? 4/22 Manny - AMPS 87

[PatrickMC]

Looking for some help in understanding our recently diagnosed Manny's numbers. He was diagnosed on 3/13 as diabetic based on blood panel glucose of 400 and fructosamine of 569. He did have an ear infection at the time which may have affected the numbers. He had dropped lots of weight, from 20lb to ~13lb. Since beginning treatment he has put back on a little weight and appears to be a healthy 14-15lb Maine Coon.

We are testing with the Accu-Chek Guide meter.

Manny's Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LyN2pnViewl7Ub7Yx5nBpUQl3JG0zTSaoL4TVhIscdU/edit?usp=sharing

I spent tons of time reading through posts and documentation multiple times trying to absorb as much as possible. While doing this we also switched him off dry food completely after struggling to find wet he would eat; Merrick Turkey Pate ended up being the winner he has yet to get sick of.

Based on reading the TR protocol and discussing with our vet we started him on 1U of Lantus on 4/8 with immediate drastic improvement. His BG bounced around a bit for 12 days and then stabilized under 100. You will see starting with the PM of 4/17 his pre-shot number being under 100 causing me to cautiously reduce his dose some.

The last 2 nights we have not given a PM shot due to low pre-shot numbers and inability to properly monitor him at night.

Is he just responding extremely well to treatment? Everything seems like its going -too- well. I considered skipping his dose this morning but I'm afraid to cause his numbers to rocket back up.

Any ideas or advice in interpreting this would be greatly appreciated! I hope I have not forgotten any important details, I never got around to an introduction thread.

 

[Erin & Scott]

There are cats who have gone into remission with diet change only; infection can also exacerbate feline diabetes. With those two changes, it looks like Manny has responded very well. I'll leave the dosage advice for someone more experienced, but it does appear that he's headed in a good direction.

 

[Ti-Mousse (GA) Pepe (GA)]

Welcome! Your introduction here is perfect and your spreadsheed is already setup. One thing you should add is your signature; to do it, go to the top right of this page and click on your user name. Choose signature. Write in yours and kitty's names, date of diagnosis, type of insulin and meter, illnesses, meds if any, your country, your time zone, and then save. This information will appear as your signature below all your posts and that way we won't have to always ask you the same questions.

I can just say your Manny is really doing well looking at his spreadsheet. As Erin said, infection and dry food can surely bump numbers up! Experienced members should join in to help you !

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Hello and welcome.

Which day did you stop feeding dry food? That would be an interesting note in the Remarks section of the spreadsheet. And yes, the switch to wet or raw low carb can make a huge difference. With most cats on insulin, we like to try to keep them on "some" insulin as long as safely possible, to make sure those pancreatic beta cells get plenty of rest and healing time. It would be interesting to try shooting 0.5 units tonight, if you have plenty of test strips, high carb food, and can monitor. Looks like you've been able to test until +4 most nights. Do you have an automatic feeder that can feed him while you are sleeping?

Note, there was a long haired brown tabby named Mannie when I first started here. You are bringing back many fond memories of him.

 

[PatrickMC]

Thank you for the input. We stopped feeding dry food weeks before beginning insulin hoping for a miracle and knowing it would be a challenge as both our cats have resisted wet before. With two Maine Coons, quality canned food is getting very expensive. We might look into raw to economize in volume soon. Dr. Pearson’s website has been very helpful in that research.

The comment on resting his beta cells makes perfect sense. We don’t have a way currently to auto feed but if I put out food before bed they tend to graze overnight. Thankfully both kitties graze.

I’ll get my signature setup soon. We rescued Manny from a local shelter a year ago. It was a surprise finding a Maine Coon with such a great personality there.

 

[Sue and Luci]

Welcome to the Forum Patrick! I see you're from Ann Arbor - I'm from South Lyon - have worked for the U for 39 years - now I work remotely - but the beat goes on. It looks like Manny may not be needing our help for long - those recent numbers are looking great! It's what we all wish for - a steady sea of greens...