Ancient old timer back with new (temporary?) sugar cat

squeem3

squeem3

Member Since 2009
Hello! I doubt few people here, if any, remember me and cat_wings>o Squishy Merlin from a decade or so ago.

Civie Leroy went to the vet today (same awesome vet Squishy had) to get his excessive drinking and peeing and huge appetite and boniness checked out. Note: Leroy was diagnosed with IBD a couple years ago and the vet put him on prednisolone, the dose varying depending on symptoms. Current pred dose is 2 mg once a day every day. The pred also keeps his asthma under control. I know long term use of pred can cause diabetic-like symptoms and can induce (sometimes temporary) diabetes in some cats so I figured that's what Leroy had even though his urine did not smell sugary at all. I did check urine glucose at home with Diastix and it was between 1 and 2. The vet did another urine glucose test and blood work today. BG 263 at the vet's office, high even with stress taken into account. Urine glucose 3+. No ketones. Vet has started Leroy on Lantus 1 unit BID and has changed the pred to budesonide to keep the IBD in check but hopefully lessen the diabetic-like symptoms. We may have to use inhaled meds for the asthma.

Leroy also takes methyl B12 monthly for the IBD.

Fortunately Leroy is tolerant of me messing with his body so I have no problem taking his BG or injecting. BG before dinner and Lantus today was 253. I'd like to do a curve on him this weekend but it's likely too early for the Lantus to kick in. Plus I have 2 dogs I'm dog sitting for this weekend and Leroy is unhappily camped out in the bedroom with my other civie. Both cats are fine around dogs for the most part. I'll try to get at least a pre-shot BG this weekend just so I'm not shooting blindly. I'm using the AccuChek Aviva Plus meter. I think I got it from AccuChek a few years ago as a replacement to the old Aviva I used with Squishy.

Oh, diet is Vital Essentials dehydrated raw rabbit that is rehydrated before serving. So pretty low carb. Leroy's sensitive IBD tummy can't handle poultry, beef, or pork and there are some ingredients that cause an IBD flare up. I can't do homemade raw so this is the only commercial raw food that I've found that Leroy can eat without any issues.

Is there anything new about Lantus I should know about? It's been over 10 years and I haven't kept up with FD stuff.
 
I remember seeing some of your posts when I first started. Hello and welcome back.

Sounds like your awesome vet still is. I was going to suggest budesonide to replace the prednisolone. Neko couldn't take pred due to her heart condition and was on budesonide. It had no impact on her BG's. There are some small numbers of cats who it does impact so no guarantees, but we've seen a number of pred cats here do much better on budesonide. I have a current cat who had been on pred for over 5.5 years for her IBD (and small cell lymphoma) and still normal BG (antijinx), so it's not a given pred will make a cat diabetic. I wish I could get the Vital Essentials raw rabbit in Canada, rabbit is one of her allowable (and liked) foods.

Are you also giving probiotics. Visbiome is my go-to, it's designed for IBD. Also some prebiotics with that, such as psyllium husk powder. Both really help my girl.

I would think about doing that curve sooner than later. Or at least a mid cycle test. We've had the odd cat react strongly within the first couple cycles of insulin. Side note, I had another cat (Neko's non diabetic buddy) who once tested over 220 at the vet (stressfull visit) and 53 at home the next day. 263 isn't super high for a vet test.

As far as Lantus goes, there are several generic versions of glargine out there now, with cheaper prices. Basaglar and Semglee are two names, and one just called glargine. Actually I think in the US it's a lot more reasonably priced that it used to be. You have the 1/2 unit marked syringes again?
 
BG 243 this morning. Yes, I have half unit marked syringes. I'm not sure if the Lantus got in. Leroy has weird skin that doesn't tent easily (never has). I could smell the Lantus on his fur after injecting and a tiny bit of wetness. I might have to switch to 1/2 inch needles. The vet gave me a single Solostar pen. I'll look into alternatives if Leroy needs to be on insulin long-term.

A combination of the pred and stress from the visiting dogs is probably keep BGs high. Leroy oddly likes the huge black Lab more than the furry foot stool (cocker spaniel). I have done mini curves on him in the past when he was showing diabetic-like symptoms and he was hovering at 200 so just over borderline diabetic range. Both dogs are leaving tomorrow, one in the morning and the other in the evening. I'm back to work on Monday and won't be able to get a mid-cycle test done until next weekend.

I've tried probiotics and digestive enzymes in the past but they didn't make a difference with the IBD.
 
squeem3 said:
I'm back to work on Monday and won't be able to get a mid-cycle test done until next weekend.
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Can you get some tests in this weekend? Even a +2 to +4 (both AM and PM) would be helpful to see how the dose is affecting him.
 
Bummer on the possible fur shot. Where on his body are you trying to tent?

Since you last had a diabetic, we've been asking people to put some information in their signature that helps us help you. Including a spreadsheet of BG numbers. Details in here: New? How You Can Help Us Help You!

squeem3 said:
I've tried probiotics and digestive enzymes in the past but they didn't make a difference with the IBD.
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But have you tried Visbiome in particular? It's a game changer compared to other probiotics. Adding a prebiotic, psyllium husk powder, to my IBD girl also made a difference.
 
Welcome back!!! I’m sorry you have to deal with this again but Leroy is a lucky boy to have an FD-experienced mom. You were a great “Loose Lips” poster and Caturday Oldtimer. We should revive some of those!!!

We’ve changed things up a bit, as you can probably see, where we don’t do the old profiles anymore. Here’s a post that gives you all the up dates on how to do a spreadsheet and the signature block.

I also use Visbiome and psyllium husk powder. Adored Beast has got some great digestive enzymes and other products, too, which might help with the IBD.
 
