Blood Glucise high,,my fault? help

Status
Not open for further replies.
J

JOHN1243

New Member
My diabetic cat on 7-8 units twice a day loves processed turkey lately. His sugar wont go below 190 and rises rapidly over 400 by the 7 hour point or so. A light bulb went off and I read what the 0 carb processed turkey had in it. DEXTROSE !. Even though he gets a few bits of this I have a feeling that the dextrose in it is the culprit. dextrose I know has an immediate and prolonged effect on blood sugar in diabetics and even though he gets just a bit of this, I have a feeling that I unknowingly have been sabotoging his insulin. He is on diabetic cat food and was doing OK but this I am halting immediately. Any safe and tasty snacks I can give him that wont hurt?

give me some opinions on my probable goof.

thanx, JOHN
 
Many people use the HALO freeze-dried treats or Bonita flakes. Other heallthy options are boiled chicken (or turkey) in small bite sized pieces. Normally the processed deli meats are more of a sodium concern than they are a sugar concern.

Do you mind sharing the type of insulin you are using, and how you arrived at such a high dose? Does your kitty have other health problems?
 
See this for treat suggestions: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=445

Can you tell us more about your diabetic cat and what insulin he is on? 7-8 units of any insulin is very high for most cats.


JOHN1243 said:
He is on diabetic cat food
Click to expand...

Is that prescription food? Prescription foods are very high in carbs which may be one reason why your cat needs 7-8 units of insulin in order to keep the blood glucose levels at a good range. The dry food is worse than the canned.

People here feed their cats low carb canned food and/or RAW. Go slow with the diet change and be sure to test your cat's blood glucose levels often because a diet change will have a big impact on lowering blood glucose levels and therefore insulin need.
 
I do not understand how 0 carb turkey can have dextrose (of any significant quantity) since dextrose is a simple sugar which is a carb.
 
Hey John, welcome to the beginning of the learning curve!

This stuff is not rocket science but is formidable at first. Your glucometer and your reading will help you a lot!

Some things you have already figured out:

* Blood sugar rises fast after eating, faster after eating carbs
* Insulin lowers blood sugar
* Some low-carb foods are not really low-carb, and/or your cat's blood sugar reacts strongly to them anyway.


Some stuff to experiment with:
* What kind of insulin are you using? Some lower blood sugar slowly, hold it down for a long time, then let up. Some lower it quickly then immediately let it up again. Any advice on food and feeding would have to depend on which type you're using.

* How did you get up to 7-8 units? A normal kitty dose is between 0.5 and 3.0 units, though some things (like high-carb food or acromegaly) can require higher doses. Are you aware that overdosing often leads to a protective reaction that raises blood sugar even higher? (That's if it doesn't lead to hypo, which is always a danger!)
 
If you're confused by all the different answers you're getting about your supposed error, let me summarize -- everyone's right -- you are likely making several errors. Don't worry, this can be fixed, but do it carefully and watch blood sugar while you do. Some of these changes are liable to cause a steep dangerous plunge in blood sugar so watch what you're doing and change the most dangerous ones (high insulin dose and then high-carb food) first, while testing blood sugar frequently.

You haven't mentioned what food you're feeding but it makes a really big difference. The carbohydrate level in food can easily raise blood sugar fast and dramatically. Please see Janet and Binky's canned food list and look for the lower-carbohydrate foods. (10% by calories maximum.)

You haven't mentioned the insulin you're using but it too makes a big difference, as I mentioned before.

As Jen and I said, there's a very good chance you're seeing "Somogyi rebound" (check my link above) which will cause very high blood sugar that may be apparently unresponsive to insulin. Reducing dose will clear that up.

A quick summary of the stuff to know is at my post here.
 
If you do switch to low carb wet only then you may also want to reduce the dose back to perhaps 1u. If the BGs race off during this time then you may also want to be testing for ketones until you can get him regulated on a new dose.
 
Just to add some more treat suggestions:

If you don't want to bake, boil or roast chicken or turkey - you can cheat and buy a rotisserie cooked chicken at the store. You get a meal and so does the cat. Just be careful not to give the skin or any part that looks like it has the flavorings on it. (Which is fine, as I find that the tastiest part for me to eat). :mrgreen:

The reason I say don't give the skin or flavorings, is that depending on what your store puts on it, the flavorings may not be good for kitty, yummy for you - yes.

I also use freeze dried chicken - I buy the following:

http://www.kingwholesale.com/Shopping/i ... fm?id=5994

http://wholesalesupplementstore.com/liv ... reats.html
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top