/S! Good to know. Yes, we know never to re-shoot if there's a fur shot. I will keep testing and I'll get that +3 tonight. She was in DKA and hospitalized for a total of 9 days so she definitely had ketones. I've been using the blood ketone test at home and tonight she is at 1.4 on the ketone meter. Her ketone results are in the comments on her spreadsheet. I've only got about 4 of those tests so far. Won't giving her more food tonight make her BG go higher and doesn't that also make ketones? I'll give more water and a snack for sure!

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Thank you, I'll update the chart with F/S! Good to know. Yes, we know never to re-shoot if there's a fur shot. I will keep testing and I'll get that +3 tonight. She was in DKA and hospitalized for a total of 9 days so she definitely had ketones. I've been using the blood ketone test at home and tonight she is at 1.4 on the ketone meter. Her ketone results are in the comments on her spreadsheet. I've only got about 4 of those tests so far. Won't giving her more food tonight make her BG go higher and doesn't that also make ketones? I'll give more water and a snack for sure!

Food prevents ketones so give more food.
Can you make sure the DKA information is in her signature please so we can see at a glance.
I think maybe we should increase the dose then in the morning to 3.25 units seeing she had DKA so recently. Are you able to monitor the cycles during the day if we increase the dose? It is important she is getting enough insulin and enough food and enough fluid with the recent DKA

 

[dwildha]

Thank you for helping us get our stuff together! It's definitely been a challenge and we appreciate your patience and help! Hopefully the signature block is squared away.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Happy to help.
In the SS it says TR and the signature says SLGS.
If you are feeding all wet you can do TR if you can test a bit more. Really with DKA in the very recent past, TR is a better option as you can increase more quickly.

 

[dwildha]

Happy to help.
In the SS it says TR and the signature says SLGS.
If you are feeding all wet you can do TR if you can test a bit more. Really with DKA in the very recent past, TR is a better option as you can increase more quickly.

We will do what we must to give her the best care. Our poor tippy is hating the BG tests, but we are determined and we hope to dial in her dose asap.

 

[dwildha]

Totally understand! Lots of people are having trouble making ends meet! You can get a box of 100 syringes with half unit marks from WalMart for $12.58 but you might also want to apply to Diabetic Cats In Need. We're a charity that helps both low income caregivers and people who just need help getting started with the cost of treatment of their diabetic cats. DCIN has a Facebook page you can message to get more information!

Did you go back to 4U tonight? Tippy was looking really good at 2.5....still higher than we'd like, but at least nice and flat. That's exactly what we want a lantus cycle to look like (although we like it to be blue and green, but that takes time)

We will definitely look into this DCIN as we could totally use the help! Thank you again!