2/21 newbie- need some help!

Kjensoc

Kjensoc

Member Since 2019
Hi, new here!!!

My sweet boy was diagnosed 2/4 and his BG was 569. After finding this forum (thank you)!!!! I bought an Accu-Chek Guide. On 2/11 I tested twice and his BG was 389 at 4am 8 hrs after insulin. And up to 399 at 4 pm in a fasted state. My Accu-Chek was faulty and I just got the new one mailed to me yesterday (2/20). He was at 124 last night 2 hours after insulin and eating. And this morning he woke me up and at 4 am and appears to be starving (he is eating far less of his new food). His BG is now 109. Do I give him moderate carb food? Still give him insulin? So confused! And what does AMDP mean?

Thanks!
 
Hi there and welcome :cool:
You landed in the very best place to learn about Feline Diabetes and how to safely treat your kitty.

Please check out the "New to the Group" sticky post at the top of this forum where you will find tons of info.

We are very data driven here so please set up a spreadsheet asap. Instructions are here
enter all data you have collected so far and link it to your signature.

How did you find out Simba was diabetic? any other health issues?
 
Thank you! When I have computer access I will start the spreadsheet. I've been reading on here all day so will start getting numbers to observe his patterns. I took him to the vet because he was drinking water excessively and I was having to change the litter box because of pungent urine in a matter of days. It culminated with him peeing on the carpet in my bedroom which was atypical. When I took him to the vet they ran the lab work and his blood glucose was 569. And that was on 2/4/2019. very thankful for this forum because the prescription food from the vet is too high in carbs and also included dry food. The vet started him out with three units of Lantus twice a day. He was almost 19 lbs. I see you have a lot to learn so I will dig it on that and look for a specific questions as I get better information. I do head out of town this weekend for two weeks so he will be staying at the vet hospital and they assured me they test his blood glucose daily and adjusting insulin levels as well as running a curve on one of the days. This is all been a lot information to take in. other huge factor is he loves to eat but he does not love any of the new low carb food so eating very intermittent so I definitely have to feed him more frequently than twice a day. thinking this will also impact the amount of insulin as we get his numbers were consistent. Thank you for the welcome!
 
Hello!

As you jump around you will see / learn many things. One of the main ones for Harley and I was that wet food low in carbs is the best for them. The vet we have tried getting us on a "low carb-diabetic" kibble as well - which still had far too many carbs in it. I switched Harley over to low carb friskies - which is pretty much any of the pates. He gets picky, about every other month he will only eat the fish kind, or he'll only eat the poultry kind. We've been on a month of the poultry and he is getting picky again, thinking of maybe trying fancy feast this next time.

Also 3 units twice a day seems like a lot to start a kitty on. I would certainly do spot checks throughout the day to make sure he isn't dropping too low and bouncing for you at all. Him being 124 only two hours after insulin could possibly mean he is dropping too low too Lantus typically takes about 5-6 hours to really kick in (nadir) so when he woke you up at 4am starving he could have been low and needing feed to regulate his blood glucose.

What works for some doesn't work for all - of course. But Harley seems to do best fed every 6 hours. For the lunch ones and the late night ones when I am sleeping I bought an $8 timed feeder off amazon.

Good luck! This forum is great and you will learn a ton from it and its members!
 
Thank you again for the response. I had the day off work today so I was able to test him this morning after his insulin. We are 3 hours after insulin and he dropped to 52. Right before the insulin he was at 228. So that does sound like a big drop. Does he need more food? He seems fine right now...
 
Kjensoc said:
Thank you again for the response. I had the day off work today so I was able to test him this morning after his insulin. We are 3 hours after insulin and he dropped to 52. Right before the insulin he was at 228. So that does sound like a big drop. Does he need more food? He seems fine right now...
Click to expand...


52 is quite low . . . with a human meter, for a newly-diagnosed diabetic kitty, and depending on which protocol you want to follow, it's probably an indication that his current dose is too high. (With the Tight Regulation protocol, a BG of <50 would trigger a reduction; for the Start Low, Go Slow protocol, a number below 90 would call for a dose reduction.

