First day on Insulin

[Mainelover]

Hello everyone. My Maine Coon Fearghal ( Gaelic name-pronounced Feral) had his first insulin injection this morning. Needless to say, I've been hovering over him all day. So far, so good.
He is 10 and a half years old and has multiple health problems: hip dysplasia, arthritis, HCM ( hypertropic cardiomyopathy), IBD ( inflammatory bowel disease), and now diabetes.
I've been through hell and back with my cats over the past 5 years. I have a second Maine Coon named Rowan with HCM and IBD who had major surgery 3 years ago to remove his spleen and part of his small intestine. There were times I didn't think he was going to make it.
A third Maine Coon named Darby was diagnosed with spinal lymphoma when he was 2 years old. He had spinal surgery to remove a tumor and had chemo up until he passed away 3 months after his 7 year birthday.
Needless to say, I have close relationships with my primary care vet and a whole team of vet specialists.
The vet bills are crazy high, but i think my boys are worth every penny.
I'd like to thank everyone for the great tips I've found so far for giving the injections. I'll be getting a glucometer and will be testing, but not getting obsessive about it. I'm just so nervous about insulin.
I give my boys so many medicines, but this one is so tricky to get just right.
I'm not on my computer a lot because taking care of these guys is a full time job, but I'll stop by and check out the site as time allows. Thanks!

 

[Idjit's mom]

Welcome Mainelover, Fearghal, and Rowan too. Idjit is a Maine Coon mix, so I share your affection for the breed. You certainly have your hands full with the kitties, and I appreciate that you are very busy.

I'm glad you found information about injecting the insulin and I hope that continues to go well. I would like to say however, that testing is a very important factor in effective diabetic treatment. Testing Fearghal's blood sugar before every injection is going to let you know the blood sugar is at a level that is high enough to inject. Now that he is getting insulin, that level is going to reflect the effect. Tests during the cycle are going to let you know how low the insulin is taking the blood sugar, and that the dose is working or may need to be decreased or increased.

There have been many instances in which a kitty was saved a potential hypo event by testing before injecting, or testing during the cycle showed that the cat had severely dropping blood sugar and intervention was needed. Some of our kitties lives have been in fact saved by testing.

You obviously care very much for your kitty companions, and this is one relatively inexpensive way to protect Fearghal from a life threatening event that might result in another very expensive visit(s) to the vet.

It's hard to balance all the conditions and there are other members that have dealt with or are currently dealing with HCM, IBD, and arthritis that could offer support and perhaps some input.

If you would care to create a thread in the Main Health forum HERE, and tell us more about Fearghal, what kind of insulin he is getting, what the dose is, what kind of diet he is on, etc. perhaps we can provide more specific information and support.

Best wishes going forward in this new branch of your journey with your furry friends.

 

[JanetNJ]

Welcome. We are here if you need us.