2023-10-02 New Member Jason and Kona

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Jason - Kona's Dad

Jason - Kona's Dad

Member Since 2023
Hello friends! Jason here with my 11 year old, black, long haired American, Kona. My baby…

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She was diagnosed about 5 months ago. We started her on Lantus Glargine at 2U for a couple months and she's been stable with Mylan Glargine-yfgn 1.5U thus far. I have a check-up appointment in a couple months. I buy the 4-pack pens from Walmart, I think I pay about $100. I'm discarding them around 45 days despite not even half used, but adhering to the manufacturers note on 28 days, then discard.

It hasn't been recommended/needed by my vet to do a curve and I've never pricked her, so I guess I've been lucky. Here are some chopped up vet notes:

8/17/23 - BUN 37 (14-36mg/dL) Glucose 231 (64-170mg/dL);Urinalysis- USG 1.058pH 7.5urine chems: Protein 1+urine sedi: nsfMA: (<2.5);Fructosamine- 363 (143-373umol/L)

7/19/23 - DM panel:glucose 36 (64-170)Precision PSL 40 (8-26)Fructosamine 318 (143-373)- at 2 unit glargine BID (Advise reduce to 1.5IU BID)

6/9/23 - DM panel:glucose 319 (64-170) Fructosamine 554 - poor regulation- at 1 unit glargine BID

5/16/23 - initial diagnosis of DM Superchem: wnl except- AST 139 (10-100)- ALT 168 (10-100)- glucose 473 (64-170)- cholesterol 294 (75-220)- triglycerides 170 (25-160)

Diet is strictly Royal Canin Glycobalance wet food, twice a day on the mark 7am/7pm. 1 can mixed with a pinch of Royal Canin Glycobalance DRY food. I give her injection about 15-30 minutes after she eats, then give her the reward of another pinch of the Glycobalance DRY food.

It's been about 5 months, I haven't missed one injection and I'm feeding her on-point in the 7am/7pm time frame. I've been real proud with that accomplishment.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The reason why I joined the forum is to learn more about better food optoins. Kona on occasion, protests her sister get's the good stuff while she is stuck with her vet food.

I'm currently curious about mixing in Wervua Truluxe Pretty in Pink and Quick N' Quirky as those have been the wet foods I've fed both cats for several years. Looking at the nutrional specs, they seem to have the lowest carb levels from their line. I'm also intrigued about the low phos which I'm learning is a thing to look out for as well. I saw the amazing spreadsheet someone created on here and was some what dissapointed by the amount of carbs in Glycobalance.

I tried Smalls subscription about a year ago, before the diagnosis, considering that food again.

So, in a nutshell, I'm not all that impressed with Royal Canin Glycobalance wet and dry food and I'd like to educate myself on what might be some good food alternatives. I need back-up options if Kona protests the Glycobalance more. I just want the best for my baby!!!!
 
Kona said:
She was diagnosed about 5 months ago. We started her on Lantus Glargine at 2U for a couple months and she's been stable with Mylan Glargine-yfgn 1.5U thus far. I have a check-up appointment in a couple months. I buy the 4-pack pens from Walmart, I think I pay about $100. I'm discarding them around 45 days despite not even half used, but adhering to the manufacturers note on 28 days, then discard.
Click to expand...

You couldn't have found a better group to join
Kona is a handsome boy :cat:
Tyler has been in remission since 1-24-21 with me taking the advice from the experienced members here (knock on wood)
In my opinion they know more than most vets know
Hi Jason ,Each pen will usually last you up to six months
Keep them in the fridge ,middle shelf
Do you have the syringes U-100 with the half unit markings, we increase or decrease by 0.25 units at a time
There is no need to keep getting fructosamine test every month
You don't need to wait 30 minutes to give insulin, Glargine usually kicks in @+2 ( 2 hours after shooting). 15 minutes is fine
What you need to do is go buy a human meter at Walmart and test Kona before you give insulin to be her BG number is safe to shoot, it's the only way to keep her safe and not going hypo

