Ceasar-newly diagnosed

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MalsGiGi

MalsGiGi

Member Since 2016
Caesar was diagnosed 1/2/2016 with a BS of 506. He had lost approximately 10 pounds so he is not obese and in need of weight loss. The vet says his ideal weight should be about 12 pounds and he was 10.88 at his visit. He was started on Novolin 2 units every 12 hours on 1/10/2016 per his vet. I am now feeding him strictly Friskies classic pate variety and Wellness Core dry food when we are not going to be home throughout the day for me to give him other meat only offerings such as tuna. I have now purchased a ReliOn Prime meter from Wal-Mart. He received his insulin this morning at 7:20 and I just checked his BS and it is 413. He is still thirsty, acting hungry all the time, and still urinating often. I had read they might clean themselves less or even stop and that has been true, however I have seen him a couple of times this week cleaning himself so that's at least one positive I guess. The vet has said that it may take at least a couple of weeks up to several weeks before I see improvement especially since he is on the Novolin and he says it is less effective in regulating their BS. He recommended Lantus, however that is not in the budget as I am in nursing school with limited availability to work and a limited income. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!
 
Hello and welcome.



reading your post one thing springs to mind.

I know that in the US Lantus is very expensive, however, a lot of the members here purchase it in Canada, where it is significantly cheaper, of course you may still find the cost restrictive, I just thought I'd mention it just in case you were not aware.

George was diagnosed end of October 2015 so being relatively new I have no experience of Novolin, but I have heard said that it is one of the harsher insulins, which makes it tricky for cats.

There are other insulins that might be more appropriate than Novolin but not as expensive as Lantus, I am sure others will wade in with advice on that.

I am going to supply you with a link on how to set up a spread sheet for Caesar (well done on starting home testing), we all record our kitties BG on these so we and others can access them easily it makes it easier for the experienced folk to help you if they can see their BG. You can see a link to Georges SS in my signature.:)

Spread Sheet Instructions

Hope to see you around.

Gill
 
Thank you! I have been watching this board and reading all I can to learn about feline diabetes. Ceasar has taken his shots and the stick this morning without any difficulty at all , so I am very lucky! With that said, I just need to figure out how to best regulate him. Thanks for the link to the spread sheet, I know it will make my life and the help from others much easier. I have been messaging with a very nice gentleman on here about Lantus and I feel I am just going to have to find a way to afford the Lantus to help get him better regulated.
 
Hi, welcome to FDMB! Are you home testing now? If so, would you please consider downloading and setting up our spreadsheet? It just makes it easier for all to see what's going on with BG and the insulin doses. It's also a great tool for determining dosage. You can give the link to your vet so he/she can monitor it, as well!

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

The Wellness Core dry that you are feeding him is probably a lot higher in carbs than is usually recommended for diabetic kitties. This can raise his BG considerably. We suggest 10% or less of carbs, in a canned or raw food. All but two of the dry foods are way above 10%, and unless absolutely necessary, we don't generally advise feeding dry food. The Friskies pate should be okay. Here is a link you may find helpful:

http://www.catinfo.org

and one directly to Dr. Pierson's food chart:

http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf

When and how often are you testing Caesar? We suggest a test/feed/shoot regimen; that way we know whether or not it is safe to administer insulin, as we are testing when BG levels are not food-influenced.

Novalin is considered to be a harsh insulin, as it hits pretty hard and fast. It will frequently cause a sharp, steep drop in BG somewhere in the +3 to +5 (hrs after insulin) hrs., with a gentler drop again later in the cycle. It is thought by some to have a short duration (less than 12 hrs). My cat was diagnosed in June of last year and put on Vetsulin, which is a very similar insulin with the same action and question of duration. I, personally, have never really had duration issues with it, but others have. I don't know why your vet said it would take a couple of weeks to see an improvement using Novalin. This may help you (copied from "Pets with Diabetes")

