diabetic beginner

Status
Not open for further replies.
sengibous

sengibous

Member
Hi my name's Stephanie and my baby boy is Kale. He's a 9 year old Maine Coon who came into my life when he was 10 weeks old. The minute I saw those big yellow/green eyes I knew it was meant to be. He was the only one left in his litter at the humane society and was supposedly the largest one as well. He's 15.6 lbs currently. Yesterday he was diagnosed as diabetic. He's also on antibiotics to clear up an upper respiratory infection. He's on humulin N and is supposed to get 2 u every 12 hours after eating. After I post this I will be heading out to pick up a testing kit so there will be BG levels coming on my spreadsheet. Also will be picking up some Fancy Feast classic since he doesn't seem to like the prescription stuff at all.
He also has some edema in his legs and the vet said she heard a gallop heart rhythm although I'm a little skeptical on the latter because from what I've read that could be from stress from being at the vet.
Thankfully I at least have some limited experience in giving insulin injections and taking BG levels at least in a human. My grandma broke her arm last year and I gave her insulin injections and tested her levels. Giving him the injection isn't freaking me out.
This site is soooo wonderful. I never expected to find something anywhere near this quality of help when I started doing research. I bet even google search engine is glad I found you because I've haven't used it nearly as much since I found this site.
Now off to do some diabetic supply shopping! Is it sad that I'm excited that the glucose tester I want comes in pink? ;-)
Stephanie and Kale
 
He is a boy, he should have blue glucose meter :razz:


Welcome and so good you have experience in taking blood tests and giving injections already.

The others here will be ready to help you with all the questions you will have, as for example it can be a bit tricky at first learning to get blood from the ear. The others have plenty of experience and suggestions to help with that then.
 
Hi Stephanie and Kale, and welcome to FDMB!

A couple things to be aware of as soon as you get home with that meter...

Not sure what prescription food they sent you home with, but chances are that the FF classics will be lower in carbs. The lower carb diet will reduce his blood glucose numbers. So, it could be that the 2u dose may be a little higher than it needs to be. It will be much better to see that once you get a few tests and numbers in.

Humulin is a faster acting and harsher insulin than most of us use. Some vets prescribe it, but it's better when used on dogs than cats. There are 3 main insulins that the majority of us use or have used - Lantus, Levemir, and Prozinc. They last longer and are slower acting than Humulin. Long lasting and gentle are important with cats, because they metabolize insulin twice as fast as a dog or a human does. Try to find out if your vet has any experience with any of those three I mentioned.
A 2-unit starting dose of any insulin is higher than "normal" but there may be specific reasons why your vet determined that as a good dose to start with. Maybe you could ask how he came up with that dose. There might be other things going on than "just diabetes" that he saw in the lab results.

Also, an infection will raise blood glucose levels to some extent. So as the antibiotic does its job, Kale's insulin needs may be reduced. There's all sorts of things going on at the same time, and it can get confusing. You're already taking the most important step which is to do home-testing. That will give you a snap shot of Kale's BG numbers whenever you need one, and that is a huge help in managing his daily treatment.

Let us know how it goes with that first test,

Carl
 
Glad to see you made a fresh post!

Even boys like pink! hehe. boyz like to be pretty too! :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
All right we made it through our first home test but unfortunately his glucose is so high it only says Hi. Meaning it's 600 or above. I gave him the insulin and will check again in an hour. But he's showing more activity than he has in several days. He even just came over to me when I called his name (which he hasn't done in days and did it pretty quickly). I did get the fancy feast classic and he likes that much better. But the high BG number has me worried. I'm really hoping it goes down in the next hour. Also his eyes looked kind of cloudy when I first got home although looking at them now that cloudiness is already gone.
The reason for trying humulin first is because I'm honestly broke right now and this will allow me some time to save up some money in the next couple weeks if my vet decides we should switch. We have a check up in 2 weeks. They are going to reimburse me for the prescription food since he doesn't like it. The humulin was an $70 difference. In fact the vet had the receptionist start calling all over town pricing insulin for me before she even called me with the results to try to find the best price.
And Kale loves pink. He's even managed to hijack my fluffy hot pink blanket. It's his favorite "bed".
Thebigfuzz: Your weather must have moved south towards me. Today has been an odd mix of rain, sun, hail and snow. Ahh the pacific northwest.
Anyway I will report back in a bit with post insulin numbers.