We do not adjust the dose by the fructosamine numbers or the Pre Shots,we adjust the dose by how low her numbers are dropping which is called the nadir
We test first thing in the morning AMPS ( AM Pre Shot) and then test again around +2 ( 2 hours after giving insulin and @+4 and @+6
Same goes for the first test at night PMPS and tests after that
I see her glucose was 36 on 7-19-23 , obviously she had a hypo

Most of us use the Relion human meter that's what our numbers are based on
Here is the link for the meter and test strips so you don't have to search for them
Relion Premier Classic Meter at Walmart for 9 dollars
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Premier-CLASSIC-Blood-Glucose-Monitoring-System/552134103

The tests strips are 17.88 for 100
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Premier-Blood-Glucose-Test-Strips-100-Count/575088197

Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up
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6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 10 or 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand not the lancing device
I find it better to see where I'm aiming
Look at the lancet under a light and you will see one side is curved upward, that's the side you want to poke with
Here is a video one of our members made testing her kitty
She's using a pet meter that has to be coded ,with a human meter you don't have to code it.
I have always used a human meter
VIDEO: How to test your cat's blood sugar


we recommend feeding the main meal before the dose of insulin and then giving a couple of snacks during all the cycles. A snack can be 1 or 2 teaspoons of low carb food. And if she won’t eat all the main meal at once it is fine to let her eat it over the next two hours. Lantus onset is usually about 2 hours after the dose is given so just make sure she has eaten it by then.
 
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Copied from one of our members
Unfortunately most vets do not know a lot about feline diabetes….they have many animals to look after and they all have different diseases and treatments. With a diabetic cat you need:

  • A low carb wet diet that is 10% carbs or under. Most of us use around 4-7% carbs
  • A suitable insulin such as Lantus or Prozinc which are long acting, more gentle insulins than the old insulins.
  • We recommend hometesting the blood glucose with a human meter…it is not necessary to use a pet meter which is expensive to run and is no better. It will keep your kitty safe and you will know how the dose is working for your kitty. Only testing every so often will not tell you what is happening in between those times and an awful lot can happen in even a day.
  • HELP US HELP YOU has information about the spreadsheet, signature and hypo box which you will need to be able to look after your beloved kitty properly
A word of warning though…don’t change the food you are feeding at the moment over to the low carb food until you are testing the blood glucose because a change over can drop the BGs by up to 100 points and we don’t want you to have a hypo on your hands.

The dry food is 23.5% carbs so very high carb. I think the canned food is 14%
But I would not do any changes with the food until you are able to test the blood glucose as changing the food over to a low carb food can drop the BGs substantially.
 
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With Glargine which I'm glad she's on it we have 2 dosing methods to follow.
They will tell you when you need to increase or decrease the dose
You will need to choose one to follow
I'll give you the link for Glargine so you can read all about it, please read all the yellow stickys
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/lantus-levemir-biosimilars.9/

Can you set up your signature, click on your name up top then tap on signature add the info
The signature is at the end of everyone's post in gray ,information about our cats
Once you buy the meter you can add that
  • Add info we need to help you:
    • Caregiver & kitty's name
    • DX: Date
    • Name of Insulin (do not include dose or frequency)
    • 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 see you saw our spreadsheet , I hope you will start testing Kona and set up the spreadsheet
Don't be nervous about the spreadsheet
About the spreadsheet
AMPS - means AM Pre Shot the first test you take in the AM ,you need to withhold food 2 hours before testing so it's not food influenced

Units is where you would put how much insulin you gave
+1 is one hour after giving insulin if you were to test then that's where you enter his _BG number
+2 two hours after giving insulin. ditto
+3 and so on until you get to PMPS - PM pre shot withhold food 2 hours before testing

+1 same as you do for AM cycle

We don't give times because we are all in different time zones that's why we use the + numbers

You would add any other tests after your AMPM and PMPS tests
To do this you look to the right and will see the word Thread Tools tap in that then tap on Edit title add your tests and tap save

