4/3 Abigail PMPS 245

[mdmnore88]

I am new to home testing. I just started testing Abigail. She is a trouble maker but I adore her. I have yet to get an AM reading on her because my husband spoils the morning. She is a daddy's girl and he doesn't like to hear her whine. 245 is last nights test before her shot. I didn't test again as I am trying to ease her into this. I guess every day I have a successful test is a good day and one step closer to getting her regulated.

 

[MommaOfMuse]

Yep every test is just one more point of data to work with. The really important test other than the preshots with Lantus to get if you can is around +6 (6 hours after her shot) to see how far down the insulin is taken her, it is those numbers that will tell you if the dose needs to go up or down.

If there is anything we can help you with as far as testing goes just holler got lots of tips and tricks.

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang

 

[mdmnore88]

If I am up at 11:30 tonight I will test her again. She usually gets her shot around 5:30-6:00. That is the interesting number. I remember when she was first diagnosed I took her to the vet to be tested 6 hours after her am shot. Then there were several subsequent glucose curves. Hubs is just used to the vet doing everything and he thinks I am hurting her. It's better to do everything when he is not around or in bed!

 

[morrieb1]

If I am up at 11:30 tonight I will test her again. She usually gets her shot around 5:30-6:00. That is the interesting number. I remember when she was first diagnosed I took her to the vet to be tested 6 hours after her am shot. Then there were several subsequent glucose curves. Hubs is just used to the vet doing everything and he thinks I am hurting her. It's better to do everything when he is not around or in bed!

I don't know about your vet, but mine is charging about 25.00 per test....so having them do my preshots would be way out of my budget.

Good for you for doing the right thing because its a lot better to have a tiny bit of discomfort now than to have her hospitalized for a hypo from too much or ketoacidosis for too little insulin.

For me, the first week was tough, but now it goes fast enough that she doesn't have time to complain. Although I do it backwards - I bribe her with a treat and then I grab her for the test as soon as she's finished. Also, no one eats in my house until she's been tested, so my other furchild helps nudge her along if necessary cause he is not one to have a meal served late

 

[mdmnore88]

YES! It is about $25 for the blood sugar test. $65 is the basic blood panel that they add on to the yearly exam. (if you want it) The curve was I think $200. So yes I am trying to do this all myself because the first few months I almost went broke in vet bills. She will get used to it I hope. And I am hoping that everything I do regulates her better. She is not sick but she is not perfect. You can tell.

 

[MommaOfMuse]

Well both of my sugarcats I adopted to keep them from being put down as diabetics...from this very board as a matter of fact so I had to not only get them use to being tested but to trust me too...How I did it was I would give them a treat first on the spot that I wanted them to come to, to be tested...then grab them, test, and hand over a treat right afterwards.

Now Autumn has gotten wise to this, she will come to be tested, grab her treat, jump out of range until she gets a second treat, then she lets me test, then immediately demands payment again... :lol:

One thing that might help with Hubs to show him how little it really hurts her is to test him or let him test himself...once he pokes his finger and sees that it is just a tiny little sting maybe he will be better about letting you test Abigail.

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang

 

[mdmnore88]

LOL I tested myself in front of him! He knows what a baby I am with needles. Seriously this cat (and all of them) is like a child to us. He turns into putty over her. She is a little extra special because right after we got married we were looking for a house. This stray cat waltzes into the house where we live now as we were checking it out. My realtor is a sucker for kitties so he said he would take her home. The cat was pregnant and had 6 kittens! Abigail was one of the kittens and she was born on the day we settled on the house. She was just meant to be from the beginning. I have always wanted a black and white Maine Coon and I got her!!!!!


What also upsets my husband is he had a cat way before he and I even met. Bastice got sick and we really just waited too long unknowingly. She had cancer and we went to a horrible vet who didn't even think to just run a blood panel. Now that we know so much about cats since we now have 4 and we have a super pro active vet. They gave us the second opinion on Bastice. He is just so scared because Abigail lost a lot of weight- not unhealthy scary but a lot since she was diagnosed. He just keeps thinking about how sick Bastice was and keeps referring back to her thinking Abigail is going to die any day. So he just gets scared so easily.

 

[MommaOfMuse]

Well if I can round up a couple of pictures of my two diabetics it might help your hubby feel better about Abigail...Both of mine I adopted as diabetics...Maxwell & Autumn are both big Maine Coon type kitties...well Autumn is more Maine Coon than Maxwell, Maxwell looks more Turkish Angora with a Maine Coon tail..lol



This is what Autumn looked like when I first got her, she wasn't treated at all for 10+ months after her previous owner knew she was diabetic, she didn't even weigh 6lbs, and was so dehydrated that her ears didn't even feel like kitty ears they were more like thin shoe leather. I gave her sub-q fluids at home for the first 6 weeks, and even 100ml didn't even make a hump on her back because her tissue was drinking it up so fast.



This is Autumn back in December of last year I adopted her April 28 2012.
She now weighs 14lbs and as you can see if very lovely and very healthy.

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang

 

[mdmnore88]

She is very pretty! Right now Abbey is about 10. I would like to see her back to 12. So this is the first step to get her weight up. I know that diabetics will keep losing weight but still feel hungry

 

[MommaOfMuse]

Well actually what is going to help the most with her weight is getting her dose adjusted so she can use the food she is eating. Insulin is a hormone that is like a key to the body's cells..if you think about it this way...you go to the store fill up your car with groceries but come home and the door is locked and you can't find your house key, you can't get in the house to put those groceries away...right? So while you can just keep buying groceries, if you can't get in to put them in the fridge or cook them, they aren't going to do you any good to feed yourself or your family, they are just going to fill up the porch. Well that is sort of what insulin does it is the house key that opens that door so the food can get in and feed the body. Without enough insulin the body's front door stays locked and the food just sits there until it rots and is flushed out by the kidneys as unused sugar.

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang

 

[mdmnore88]

That's what I meant. If the blood sugar is not regulated they tend to be hungry but keep losing weight. I love my baby I just want to see her better.