Distraught and confused

[Karen&Rocket]

Hi all - I'm fairly new to the board, and started glucose monitoring at home just two weeks ago. I've had a terrible year so far (deaths in the family, health concerns, etc. etc.) but nothing is stressing me out more than trying to get my diabetic cat Rocket regulated. He was diagnosed early Feb., and his vet started him off at 1.5U of Prozinc every 12 hrs. He had an infection at the time, his glucose was over 450 at the office, and was not eating, so he was hospitalized for two days. Anyway back then I knew nothing really about feline diabetes... long story short, his numbers are not getting better, and his vet has slowly been increasing his dose. He's currently at 4U every 12 hrs, but his numbers are terrifying to me. I'm almost embarrassed to have anyone else see his spreadsheet, but I'm at a loss. My heart sinks every time I take his levels.

He's on a strict (low carb) wet food only diet, and has been since the second week of February. Obviously I'm concerned about something like insulin resistance and/or acromegaly, but he doesn't have any outward signs of it and his vet doesn't seem to think that's a possibility (I do realize it can be underdiagnosed). Thankfully we have an appt. on Tuesday for a second opinion with another vet who supposedly has a lot of experience with diabetes, so I'm hoping to get some more ideas/advice/guidance.

Thank you if you've read this far. I guess my main concern is, what damage are these numbers doing to Rocket right now? I'm so worried. Actually in the last few days (since our last dosage increase) his water intake seems less, and his litterbox isn't as much of a warzone, but his numbers won't budge. He still eats, and hasn't lost weight really since Feb. (hasn't gained, either). Our appointment Tuesday can't come soon enough. Any ideas or advice from any of you who have gone through a similar situation? I love this cat to pieces, and I appreciate any input more than you all know. Big hugs to all of you.

 

[Idjit's mom]

Hi, I am not a Prozinc user, so can't make dosing recommendations. I'm sorry. I just wanted you to know that your post has been read. I sure do understand your feeling upset and confused, and have every confidence that the experienced Prozinc members are going to have some input. In the meantime, and you probably have already done this, but read (re-read?) the stickies at the top of the forum here. You might find something that you overlooked before. I wish I could offer more than sympathy and understanding on the situation.

 

[Djamila]

Hi Keskat and Rocket! I'm so sorry your sweet boy is having such a tough time. I know my heart would sink too if i was looking at those numbers every test. So I'm sending you all kinds of internet hugs

Since you already have his diet under control (great job on that, by the way!), then there isn't much to do but keep raising the dose. IAA and Acro are both possibilities here, but we usually don't suggest testing until you get to six units.

Tell me a little about your nighttime schedule. How many hours are there between the PM shot and when you turn out the lights for bed? I would love to see some data from that cycle. My hunch is it will pretty much look the same as the AM data, but I would like to be sure. Could you get a test maybe around +4? Or if you go to bed right after the PM shot, could you get a test around +7 or +8 as soon as you wake up?

My hunch is that we're going to need to do some increases, and more frequently than you've been doing. However, I would like to see some data from that PM cycle if we can before you do that, just in case. What do you think? Is there a way for that to happen? If not, just be honest and we'll figure out what PM data is possible and go from there.

 

[Djamila]

And Lou, @Idjit's mom, thank you so much for chiming in! A word of comfort is so important, and I haven't been able to be on as much lately! Thank you!

 

[Karen&Rocket]

Hi, I am not a Prozinc user, so can't make dosing recommendations. I'm sorry. I just wanted you to know that your post has been read. I sure do understand your feeling upset and confused, and have every confidence that the experienced Prozinc members are going to have some input. In the meantime, and you probably have already done this, but read (re-read?) the stickies at the top of the forum here. You might find something that you overlooked before. I wish I could offer more than sympathy and understanding on the situation.

Thank you. I will definitely re-read the stickies. I very much appreciate the well-wishes.

Hi Keskat and Rocket! I'm so sorry your sweet boy is having such a tough time. I know my heart would sink too if i was looking at those numbers every test. So I'm sending you all kinds of internet hugs

Since you already have his diet under control (great job on that, by the way!), then there isn't much to do but keep raising the dose. IAA and Acro are both possibilities here, but we usually don't suggest testing until you get to six units.

Tell me a little about your nighttime schedule. How many hours are there between the PM shot and when you turn out the lights for bed? I would love to see some data from that cycle. My hunch is it will pretty much look the same as the AM data, but I would like to be sure. Could you get a test maybe around +4? Or if you go to bed right after the PM shot, could you get a test around +7 or +8 as soon as you wake up?

My hunch is that we're going to need to do some increases, and more frequently than you've been doing. However, I would like to see some data from that PM cycle if we can before you do that, just in case. What do you think? Is there a way for that to happen? If not, just be honest and we'll figure out what PM data is possible and go from there.

I do freelance work (I'm a classical musician), so I work nights - I test/shoot at 11:00 am/pm, and sleep 1:00-ish to 9:00-ish, which makes it tricky to get too many numbers outside of the 11/11. I'm working this weekend, but I'll try to get some more numbers asap. My hubby will be home, but he has only done the insulin shots on occasion, and hasn't done a BG test yet. He's very reluctant but I'll have to teach him. Thank you for your thoughts... I think you're right in that increasing the dose is probably the way we're going to have to go, unfortunately. I'm so afraid it's something besides "just" diabetes. Hopefully our second-opinion vet will have some ideas too. One day at a time, right? Sigh.

 

[Djamila]

So it sounds like you could get a +2 test at night, maybe a smidge later once in awhile. Even that can be helpful. So I would test/feed/shoot as soon as you can when you get home at night, and then test again as late as you can before you turn out the lights. Anything you can get at night to give us a hint of what's happening. Then once we see that, we can figure out a plan for next steps.

PS What a cool job!

 

[Karen&Rocket]

So it sounds like you could get a +2 test at night, maybe a smidge later once in awhile. Even that can be helpful. So I would test/feed/shoot as soon as you can when you get home at night, and then test again as late as you can before you turn out the lights. Anything you can get at night to give us a hint of what's happening. Then once we see that, we can figure out a plan for next steps.

PS What a cool job!

Hehe thanks, I do feel very fortunate, though I do freelance work so it's feast or famine sometimes This morning I got a PM+8 reading of 314, while still way too high, is lower than what I've been seeing lately. I'll have to get more data before our appt. on Tuesday so I can have more info for the new vet. I'll update this post and my spreadsheet when I have some more numbers. Thank you again!!!

 

[Djamila]

Vets generally advise moving the dose by full units and holding it for a week or two. We take a different approach here. I would suggest moving by 0.25u at a time, every three to four cycles, as you continue to monitor. It's a little gentler on their bodies, and ends up about the same by the end of the week.

And great job on the +8, those are helpful (and nice to see a lower-than-normal number!).