Grover's first curve - please help

Status
Not open for further replies.
crazycatlady18

crazycatlady18

Member Since 2015
Hi all,

I did Grover's first glucose curve yesterday and he is very, very high. Could someone please take a look and see what you recommend? I just started home testing about a week ago, and every time I've tested, he's been 350+ - a lot of the time the meter just says "HI" which means he's over 600. Every time he's been tested at the vet he's read "HI", except for 1 time reading in the high 400's.

He's currently on ProZinc, 2 units 2x day and eats FF classic and chunky food. He was started on insulin in August and has gone from .5 up to 4 units, then back down to 2 about 10 days ago. He had a bad UTI that we finally got cleared up (urinanlysis showed no signs of it last week) - doc thought that must be the problem in getting his BG down, but clearly that wasn't the issue, and now I'm clueless. I'll be sharing these numbers with our vet, but I don't have high hopes in getting him regulated that way. I know she means well, but I feel absolutely horrible that Grover has had high BG for months and I'm really upset that it's gone on this long. I feel like something more should have been recommended. I'm beyond grateful for finding this site and all the great people on here. Thank you in advance for reading this and any help you can give.

I want to start feeding our kids a raw or home cooked diet. Maybe the FF is still too high in carbs for him. I'm going to buy a few small bags of the freeze dried raw Stella & Chewy's on my lunch and see if he'll go for that. I feel really helpless right now and I hate it :(
 
Hi

Please don't best yourself up. You will get there. It just takes time. I can't advise I am afraid but there are plenty if others who can.

May I ask why it went up to 4 units and back down. Do you have some readings from back then?

I would recommend that start noting what you feed and when on the spreadsheet to help fill out the picture.
 
Hi there,

Thank you for responding :) He had a UTI from the time we got him and first took him to the vet (July 2014) and we did several 2 week cycles of antibiotics, but he never completely cleared up. Doc thought the infection must be keeping his levels high, so she upped his dose several times, thinking that once the UTI was gone we could lower him back down. We finished a 6 week course of antibiotics and the UTI is finally gone, but despite being on 4 units, his levels were still really high. Doc suggested we go back down to 2 units, I guess to kind of "start over", and then do the curve at home. I just got my meter about a week ago and had only done sporadic checks prior to yesterday so this is all the info I have so far. All of his numbers from the vet since July have been 490+. Their meter only reads to 500, and most of his tests just come back "HI" there, so we don't know how high he has actually registered there.
 
Where would I note the feeding info on the spreadsheet? I have all of the info written down from yesterday, I just wasn't sure where to plug it in. This is my first time using it. Thanks!
 
There is a comments box to the right of where you put the blood glucose results (have a look at mine). You can write in anything you want. Many people write in how their cat is acting, what they ate and when and also if ketones were tested for, etc. anything that may be of use in the future.

Again can't give advice but it is a little unusual that Grover's blood glucose isn't moving much. It must be very frustrating. How old is the prozinc now?
 
If it is the same vial from August, it is 6 months old and may be due for replacement.

We have a protocol for using ProZinc which you may find helpful.

For food, you might try the Friskies Special Diet pates which run about 4-5% calories from carbohydrates and are kidney friendly.

Also, it is possible you have a high dose cat. We'll know more as you make any adjustments.
 
I think the vial might be old or he may need more insulin. I think I'd raise the dose by .5 and hold it a few cycles. If he is still high, raise again. Be sure when raising that you can get a pre shot each time and a number so where midcycle. There is something called insulin toxicity. Their body gets used to high numbers and you need to get past that resistance. Here is info on it

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/feline-diabetes-and-glucose-toxicity-links.62960/

Are you sure testing for ketones too?
 
Hi all,
This is our 2nd vial, started about 5 -6 weeks ago. I printed out the Protocol and will start using that. Thanks so much!

I did buy the ketone urine strips last week and tested once so far. I happened to be cleaning the litter boxes so the lid was off and next thing I knew he was peeing! Since he goes for at least 10 seconds, I had time to look around the laundry room and grab a tupperware that I use for scooping litter and catch some mid-stream. He didn't even notice, haha! I used two strips to be sure, and nothing measured on either. So, for now he's okay there.

I'll go read up on the glucose toxicity. I suspect that might be the culprit. As I had mentioned before, we have no idea how long he's been diabetic because the previous owner told me he had been "lethargic and losing weight" for awhile and she just figured he was "getting old and dying". I could seriously punch that woman for neglecting him! I honestly believe he was delivered to our porch by God because He knew we would take care of him. And oh man are we trying!

A note on food: I ran to the pet store at lunch and grabbed some pouches of the Stella & Chewy's freeze dried raw food. He gobbled it down like kitty crack! I have a feeling that he needs to be on a diet like this. We did try the Friskies for awhile after he was diagnosed, but he was so fussy about it that we often had a hard time getting him to eat. I'm gonna stick with the pouches for a bit and see what happens before I go crazy getting into the raw stuff. Or at least home cooked. With all of our kittys having a medical issue (and all of them have been seen and treated regularly their whole lives - never neglected), I am increasingly suspicious of commercial pet foods.

**Is it okay to up the dose and try the new food at the same time, or should I do one or the other first? That way I know for sure which change made the difference.
 
As long as you can monitor carefully, I think I'd be tempted to do both. I would think the Stella and Chewys shouldn't be too fewer carbs than Friskies , so I'd just be sure I could test. If you can early on, at +2/3 so you can see if there will possibly be a faster than usual drop and then definitely between 5-7 so you can see how the increase is working and whether you need to increase in a couple cycles. When this works, you increase fairly steadily until he reaches his "breaking point" and suddenly you start seeing lower numbers overall. Warning: it may take a few increases.

If he gets up to 6 units, then we start to worry about a high dose condition. But my money is on toxicity, especially with his history. He may have been diabetic for while awhile and sitting in high numbers, poor sweet boy.
 
As I had mentioned before, we have no idea how long he's been diabetic because the previous owner told me he had been "lethargic and losing weight" for awhile and she just figured he was "getting old and dying". I could seriously punch that woman for neglecting him! I honestly believe he was delivered to our porch by God because He knew we would take care of him.
Click to expand...
I understand this story all too well.

Wink was dumped by his former owners at a kill shelter. He was microchipped by his original shelter, which will take back any cat that has been in their shelter before. I think his former owners dumped him at the kill shelter instead of where they had originally adopted him from because they front declawed him. Totally against shelter policy and you sign the adoption papers which specifically say you agree not to declaw when you adopt from this shelter.

Are you rehydrating the Stella and Chewy's? Watch out for constipation if you are not rehydrating before serving.
 
Last edited:
Hi Gina

How are things going today? Did you manage to get in any tests. I don't see them on Grover's spreadsheet.
 
Hi! I got really sick on Tuesday afternoon and am just feeling better now, so I haven't updated his sheet. I do have better numbers for him, though!!! Once I figure out how to update it, I'll get everything added :) Thanks for checking in!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top