Confused and wanting reassurance/help

Status
Not open for further replies.

0246

Member Since 2013
Hi friends,
So as you may recall, Bubber is a 9 year old neutered Maine Coon, diagnosed with diabetes in August. He eats only wet low carb food and ultralow carb food, and is using Lantus. We monitor his BGs and are using a ReliOn Confirm monitor. He is on his 9th day of being treated for a UTI, and his symptoms of that infection have resolved. He is acting normal and his 5 P's are all normal. He is not and has not ever spilled ketones in his urine.

His SS is linked in my signature, and we just bumped his Lantus to 1.25 units BID, because his PS BGs were pretty high and he was remaining pretty flat, no real curves to his numbers overall (I have been somewhat limited in my ability to check midday/midnight numbers, for various really good reasons that don't have anything to do with him). I know that the ideal is to hold a new dose for 3 days (6 doses total) and reassess based on nadir, with some consideration to AM and PM PS BGs. Given this, and his really pretty high numbers, he would be due for a dose increase to 1.5 BID starting tomorrow morning. I will not be able to do a midday check at all tomorrow; I should be able to do a +3 or +4 tomorrow night after his PM dose.

I'm wondering if part of the reason behind his persistently high numbers is that he eats kind of all the time. For a cat his size, he needs to eat at least 3.5 cans of Fancy Feast per day, and he isn't one to eat a whole can at a time three times a day. Instead, he eats and then leaves and then eats some more a couple hours later ... there is always food down and he probably eats every 2-3-4 hours. I am overall happy with this, because he is maintaining his weight (it was free falling for a bit, and that was very concerning to the vet, and to us). However, is this what's screwing with our BGs and making them look wonky? It is all low and ultralow carb food but it's going to metabolize and raise things somewhat. How to manage this? I've read some people don't feed for two hours before testing an AMPS and PMPS, but that's not really possible for us with our work and life schedules.

I guess I'm just looking for some help -- does this seem right? I had sort of expected some changes to his numbers, but I know that's impatient and maybe unfairly so.

Thanks for any help, this is such a fabulous piece of the internet. We are so lucky.
 
If the nadir is well above 150 mg/dL, it may not shift much for just 0.25 units increase. That's part of the reason the changes are small - so any adverse effects are likely to be manageable if it turns out the adjustment was too much.

You could try a PetSafe 5 timed feeder which will put out food up to 5 meals worth and can be used with canned food. He will learn how it works; initially, you'd use it when you're home to observe. To prepare for its use, you could start on a day off with mini-meals - put down 1/3 of the food at shot time, +2, and +4 and see what happens.
 
I doubt it - if anything you just haven't reached the right dose. Free feeding is better for the pancreas as big meals are a lot to process and can handle it.

However I am thinking you might want to post on the lantus board.That board has lots of very experienced dosing members on it and is a great sense of community.Since you are now up to speed with testing etc I think they will really be able to advise you better on dosing etc. I post there myself every day or two to get their eyes on my cats.

There is no rush to post there. I like to suggest that people go over to their insulin specific support group and check it out. Its important to read the Stickies at the top of the Topics section. Read a few condos posted by other members. Get a feel for how the forum works. See if you think it would be a good fit for you.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewforum.php?f=9

Here’s how to post:
Every day ( or as often as you can) you open a new thread/post. We call them "condos" (short for condition report, or the home you live in and the cat trees some people have)

Subject line: The subject has the date/cats name and BG readings i.e. 10/10 Tiggy AMPS 400 +2 333 + 5 224. You add a ? icon if you have a question. You should update your subject line in the very first post for the day as you get a reading, or whenever you have a question. For your first post put "newbie" also in your subject so everyone can welcome you!

Contents: The contents of your post have a quick update on how your cat is feeling as regards the 5Ps ( peeing. pooing, preening, playing and purring) and any questions and a link to your previous post ie : Today Tiggy was in a good mood, playing and eating well. But he is peeing a lot and his BG is really high. Should I increase the dose?

But you are always welcome to post here in the Feline Health forum for as long as you want.
 
I also don't think you've hit the right dose yet. You do have a big kitty, so he might require more insulin just to compensate for his size/appetite. He's also been dealing with a UTI, which might be influencing his numbers as well.

As for grazing, most of us around here do the same and, if anything, it leads to more stable BGs, so I don't think you need to change that. ;-)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top