In your title you would put the date, Kona then AMPS, the additional tests and then PMPS etc
If you need help setting it up just ask we have a wonderful member that will help you
Just ask
 
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Now as for the food

Foods for Diabetes and Kidney Issues ( not saying your kitty has kidney disease but these are great foods for them anyway, because the phosphorus is low

BFF play chicken Checkmate
Protein 31%
Carbs 5%
Phosphorus 133%

BFF play chicken & turkey topsy turvy
Protein 32%
Carbs 5.20%
Phosphorus 134%

BFF play chicken cherish
Protein 31%
Carbs 4.90%
Phosphorus 132%

BFF chicken & turkey tiptoe
Protein 31%
Carbs 5.10%
Phosphorus 133%

BFF chicken duck & turkey take a chance
Protein 32%
Carbs 5.20%
Phosphorus 152%

BFF play chicken & lamb laugh out loud
Protein 31%
Carbs 5%
Phosphorus 152%

BFF play chicken & duck destiny
Protein 32%
Carbs 5.10%
Phosphorus 163%

BFF play chicken & beef best buds
Protein 33%
Carbs 5.30%
Phosphorus 175%

Don't know if your kitty likes pate but here is the list of the BFF line.
YOU WANT CARBS UNDER 10% AND PHOSPHORUS IDEALLY LOW 200's OR LESS

Also

https://www.amazon.com/Weruva-Focus...cphy=9003521&hvtargid=pla-1796056536677&psc=1

I know you can buy single cans of the BFF I listed at Petco, Petco, to see which ones your kitty likes , the Focused one not to sure
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With weruva foods
You want the metabolizable energy profile percentage of carbs to be less than 10%, and the phosphorus which Weruva lists in Minerals to be less than 250 mg per 100 cals. So you have to look at two different places in the Weruva charts.


You can even check out the soulistic pates
https://www.soulisticpet.com/pate
When you click in one of the flavors then click on
COMPLETE NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION (link to page)
and look at the same two places like on the weruva site


Do you have your hypo kit set up in case she drops too low
Hypo kit
Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Beef Feast in Gravy 20% High Carbs

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Chicken Feast in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Turkey Feast in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Chicken and Beef in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

Good idea to mark the cans with magic marker how many carbs

Or any on the food chart. Doesn't have to be Fancy Feast just an example about the med and high carb foods
And some honey in the house

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-
11% -15 is medium carbs.

16- 24 is high carb.
fromThe Official Lantus, Levemir & Biosimilars Slang Dictionary


If you want to give him treats ,you can give these instead of the kibble you are using
Click on this link and look at post #6. Numbers are to the right
You can get any freeze dried treats ,information is there
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/brand-new-many-questions-3.255627/#post-2878703
 
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As for some of the labs you listed I'm going to tag Suzanne for you to take a look at them
@Suzanne & Darcy

Here they are Suzanne from Jason's intro post above
It hasn't been recommended/needed by my vet to do a curve and I've never pricked her, so I guess I've been lucky. Here are some chopped up vet notes:

8/17/23 - BUN 37 (14-36mg/dL) Glucose 231 (64-170mg/dL);Urinalysis- USG 1.058pH 7.5urine chems: Protein 1+urine sedi: nsfMA: (<2.5);Fructosamine- 363 (143-373umol/L)

7/19/23 - DM panel:glucose 36 (64-170)Precision PSL 40 (8-26)Fructosamine 318 (143-373)- at 2 unit glargine BID (Advise reduce to 1.5IU BID)

6/9/23 - DM panel:glucose 319 (64-170) Fructosamine 554 - poor regulation- at 1 unit glargine BID

5/16/23 - initial diagnosis of DM Superchem: wnl except- AST 139 (10-100)- ALT 168 (10-100)- glucose 473 (64-170)- cholesterol 294 (75-220)- triglycerides 170 (25-160)

Diet is strictly Royal Canin Glycobalance wet food, twice a day on the mark 7am/7pm. 1 can mixed with a pinch of Royal Canin Glycobalance DRY food. I give her injection about 15-30 minutes after she eats, then give her the reward of another pinch of the Glycobalance DRY food.