Stephanie and Kale
 
Levels still say high. But was told not to panic since we are still in the beginning stages and he's physically showing signs of improvement.
 
Hi Stefanie!

Happy to see that you started a new thread :) and I wanted to say CONGRATULATIONS on getting the hang of home testing so quickly!!! Man, I totally sucked at the beginning. I was frustrated and cried...man did I cry. And the best part was that Kitten would just sit there and take all of it in stride. He didn't mind the testing...I was the wreck. My problem was that I couldn't get enough blood. Now I feel like a pro, but every once in a while I stop and look around and take in just how far we've come. So to see that you bought your meter, tested and started getting numbers is TOTALLY FANTASTIC!! \M/

The best part now is that you are in control of what is going on. With each number you are building data on Kale and can see how he is responding.
 
Hey Sengibous!

I hope you are feeling ok about the testing.

we can't seem to access the sheet you made, you might need to click on share on the sheet itself in order to let the peeps on the forum to see it and help you if you need it.

Happy Saturday!

Tanya
 
The testing is easier than dealing with the number not going down. But like I said before I got over the feeling bad about jabbing a loved one with a needle with my grandma. If I can stick my 83 year old grandma in the stomach with an insulin injection and prick her bruised finger tips I can stick an itty bitty needle in my cat. I actually think he's a better patient than my grandma. At least my cat doesn't try to bribe me to buy him butterfingers. ;-)
The levels are still saying high at the moment. Cloudiness in the eyes is back. It goes away within 20 minutes of his insulin shot but that's not due yet. Thinking that he's definitely going to need a more cat friendly insulin that actually lasts the full 12 hours and thanks to some wonderful people that may very well be an option soon.
I just want to see a better number. I've got paranoid mommy syndrome going on and every little noise is waking me up at night thinking it's Kale and somethings wrong.
Oh and I hit share on the spreadsheet so it should be accessible now.

Stephanie and kale
 
Welcome to FDMB!

Good job on hometesting! You are on your way to Kale feeling better.

One other thing you want to test for are ketones. Especially since Kales BG is extremely high. Thershold is 278. Ketones can happen very fast & can kill. It requires vet hospital care which can cost alot of money. You can get the test strips at Walmart. They aren't very expensive. If you have a problem testing just post here & members will help you with tips on how to test.
When you get a chance please read about ketones. http://www.felinediabetes.com/ketones.htm

Baxter has the pink meter too. He also, has the blue as a back up.

Jenn & Baxter cat_pet_icon
 
Your SS works. Good job!
Yes the numbers are a little high.
What kind of food are you feeding? This is important. You need to get those numbers down.
When did you feed him?
When was his last shot?

We don't use the same insulin. So I cant help you with dosing. I haven't read good things about Humulin. I read your situtation of why your using this insulin. Please, please start testing for ketones. A vet bill could run $1000s if Kale gets ketones do to extremely high BG. it requires days of hospital stay.

Jenn & Baxter
 
Jenn
Urinalysis on Thursday showed no ketone issues. Also no vomiting, he's eating, no dehydration, and no odor. I spoke with a vet earlier today because I was worried about the number and she said to not panic yet. Get a few days numbers in before I do that. This is a very new diagnosis for us. He was just officially diagnosed and started treatment on Friday. Also the high numbers could reflect the upper respiratory he's getting over. But either way I'm calling my vet Monday morning. And after his insulin injection he shows improvement. However I'm using humulin n so it's not as long lasting in cats. Am looking into ways to afford a better insulin. But just to be safe I will pick those up tomorrow. Today he switched to Fancy Feast classic wet food. The day before that he got prescription diabetic food but didn't like it. So hopefully the change in food will bring those numbers down. He's due for insulin in a couple hours. I previously worked grave shift for several years until just a bit ago so our schedule is a little different than most. And since I tend to work in the casino world (cage cashier) it's likely that the next job will also be grave shift. In fact the current job I just interviewed for is grave shift.

