4/15 Pumpkin AMPS 329 +4 275 PMPS 290 +2 264

Hi, I'm fairly new here like you. May I ask how old Pumpkin is? Your numbers are better than ours here. We may need to bump the dose as well. Wishing you and Pumpkin all the best!
 
Breelynne said:
Hi, I'm fairly new here like you. May I ask how old Pumpkin is? Your numbers are better than ours here. We may need to bump the dose as well. Wishing you and Pumpkin all the best!
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Hi Breelynne! Allie looks adorable in her hiding spot in your profile pic.

Pumpkin is almost 13 years old. It looks from your spreadsheet like Allie might be going through some similar things. I see Wendy is helping you out in your threads. She is much more experienced with this stuff than me, so all I’ll say is you’re in good hands with her!
 
Jacques and Pumpkin said:
Hi Breelynne! Allie looks adorable in her hiding spot in your profile pic.

Pumpkin is almost 13 years old. It looks from your spreadsheet like Allie might be going through some similar things. I see Wendy is helping you out in your threads. She is much more experienced with this stuff than me, so all I’ll say is you’re in good hands with her!
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Call me Lynn! I folded my bedspread over her when she was laying in bed :)
Allie is my Walmart kitty.. Saw her at about 6 weeks on the side of the road thought it was a squirrel...Nope kitten.

Your Pumpkin has beautiful markings. Allie isn't a big cuddle kitty, when she was a kitten she was but over the years she became very independent.

That is why I commented on your SS. Numbers look so similar. I'll send my vet her curve and let them know I'm going to up her dose.

Wendy has been her for quite some time. She has been helpful tyvm Wendy!

Nice to meet you and others here. New to this forum still learning all the features. Hope you both have a relaxing evening.
Good luck to you both on the increase.
 
Breelynne said:
Call me Lynn! I folded my bedspread over her when she was laying in bed :)
Allie is my Walmart kitty.. Saw her at about 6 weeks on the side of the road thought it was a squirrel...Nope kitten.

Your Pumpkin has beautiful markings. Allie isn't a big cuddle kitty, when she was a kitten she was but over the years she became very independent.

That is why I commented on your SS. Numbers look so similar. I'll send my vet her curve and let them know I'm going to up her dose.

Wendy has been her for quite some time. She has been helpful tyvm Wendy!

Nice to meet you and others here. New to this forum still learning all the features. Hope you both have a relaxing evening.
Good luck to you both on the increase.
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Pumpkin is a very independent kitty too, but she has a special place in her heart for her Jacques. I'm the only one she'll cuddle with, which is very sweet, but also means I get all the diabetic cat care duties.

Unfortunately most vets are used to cats that respond to much lower doses. The advice they give to take things slow makes sense when most of their clients don't testing regularly and only need 1-2U to start bringing the BG down. In those cases, staying away from hypo episodes is their biggest concern. Unfortunately they're mostly too busy to educate themselves on out of the ordinary cases. They're just a fraction of patients for a disease that only affects a small percentage of cats, so it's hard for them to justify spending the time on it.

I mostly stopped paying attention to my previous vet. He would tell me to take things slow, I'd say "yep, I hear you" and then I would go increase the dose based on the advice I'm getting here. I eventually got fed up because the dose got high enough it was clear we needed to look into other issues, and he either didn't return my calls or sent me emails saying "just keep taking it slow".

When I searched for a new vet, I looked at a lot of profiles until I found someone who mentioned they specialize in endocrine issues, since insulin and blood sugar are regulated by the endocrine system. Someone who specializes in chronic issues could also be good. The new vet I'm working with hasn't dealt with a high dose diabetic cat yet, but she's very motivated to learn more. We're finally starting to do the next set of tests so we can try to see what's causing Pumpkin to need such a high dose. It's such a relief to feel like I'm working as a team with my vet.

Hopefully you're able to test enough so that you can safely ramp up towards a dose that starts bringing Allie's numbers down.
 
Jacques and Pumpkin said:
Pumpkin is a very independent kitty too, but she has a special place in her heart for her Jacques. I'm the only one she'll cuddle with, which is very sweet, but also means I get all the diabetic cat care duties.

Unfortunately most vets are used to cats that respond to much lower doses. The advice they give to take things slow makes sense when most of their clients don't testing regularly and only need 1-2U to start bringing the BG down. In those cases, staying away from hypo episodes is their biggest concern. Unfortunately they're mostly too busy to educate themselves on out of the ordinary cases. They're just a fraction of patients for a disease that only affects a small percentage of cats, so it's hard for them to justify spending the time on it.

I mostly stopped paying attention to my previous vet. He would tell me to take things slow, I'd say "yep, I hear you" and then I would go increase the dose based on the advice I'm getting here. I eventually got fed up because the dose got high enough it was clear we needed to look into other issues, and he either didn't return my calls or sent me emails saying "just keep taking it slow".

When I searched for a new vet, I looked at a lot of profiles until I found someone who mentioned they specialize in endocrine issues, since insulin and blood sugar are regulated by the endocrine system. Someone who specializes in chronic issues could also be good. The new vet I'm working with hasn't dealt with a high dose diabetic cat yet, but she's very motivated to learn more. We're finally starting to do the next set of tests so we can try to see what's causing Pumpkin to need such a high dose. It's such a relief to feel like I'm working as a team with my vet.

Hopefully you're able to test enough so that you can safely ramp up towards a dose that starts bringing Allie's numbers down.
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For where I live you'd think I'd have access to great vets...not so much. Miss my vet of 30 years. Previous vet wanted me to start at 2 units, then I found this forum, I was lurking here and researching. Previous vet never even mentioned home testing! I myself have sugar issues and know better. I take pills and gave up a lot of my favorite foods.

I know there are a few conditions that can cause insulin resistance in cats but blood work is in my spreadsheet. Nothing really stood out to us.

Had a love bird a while back knew he was sick when I adopted him. Had a 2 hour drive to find an avian vet, they are few and far between.

Thanks for you support it means a lot to me. 4.5 it is tomorrow and if I have to I'll cancel my appointments this week and keep appointments for my Mom, that's what it is going to be.
It's great that you have a team that stands behind you and supports you and that you can reach out to.
 
Pumpkin faked us out again with that drop at +2.:rolleyes:
Breelynne said:
I know there are a few conditions that can cause insulin resistance in cats but blood work is in my spreadsheet.
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Pancreatitis, hyperthyroidism and kidney disease can cause some insulin resistance and show up in common blood work, but most of the other resistance causing conditions do not show up in regular blood work tests. They need special tests, which Jacques is getting done.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Pumpkin faked us out again with that drop at +2.:rolleyes:

Pancreatitis, hyperthyroidism and kidney disease can cause some insulin resistance and show up in common blood work, but most of the other resistance causing conditions do not show up in regular blood work tests. They need special tests, which Jacques is getting done.
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Good morning Wendy. I read about those....We just bumped her dose this morning, we'll see what happens.
In her blood work they did a Precision PSL and noted that Pancreatitis was unlikely. Her Thyroid was OK but she did have a UTI but I had that retested at a later date and an ultrasound done no stones, crystals or UTI. Her kidney readings were a little high but nothing the vet was concerned about at the time. I have to put that second urine test in my labs tab.
 
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