Current status of Blaze & Star

[Divehead]

Good evening-

I haven't been on for several weeks. Here's what has been happening
with Blaze (my newly diagnosed diabetic kitty) & his sister Star:

I successfully transitioned both kitties to wet food. The transition was almost
immediate. They are getting one Fancy Feast classic chicken feast 3oz can
twice daily. No digestive issues with either kitty. One hurdle cleared.

Next was the purchase of the Lantus pens and needles. I was unsuccessful in
obtaining a discount, so I purchased the Lantus pens & needles and thought no
more about it. Another hurdle cleared.

I brought Blaze in to the vet for his 1st BG curve. The vet gave him 2IU @ 11am.
His BG fell to 120 by mid evening. He spent the night @ a 24 hour facility. His
BG fell to 60 during his stay. I picked him up the following morning. Scary!
Blaze returned to the vet 2 days later. He was given 1IU that morning.
His BG fell to 150 by early evening. Fortunately, his BG stabilized. Big hurdle
cleared! That was about 1 week ago.

I am currently giving Blaze 1IU of Lantus and feeding him @ 7am (before
leaving the house), and feeding him again @ 5:30pm (returning after work).
Star is on the same feeding schedule as Blaze. She has adjusted well.

First lesson learned: feeding times are critical! I came home late from work
the other day, so Blaze didn't get fed on time. Consequently, he was sluggish
all evening and the following morning. I skipped his injection that morning to
allow his BG to recover. Blaze will be returning to the vet on Friday for his
next BG curve.

The vet told me that Blaze's long BG curve and the small
amount of Lantus he receives may allow a reversal of his diabetes.
I will certainly keep this in mind. Right now I have to handle this one day
at a time. Stay tuned, and thank you for your support!

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Hi and Welcome to the FDMB!

Are you only giving insulin once a day? Lantus needs to be given every 12 hours in cats. Their metabolism is higher than dogs, so once/day dosing doesn't work.

It doesn't look like you're home testing yet either. We strongly support home glucose testing here. Always testing before giving a shot (to make sure they're high enough to shoot).
You can get a human glucometer and learn how to test at home instead of going to the vet for expensive curves that aren't really accurate. Cats at the vet are under a lot of stress, and that stress can raise their blood glucose up to 200 point higher. The vet see's a high number, assumes the cat isn't getting enough insulin and increases. Then you go home, kitty relaxes, and his numbers come back down to where they'd be if he isn't stressed....and that dose is now way too high!

We suggest at least 4 tests per day. 2 "Preshot" tests to make sure they're high enough to give ANY insulin. When you first start, the "no shot" number here is 200. If you get a Preshot of 200 or less, you "Stall", don't feed, and post and ask for help. During the AM cycle, get a test somewhere between +5 and +7. At night, we like for you to get at least a "before bed" test. Most cats go lower at night, so it's important to know how your cat's doing before you go to bed.

We ask that you take up food for the 2 hours before Pre-shot tests so that they aren't influenced by the food, so you may want to look into getting an autofeeder that can open at set times during the day where they can get a snack, but nothing after +10.

One other question...are you using the "dial a dose" on the pen with the special needles that come with it? If you are, we'll need to talk to you about getting some regular insulin syringes for doing your shots. The "dial a dose" is meant for humans who are on 20, 30 or more units at a time, so if it's "off" by a little, it's no big deal. With our kitties being on much smaller doses, the "dial a dose" isn't anywhere near accurate enough.

There's a lot to learn, and I don't want to overwhelm you! Please feel free to ask questions and the great members here will help to teach you everything you need to know to give your sugarcat the best possible life!

 

[Deb & Wink]

You've made some great changes with both the food and starting to give the Lantus insulin. Keep up the good work!

I agree with Chris about the home testing. We have some great links to how to tips for you to read if you think you might be interested.

How about making that the next step in your treatment of Blaze?

 

[BJM]

We suggest using an inexpensive human glucometer with pet-specific reference numbers. One many of us use is the WallMart Relion Confirm, or Confirm Micro, which is also sold at American Diabetes Wholesale as as the Arkray USA Glucocard 01 or 01 Mini (same manufacturer - Arkray USA). It uses a tiny blood droplet and the cost is significantly lower for test strips (like $0.36 each).

Comparing a human glucometer to a pet-specific glucometer is like reading temperature in Celsius vs Fahrenheit. Both are correct. You just need to know the reference ranges to interpret what the numbers mean.

[Glucose reference ranges are unsubstantiated and have been removed by Moderator]

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Examples of using the chart:

Ex. You are a new insulin user and you test your cat before giving insulin. The test is 300. It probably is safe to give insulin.

Ex. You are an established user of Lantus, following the Tight Regulation protocol. You've tested around +5 to +7 to spot the nadir. It is 200 mg/dL. You probably need to increase the dose, following the instructions for the protocol.

Ex. Your cat is acting funny. The eyes are a bit dilated. You are concerned and test the glucose. The number is 35 mg/dL. ACK! The cat may be in a hypoglycemic state. You quickly follow the HYPO protocol linked in the glucose reference values chart. (which we really, really, suggest you print out and post on your refrigerator.)