Ditched the kibble but numbers have only gone up...

[Jmeli]

My Rooh was eating grain free Natures Variety & Fromm dry before diagnoses 1 week ago. I bought and fed Purina DM the first night of diagnosis, but then found this group and discontinued the dry on day 2. I don't see a big drop in his numbers from ditching the dry. Actually, his numbers are just going up. (see SS)

He is underweight. He weighs 10 lbs and lost 2 lbs in the last 6 weeks. His appetite has improved greatly since starting insulin but it still comes and goes. I am feeding a variety of canned foods, FF, BB, Weruva, Soultice, pretty much anything low carb that he will eat and also freeze dried chicken but I try not to make that a meal since it isn't CA/PHos balanced. (he likes the crunchy texture)

I think he will eat more if he has some dry food to add to his wet. Are there any acceptable low carb dry foods? I have been reading about Young Again dry, is it really low carb? Those of you who do have to feed dry, what are you feeding?

He is not active at all and hasn't been for several months (age 13 and he also has a grade 3 heart murmur that was dx about a year ago. His kidney values are excellent).

He has a water fountain and does drink a lot of water and when I give him freeze dried I put a bowl of water next to him and he drinks after eating so I am not worried about him not drinking enough.

Also, the tip of tail twitches when he doesn't feel well. Is this a typical behavior for diabetic kitty? confused_cat This generally starts right after getting a shot and lasts several hours. I don't think its because he is mad, because i can tell he doesn't feel well and it doesn't happen every shot, but most shots. Also, he has been doing this for a while before starting insulin.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

It may be that the insulin does is now too high since you switched to low-carb canned.
I would reduce dose to 1/2 unit twice daily for at least a day and see what happens.

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

His numbers are really high. I think you have given the restart a try. I think I would go back to 1.5 or 2 units. You got that yellow am preshot and a blue number the night before that with 2 units. Those numbers are the best you've seen. I would not lower the dose. You tried that for several cycles and he is in the 500s.

The food change can be sudden for some cats and may take a couple weeks for others. We'd hope we'd see some reduction in levels soon with the low carb. One thing you might try is to sprinkle some of freeze dried chicken on top of his wet low carb and see if he likes it "dressed". Yes, Young Again is supposed to be low carb. It's pretty expensive; some cats seem to like the taste, some don't. If you can get him to eat all wet, it is better for his health all round. Have you catinfo.org? A vet explains there why wet is better than any dry.

I don't know about the tail twitching. Do you roll the insulin to mix it and warm it up so it won't sting? What size needle? (30-31 gauge is a nice tiny gauge needle). Where are you giving the shot?

 

[Jmeli]

His numbers are really high. I think you have given the restart a try. I think I would go back to 1.5 or 2 units. You got that yellow am preshot and a blue number the night before that with 2 units. Those numbers are the best you've seen. I would not lower the dose. You tried that for several cycles and he is in the 500s.

I agree Sue thanks for your thoughts.

One thing you might try is to sprinkle some of freeze dried chicken on top of his wet low carb and see if he likes it "dressed".

Tried this many times, and it doesn't work. He is either in the mood for wet or would rather go hungry. I also try many different flavors when he is not eating, so my other cats get his leftovers. I made the liver shake the other night and syringed 2 ml into him and afterwards he decided to eat. :mrgreen:

I don't know about the tail twitching. Do you roll the insulin to mix it and warm it up so it won't sting? What size needle? (30-31 gauge is a nice tiny gauge needle). Where are you giving the shot?

I am rotating the shots and giving them below the neck on the upper back on each side of the spine area, not directly on spine. I am rolling and warming the insulin with my hands.

My needles are 29 gauge and also 1/2 inch. I have been thinking about getting the 30 or 31's but my DH is concerned that the needle might be so thin that it could bend and break to easily and Rooh does squirm and jump around at shot time. . When I did a practice at the vets office with a 29 gauge I bent the needle pulling it out of the insulin bottle, but it hasn't happened again, since then I have been more careful.

Would the 5/16 length be better to use or should i stay with 1/2" for any reason?

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

The needle length is an individual choice. Some people like the short ones; some like the longer ones

It'll be interesting to see what his numbers look like with more insulin. Hope you get some nice numbers.

 

[Jmeli]

I increased his dose to 1.5u twice a day. Wow his numbers really dropped today and he is feeling crappy and barely eating. How long does the crappy feelings usually lasts?

Sue if you are around, would you mind looking at his SS and telling me what you think? Im a little nervous that it might just keep going down after his PM shot which he has not had yet. Its due in 2 hrs.

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

His numbers today look lots better and are in safe ranges. (below 50 is the area where you start to be nervous). It's possible that he is feeling crummy. His body is not used to good numbers. It got used to those higher ones. I would guess he will adjust and start feeling more like himself. Also, he dropped More than 300 points. That may not feel good either. The trick is to try to keep him in the lower ranges so he gets used to them.

 

[Jmeli]

Can someone tell me, If the last dose dropped his numbers by 300 points, what keeps the next dose from doing the same?

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

It's a data game. A sugar dance. So, the plan is that he will down into lower ranges and you'll reduce the dose over time. This cycle told you that 1.5 on an almost 500 brought him down to blue numbers, 100s which are nice but safe.

I am thinking that you might get a lower pm preshot (the cycle is lasting quite awhile - he has been surfing along in the same range for several hours) or he may bounce into high numbers again. A bounce is when his body senses lower numbers than he is used to and releases extra sugar, which makes his numbers higher.

If he bounces to a high number similar to your am preshot, you could give the 1.5 again (if you monitor at least a few times tonight). If he is in a lower range, then you reduce the dose.

Does that make any sense?

 

[Jmeli]

Yes, it makes sense. Thank you for being here Sue. I gave his pm shot 45 min early to i have time to watch him and reduced by .25 I'm sweating bullets now, waiting... nailbite_smile

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

I think that works. He was rising, not falling (important thing) but he wasn't as high as this morning. (good sign)I think the dose reduction is definitely good since you are dealing with a preshot 100 points lower than your am number.

Glad you can watch him. It is a little nerve wracking when you first see blues after all those cycles with reds and blacks, but it is what you are aiming for.