Please test him again to see whether he is still dropping; if so, he may need a food boost. If you have any medium- or high-carb wet food on hand, that could be teaspoon or two of the gravy. But please see where he is now, and the more experienced folks here can help you decide how to proceed.
 
Yes, please test again within half an hour. Do you have any high carb wet food on hand?

Changing to all low carb wet or raw food can make a huge difference in amount of insulin needed. Are you using syringes to give the insulin? I think you need to lower the dose. What food are you feeding now? What was he eating previously?

One other note, it’s always good to have a backup meter around. Lots of funny stories about cats using their tail to flick the meter into water, or meters being microwaved. :p
 
At +4 60- I just gave him some mod carb food.

Do I give him insulin or lower dose tonight?

2/20
124 +2 (PM)

2/21
+8 109
+10 100

SKIPPED AM dose
+8 249
PMPS 281
+1 296

2/22
AMPS 228
+3 52
+5 60

I am concerned if I completely skip insulin again his blood glucose will go back up again. I'm sorry I don't have the spreadsheet yet this is all I have will work on that. And I don't know which method I will or should follow yet...
 
Please answer my questions on food in post 7. I do think he needs a lower dose, but not sure how much.
 
What wasn't he eating??? I let him free graze on dry food. In the fall the vet was concerned he was overweight so we switched him to a weight-control science diet dry food. and I gave him and his sister Purina pro canned food which was moderate to high carb. And he frequently pushed her out of the way and ate most of her food too. he is not been a fan of any of the low carb food so he will eat but not even a whole half small can. I'm having the best luck with the friskies classics. Surprisingly the super expensive food he does not like at all. And he really misses his little feline greenies snacks. he doesn't mind the Royal canin glycobalance canned food however I am not excited about the carb count in that food. (How is that what is prescribed for diabetic cats)? And good idea on the backup monitor!
 
I just have the pen needles right now. I need to go get the syringes. Apparently people pharmacist don't understand and I didn't know enough when I picked the. up to push with the vet had prescribed.
 
Where do you live? Don’t need the city. Maybe we can recommend syringes for you to ask for. My local pharmacist knew more than the vet cause she has a lot of feline diabetic clients. :)
 
The friskies canned classics. I feed him at the time he gets insulin so between 8 and 8:30 a.m. and p.m. and I also feed them at 5 p.m. when I get home from work. he doesn't eat it all at one sitting and I've left it set out so he tends to come back to it and eats most of it. So roughly three cans of that friskies classic each day. And he's had a few of the feline greenies when I'm trying to feed him his little zobaline pill or coax him to get his ear pricked
 
Get a second one of the same monitor so you can use the same strips in both. This food list has a lot of the food available in North America, you want something under 10% carbs for low carb.https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

Try Walmart and ask for their Relion brand syringes. I believe they are all half unit markings. Or there is a list in the Sticky Note on Insulin Care and Syringe Info, above the pic of syringe markings. I don’t live in the US so don’t know them, other than the BD’s. I believe some states need a prescription for syringes, don’t know about Texas.

Instead of greenies, try a freeze dried all meat treat. Purebites is one such brand. Most love the freeze dried chicken breast. For feeding, it’s best to feed in the first half of the cycle after the shot, rather than later. A lot of people invest in an auto feeder such as the Petsafe 5, to provide food while they are gone during the day. Zobaline you should be able to crumble and add to food.

If you can get syringes by tonight, I would reduce to 2.75 units, otherwise reduce to 2.0 units if just have the pen, so you don’t have to skip.
 
I will! I head out of town so he is going to be boarded at my vets for 2 weeks starting tomorrow. They said they're testing is blood glucose daily and I know he'll be getting one curve. So I'll get the spreadsheet going before I get back. I do like my little glucose monitor app because the last two days I've been keeping track of his food intake and timing of insulin and quantity so I'll be able to transfer that over easily.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top