Stephanie and Kale
 
Yes FD is a little...well a lot overwhelming in the beginning.
I wish I could help you with the insulin :sad:

I can help you with the food thing....
Ok since you just switched to the lower carb. Kales BG could start to lower once those higher carbs start to clear his body. This is where hometesting is important. His BG could start to drop fast ok...especially using the Humulin. It's a fast drop insulin & doesn't last long. So mix a fast drop insulin with low carb food his body BG could drop low. I'm not trying to scare you ok. I know all of this is so fricken scary anyways. I am just saying you want to test him & watch him. I swear I didn't sleep for days when Baxter was DX. I think some days I drove myself nuts. I was always going to check on him. I would wake up in the middle of the night. I didn't want to leave my house.

Do you know what to do in a hypo situtation?
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=15887 this should help you.

Yes please pick up some sticks. Some Walmarts keep them behind the counter in pharmacy.

Your job sounds interesting. To be around all that money. Hearing all the ding, ding dings going off all the time. Next time your at work drop a quarter in a machine. It just might be your insulin money... :lol: just one quarter..ok. Good luck!
 
I have a bottle of karo syrup handy just in case. I've also memorized the symptoms because I kept comparing them to him last night. And that's one of the reasons I didn't sleep last night. I didn't have a home testing kit then and wanted to watch him after I gave him the insulin just in case. 4 hours later I finally convinced myself he was going to be all right from it and finally got a couple hours of shut eye. I know exactly how you feel about not wanting to leave the house. I had several invites to go out tonight and celebrate St Pattys Day but I knew I wasn't going to be comfortable being out and about for longer than an hour so I stayed home. Well that I really didn't feel like dealing with a bunch of drunk people especially with how little sleep I've had.
In between jobs at the moment but my area of expertise is money and casino chip counter. After awhile money just becomes a dirty piece of paper that you have to check to make sure isn't counterfeit. Certain denominations get checked in a special light and sometimes weird splotches show up that really make you wonder. Eeew.. I think it's why I prefer to use my debit card rather than cash now. No dings at my last job though. It was in city limits and in Washington slots are only allowed at tribal casinos currently. So it was just table games and poker. Although you may as well hear the dings if someone hits a royal flush jackpot in poker with how excited people get. The job I just interviewed at though is tribal which means much bigger than the previous job but also means medical benefits! My cat has been to the doctor more times in the last week than I have in the last 3 years. Although I haven't had anything nearly as serious occur with myself. I also know my BG levels are in a good range since I used the meter on myself first to make sure I knew how to use it before torturing my cat.
The good news is that what little improvement I've seen in him already isn't going away. So that's reassuring. And he's stopped living next to the water dish today and from what I'm reading that is a positive sign. And regarding trying to afford a different insulin I'll know more soon but I very likely may have found some assistance for that thanks to a very helpful patron of this site. He pointed me in a very helpful resourceful direction. :-D
 
So glad to hear you may be getting help for a longer lasting insulin. Poor baby Kale.

Oh! Welcome to the FDMB family, by the way! cat_pet_icon

You've got a fantastic start with the home testing and spreadsheet up and working. The change in food will also help quite a bit. :-D Kale is on his way to feeling much better, and all this won't seem so overwhelming in no time!
 
Finally actually got number on the reading today and not just High! The level is still high but this feels like progress. Plus his coat feels much better. It wasn't horrible before but there was bad dandruff starting and that's not there today. And he's still not living next to the water dish like he was. No where near perfect yet but it's a start and I'll take it! Thanks so much for everyones support and encouragement!!!! Also I get to call my vet tomorrow about better insulin! YAY!

Stephanie and Kale
 
Stephanie,
That is what we call the "whole cat report". When you describe what you see and how he's changed, it's encouraging stuff! A decrease in water consumption is great. Bob was drinking like a fish before and just after he was diagnosed. Switching to canned food did wonders for him. Cats get most or all of the water that they need when they eat canned food just from the food itself. I change the water bowl every day, but Bob doesn't drink from it anymore. I can count the times in a week I see him with his face in the water bowl on one hand. And as Kale's numbers improve, you'll see him at the bowl less and less. The news about his coat is great too. That means not only is the dandruff clearing up, but he's probably grooming himself more. There's a concept we refer to as the "Five P's" here. They would be Playing, Purring, Peeing, Pooping and Preening. It seems like just about every diabetic cat, at first, is lacking any sort of "normal" on those things. But when you see them playing and preening more, peeing less often and smaller amounts, using the box like they used to (regularly) and purring more often, all of those are positive outward signs that kitty is feeling better and the insulin is doing the trick. So keep an eye on those, and let us hear a "whole cat report". We can get so absorbed by the numbers and the meters, that sometimes we don't notice (or forget to mention) the other things we see. Like the first time we see them running around like a kitten, or playing with a toy they've ignored for weeks, or jumping up on the kitchen table which used to be a no-no, but now it's something we'd be happy to see.