It's been about 5 months, I haven't missed one injection and I'm feeding her on-point in the 7am/7pm time frame. I've been real proud with that accomplishment.
@Suzanne & Darcy
 
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@Diane Tyler's Mom - thanks the immediate response with all the items I need to do or heavily consider. It’s overwhelming, not gonna lie, but I’m dedicated.

I’ll work on getting the tests you recommended, get the spreadsheet going and my sig.

My main concern is I leave right after I give her AM shot and don’t get home until 6pm from work, so I will miss a bunch of test results.

I see there’s an automatic monitor, the Freestyle Libre… that’s hardcore, but I like the idea.

Thanks for your help!!!
-Jason and Kona
 
@Kona
Hi Jason have you read the 2 dosing methods when using Glargine?
Since you are feeding kibble you have to follow SLGS method
Here is the link so you can read about it
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/thr...-low-go-slow-slgs-tight-regulation-tr.210110/

From the SLGS sticky
Starting Dose:
  • 1u BID if kitty is not on a wet/canned low carb diet
  • 0.5u BID if kitty has been switched to a wet/canned low carb diet
  • If the cat was previously on another insulin, the starting dose should be increased or decreased by taking prior data into consideration
  • Generally, shots are to be given 12 hours apart.
Hold the dose for at least a week:
  • Unless your cat won’t eat or you suspect hypoglycemia
  • Unless your kitty falls below 90 mg/dL (5 mmol/L). If kitty falls below 90 mg/dL (5 mmol/L) decrease the dose by 0.25 unit immediately.
After 1 week at a given dose perform a 12 hour curve, testing every 2 hours OR perform an 18 hour curve, testing every 3 hours. Note: Random spot checks are often helpful to "fill in the blanks" on kitty's spreadsheet. The goal is tunit
rn how low the current dose is dropping kitty prior to making dose adjustments.
  • If nadirs are more than 150 mg/dl (8.3 mmol/L), increase the dose by 0.25 unit
  • If nadirs are between 90 (5 mmol/L) and 149 mg/dl (8.2 mmol/L), maintain the same dose
  • If nadirs are below 90 mg/dl (5mmol/L), decrease the dose by 0.25 unit
I see Kona dropped to 55 @+4 , you should have gotten another test in after that
I think you started at too high of a dose
You need to reduce the to 1.25 units tonight , you will need to monitor Kona tonight
I would get a +2, @+4 and a +6 test in
I'm going to tag more experienced members to see if you should drop the dose to even 1 unit
You need to add SLGS to your signature and your spreadsheet up top

@Suzanne & Darcy
@ @tiffmaxee
@Wendy&Neko
@Sienne and Gabby (GA)
@Angela & Cleo

Ladies I have been trying to help Jason out, He just started testing and I think the starting dose was too high, Kona dripped to 55 @+4 today
I told him to reduce tonight and needs to monitor Kona , I have him the SLGS sticky, He's feeding Royal Canin Glycobalance wet 14% and a little if the Dry which is around 23-24 % carbs
If you can go through the posts ,since I was the only one that replied back to him , I just don't want to give him any incorrect information. I don't know what more I can suggest to him
He said
My main concern is I leave right after I give her AM shot and don’t get home until 6pm from work, so I will miss a bunch of test results.
I suggested getting an automatic feeder
 
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@Diane Tyler's Mom

Hey, thanks for the quick reply. I'm only using the Glycobalance kibble as a topper with the wet. At least 75% of her meal is always wet food, the Royal Canin Glycobalance. Sometimes, I can get away with not using the kibble at all as I use freeze-dried salmon or the gravy from the other cat's can (Weruva Truluxe Quick 'N Quirky) to help entice her. She gets picky sometimes and I have to try different things...