I miss the old profile section, especially the one on the old original forum (anyone remember that one before Rebecca moved it here?). I've forgotten about Loose Lips and Caturdays:facepalm: Those were fun times. Are there any ancient old timers still here? Jojo and Bunny? Cynthia and Cosmo? I'll work on a spreadsheet.

I was using a Human probiotic (Renew Life, don't remember the CFU) and Optagest digestive enzymes, both recommended on a general cat forum where IBD seemed to be the most common health issue. I gave both a try for a few months and just saw no results. I left that forum not long ago due to the constant drama caused by the same members over and over again.

PS 238 so not much different from this morning. +4 261 so fur shot. I think the issue is the syringes. The vet gave me Ulticare syringes. I noticed that the insulin would leak out the needle as soon as I tilted the needle down to poke into the skin on his neck. I can get some BD syringes from work on Monday (same ones I used with Squishy so long ago) to tide me over until I get a full box ordered. Is ADW still one of the recommended online sites to order diabetic supplies from?

ETA - Leroy will be 14 this year. Not sure if that info is needed or not :) He's a senior cat who thinks he's still 14 weeks old because he bounces off the walls all the time:facepalm: Part of being an Aby...
 
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squeem3 said:
I miss the old profile section, especially the one on the old original forum (anyone remember that one before Rebecca moved it here?). I've forgotten about Loose Lips and Caturdays:facepalm: Those were fun times. Are there any ancient old timers still here? Jojo and Bunny? Cynthia and Cosmo? I'll work on a spreadsheet.

I was using a Human probiotic (Renew Life, don't remember the CFU) and Optagest digestive enzymes, both recommended on a general cat forum where IBD seemed to be the most common health issue. I gave both a try for a few months and just saw no results. I left that forum not long ago due to the constant drama caused by the same members over and over again.

PS 238 so not much different from this morning. +4 261 so fur shot. I think the issue is the syringes. The vet gave me Ulticare syringes. I noticed that the insulin would leak out the needle as soon as I tilted the needle down to poke into the skin on his neck. I can get some BD syringes from work on Monday (same ones I used with Squishy so long ago) to tide me over until I get a full box ordered. Is ADW still one of the recommended online sites to order diabetic supplies from?

ETA - Leroy will be 14 this year. Not sure if that info is needed or not :) He's a senior cat who thinks he's still 14 weeks old because he bounces off the walls all the time:facepalm: Part of being an Aby...
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Sadly, none of the oldtimers are around. I think Sienne and I are the ones that have been around the longest now. Yes, I remember the very first forum and then the other two we had in the interim which were versions of this one.

Hate to ask but if you could please do your signature per the post, it would be helpful. It saves members time from having to find it on SS and I doubt anyone will look at it there so, unless you need it in the SS, it would be fine to delete.

Were you around when we started dosing with calipers? It makes the doses more accurate. Even the BDs are off but I believe there are measurements in that post for BDs to save you some time. Yes, we still recommend ADW.

It would be great to put Leroy’s age in your signature with the other info.

Hope he comes down today! We look forward to seeing a new condo on him each day.
 
I remember you!! Jojo is long gone -- I'm not sure where or exactly why. She had been having some health problems and ultimately disappeared. I assume you're aware that Jill is at the Bridge keeping our FDMB kitties in line. Cynthia's Cosmo is also at the Bridge. Cynthia finished her PhD and moved back to Colorado. (She was my neighbor for a year when she was in Chicago so I hear from her periodically.)

Please let us know how we can help!

To reply to your question on Health, ADW is still a useful resource. Amazon now sells supplies and I don't think you need a prescription for syringes with them. (This seems to be something new so you may need to do some investigating.) Lantus is now in biosimilar/generic glargine formulation and is way less expensive than the original.
 
Link to today's condo: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/1-21-leroy-amps-267.285839/

Link to spreadsheet and profile is in signature.

Sienne! Good to see you!

Oh no! I was not aware of Jill :( So sad to hear about her passing. And Cosmo.

Didn't Jojo have a leg injury from an accident while walking a dog at her vet tech job? She was off and on the board for awhile. I hope she's doing well. She was a great resource.

Does the Lantus back up board still exist?

I recall someone starting to use calipers way way back to micro-dose. Has it become more popular since I was last here?
 
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Yes, I remember Jojo and the injury to her leg and how much pain she was in.
It was SO SAD about Jill!!!! :(
I think the back up forum was called LalalantusLand or something like that.
I remember you posting there. I don't think there are as many outages as before.
It's good to see a spreadsheet for Leroy.
 
squeem3 said:
Link to today's condo: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/1-21-leroy-amps-267.285839/

Link to spreadsheet and profile is in signature.

Sienne! Good to see you!

Oh no! I was not aware of Jill :( So sad to hear about her passing. And Cosmo.

Didn't Jojo have a leg injury from an accident while walking a dog at her vet tech job? She was off and on the board for awhile. I hope she's doing well. She was a great resource.

Does the Lantus back up board still exist?

I recall someone starting to use calipers way way back to micro-dose. Has it become more popular since I was last here?
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No, the back up board is gone o_O It was so useful. And we were all devastated at Jill’s sudden & unexpected passing on 9/28/19. Libby is doing well but doesn’t post anymore.

Yes I think a lot of people are using calipers to dose….not just to microdose.
 
There is now an FDMB group on Facebook. I guess that it sort of functions as a backup board. While the moderators and admins try to ride herd on what's going on, there's lots of misinformation due to the nature of social media.
 
Awww about the back up board :( I was going through my old FD bookmarked links and saw it and another FD board, SweetTalk, which I believe had at least a few other FDMB members on it and also doesn't seem to exist anymore. I need to delete the links that no longer work.
 
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