Great news on the chance of changing insulin too! Let us know what the vet thinks.

Carl
 
I've been putting warm water in his wet food and making it a soup/gravy. He's really liking that and is ignoring his water dish. Also he seems to be going to back to laying down like he used to. He loves to lay on his side and sprawl his long body out. Lately he's been laying on his stomach with his paws curled up. Today he's moving back onto his side a little bit. He even moved over a bit more so I could rub his belly a little! Also the edema in his legs seems to have lessened which means the fluid build up is lessening. Still no purring (and I miss it sooo much) but I know that may take some time. These little improvements already are making me feel like I'm definitely doing something right!
Carl thank you so much. That I'm going to be able to get a better insulin is all because you pointed me a wonderful direction. Happy thoughts are being sent your way from this household. :-D

Stephanie and Kale (and even my "freak" dog Kiara since she's been picking up on the stress and is realizing that today its lessened)
 
Just wanted to report that we have now been getting down to even better numbers! Even had one in the high 100s! After so many off the chart levels this is so satisfying to see! Even managed a little feistiness. Still pretty lethargic but a bit more lovey and cuddly this evening. As I said earlier I'll take whatever improvement that I can
 
This is some good news!

See how the Humlin works now? It brings the numbers low & then doesn't keep those low numbers & shots right back up to high. Just think how a better insulin will work? It could keep those lower numbers longer & help the pancreas not strain so much. It it possible that it could help the pancreas so much that it repairs its self. I hope you are able to get some better insulin very soon.

Keep us updated!
Jenn & Baxter
cat_pet_icon
 
Just waiting for the vet to call back to talk about a different insulin! But I have a question. Kale has barely moved since yesterday. He's not getting up and moving around hardly at all. Is this normal since we're just beginning to try to get this under control? He's alert. When I call his name his head perks right up with his big eyes looking right at me and and wags his tail. But he doesn't want me picking him up right now. He actually showed some feistiness when I tried to pick him up today and yelled at me. But he also has a really stuffy nose today even though he's on amoxicillin so I'm thinking tomorrow I'm going to pick up some Lysine. I guess I just don't what to expect with his mood and physical during this time.
 
His behavior is a little concerning to me. It sounds like he really doesnt feel well. Maybe you should start a new thread about how he is acting. Maybe some other memebers will be able to give you advice from past experiences. Just start a new thread here in health.
 
Update: His next insulin injectin will not be Humulin! YAY! We're now going to be on ProZinc. He got to the vet today and got some more bloodwork done and some fluids. We'll know a bit more tomorrow but hopefully all is well.
 
Did the vet check for ketones? When they gave you the ProZinc did they give you U-40 syringes? They would have red caps and not orange caps.
 
sengibous said:
Update: His next insulin injectin will not be Humulin! YAY! We're now going to be on ProZinc. He got to the vet today and got some more bloodwork done and some fluids. We'll know a bit more tomorrow but hopefully all is well.
Click to expand...

Yea!! :-D Come on over to the PZI insulin support board & Introduce yourself over there. :YMHUG: Everyone is wonderful there too. There are some amazing people that can help you dosing or anything else about the insulin.

See you in PZI!
Jenn & Baxter cat_pet_icon
 
The vet did check for ketones and isn't worried about them at the moment although did give some fluids. I did get U40 syringes. Jenn I already posted in the PZI! Want to make sure I know more this time around than I did when he started on the humulin. Will have more information tomorrow when some follow up testing comes back from the vet.
 
But for now I actually feel like I can get some much needed sleep finally. I've been too worried to get a decent nights sleep and am having issues keeping my eyes open. Time for some food and a nap for this exhausted momma. Will be back in a few hours.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top