Another newbie

Hi All!
I'm Doug and have two cats (Zac and Zoey). Zac was JUST diagnosed with diabetes on Aug. 10. It's been a crash course for me regarding diabetes since then. We've started the shots (Wed) and a new diet Wed. I've done a good bit of reading about it; quite a bit of the reading suggested changing the diet first before retesting BG and starting shots. My vet didnt' go that direction and it could be (?) because Zac crashed HARD into this. He went from being the life of the party to a VERY sick cat in a matter of just a few weeks (even though I'm sure this has been building for a good while longer than that). In any event - although he's not back 100% to himself - I would say he's 75% back. He talking again (he's a "chatter"), the life and spirit have come back into his eyes, weight is coming back on (right now I'm sure most of that is fluid gain that he needed desperately), his fur even looks better! I'm glad my buddy is back! Oh - he's 12 and an indoor cat (with an outdoor pen being built today.....he loves his outdoor time). He goes back for BG retesting on Thursday 8/20....but I believe I'm going to start home testing him to keep this thing in FULL check....hopefully!

Glad to be here!

 

Hi Doug,
Welcome to you, Zac and Zoey to FDMB.
You have come to the right place to gets lots of great advice and support.
For us to be able to help, it would help us to know a bit about Zac. Would you mind answering a few questions please?

How much does Zac weigh?
What insulin was Zac put on, What dose and is it given every 12 hours?
What food are you feeding Zac?
What country do you live in?

We strongly recommend you home test Zac. It is not necessary to buy a pet specific meter, a human meter is fine. When you tell us which country you live in , someone will tell you which meters are best and where to buy them.

We also recommend feeding canned low carbohydrate cat food. Prescription food from the vet is not necessary. Many of the canned foods from the supermarkets are fine. Fancy feast classics are low carb.
Ask lots of questions....it can all be a bit overwhelming at first.
We also recommend you get some dipsticks from the pharmacy to test for ketones in the urine.

 

Here is a link to home testing blood sugars
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

Link to food information
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/food-links.133016/

 

In his glory he was ~13-14 lbs., as of now he's ~11.3. The insulin is Lantus - he's receiving 1 unit 2x/day. The vet indicated she might go up - but didn't want to do that until retesting him (he will have been on his insulin for 8 days when they retest him).
He's now on Purina Pro Plan DM - unfortunately I didn't realize at the time of purchase that dry food ain't the way to go. Plus Zac doesn't care for canned food - but somehow I will be trying to make that switch (I'm aware of that one Vet's website and will be reading it in great detail). And I'm in the US.

 

He is on a really good insulin and a good starting dose so you are off to a good start.
If I were you, I would really try and get Zac off dry food. Dry food is much higher in carbs and is also very low in moisture. It is really one of the most important things you can do to help Zac.
Once his blood sugars get down to normal, he will start to put back on the weight he has lost.

I don't live in the US so can't help with the blood glucose meters. I think a lot of people buy them from Walmarts. I will tag a couple of people I know live in the US and see if they can help with the meter
@tiffmaxee @carfurby
Would you be able to help Doug please with buying a meter to test BSLs please. He is a newbie and lives in the US. Thanks.

 

The Relion Micro and Confirm from Walmart are popular. I use the Relion Prime, but I know some people have had issues with error messages. I personally haven't, FWIW.

 

Welcome. I'm sorry you have to be here, but this is a great place to learn about FD and take care of Zac.

Here is a good site to learn about food for Zac (and Zoey): http://catinfo.org/

I started off using the Relion Confirm from Wal-Mart. I switched to the Arkray Glucocard 01 meter from ADWDiabetes.com. You can get one here with 200 test strips: http://www.adwdiabetes.com/product/arkray-glucocard-01-blood-glucose-monitoring-kit_4045.htm

The test strips cost about the same for both meters. When I run low on the Arkray Glucocard 01 test strips, I can also use the Relion Confirm test strips in the Arkray meter. I can run to Wal-Mart if I need some before my order from ADWDiabetes comes.

I tried the Relion Prime and kept getting low blood error messages.

 

Here is a link to the test strips I normally buy: http://www.adwdiabetes.com/product/arkray-glucocard-01-sensor-blood-glucose-test-strips_4050.htm

 

I use the Relion Micro. It uses the same test strips as the Confirm and just a small amount of blood. I don't live near a Walmart so order my strips on line. Welcome to LL. We will help you navigate FD. I was hesitant to home test especially after I heard how my docile cat became aggressive at the vet's when the gave him his first shot and ran a curve. He was always the model patient. It turns out it was cage fever as he's still the model patient at the vet's and at home. It was being in a cage that upset him. He also drops at night and could have been overdosed had I not started home tests. You will have lots of questions so ask away and there will be lots of people here to help.

 

Welcome Doug! I am fairly new to FDMB myself and oh what a God-send these people have been. You are in the right place for all the help and support you could imagine. Zac and Zoey are lucky you are their Daddy!

 

CAUTION! The dose of 2 units was based on levels before the food change. It could be too much!
You must be home testing 1st, so you can see how the food change affects his glucose. Vet stress in the office may raise glucose 100-180 mg/dL. Changing to low carb canned food has reduced blood glucose from 100-200 mg/dL, and even 300 mg/dL in 1 cat.