Baxter~First 100 days

[Jenn & Baxter]

100 days ago my life completely changed. My best friend Baxter was DX with FD. I am not going to candy coat anything....it hasn't been easy. It changed my life in many ways. I have made so many sacrifices, I missed spending the holidays with my family & passed up numerous invitations to different events. Not to mention lost lots of sleep. FD has been overwhleming, a emotional roller coaster and frustrating. Sometimes all three wrapped into one day.

When Baxter was DX on November 12, 2011, I was a emotional wreck & so overwhelmed. I cried for about one week & was scared to leave my house for about one month. I feared something would happen while I was away. Needles terrified me & I hated the sight of blood. I didn't have a choice I had to over come my fears in a matter of hours. Learning to give shots & home testing has helped me grow as a person. I spent countless hours reading & reading about FD. Trying to learn everything from diet & insulin to home testing. I wanted to learn anything & everything possible. It was so overwhelming, but I believe knowledge is powerful. I don't think I read that much while earning my college degrees. I still read & do reasearch because in my mind you can never know to much.

If I could sum FD into one word it would be frustrating. I would say this path Baxter & I are on has been frustrating since day one. I have chased almost every food on the market trying to find that "right one". Everyday is a new day with new BG numbers. Some days with fantastic green numbers, some days just recently red numbers. I never know what I am going to get. At times when I get the beep with the result, I truly want to pull my hair out. Baxter & I have been through so much in the last 3 months. Within the first 3 weeks of being on insulin, I had him off of insulin. The good feeling & excitement lasted only 3 weeks. Baxter numbers for some reason began to climber higher & higher to the point of needing insulin again. The pancreas teased me & my heart was broke again. Thinking back I won't change anything. I am so blessed to still have Baxter in my life. I have over come fears and learned so much. I still have hope one day I will be able to give Baxter the ultimate treatment....remission.

With all that said, I want to say thank you to everyone who have offered me ideas, comments, emotional support or encouraging words over the last 100 days. Without my FDMB friends I would be lost in the treatment for my best friend, Baxter.

Thank you my friends,
Jennifer & Baxter

 

[Ann & Scatcats]

(((Hugs)))

 

[Terwilliger1]

Jenn,
Thank you for your post. I really needed to read a message like this today. What you described about Baxter's first 100 days really resonates with me. I thought my Timmy was in remission, but her numbers have been going up the last few days. Frustration is a well-known feeling. This last weekend without insulin shots was the first time in a long time when I could sleep in, relax, breathe. It felt like being released from some kind of prison, and now it's over. More than anything I want my girl to be happy and healthy, but caring for her takes it's toll. I'm not looking forward to the vet appointment tomorrow where I will once again have to decline the prescription food and convince him that my new Relion meter will work just as well as the expensive Alphatrak I've been renting from the vet's office. Most people I know don't understand how I can be emotional over "just a cat". I hope we will achieve remission, but am trying to come to terms with the fact that it might not happen. Sigh. Now it's time to put away vacation plans, and get back to business. I guess you have to take this one day at a time, learn to breathe, and give lots of hugs and kisses to your sugarcat.

 

[Hope + (((Baby)))GA]

Great post, Jenn and Baxter is gorgeous. FD is life altering, to a degree, but so is not treating and losing them. IMHO, I feel too many newbies come on, read, learn, educate themselves but at the same time they also see many cats going OTJ....some of them very quickly....and they read that and get frustrated because it is not happening with their kitty. I feel that every newbie that finds this board and learns about FD to help their kitty is already doing a great job.....changing to wet.......learning to hometest.......but they should go into it as a life long obligation to their kitty because their cat may need insulin for the rest of its life and IF remission should happen, raise the flag and thank God because it is a gift. I've seen so many try so hard for remission and forget to look at the whole picture....their cat is alive, playing, back to a normal life of being a cat and enjoying life. Mishka has been getting insulin for over 8+ years....doesn't matter to me....she is living a great life and I am so thankful for all I have learned over the years from this board that Mishka is just fine. Vinnie....lucky him...went into remission after only about 2-3 shots of insulin a food change.....doesn't mean he won't need insulin down the road. Hope.....remission after 4 1/2 years but not because of anything I did or the insulin....we feel it was her Restrictive Cardiomyopathy that caused the remission but not sure. Because of her not needing insulin I was able to get her in for a complete workup and her RCM was discovered. If she had not been diabetic, I would never have know anything was wrong and by the time it showed it may have been too late. We caught it early on and 5 years later Hope is fine....no insulin still but heart meds, etc.