"When insulin is injected subcutaneously, it takes some time for it to be absorbed from the space under the skin into the blood stream and start having an effect. The insulin that is absorbed into the blood and delivered to the cells can bind (connect to) an insulin receptor on the cell. It's like a lock and key for a door. Insulin is the key, and the cell has a receptor (keyhole) that the insulin fits in. Glucose is waiting outside the cell trying to get in. Once the insulin fits into the receptor, the door is unlocked, and the glucose moves from the blood stream into the cell. The amount it takes for the insulin to be absorbed and start lowering the blood glucose is the ONSET time. For some time the total insulin activity will increase and cause the blood glucose (bg) to decrease. As more of the insulin is absorbed and starts to be effective, the total insulin activity gets higher. At some time the insulin will be at its highest activity. This is the PEAK activity time. The bg will be at its lowest (the nadir) as the insulin activity peaks. As the insulin is metabolized (used up) by the body, the total insulin activity decreases. During this time, the BG starts to increase again because there is less insulin working in the body. The total amount of time that the insulin is active is called the DURATION. Some people consider the amount of time that the insulin keeps the bg in an acceptable range to be the duration.

The rate of absorption (how fast) and the efficiency of absorption (how much) will effect the onset, peak, and duration of insulin activity. If an insulin is absorbed quickly and completely, you will have a very rapid onset and a sharp peak, and possibly a shorter duration. If an insulin is absorbed slowly, you have a later onset, a smoother shorter peak, and possibly a longer duration."

I hope some of this might be helpful to you. Please feel free to ask any questions you have, any time! If you need help setting up your spreadsheet just sing out, there are lots of folks here who can give you a hand! :):):)

Lucy
 
Okay I just added the spreadsheet (I think), but need to add the numbers to it. I just checked him again and it was 479....ugggg! He had a snack at 12:15 which was a few morsels of Wild Country meat snacks and just after the 479 I gave him some broiled chicken. He seems hungry all the time still. We have another cat, so that adds to the difficulty of this because he is healthy and they have always had open feeding with regular dry food. I guess I could completely take away the dry food, but because they had it at anytime before, I was trying to wean him off and the Wellness seemed like a better choice than Friskies dry. Also, is there any way to combine my posts? I somehow made two different posts and tried to delete this one, but now that it has comments on it, I just need to combine them or delete one.
 
Lol, I am so tech-disadvantaged, I'm certain there is a way to do this but I have no idea how.

If you are going to transition or wean to all canned food, yes, please do it very gradually, and be sure to monitor BG levels closely during the process! Kitty's BG can drop by an amazing amount just by coming off dry, high carb food, so you need to monitor to keep him safe!!! You may have to reduce his insulin dose.

I know how frustrating it is to have more than one cat who all have to eat the sugar kitty's diet, I have 4, and they were ALL kibble-junkies who were used to free-feeding. We still go through rough patches over food, right now they are all apparently on a hunger strike and I have to keep bribing them with treats and goodies sprinkled on top of their food (and no-carb treats are so expensive, especially when all 4 cats are eating them!). It gets crazy, I know.

Caesar may continue to feel hungry for a bit, especially if he needs to gain a little weight, but you should start seeing an improvement.

There is a way to link your spreadsheet to your signature (which I also invite you to fill out, so we can see pertinent information, i.e. type of insulin, type of food weight, age, etc) at a glance. To set up your Signature, click on your name in the dark blue bar in the upper right hand corner of the screen. A menu will open and you will see two columns of options. Click on "Signature", it's the second one down in the left column. This will open a box where you can enter information about your kitty, and yourself as well, if you'd like. And with that, I have just exhausted my repertoire of techie knowledge, lol!

Your Caesar is a very handsome fellow! :):):)
 
I have been mixing their food for a bit and now almost all Wellness. They haven't fussed much, but they are eating less of it than they were the Friskies. They were also prior to diagnosis splitting a can of Friskies each morning, but it was the ones with gravy. They haven't fussed about the change to pate. We are three weeks in now and I just tested for the first time today and both have been high. I have just left the house and should be back in a couple of hours. I will retest again before his shot about 7:00.
 