I'll check out the link you provided. Thanks so much!
-Jason
 
Kona said:
My main concern is I leave right after I give her AM shot and don’t get home until 6pm from work, so I will miss a bunch of test results.

I see there’s an automatic monitor, the Freestyle Libre… that’s hardcore, but I like the idea.

Thanks for your help!!!
-Jason and Kona
Click to expand...


What are your shooting times.
Since you won't be around until 6 PM I would buy an automatic feeder and set it for certain times to open in case she starts to drop low
You need to reduce the dose tonight , did you get a test in after that 55?
Just saw you did ,did you feed Kona anything to bring the BG up?


I see a lot of members use this auto feeder comes with 2 ice packs
https://www.amazon.com/Cat-Mate-C500-Digital-Automatic/dp/B01AUYLVU8

Extra ice packs
https://www.amazon.com/Cat-Mate-Replacement-Automatic-Feeders/dp/B091HTXNHR
 
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The dry food is 23.5% carbs so very high carb. I think the canned food is 14%
But I would not do any changes with the food until you are able to test the blood glucose as changing the food over to a low carb food can drop the BGs substantially
 
Kona said:
Hey, thanks for the quick reply. I'm only using the Glycobalance kibble as a topper with the wet. At least 75% of her meal is always wet food, the Royal Canin Glycobalance. Sometimes, I can get away with not using the kibble at all as I use freeze-dried salmon or the gravy from the other cat's can (Weruva Truluxe Quick 'N Quirky) to help entice her. She gets picky sometimes and I have to try different things...
Click to expand...

i have read that some will members will sprinkle food with :
FortiFlora -- a probiotic you can get at vets or online. is very smelly and cats love the taste of it.
or a little parmesean cheese on the wet food
 
Diane Tyler's Mom said:
What are your shooting times.
Since you won't be around until 6 PM I would buy an automatic feeder and set it for certain times to open in case she starts to drop low
You need to reduce the dose tonight , did you get a test in after that 55?
Just saw you did ,did you feed Kona anything to bring the BG up?
Click to expand...

I feed at 7am/7pm. I shoot in the time-frame of 7:15-7:30 depending on how slow she is with eating or if she is being stubborn eating and I have to add toppers. I'm usually able to wrap everthing up before 8am/8pm.

I didn't do anything for the 55 reading today, she naturally just went back up to the 74 after two hours. She tested 201 about 30 minutes ago, and I'll get in her pre-shot test around 7pm.

The automatic feeder probably won't work as her sister is greedy and would just eat her food. I'm always, always able to be there for her for feeding and shots 7am & 7pm. Since DX, I've only been late feeding her at 8pm maybe two times. I'm going to print the hypo cheatsheet and put it on the fridge and fully instruct my roommate on protocol. He can feed if I'm running late, watch out for or an event, but is unable to test or give shots.

My testing is going to be limited unfortunately. Monday-Friday, in the mornnings, I'm going to do pre-shot tests around 6:50am, feed at 7am, shoot around 7:15am, then go to work. I'll come home, do a pre-shot reading around 6:50pm, feed at 7pm, shoot at 7:15pm, then I'll only be able to do a +2 for PM. That's all I can do with my schedule.

Weekends, my goal is to get in as many tests as I can get in. Every 2 hours at best, every 4 hours at worst.

You're the best @Diane Tyler's Mom, thanks for sticking with me!
 
Kona said:
I'm going to print the hypo cheatsheet and put it on the fridge and fully instruct my roommate on protocol. He can feed if I'm running late, watch out for or an event, but is unable to test or give shots.

My testing is going to be limited unfortunately. Monday-Friday, in the mornnings, I'm going to do pre-shot tests around 6:50am, feed at 7am, shoot around 7:15am, then go to work. I'll come home, do a pre-shot reading around 6:50pm, feed at 7pm, shoot at 7:15pm, then I'll only be able to do a +2 for PM. That's all I can do with my schedule.