Bottom line, hope for remission.....may happen....but if it doesn't, you still have a healthy and happy kitty who just happens to need insulin.

 

[hmjohnston]

Thank you Jenn-

Sneakers was DX just a week after Baxter- so hard to believe it a 100 days have passed! If I could get Sneakers used to riding in the car I could take her on vacations with me :lol: . I don't hardly ever go far.

 

[Grayson & Lu]

I think we all can relate to that sense of frustration you describe. We're all there with you, as every day is a different number.

Jenn,
Most people I know don't understand how I can be emotional over "just a cat".

I think it's safe to say thatthe friends of pretty much everyone on this board don't know half of the hoops we jump through for our pets, (all the things you've outlined, especially the sleepless nights and 3 am alarm settings!) and how much closer this interaction has brought us to them. But I'm sure we all feel strongly that we will do whatever we can for our babies. That's the role we are intended to play, isn't it? Do your best - no one can expect more than that!

If I could get Sneakers used to riding in the car I could take her on vacations with me :lol: . .

I think we all need to follow Kim's example and train the cat to ride with us! (litter box on the floor, cooler behind the seat w/ insulin in it!) I'm sure Grayson will enjoy a 20 hour drive to grandma's house w/ 2 overly-excited dogs and me! ...or maybe not! :lol:

Congrats on making it through the first 100! Although we'd all like to see "the falls", I'll settle for a happy, healthy cat with a condition that was diagnosable and is treatable. Anything more than that [remission] is icing on the cake!

 

[Traci and Boomer]

Wow, what a cool post Jenn. FD is life changing, that's for sure. I've had 2 diabetics. Calvin was my first - 2003 - before I knew about home testing-the vet didn't either. I shot him blind with the only insulin available Humulin N. Poor Calv. I could have done better for him if I only knew.

Then Boomer, my young little 3 year old flame point Siamese who was sick with everything since he was a kitten. I actually got him OTJ on Lantus. While Boomer had FD, my Mom's cat Francis was diagnosed with it too! She didn't have a computer (and lives in a different state than me) so I posted her for her and we both learned everything about diabetes and using Lantus. We became closer too. I actually enjoyed our diabetes talks. We changed foods, learned to home test, set up our spreadsheets, she fought with her vet over home testing. Her vet told her to start Francis on whatever dose (can't remember) and NOT to home test and to bring him back to the vet in two weeks. He had a hypo on his very first shot. This board - through me posting and then calling her - got him through a 24 hour hypo. If she hadn't had this board he would have died. Fast forward, Francis went OTJ and then Boomer did. I can't say enough about Lantus and the help I got from the Lantus group. I could cry now thinking about it. I've since lost Boomer from an array of other health issues, but not FD. My mom's cat Francis has been OTJ for well over a year - maybe close to two.

The one thing that is different between my experience and yours is Boomers numbers were never all over the place. He was regulated pretty quickly and his numbers continually went down over time. I don't know if that has anything to do with the Lantus or not...but I am a die hard Lantus freak...have you ever considered looking into it? There's a protocol to follow and the people in the Lantus group are very knowledgeable and helpful.

I love this board too. It's a great place to talk to people who love their pets as much as I do with no judgement. I need that. Even though I haven't had a diabetic in a couple years, I still have cat issues and this is the best place for help, isn't it?

 

[nwnews]

HI Jenn, I think we came in around the same time and it is hard to believe its been 100 days. Like you I cried when Sitka was diagnosed with diabetes and felt like maybe her time was coming. However she has been a great about her testing and shots and I was lucky that she was easily regulated. My hubby says that I'm obsessed with Sitka's health to which I reply that its kept her with us for 19 years. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Baxter can get regulated so you can worry a little less. Not easy to do with our furbabies. Hugs to both of you. Jan