Hello (again) from Handsome Sam

[Lisa Lamb]

Hello,

We are back. We joined this forum in 2013 when Sam was first dignosed with Diabetes following surgery to remove a benign tumor. Thanks to this page and the people on it we were able to have Sam "off the juice" within 3 months of being dignosed and has thankfully remained that way...until now.

Sam has had a number of medical issues since we adopted him. Last of which was a bout of pancreatitis and some dental work that needed doing due to some infected teeth (which as I understand it can often bring a cat out of remission). After he went off the insulin last time he developed severe food allergies and cannot have any pork or beef at all (or most seafoods - except Tuna). Which is why I am writing this. He was on Caninsulin last time which worked well for him but I suspect that is what brought on his allergies. He is on it right now but I am wondering what the other choices are since he absolutely cannot have beef and pork (from what I understand those are the base for most insulin).

I feed him only wet food (Merrick Purrfect Bistro Turkey Pate) - that is the only food that has kept his allergies under control. This I do not want to change because he also has some really bad stomach and digestive issues and this keeps those in check too. I mix extra water in with it because he refuses to drick from a water dish. He also gets Chicken Pure Bites (not as many as he would like!) and the occasional treat of Tuna juice.

He is also on the following meds (which I am not sure if they effect his numbers in any way:
Metronidazole - for treatment of his IBD
Provita B - for digestive issues
Chlorpheniramine - non-steriod treatment for allergies
and he is just coming off Gabapentin (following his dental surgery)

His BG numbers are not at all as bad as they were when he was first diagnosed (500+) but they are not where they have been in the normal range. I know you have a special spreadsheet for inputting this but I have not had time to fill it out. Here are his numbers:

March 10
> 5:00 pm
> 10.8 (195)
> 1 unit given
>
> March 11
>
> 5:45 pm
> 10.2 (185)
> 1 unit given
>
> March 14
> 7:30 am
> 13.6 (245)
> 1 unit given
>
> March 14
> 7:30 pm
> 10.6 (191)
> 1 unit
>
> March 15
> 7:30am
> 16.1
> 1 unit given
>
> March 15
> 7:30 pm
> 11.6 (209)
> 1 unit given
>
> March 15
> 9:30 pm
> 2 hours after food and injection
> 12.9
>
> March 16
> 8:00 am
> 12.4 (223)
> 1 unit given
>
> March 16
> 4:50 pm (+9)
> 11.7
>
> March 16
> 8:30 pm
> 13.1 (236)
> 1 unit given (may not have all gone in)
>
> March 16
> 10:15 pm
> 13.6 (245)
>
> March 17
> 8:00 am
> 14.1
>
> March 17
> 8:00 pm
> 13.1 (236)
> 1 unit given
>
> March 18
> + 1.5 hours 9:30am
> 14.6
>
> March 19
> 7:30am
> 14.2 (256)
> 1 unit given
>
> March 19
> 7:45 pm
> 14.5
> 1 unit given
>
> March 20
> No test or insulin in the morning
>
> March 20
>
> 5:00 pm
> 14.1 (254)
> 1 unit given
> Tested urine
> Positive result for glucose (negative for keytones) - some little
> mixed in so not sure if that effected result
>
> March 20
> 8:00 pm
> +3 hours
> 9.8 (176)
>
> March 21
> 8:00am
> 13.1 (236)
> 1 unit given
>
> March 21
>
> 7:45 pm
> 14.2
> 1 unit given
>
> March 21
> 11:00 pm
> 10.1 (181)
>
> March 22
> 8:30am
> 13.1 (236)
> 1 unit given
>
> +3 hours
> No food
> 11.4
>
> +10 hours
> 14.5 (261)
>
> March 23
> 7:45 am
> 14.7 (265)
> 1 unit given


I have not had a day off to do a full curve - plan on doing it this weekend.

Lisa & Sammy

 

[BJM]

Welcome back.

You might check out Lantus and Levemir insulins, and if you decide to go with one of those, you may want to get it from Canada if you are in the US, as the price in the US has been jacked up to insane levels.

For IBD, some folks have had success with raw food diets. Cat Info has a recipe for one if you are interested.

 

[BJM]

Instructions for the spreadsheet are here.

Understanding the spreadsheet/grid:

The colored headings at the top are the ranges of glucose values. They are color-coded to clue you in as to meaning.

Each day is 1 row. Each column stores different data for the day.

From left to right, you enter
the Date in the first column
the AMPS (morning pre-shot test) in the 2nd column
the Units given (turquoise column)

Then, there are 11 columns labeled +1 through +11
If you test at +5 (5 hours after the shot), you enter the test number in the +5 column
If you test at +7 (7 hours after the shot), you enter the test number in the +7 column
and so on.

Halfway across the page is the column for PMPS (evening pre-shot)
To the right is another turquoise column for Units given at the evening shot.

There is second set of columns labeled +1 through +11
If you snag a before bed test at +3, you enter the test number in the +3 column.

We separate day and night numbers like that because many cats go lower at night.

It is merely a grid for storing the info; no math required.

 

[Lisa Lamb]

I cannot access the spreadsheets, when I click on the links I just get a "webpage not available" message.

 

[BJM]

2 quick checks:

Do you have a Google Account? If not, you have to sign up for one.

If you have a Google Account already, you have to log in to your account.