Diabetic Remission Insights/Advice?

Hello,

I’m a long time lurker, but finally posting. I need your help/guidance.

Without being exhaustive - my 9 year old diabetic Sphynx, Kiki MIGHT be going into remission. He has been diabetic since the winter 2019 and has been on Caninsulin 3 units bid. He has had one heck of a rough journey being diabetic. Earlier this week, Kiki started to get diarrhea, vomit and act lethargic. I assumed the worst and withheld his insulin that night and rushed him in the AM to the vet (his BG was 21 mmol that night). The vet kept him for the day and periodically tested his glucose and it was in the 11 mmol range in the AM but spiked at 26 mmol (glucose noted in urine) mid afternoon. I was told to give Kiki his insulin that evening, and bring him back the next day for a glucose curve. Well I did just that and kiki’s glucose curve was within normal range!?! The vet told me to withhold kiki’s night insulin and test his glucose in the morning and call before doing anything. Well kiki’s glucose was 2.8 mmol?!? All day it has remained steady, until this evening I had a spike of 24 mmol.

my question is - how do I really know if he’s going into remission or if this is something else altering his BG. It seems so odd to have diabetic readings one moment and then normal the next.

Thank you!

 

The best interpretation I can give you without benefit of a spreadsheet is that Kiki is bouncing. He may be dropping into lower ranges and his liver and pancreas panic and start pumping out a stored form of glucose along with counterregulatory hormones which cause numbers to spike. It's a protective and normal response. However, there can be other medical issues that can cause BG numbers to drop. It is going to be a matter of your keeping good records of Kiki's BG test data.

With cat's that are dropping into lower numbers, you need to begin to reduce the dose in small increments. There are instructions on dosing in the Caninsulin forum.

 

Welcome closet FDMB'er! Youve come to the best place on earth to get answers and learn everything you need to know about Feline Diabetes. We would like you to create a signature with these instructions:

• Click on your user name in the bar that runs across the top of the page.
• Scroll down to "About You". Use the message field to tell us about you and your kitty. Please include a general location (e.g. state if in US or province if in Canada so we know your time zone).
• When you're finished, be sure to click on "Save Changes" at the bottom of the message field.

Helpful information you may want to include in your FDMB profile:

• Your first name (so we don't have to say, "Hey you!")

• Kitty's name, age (a guesstimate is fine), sex

• Date of diagnosis

• Name of the insulin used

• Are you hometesting? If so,
  • Are you using a pet-specific meter or a blood glucose meter calibrated for humans?
  • How often do you test kitty's blood glucose?
  • What's the name of the meter you're using?

• Has kitty experienced any complications from diabetes? Common complications include:
  • Polyuria or PU (urinating a lot)
  • Polydipsia or PD (drinking a lot)
  • Ketosis (manifests as spilling ketones in the urine)
  • Diabetic ketoacidosis or DKA
  • Neuropathy (nerve damage, usually manifests as difficulty walking on hind legs/feet)
  • Nephropathy/CRF (kidney involvement)
  • Others as described by your vet

• Is kitty currently taking any other medications or supplements?

• Does kitty have any health issues (current or in the past)?

• Has kitty ever taken corticosteroids?
  • Examples include cortisone, prednisone, deltasone, other "-sone" medications.

• Food: What are you currently feeding kitty?
  • Canned/wet low carb options?
  • Dry low carb or dry high carb kibble?
  • Both wet and dry foods?

• Other information:
  • Any information about your cat which is important, but hasn't been covered above
  • Do you have other pets you'd like to include/mention?
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Don't forget to click on "Save Changes" when you've finished.

To help us help you with Kiki's bg numbers you will need a spreadsheet :
FDMB SPREADSHEET INSTRUCTIONS

Again WELCOME TO OUR FAMILY
jeanne

 

If you need to see what a bounce looks like, just look at my SS.
If you put the numbers in a graph it should look like a smiley. High before insulin, low during the cycle.

 

Thank you everyone for your input! I will start a spread sheet ASAP (my booklet is running out of space and I'd love to graph KiKi's data), read the Caninsulin Forum, make my signature and check out what 'bouncing' looks like (thank you SashaV!).

I won't lie, I am really confused and devastated as since the vet told me to without insulin/caninsulin and monitor, KiKi - his blood sugars have gone into the 20s and spiked once into the 30s. So may be this isn't remission, but something else . Have any of you ever had an Internal Medicine consult regarding the management of diabetes in your cats?

 

Not I. Sorry I couldnt afford to do that but if I could I WOULD HAVE..
*
I havent had a diabetic kitty in 10 years. sigh and yes I even miss not only Trouble bubble, but all he came with.

 

I did. He told me not to test. Only test once a week or so.
He was the vet on call when Mauer wouldn't eat, and I told him that if I'd taken his advice she would have dangerous low TWICE.
To test or not to test is a religion. A long education might not tell you more than you already know.