? 5/27 Punk AMPS: 324 +3 205 +6 186

[Amber & Punk]

Hi everyone! Happy Hump Daaaaay! I'm sorry this is going to be long....

I just joined this messaging board a few days ago. I currently work in the vet med profession so it took me awhile to get everything set up. Thank you to those who reached out on my first messy thread when I had no idea what I was doing. I finally have my profile edited so I hope this helps as well.

Since I do work in the vet med field, this is very frustrating for me to admit that I need some help with Punks dosing, especially since I am the "diabetes specialist" at work. AAHA accredited. He was recently diagnosed with IBD. Since then, he has been all out of whack. We did Heska allergy testing to see what foods/allergens he is sensitive to. Duck, venison, rabbit, beef, fish, potatoes, and peas. So switching to a novel protein is not an option. What we finally found that works well (no pukes in 2 months!) is the DM dry (I know...higher in carbs than what I would like as well) and 1 flavor of FF (chopped grilled feast). I try my best to curve him every week, but as anyone in the medical field knows, especially in these times, it's very challenging. Luckily I live minutes from the clinic and can run home on my lunch break to test and medicate.

I recently (Memorial Day) caught a significant drop on his +3 testing which would show indication that his dose is too high. I since then reduced by 0.25. I was wondering if anyone has any insights to see something I am missing? I do know that it can take up to 7 days to see decent looking numbers after a dose change. I am actually going to consider holding 2u for a full 14 days. I'm actually off this weekend and plan to do a curve Sunday.

Thank you in advance for reading my book

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Here is the link to your previous post, for continuity. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/need-some-help-please.230064/ And now that you've told us your area of expertise, no wonder he's doing so well with all he's got going on. We had vets and vet tech's here before. We welcome everyone. The thing that caught my eye first (besides Punk's cute face) is his name. One of my first mentors here had an orange kitty named Punkin.

Here we determine how to change the Lantus dose based on low the dose is taking the cat, not speed of drops. Some cats just like to drop fast at onset. The unfortunately thing about fast drops is that it can cause bounces. If Punk is one of those that likes to drop fast, we suggest trying to get some food into him a little bit before onset so he has fresh carbs to cushion the drop. You have to play with amounts and timing to get this to work. Of course, if he's a grazer, it's harder to do. Do you leave dry food out for him while you are at work? Have you considered using an autofeeder for the wet food? It allows you to make sure he has food at times you think he might need it. A lot of us use the Petsafe 5 model.

Dry food in the picture would mean following our Start Low Go Slow dosing method, and that means reducing when he goes below 90, which he didn't. So I'd go back to 2.25 units. If you haven't already, read over the yellow starred Sticky Notes. Most of it should be easy reading for you.

Thanks for the name of the allergy testing. I have an allergy girl at home and it's been mostly trial by vomit. Ever tried kangaroo? I am in Canada, and have access to all sorts of odd proteins: elk, ostrich, water buffalo, camel,.... Have you got him on a probiotic too? I found the Visbiome works well.

 

[Amber & Punk]

Here is the link to your previous post, for continuity. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/need-some-help-please.230064/ And now that you've told us your area of expertise, no wonder he's doing so well with all he's got going on. We had vets and vet tech's here before. We welcome everyone. The thing that caught my eye first (besides Punk's cute face) is his name. One of my first mentors here had an orange kitty named Punkin.

Here we determine how to change the Lantus dose based on low the dose is taking the cat, not speed of drops. Some cats just like to drop fast at onset. The unfortunately thing about fast drops is that it can cause bounces. If Punk is one of those that likes to drop fast, we suggest trying to get some food into him a little bit before onset so he has fresh carbs to cushion the drop. You have to play with amounts and timing to get this to work. Of course, if he's a grazer, it's harder to do. Do you leave dry food out for him while you are at work? Have you considered using an autofeeder for the wet food? It allows you to make sure he has food at times you think he might need it. A lot of us use the Petsafe 5 model.

Dry food in the picture would mean following our Start Low Go Slow dosing method, and that means reducing when he goes below 90, which he didn't. So I'd go back to 2.25 units. If you haven't already, read over the yellow starred Sticky Notes. Most of it should be easy reading for you.

Thanks for the name of the allergy testing. I have an allergy girl at home and it's been mostly trial by vomit. Ever tried kangaroo? I am in Canada, and have access to all sorts of odd proteins: elk, ostrich, water buffalo, camel,.... Have you got him on a probiotic too? I found the Visbiome works well.

Let me see if I can answer all your questions.

I dont usually tell people my profession as I get bogged down easily with the millions of emails/messages/texts. Thats why I'm so frustrated with this! He just won't stop bouncing around.

He has a microchip feeder. Him and his "brother" both do. So he is free to graze while we're away at work. Which is nice since I work long hours. He gets a can and 1/8 cup of dry for breakfast, whatever he doesnt finish gets left in his feeder. When I come home on lunch, he gets a fresh can left in his feeder.

I havent tried kangaroo with him. Its not readily available here unless its the royal canin. And its over 35% carbs.

And for a probiotic, he gets proviable. Hes on the b12 injections not for neuropathy, he has a b12 deficeny.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

The "cure" for bouncing, is for Punk to spend lots of time at normal BG numbers. Only when they get used to lower numbers do they stop bouncing as much. Even then there are cats that just seem to bounce forever. He's also more complicated with all the other conditions causing some insulin resistance.

Koha makes a low carb kangaroo pate.

One other thought to throw out there, quite a few bouncy cats get flatter when switched to Levemir. My Neko did. The onset and nadir are a couple hours later, so that has to work into your schedule, it doesn't for all. And of course you can't always guarantee it'll cause flatter cycles.