First night back home since diagnosis....

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juliettree

Member Since 2012
Hi

Very much a newbie! Bought Marmite home this morning after a rough few days for her. Diagnosed with diabetes and kidney failure and spent most of Tuesday on a drip.

First home injection went ok though I think I need to work on my technique - will she really get used to it?? Any advice on that would be a great help!!

I have read the message from the cat post and OMG, that is exactly what I have been doing all day :-D But......she was wobbly when got home (to be expected!) and has definitely got back to more herself, however still seems a little 'fragile'. I know she has been through a lot the past few days so the sensible part of my brain is putting it down to that. The worried and daunted part just wants to check that it will take a few days for her to get into the swing of things a little and it's not too much or too little insulin?

Thankyou, Juliet
 
Welcome Juliet!

You'll get into the swing of things, though there is a bit of a learning curve.

Pop over to Cat Info to do some reading on feline nutrition. You'll want to find low carb AND low phosphorus canned or raw foods to help manage both the diabetes and renal disease. It may help to add tablespoon of warm water to help get enough water in too.
 
hi Juliete - just wanted to say welcome to the board and I love your cat's name!
I'm from England so I'm familiar with marmite and my DH loves it :-D

So sorry Marmite has had such a hard time lately - hoping she's on the mend and starts feeling better soon.

As you've started insulin, you also need to start home testing - its the only way to figure out whether its the right dose and that she's staying safe.
You can pick up a relatively cheap human glucose meter - check the strip prices. I use Relion Confirm from Walmart but there are plenty out there. Testing is usually tricky (eh...scarey, frantic) at first but then it suddenly clicks and becomes so much easier. No matter what, its worth it to keep Marmite safe.

Also, read the stickies at the top of this board, particularly the one for newbies.

Denise
 
Thankyou both for your replies and words of reassurance.
Definitely a steep learning curve and I had a host of questions to ask the Vet when I picked her up but was so happy to see she was ok and then the concentration on the injection giving I totally forgot!
I have read some of the newbie posts and over the weekend will continue to build my knowledge. She has a checkup on Sat so will ask again about the glucose monitoring - the vet seemed to suggest wasn't necessary at this point when I asked (i did remember some things!!) but perhaps that is due to her being kept a close eye on by them for a short while.
She is still a little subdued but eating and drinking well which is a good sign!
Thanks again.
 
For safety, always test before giving insulin. If this were an infant diabetic, you wouldn't risk shooting blindly, so why would you want to be any less safe with your cat?

We recommend that if your pre-shot glucose test is under 200, you not give insulin. As you get test data, the 'no shoot' number may be lowered somewhat.

Also, you want the lowest glucose number between shots (the nadir) to be at or above 50 on a human glucometer. This will be roughly 5-7 hours after the insulin, depending on which one it is and the cat. Lower than that risks hypoglycemia, which can kill. Pick up some Karo syrup and oral syringes to have on hand, just in case, plus a few cans of high carb/gravied cat food. If you're lucky, you'll never need them; if you do, you'll be glad you've got them.
 
Hi,

Again, thanks!! And you are right - she is a member of the family so I should be testing her before injecting her. I am taking her back in the morning so will bring it up again. I am hoping he just said it wasn't necessary as they had just done a glucose curve and knew they were seeing her in two days.
I have printed out the list of symptoms for hypo and ketacidosis and pinned up in my kitchen. A member of my family runs a cattery and advised honey also should she have a hypo attack.

I know glucose levels are measured differently over there to here so think I need to divide by 18??

She is still a little subdued but eating, drinking and generally herself. Injections are lot smoother and bit by bit we are getting there. :-)
 
juliettree said:
Again, thanks!! And you are right - she is a member of the family so I should be testing her before injecting her. I am taking her back in the morning so will bring it up again. I am hoping he just said it wasn't necessary as they had just done a glucose curve and knew they were seeing her in two days.
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Please remember, you don't need your vet's permission to home test. So even if he says it isn't necessary or that he doesn't recommend testing, just do it anyway. It tells you what's really happening, instead of just guessing.
 
Welcome to FDMB! You don't need the vet's permission to test and you also don't need expensive prescription diets to manage FD. I spent quite some time weighing vet's directions vs. advice on this board and I nearly lost my kitty by not figuring it all out in time. I was listening to my vet and shooting blind. I came home at lunch to check on him one day and he was face down in the corner having a hypoglycemic episode. Hometesting is the best way to keep your kitty safe!

This board is incredibly responsive, knowledgeable and caring! If you only listen to one thing, make sure you hometest so you know what's going on. Marmite is YOUR responsibility and YOU CAN DO THIS! Cats can stress out at the vet which will cause their glucose numbers to read higher. The vet is then making dosing recommendations on inaccurate numbers.

We can help you - you're not alone! Start low, go slow and reach out whenever you need :YMHUG:
 
Hi,

We are slowly getting there. She had another DKA relapse last Sunday morning. I spotted it quite early and she just stayed overnight at the vets for monitoring, increase to her insulin though and her checkup on friday went ok.

Since being back home again she has lost strength in her back legs though. The vet has given me a potassium supplement to give her which has made a small improvement already but bless her, she has learnt to bum shuffle on my laminate floors to avoid her legs slipping. I have started to also give her methylcobalamin B12 which I have read will help with the muscle weakness. But does anyone know how much time before she will get back to using her back legs ok? I am encouraging her to walk as much as can but she does get treated like royalty when it comes to the sofa or bedtime :-)

Thanks, Juliet
 
juliettree said:
Hi,

Again, thanks!! And you are right - she is a member of the family so I should be testing her before injecting her. I am taking her back in the morning so will bring it up again. I am hoping he just said it wasn't necessary as they had just done a glucose curve and knew they were seeing her in two days.
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Unfortunately a lot of vets try to discourage hometesting. However, please remember that ECID (every cat is different). And also every shot as different. You want to test before every shot. I have had several diabetic cats in the past 10 years, some I adopted knowing they were diabetic. And every one of them would give me a low number at least once a week. If I had not been testing, I would have given them insulin and cause hypoglycemia.
 
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