10/16/2010 Spitzer

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BJM

BJM

Member Since 2010
Poor Spitzer, he was HUNGRY
You would be too if your BG was 56 - 61!
Yeah, I think 2 units is too much for him.

I put down food (there was some left upstairs, so he did have food available overnight) which he alternately gobbled, then came over and loved on me for the next half hour or so.

Checked in with vet's office; vet said re-test in 2 hours, after eating.
So @ 10 am, re-checked and he was a whopping 71 - 78. I put down some different canned Friskies to encourage eating, which he did.

Reported in to the vet who said no insulin today. Ya think?
She wants me to do 2 units every 12 hours for 10 days.

I'm thinking I'll keep checking him every 2 hours throughout the day and if he goes up over 200 by evening, give him 1 unit and keep checking him tomorrow.

Next: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/10-24-2010-spitzer-am-bg-36-71-45-166-48-242.28173/
 
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Welcome to Lantus Land.

If I may ask, was Spitzer's dose decided upon? One way of calculating a starting dose of Lantus is based on a cat's ideal weight. For most cats, the dose is in the neighborhood of 1.0u.

Have you recently changed Spitzer's diet to low carb (LC) food? I quickly scanned the Health board and it looks like you have recently changed to canned food. Thank goodness you're home testing! For many cats, the change to a LC, canned diet can radically drop numbers.

If you are getting low pre-shot numbers, especially ones that are in the normal BG range like you've been getting, and you are routinely skipping shots, I would definitely consider lowering the dose. I would also not skip getting tests - especially your PM test. If you've only given one shot since the PM dose on 10/14, it may be that Spitzer is very close to (or is) diet controlled. Please get some spot checks and a PMPS test (and some checks during the PM cycle) and let us know how Spitzer is doing.
 
So glad you posted here BJ!! Spitzer is doing very well today...and I am glad you are going to test him every two hours.
Here is a link to the Janet & Binky's food chart if you haven't already seen it: http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html

Feeding low carb (.10%) is recommended . If they do go low with insulin, we give them gravy form the High Carb varieties . 181%. and above. We use the gravy alone from thee cans so they don't get too full and we can always give them more if their numbers don't go up.

As Sienne, I am so glad that you are home testing. :mrgreen: You are welcome to post the numbers you get today here in this condo (thread) and please post the preshot number. You might want to get a +11 and post that so we can get an idea of where he is at that time, okay?

Please read the starred stickies at the top of this page...starting with "New to the Group" and come back and post any questions you may have. You are doing a GREAT job!! Keep up the good work!! :mrgreen:
 
I've only been testing since 10/14/2010.

At the vet, he was stabilized on 3 units, twice a day ... while eating Purina DM dry and wet. When he came home, I upgraded the dry IAMs to Taste of the Wild. When I tried switching to Wellness Core dry, few of the cats liked it and several threw up.

I eventually got the entire clowder (11 cats) on canned food (Friskies Poultry Platter, yes I read Binky's pages), making sure to leave lots out, over the course of last week.

I finally got a glucometer and began testing. I have omitted insulin 2 times in less than 3 days, so far due to exceptionally low BG, which is why I think the vet's recommendation of 2 units may be too much.
 
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Welcome to LL and you will find so much help here and I am impressed you got your entire cat crowd on wet I have not even attempted to do that and skipping shots is not advisable with lantus so I have to agree with you maybe the vets dose is too much plus you have gone off dry completely from what I understand and that can make a big difference in how much insulin a cat will need once I got Do Lou off dry his numbers improved right away good luck to you and many others will give you great advice :-D
 
Lisa and Do Lou said:
... nd I am impressed you got your entire cat crowd on wet ...
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With 11 cats, and leaving food out, I didn't see any way to do otherwise, short of adding more doors to the condo to separate spaces ... $$$!

Plus, I am not noted for neat! While the litter boxes are done daily, there is stuff everywhere. I'd have to move a lot of stuff around to bring in a contractor to install doors partitioning the living room from the hall and dining room, and the kitchen/dining area from the hall and living room. It isn't quite hoarding ... more like procrastination, inertia, and being easy to fatigue. And an unresolved pileup of boxes from the 20 years of undiagnosed medical stuff, which just aren't interesting to go through, now that I'm awake.
 
