Half unit once a day

[Laura and Kitty]

My Cat Kitty was diagnosed on June 28th. We changed food and started her at 1 unit. On the second day she had a reading of 74. We had to go out of town and we decided to discontinue her insulin while we were out of town. When we got back in town on July 15th we started with half a unit and her numbers were always under 200. heres a list 7/20 - AM- 103 was not able to get one before the next shot but took it at 11:30pm and it was 55, 7/21 am - 142, (230pm - 104) pm- 129 7/22- am 152, pm- 130. 7/23 am - 138 pm-141 We went to the vet on 7/23 and got a fructosamine and it was 340 which is in range. Then of course last night she got into the other cats food so this morning her bg was 269 and tonight 184. Hope this makes sense

 

[rhiannon and shadow (GA)]

It makes sense.
I'm sorry you didn't get any feedback yesterday. I haven't been on in a few days, ever since Rusty crossed the bridge, I've just not logged on. There are days when someone might slip thru unnoticed.
Welcome to FDMB, Laura and Kitty.
Please ask questions as you have them, you can add a question mark to your subject line ( the little arrow up at the top right is an editing tool)
It sounds like even the half unit may be a bit high . We actually do micro dosing here to support the pancreas for as long as possible.
The contraband didn't help but at least it boosted the numbers while you are getting used to testing and the new routine.
You might want to start with 0.25 u and see where it goes for the next few days.

there should be a picture here to show you what that looks like.

Here is a link for creating a spreadsheet
There are some here who can help if you have troubles setting it up.
This is a great tool that helps you track progress, keep notes, and it's the best way for those of us here with experience to advise you when you need help.

If you haven't read the stickys at the top of this forum , you might want to do so as you can. There is a ton of helpful information but you can also ask . We'll direct you to it.

 

[JoyBee&Ravan]

Some people that feed Dry food switched to Raw or canned food & their kitty has gone into remission just by stopping the Dry food!

 

[Kelly and Buddy]

What are you feeding Shadow? Some people that feed Dry food switched to Raw or canned food & their kitty has gone into remission just by stopping the Dry food!

Hi Joy, I am new to this and am still trying to regulate my cat so I do not have the expertise of many other members BUT I can tell you switching to an all canned diet has made a HUGE difference in my cat, Buddy. Before removing all dry kibble, he was on 4 units of Lantus, twice a day, and still had readings ranging from 250 - 400, drank constantly and peed everywhere. Unfortunately, he has major food allergies so diet options were compromised.

I was able to transition off kibble and started him on Friskies Turkey and Giblets pate. It is on the list posted on this site and only has 5 carbs. There are lower carb options but his stomach can't tolerate them. Once I removed all kibble, he dropped dramatically. Even reducing his insulin to 2 units, he was at 40 just before I was supposed to give his p.m. injection. He is now on only 1 unit and, so far, I have not been able to do more than one injection per day because he drops in the low 100s. Clearly, I need to reduce to a lower dose and am working with my vet to make that happen. As I said, I am new to this but wanted to share my story because I can say with confidence that switching to canned food makes a HUGE difference. Paying 98 cents for a 13 oz can is pretty awesome too!

With all this said, DO NOT CHANGE YOUR CAT'S DIET WITHOUT REGULAR TESTING AND LOWERING INSULIN. If I had not tested my Buddy cat, I would have given insulin when he had a reading of 40. HE SHOWED NO SIGNS of being hypoglycemic (which is actually a bit scary). Please make sure you get advice from your vet or the experts on here about suggested dose changes before changing diet.

Hope this helps a bit.

 

[JoyBee&Ravan]

Hello,
I've been on this forum for 6 months. My kitty, Ravan was raised on a Raw meat diet.He never had any dry food or "treats" ever. I'm still in shock that he got Diabetes.

I also discovered NOT to always follow my Vets advice. The people here actually have a lot more Knowledge about Diabetes in cats than most vets do! One of my vets told me not to use a human meter that I had to use an AlphaTrak meter. A lot of the people here use a Relion meter from Walmart. The test strips are a LOT less expensive'
$20 for 100 test strips, and they work just as well as the Expensive, Vet recommended meter. Once you start reading other peoples Posts you'll understand that Vets make mistakes, too much insulin, unnecessary tests & a lot of other things that cost money that some of us can't afford.

This is just my opinion from my experience so far. I definitely trust the advice of the people on this forum that have been doing this for "Years"

I'm glad you had such good luck taking your kitty off dry food. I tell everyone I talk to to how bad dry food is for any animal,even dogs. The pet food stores really push the dry food.

Ravan has recently been diagnosed with Pancreatitis & needs low phosphorus & low carbs so no more Fancy Feast for him.

Buddy's Spread sheet looks great. I wouldn't be surprised if he went into remission soon!

 

[Kelly and Buddy]

Joy, I misread your previous comment and thought you were asking about switching diets. After re-reading, I realize you were simply stating that others had experienced success in doing so. Guess I was preaching to the choir above, LOL.

I love my vet and she is very supportive. She fully supports home testing using a human meter (I have the Relion) and suggested I try the Friskies. On the other hand, I don't think she likes all the dosage changes because she feels cats never regulate. I have shared much of what I've found on here with her and am trying to find the balance of what works best for Buddy.

My issue now is after I give 1 unit of Lantus, Buddy is never high enough for the next shot. So, as you see by his spreadsheet, he is frequently only getting one injection a day and I know that's not best for regulation. That's why I think I need to switch him to .5 units but I only have the Lantus pen. I need a refill soon so I am looking at options of where I can buy it and I want to switch to syringes. Personally, I HATE the pen. Sometimes I have to hold it in for 15 seconds and, even then, I can often get another small drop out.

I would just be happy if I only had to prick my poor cat twice a day. Thankfully, Buddy has been a most patient patient during this process.

 

[Veronica & Babu-chiri]

That's why I think I need to switch him to .5 units but I only have the Lantus pen. I need a refill soon so I am looking at options of where I can buy it and I want to switch to syringes

Hi you can buy the syringes separately (make sure you get the ones with half unit markings those are easier to use) and use the pen you have as a mini vial, you don't even have to wait for a new one you stick the syringe into the pen ( in the rubber ) and draw whatever amount you need

 

[JoyBee&Ravan]

@Kelly and Buddy

Yes,I use the lantus pen with a syringe also. It works great.

I think it would be Wise to ask for dose advice before you make any changes. His BG is pretty low even without the shot.

Just put a ? mark & dose advice,on your post.

 

[JoyBee&Ravan]

The 2 posts are getting confusing I don't think both Kelly and Buddy and Laura & Kitty should both be on the same post!
You both need to Get on the Lantus forum on seperate posts.

Laura & Kitty are you using Lantus Insulin ?

 

[Kelly and Buddy]

The 2 posts are getting confusing I don't think both Kelly and Buddy and Laura & Kitty should both be on the same post!
You both need to Get on the Lantus forum on seperate posts.

Laura & Kitty are you using Lantus Insulin ?

I will do that now. I didn't mean to hijack this post, LOL.