Weekends, my goal is to get in as many tests as I can get in. Every 2 hours at best, every 4 hours at worst.
Click to expand...
Will your roommate be around to feed her some snacks while you're at work?
You can't let Kona be without food until you get home.
God forbid Kona drops too low and a hypo occurs
If you get a +2 at night and it's lower than the pre shot you would have to set an alarm and test Kona to be sure she doesn't drop to low .
It's the only way to keep her safe. She should also be getting snacks during the night cycle ,
You should have reduced her dose tonight and shot 1.25 units since she dropped below 90 following SLGS since she is eating some dry food.
If your roommate is home during the day maybe you can teach him or her how to test Kona .
I'm really worried about her being alone with no one testing her

On a human meter, 50 is your “take action” number meaning it's time to intervene with food to bring the BG up

Can you please add SLGS to your signature also
@Kona
 
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Kona said:
Hey @Diane Tyler's Mom, I wanted to give you a quick update.

I got everything you said and started testing at home this weekend.

Still reading, learning... Thanks again for all your help!
Click to expand...
Well done! I’m really impressed with how you have stepped right up to the plate and started testing. Kona is very fortunate to have you (and no doubt you are lucky to have Kona as well!) Your cycle yesterday looks fantastic with all of those greens. I know this has been mentioned before, but if you are going to switch to lower carb food, Kona will need less insulin to avoid a hypoglycemic event. — and very vigilant monitoring would be necessary to protect him.
 
Hi Jason and Kona, welcome to the group. Congrats on the reduction to 1.25U!

Good to see Kona responding so well to insulin therapy with those numbers right off the bat, but also...be vigilant! A 55 on a Relion is pretty low number to see so early in a cat's diabetes journey so please please monitor Kona closely.
 
Hi Jason and Kona,
Diane has been giving you some good advice.
I would look into getting a chip automatic feeder where only Kona can get at the food. It is more expensive than a normal feeder but well worth the money. As Diane said, don’t leave Kona alone all day with no food. It’s important she has access to food during the day.
Also did you see where Diane said you need to reduce the dose to 1.25 units with the drops under 90 and doing SLGS.
And be very cautious swapping the food to lower carb. You must only do that if you can monitor the BGs very closely.

I notice you said you get rid of the insulin afte 45 days. Thee is no need to do that as it will last up to 6 months if kept in the fridge.
 
Yes. I had noticed that you were still feeding dry food (even a small amount) and that your sweetie had dropped below 90, so a reduction to 1.25 units has been earned. If you want to cut out the small amount of dry food then you could follow TR and that would allow for you to keep Kona in lower numbers (above 50 with target being between 50 and 120.)
 
Has anyone explained to you the importance of feeding snacks during the cycle. I did read the part where you are gone most of the day until 6 p.m., so on those days it would be really important to have a timed feeder (the microchip one that will only open for Kona -- since you have the other cat). The snacks during the cycle will really help to prevent Kona from dropping too quickly and will help stabilize blood glucose in general. It's a very important part of diabetic cat care. When you are at home, you could just give the snacks (of 1-2 tsp. low carb wet food -- or for now the Glycobalance if that's what Kona is eating) yourself. For starters, as snack at +2 and +4 are very good and possible also +6, but we try not to feed too much after nadir (lowest point in the cycle) because it can shorten the duration of action of the insulin (especially with the glycobalance being on the upper end of medium carb food.)
 
Diane Tyler's Mom said:
Will your roommate be around to feed her some snacks while you're at work?
You can't let Kona be without food until you get home.
God forbid Kona drops too low and a hypo occurs
If you get a +2 at night and it's lower than the pre shot you would have to set an alarm and test Kona to be sure she doesn't drop to low .
It's the only way to keep her safe. She should also be getting snacks during the night cycle ,
You should have reduced her dose tonight and shot 1.25 units since she dropped below 90 following SLGS since she is eating some dry food.
If your roommate is home during the day maybe you can teach him or her how to test Kona .
I'm really worried about her being alone with no one testing her

On a human meter, 50 is your “take action” number meaning it's time to intervene with food to bring the BG up

Can you please add SLGS to your signature also
@Kona
Click to expand...

