Hello! New member, 3 month lurker

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Sandee and Spaz

Sandee and Spaz

Member Since 2021
So I've been lurking for awhile now. Reading all the post and trying to build up the courage to make a post. I'm a bit shy when it comes to talking to new people. Anyways, The reason I'm here is because on 03/19/2021 My 18 y/o cat, Spaz, was diagnosed with diabetes (it was actually the week before that but the vet forgot to call me). He started him on insulin right away. Novolin N 3U 2x a day and told me to start a low carb diet (never told me what food to use so that's how I found you guys)

Long story short..... after a week and a half on 3U Spaz started getting wobbly and weak, had a strange head twitch, was vomiting, and was very lethargic. We did two curves at the clinic. Actually, only one because when I took him in for the second one he was hypoglycemic to the point they weren't even getting a reading. The vet told me to start giving 2.5U BID. Same story as before, he was becoming hypoglycemic. He was on insulin for about a month (maybe a little more) when the vet told me that he must be in remission! He never did anymore testing and told me to stop giving insulin. That is when I bought a meter. For a few weeks he seemed okay. At least at the times I was testing (he was still on the low carb food). Then he started to drink a lot and pee a lot again and couldn't seem to get enough food.

I decided to start the insulin again but at a much lower dose and test often. I guess I'm here because you all seem so nice and know so much about feline diabetes and I want to make sure I'm doing everything right and that his numbers are good. They seem to be staying stable right now? I think I posted my SS right (let me know if I didn't)

Oh! I feed him FF pate before each shot and he gets CleanProtien dry throughout the day/night. I do have another cat (Her name is Pixel) so to insure he doesn't eat her food (which is Ziwi Peak, that made him vomit) I have to make sure he has dry kibble because he has a crunchy addiction :/ He has been drinking and peeing normal now as well.

TIA,
Sandee

ps: I do have a little experience in the vet field. I worked as a tech for quite a few years but that was 20 years ago so I'm sure a lot has changed since then.
 
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Hello and welcome to the FDMB! We're happy you're here with us!

Great job getting the SS done and your signature too!

We're not really fond of Novolin here because it's just not usually a very good insulin for cats, but it seems like you're doing pretty well with it so far. Here's a Beginners guide to Novolin N with some more information for you.

The 2018 AAHA Diabetes Management Guidelines recommend Glargine or ProZinc for cats.

It's late in the states so you might not get much attention tonight, but hopefully tomorrow you'll have more people stopping in to say "Hello! Welcome to the best place you never wanted to be"!
 
Hi Sandee and Spaz and welcome.

Well done getting your SS and signature up and running!
Would you mind putting the glucose meter you are using, type of diet, and the insulin used in the signature please? Thx!
I agree with Chris, I would look at swapping over to either Lantus or Prozinc insulin as they are much better for cats.

Here are two links to using Novolin. Are you feeding 1 hour before giving the dose of insulin?
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/beginners-guide-to-humulin-n-novolin-n-nph.231593/

https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/beginners-guide-to-caninsulin-vetsulin.231587/

I don’t use Novolin so can’t give you dosing advice so I will tag @Deb & Wink
Everyone is very friendly here and happy to help.:)
 
Chris & China (GA) said:
Hello and welcome to the FDMB! We're happy you're here with us!

Great job getting the SS done and your signature too!

We're not really fond of Novolin here because it's just not usually a very good insulin for cats, but it seems like you're doing pretty well with it so far. Here's a Beginners guide to Novolin N with some more information for you.

The 2018 AAHA Diabetes Management Guidelines recommend Glargine or ProZinc for cats.

It's late in the states so you might not get much attention tonight, but hopefully tomorrow you'll have more people stopping in to say "Hello! Welcome to the best place you never wanted to be"!
Click to expand...

Thank you! I appreciate the response!
Yeah from what I've been reading here I noticed that Novolin N wasn't well liked. I'm not sure why the vet put him on it to be honest. May be because of the cost or that he has an old way of thinking? He has been in the field for a long time.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Hi Sandee and Spaz and welcome.

Well done getting your SS and signature up and running!
Would you mind putting the glucose meter you are using, type of diet, and the insulin used in the signature please? Thx!
I agree with Chris, I would look at swapping over to either Lantus or Prozinc insulin as they are much better for cats.

Here are two links to using Novolin. Are you feeding 1 hour before giving the dose of insulin?
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/beginners-guide-to-humulin-n-novolin-n-nph.231593/

https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/beginners-guide-to-caninsulin-vetsulin.231587/

I don’t use Novolin so can’t give you dosing advice so I will tag @Deb & Wink
Everyone is very friendly here and happy to help.:)
Click to expand...