Ceasar's PMPS is 368 and I have just fed him half a can of tuna, gave him 2 units of Novolin, and taken up the dry food. When should I test again?
 
jayla said:
Hi! Just wanted to say welcome and reassure you that there are amazingly knowledgable people here to help you!
(I am just a cheerleader!):cat:
Click to expand...

Thank you soooo much!!! I can definitely tell there are many here to help, and for that, I am VERY thankful!! I just want to see some improvement in him and feel that I am doing something right to have us headed in the right direction. I know they say this takes time, and for someone who is anxious and nervous about the whole thing, that is tough!
 
At +3 hours this way you can see how the insulin is working for him. Also tomorrow think about testing every two hours again so you can see how things are working. It'll likely take more than a weekend to learn but the more data you have the better.

This way you can see how much the insulin drops. Yes the pre shot number is important but just as important is to see is a dose is likely to drop a fuzzy into hypoglycemia.
 
Ferndoc said:
At +3 hours this way you can see how the insulin is working for him. Also tomorrow think about testing every two hours again so you can see how things are working. It'll likely take more than a weekend to learn but the more data you have the better.

This way you can see how much the insulin drops. Yes the pre shot number is important but just as important is to see is a dose is likely to drop a fuzzy into hypoglycemia.
Click to expand...

Thank you! Unfortunately I have to work tomorrow so that wont be possible. I am in nursing school so most of my days are crazy. I will keep testing as often as I can and then the first whole day I have home I will test every two hours. I do plan to test before I go to bed tonight and I will post those numbers as well. Thanks again!
 
Hi again!
I was trying to see your spread sheet and I think you forgot to click "make public" I think that is the phrase…. it is saying need permission.
The people who give advice will be able to help you much better if they can look at your spreadsheet :cat:
Try not to get overwhelmed--I was a wreck when I first learned about my baby having FD but I promise it gets less stressful !!
 
jayla said:
Hi again!
I was trying to see your spread sheet and I think you forgot to click "make public" I think that is the phrase…. it is saying need permission.
The people who give advice will be able to help you much better if they can look at your spreadsheet :cat:
Try not to get overwhelmed--I was a wreck when I first learned about my baby having FD but I promise it gets less stressful !!
Click to expand...

Thanks for your encouragement, I definitely need it! I went thru the process of adding it to my signature again and it says it is public. Please try it again and let me know.
 
Welcome. Yes it takes time to see improvement. I'm a retired nurse (LPN). What year are you in?

I can not open you ss. Is anyone else having that problem?
 
Critter Mom said:
Can see it now! :)

Cesar's a dish! :cat:


Mogs
Click to expand...
Woodsywife said:
Welcome. Yes it takes time to see improvement. I'm a retired nurse (LPN). What year are you in?

I can not open you ss. Is anyone else having that problem?
Click to expand...

I edited my SS and changed it to say anyone with the link can view it. Please let me know that this worked.

I am in my senior year. I am in Maternal/Child and Community this semester and will finish next semester with Adult Health II/Critical Care.
 
:)Hello, and welcome to The Board! Ceasar is indeed a handsome fellow. Just look at him with his paws crossed, he looks very confident.:bighug:Hugs to you both for already doing such a GOOD JOB!

Everyone here is so helpful. Soon Ceasar will be perking along beautifully, with a nice low BG.

Again, Welcome!
 
So I just got home from work a bit ago. I checked Ceasars BS and it was 469. I have fed him half a can of Friskies pate and given him his shot. He has picked up on the getting his ear pricked and hates it and is fighting me with everything. He had no dry food today. He had half can of the pate for breakfast and a can of tuna today. I hate taking the dry food from him totally, but if it is hurting him instead of helping, I know he doesn't need it. The Wellness Core seems much better than regular Friskies.
 
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