SLGS added to signature
Yes, I will see if my roommate is able to feed a few low-carb snacks throughout the morning just in case we drop too low.
No, the roommate can't test.
I will look for the chip activated snack feeder. Her sister would eat anything put out for snacks, so I will check into the chip/automated device.
Yes. 1.25 this morning. Just posted 274 for the AMPS.
 
Kona said:
SLGS added to signature
Yes, I will see if my roommate is able to feed a few low-carb snacks throughout the morning just in case we drop too low.
No, the roommate can't test.
I will look for the chip activated snack feeder. Her sister would eat anything put out for snacks, so I will check into the chip/automated device.
Yes. 1.25 this morning. Just posted 274 for the AMPS.
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It would be great if your roommate could feed some snacks! Nice!
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Well done! I’m really impressed with how you have stepped right up to the plate and started testing. Kona is very fortunate to have you (and no doubt you are lucky to have Kona as well!) Your cycle yesterday looks fantastic with all of those greens. I know this has been mentioned before, but if you are going to switch to lower carb food, Kona will need less insulin to avoid a hypoglycemic event. — and very vigilant monitoring would be necessary to protect him.
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Yes, my goal is to eventually switch off the Royal Canin Glycobalance Wet Food as it doesn't appear to be the best. BUT, I'm not doing that for several weeks until I'm mentally prepared, have plans and backup plans, and notify the vet.

Thanks, Suzanne!
 
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Hendrick Cuddleclaw said:
Hi Jason and Kona, welcome to the group. Congrats on the reduction to 1.25U!

Good to see Kona responding so well to insulin therapy with those numbers right off the bat, but also...be vigilant! A 55 on a Relion is pretty low number to see so early in a cat's diabetes journey so please please monitor Kona closely.
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Hey, she actually has been on insulin since DX on 5/16/2023, I'm juuuust now getting around to monitoring after finding you all. Thanks so much! Yes, absolutely, will test every chance I can get. That's my baby!
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Hi Jason and Kona,
Diane has been giving you some good advice.
I would look into getting a chip automatic feeder where only Kona can get at the food. It is more expensive than a normal feeder but well worth the money. As Diane said, don’t leave Kona alone all day with no food. It’s important she has access to food during the day.
Also did you see where Diane said you need to reduce the dose to 1.25 units with the drops under 90 and doing SLGS.
And be very cautious swapping the food to lower carb. You must only do that if you can monitor the BGs very closely.

I notice you said you get rid of the insulin afte 45 days. Thee is no need to do that as it will last up to 6 months if kept in the fridge.
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Diane has been great! Yes, I'm going to purchase the chip feeder tonight. A couple of them. Yes, noted, snacks in the day.
Yes, reduced to 1.25 this morning after those drops yesterday.
I'm planning out the migration to the lower carb food. No changes so far, sticking with the Vet Glycobalance Wet Food until I'm fully preparred and have everything planned out.
Yes, thanks, I won't waste any more insulin. Got it!

Thanks so much!
 
@Diane Tyler's Mom I'm OVERWHELMED right now... thinking about how helpful you were my in my first post here. Even you if you copied and pasted some of the main tips that you normally do to help new members, I see bits of personalized notes you had for Kona that really helped me.

I want you to know I reffered back to all these posts several times weeks after this first post as I needed reminders on how to do things.

YOU ARE APPRECIATED! :bighug:
 
Jason - Kona's Dad said:
@Diane Tyler's Mom I'm OVERWHELMED right now... thinking about how helpful you were my in my first post here. Even you if you copied and pasted some of the main tips that you normally do to help new members, I see bits of personalized notes you had for Kona that really helped me.

I want you to know I reffered back to all these posts several times weeks after this first post as I needed reminders on how to do things.

YOU ARE APPRECIATED! :bighug:
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Sorry but I just saw this tag, Awe thank you Jason :bighug::bighug:
@Jason - Kona's Dad
 
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