Thank you! I fixed my signature :) I am feeding him 1 hour before. I test, feed, wait a hour then poke. When the vet first started him on insulin he told never told me to get a meter and he told me to give the insulin when he was eating so he wouldn't notice the poke. After reading stuff here I stopped doing that.
 
Hello and welcome!

Wow, great job with everything so far!

Looks like Spaz is doing really well on the smaller Novalin dose. The switch to low-carb really seems to have done him a world of good. It would have been nice if your vet was right that he went straight into remission (it does happen!), but I guess he's going to need a little more insulin support.

I do agree with the others that there are easier insulins to work with than Novalin, especially with a cat who has decided he likes those lower BGs (green and blue numbers on the spreadsheet). Your vet may very well have been thinking of cost and be open to prescribing something like Lantus or Prozinc. If he's more hesitant, the 2018 AAHA guide that Chris linked to can be helpful in showing that you aren't just getting your information from a bunch of internet cat ladies ;).

Welcome again!
 
Nan & Amber (GA) said:
Hello and welcome!

Wow, great job with everything so far!

Looks like Spaz is doing really well on the smaller Novalin dose. The switch to low-carb really seems to have done him a world of good. It would have been nice if your vet was right that he went straight into remission (it does happen!), but I guess he's going to need a little more insulin support.

I do agree with the others that there are easier insulins to work with than Novalin, especially with a cat who has decided he likes those lower BGs (green and blue numbers on the spreadsheet). Your vet may very well have been thinking of cost and be open to prescribing something like Lantus or Prozinc. If he's more hesitant, the 2018 AAHA guide that Chris linked to can be helpful in showing that you aren't just getting your information from a bunch of internet cat ladies ;).

Welcome again!
Click to expand...

Thank you! I wish I could tell you what his number were before I started testing. When he was diagnosed the vet told me he was at 600. Thinking back to when I was testing after we stopped the insulin he was staying in the blue (judging by the numbers I remember getting at the time). I wasn't testing on a regular basis. Then he started drinking and peeing a lot and acting like he was starving, that is when the numbers went up into the high 200's (pre-SS).

I haven't contacted my vet since I started back up the insulin. I was afraid he was going to up his dose again and Spaz would start going hypo again. I also don't want him getting mad at me for starting the insulin without telling him. o_O Don't get me wrong, I love my vet! We have been going to him for a long time and for everything else he has been great! I just don't know what to do. He seems fine right now so that's where the dilemma comes in.
 
Hi Sandee.
Can you tell us the colour the cap on the insulin needles? Orange or red?
Your vet forgot to call you and then prescribes a high dose of an insulin that has not been recommended for cats in a very long time. I'm wondering if you were given the correct syringes.
 
I agree with Bron, I'd drop down to 0.25 units. You do not want a cat dipping below 100 on Novolin. It is not recommended to give any insulin if BG is under 250 when using Novolin due to the hard and fast drop it causes. I wonder, @Bron and Sheba (GA) and @Red & Rover (GA) , if you think Prozinc would be a better decision vs Lantus considering Spaz's numbers? I don't know if the depot might play against them when he seems to be hitting blue pre-shots on Novolin?

Some general housekeeping for Novolin, test BG, feed, wait one hour, then give insulin. Food must be on-board with Novolin already. I would also be giving small meals every hour for the first 4 or so hours to make sure he doesn't drop too low. Novolin is a very tricky insulin to use, it is great to use with canines but a terrible choice with felines. I urge anyone on Novolin to get off it ASAP.
 
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
Until I can find a Novolin user to help you I think you need to reduce the dose to 0.25 units.
Would you consider swapping to another more suitable insulin for cats such as Lantus or Prozinc?
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Sorry I didn't get back sooner. I've been pretty busy today.
I can try to drop it down to .25U I attached a photo of the syringes he gave me. They don't have the 1/2 markers. Half has been easier because it right in the middle. I will call my vet on Monday and see if I can get a different insulin.
 

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Red & Rover (GA) said:
You make a good argument, Elizabeth. You know more about the various insulins than I do. Both lantus and prozinc are good insulins for cats.
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I remember speaking with Jillian from DCIN about how the depot was causing hypos for some kitties nearing remission so they switched them to an in-and-out insulin to help with those "skip" days. On the other hand, I know Lantus has the highest remission rate. I don't have experience guiding people into remission though unfortunately, so it's just a thought! Every cat is different!

Sandee, you can buy U-100 syringes with half unit marks at Walmart for around $13. :) If you switch to Prozinc, you can still use U-100s with a conversion chart. I would be sure to bring the 2018 AAHA Diabetes Management Guidelines Chris linked above to prove your argument in case your vet objects, and if they do sell Prozinc, make sure they aren't overcharging for it. Last I checked you can get Prozinc for around $120 on Chewy. :)
 
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