3/22 Aria

[Hope and Aria]

We're up to 2 units twice a day and still can't seem to get the numbers back down. Definitely has glucose in her urine. Vets results came back with a little glucose and he suggested giving her some food with a bit more fiber in her diet because one of her numbers was slightly elevated.(I can't remember which. It'll come to me.)

I'm going to try going back to the 6-8 hour partial dose that worked for us in the past when she's still in high numbers. Right now she's at +6.5 and still in the 300's (and historically when this high at 6.5 will stay steady for a bit, then spike), so I gave her 1 unit and will be able to watch her closely for the rest of the day.

On the bright side, nothing else in her blood work was wonky, so there's no underlying cause for the insulin not to be absorbed properly. I checked our bottle and it is nice and cloudy and I don't see any separation or floaters (although the label really does cover most of the bottle.)

Here's to hoping an increased dose will bring her back to happy kitty status.

 

[Gator & H (GA)]

You can add fiber to the diet if you wish, you don't have to feed a high fiber food. Note though [contrary to the normal thought I had at first about fiber] fiber can actually make any constipation problems worse. Fiber can actually be used to treat diarrhea in cats.

 

[Hope and Aria]

Any suggestions on adding fiber without switching foods? She's is a very picky eater. I'm so glad she likes FF Chicken Feast or we'd be out of luck. She snubbed the M/D when the vet tried to get her to eat it last year.

 

[Gator & H (GA)]

Well when I did it I cracked open some psyllium fiber pills and added it to the food. I forget the exact amount. It might have been 1/8th teaspoon. Here is something I found on the net:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5765071_add-ext ... -food.html
Though I would absolutely not use rice bran as it suggests as it is VERY high in phosphorus. So that goes to show how much that ehow article knows.

You can ask in the non-diabetes health forum maybe for more input.

 

[Joanna & Bix (GA)]

I'd find out what the mystery bloodwork value is. I think I have seen comments before (fr/Dr. Lisa?) about fiber not generally being the answer, since cats & people are so different & fiber is really more of a people issue. Without knowing why they are suggesting it, it's hard to know if it really is the appropriate thing or not. Guess I've gotten cynical, I used to just believe what vets say, now, not so much. I think I've also been told there is dry fiber & wet fiber (whatever that all means) and different ones work best for different things.

Sorry her #s are fighting you. I suspect you'll find if you can get her to stay in better #s for longer the doses will start coming back down, but that's just my guess. Hopefully shooting more often will get things back in the blues soon!!!

 

[Gator & H (GA)]

I'd find out what the mystery bloodwork value is. I think I have seen comments before (fr/Dr. Lisa?) about fiber not generally being the answer, since cats & people are so different & fiber is really more of a people issue. Without knowing why they are suggesting it, it's hard to know if it really is the appropriate thing or not. Guess I've gotten cynical, I used to just believe what vets say, now, not so much.

I agree here with Joanna and I really didn't say much but the recommendation for fiber is curious. To my knowledge there seems to be few bean on this board who give fiber. I'd find out exactly why the vet said what he said and do your own research on it.

As a note, there is no AAFCO recommendation/guideline for fiber in cat diets and my reading in SACN shows nothing about a minimum level of fiber. You can read page 21 here of SACN about what they say about fiber:
http://www.markmorrisinstitute.org/atta ... ts%20b.pdf

As far as fiber in humans goes as related to DM, it had been found recently that the high fiber diet is sub-optimal to a low carb diet.

I'm not saying your vet is wrong, just that I would know [for yourself - not just because the vet said so] what you are doing before you do it.

Hope, do you guys have a profile put together yet? I was wanting to read about your kitty to find out what you guys are doing?

 

[Hope and Aria]

Gator - I know I meant to do that, but hadn't gotten to it. I'll see what I can do in the next few days.

I'm going to call the vets again and ask for exactly what the numbers were.

I am going to TID for a bit to see if I can get her numbers under control. Shooting for 6am/2pm/8pm (8 hour window between each) and then she'll have to do a 10 hour at night. I took the old PZI sliding scale and cut it in half to start with, then will see how things go. Today I shot at +6.5, 1 unit to try and get it down below 300. Didn't happen, but the recommended dose was 1.75. Wasn't quite ready for that. I know 1 unit for her is like shooting water, but I was able to get her down to 247 before she shot back up again. And right as she got in that area, she came out to visit and have some food. Poor thing is bedraggled this week due to the ear goop they have me putting in her ears (she had some bacteria in her ears.)

 

[Joanna & Bix (GA)]

Ewww, the dreaded ear goop :twisted: poor kitty! I wonder if that is what is raising her BGs, infection does that apparently. I think ear infections are somewhat uncommon in kitties (?) did they give you any insight into possible cause? Or maybe she has something that is more common than what my cat had (which was from chemo/pred treatment wreaking havoc on her immune system).

Hope she is feeling better soon, and you get some good #s for her!!! She is very lucky to have you looking out for her.