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Well, in the end, I think that canned is a better option for them all anyway. So, GOOD for YOU! :thumbup
It is great that you are into the testing...and for now, just think about those low numbers for a minute. By testing often and watching the numbers, you will see if the new canned food is making a big impact. Some kitties, not sure if Sptizer is one of them, can do so very well on the switch to canned alone and some no longer need insulin at all.
So, that's why it is important for you to keep testing. And you will always have that meter and that know-how in case you ever need it in the future. It is good to spot check even when they are not on insulin. so, let's see how he does today and let us know the BGs as you get them today and post the +11....
 
noon BG of 56 again

gave him a pinch of dry after the test (it took a few times!), plus reminded him of the wet food that was out.
 
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Bj..can you tell me how Spitzer came to stay at the vet office and what symptoms he had that brought him to this diagnosis?
any idea what his numbers were while he was at the vet's?
 
Thank you for those links! Good information on the background. So many vets, mine included, give us a prescribed dose and send us on our ignorant way. Thankfully, the forum here has been dealing with FD with so many cats so you are in the right place at last! Not sure if even the 1 un9it is too much...let's see what he is at +11....
Hope you are doing okay today...seems to me you are handling this very very well! Good job!! :mrgreen:
 
Pat's suggestion is a good one -- can you test and post around +11? I'm guessing Spitzer's shed is getting pretty well depleted and it's his pancreas that's keeping numbers down.

It sounds like you free feed. That's a good thing. It's sounding like the food is stimulating Spitzer's pancreas to produce endogenous insulin. This is a very good thing!!
 
Pat+Raja+Shadow said:
Bj..can you tell me how Spitzer came to stay at the vet office and what symptoms he had that brought him to this diagnosis?
Click to expand...
i looked through your threads, and didn't find the answers to Pat's questions. do you see a fructosamine test in his records? what symptoms did he have?
 
WCF and Meowzi said:
I looked through your threads, and didn't find the answers to Pat's questions. do you see a fructosamine test in his records? what symptoms did he have?
Click to expand...

He had lost a lot weight, was ravenous, thirsty, and urinating a lot - classic diabetes if I'd been paying enough attention. I just thought he was very active when I wasn't home. Plus his herpes was not well controlled - eyes very red, with chronic eye and nasal goop. There was a trace of "plantigrade stance" or not fully standing on his hind legs.

The pet sitter (and former housemate) knows him pretty well, thought he seemed unusually boney, and didn't want to wait a week for me to come home for Spitzer to go to the vet. He asked if it'd be OK to take him in and I said yes. It turned out Spitzer had lost 2.4 lbs between April and September. Whatever happened, happened during that interval.

No, to the best of my knowledge, the vet hadn't done a fructosamine while he was there. They were free feeding him and transitioned him to the Purina DM ... off the IAMs dry + Friskies Poultry Platter. They probably would have done better to just take him off the IAMs dry.

As of 2:15 pm, he is up to 94.
 
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@ +8 hr (4:15 pm) he is 94 - 87.

Got a good stick this time and was able to double test. Notice the difference between the 2 lines where I've done 2 tests at the same time. The variability of the ReliOn is 6-7 each time; I'll check the meter to see if I always put the first test on the top line.
 
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I wouldn't worry about double testing unless you feel hugely compelled to do so. Most meters have about 10 - 20% variance in their numbers due to measurement error. It looks like you are well within that range.

How about feeding Spitzer a small snack? If his pancreas is working, it will bring numbers down by PMPS. If you do, please make sure you have all food picked up (i.e., no more snacking) by +10.
 
He gets about 5 pellets of dry after testing, & there is canned food down right now if he wants to eat. He doesn't - he's sleeping peacefully.

The double testing is also because I want to be able to show the vet the numbers, with the variability, when I take him in next. They were pushing the AlphaTrack; I went with a ReliOn.
 
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Glad to see you made it over to LL, welcome! You're in good hands and Spitzer is doing great! I would lose the dry food, if he is close to or at diet controlled, the dry could undo all the good work you have done so far..yes, even a few pieces. Try some boiled chicken, a pinch of tuna, bit of cheese...anything low carb instead as a treat. Many people use freeze dried chicken, they LOVE it. Sorry I'm so adamant, but dry food is the worst thing you can give him.

Good for you, not buying the AphaTrak...unnecessary expense. ;-)
 
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