Hello Newbie Here

Status
Not open for further replies.
nichi403

nichi403

Member
Hi,

My name is Nicole, and my 12 y/o Blue Russian mix, Rocco, was diagnosed with diabetes about 2 weeks ago. He has been on 1 unit of Lantus twice a day. He has responded really well to the insulin shots and is starting to act like his old, bratty self. He isn't happy about only eating every 12 hours, but he's happy that he gets Fancy Feast. I don't drive, so getting back to the vet has been hard. He seems to be doing well and I will attempt to test his BG levels tonight. I just don't know when I should test him. Before or after he eats and when (15-30 min after or before)?
I live in Denver, CO and I was wondering if there are any other members who also live in Denver. I am going to be having gastric bypass surgery in the near future (probably in a month or 2) and I am having problems finding someone who I can trust to feed him and give him his insulin shots. I have been on the yahoo felinediabetes support group, which has helped me tremendously. I hope that I am doing this right.

Nicole and Rocco
 
Hi Nicole and Rocco!
Welcome to the board. You should test him before feeding, let him eat, then give him his shot. It can all be done in a 10 minute time frame.

Also, you don't have to limit him to 2x a day feedings. He should eat at the AM and PM meals when it's time for his AM and PM shots, but you can also give him small meals during the day or night. The time you want to limit food is for an hour or two before shot time. When you test his BG level, you don't want the "sugar boost" from eating to give you an innacurately high BG reading. So if he doesn't eat for a couple hours before dinnertime testing for example, you'll know that the pre-dinner test is accurate.

When I was testing Bob, I would test him, and as soon as I got a result, I'd give him a treat, then feed him his can of Fancy Feast. Right after he ate, I'd give him his insulin, so the whole process took 5 or 10 minutes, depending on how quickly he scarfed down the food.

Carl in SC
 
Oh, forgot to answer your other question -
If you visit the "community" forum, just post a message with a subject line like "Any members near Denver?", and in the message explain your situation. We most likely have members close by. We're EVERYWHERE!!!

Carl
 
Have you contacted veterinary clinics in the area to see if there are any techs who petsit on the side? Another thought is the Vet medicine school at a local university.

Also change your Subject line here to read something like " Need help in Denver" I'd do that here as well as in Community as more members come here. Since you are using Lantus put the same thing in that forum (Board index<User Support Groups<Lantus/Glargine) that is an even busier forum. If peeps see Denver in the subject people there will be more likely to respond. Just go to your first post, click the "edit" button, change the subject line and click submit. This will change how your post is seen on the topics list.

Many of us space out the food through the first half of the cycle. Usually we only feed in the second half if"
  • * BGs are really low and need to be brought up
    * the wee beastie is convinced he is starving and won't leave us alone

If your cat is used to grazing canned food can be left out, it will be fine. As Carl said We try to take up the food 2 hours before the shot to get a "clean" BG. Small amounts of food spaced out even out the carb load. If timing is a problem you can freeze small meals to leave out , and it will be slowly available for the cat to et as it thaws. There are also timed feeders that can be loaded up and left, they open at scheduled times and keep the food fresher.

A lot of us also shoot while the cat is eating. It is a good distraction. Tess doesn't even notice most of the time once she has her nose in the dish. If she isn't eating she squirms more.
 
Thanks for the tips Carl and Anne, I will be sure to post something like "help in Denver" and Lantus/glargine in the subject. He used to have dry food available at all times and I would give him a small teaspoon of wet food (Diet rx food that the vet prescribed). He went from 23 lbs to 15lbs and I knew he was diabetic. The vet had me transition him from his usual feeding schedule to his new diabetic diet and she only wants me to feed him 2x a day. A can of FF at each meal. So I will keep him on that unless she advises me to change it. He has gotten used to eating 2x a day now...the 1st few days were hard on him. He didn't understand why his dry food was taken away and why I had to stop giving him people food (I was really bad about sharing whatever I was eating with him). He had been eating that way for 10 years... I think he knows that the shot is helping him feel better; he doesn't run under the bed. He normally waits for me in one of the many pet beds I have to give him his shot. He ran under there after his 1st injection and I was so worried about him. He eventually came out and headbutted me.
I plan on giving him a treat when I test his BG level. (Since I just fed him, I will wait until tomorrow to test his BG). How often should I check his BG? This is the first time I have posted on a message board, so I'm glad that I am in the right place. Thank you.

Nicole and Rocco
 
Since you'll be feeding him on a 12 hour schedule, you should also be testing him just prior to each feeding, with insulin just after (or during) the meal.
Additionally, the best thing is to get several tests in between. With lantus, you will need to be aware of what the BG is at "nadir" which would normally be halfway between shots ( referred to here as +6), so you would want to test him then. A test an hour or two before meals is also useful, because it will indicate if his BG is rising. If you do what we call a curve, you would check BG every two hours during a 12 hour cycle. That is not needed every day, but many try to do that on a weekend when they can spare the time and are home for the day.

For starters, test "pre-shot", try to test at +6 and maybe one or two other times during the day. The more data you collect, the more sense this dance will make to you (and to others looking at your data)
You can post your results like this until you have a SS up and running:
AMPS 300 1u
+3 250
+6 150
+10 275
PMPS 300 1u

Carl
 
Hey Nicole,

This is the first board I've posted on as well (at least in a very long time), and I have to say it is an AMAZING place, with people ready to stay up with you all night, any night, if you need it. Really impressive!

As for testing:
Lantus kicks in most strongly somewhere b/w 4-8 hours after shot (call it 6hours on average), so ideally you would get BG measurements just before each shot (the "pre-shots") and at +6. Of course, that tends to intefere with sleeping, working, or anything else you are trying to do :roll: , so some compromise have to be made. In general, we try to get as many measurements as we can when we're arround during the day (every 2-3 hours to form a "curve"), and on the other days, a few extra measurements as far from the pre-shot times as possible. In general that means averaging >4 measurements a day, some days with 2 (pre-shots), most days with 4 or so, some days with a lot more.

On a related note, since you will be testing, you will be able to save your cats life if the numbers get too low (hypoglycemia). Please put together a hypo kit with High-Carb food, corn syrup, extra strips: see this post How to treat HYPOS - THEY CAN KILL! Print this Out!!

You did not ask about dosing, and I will not provide advice unless requested, but much of the Lantus advice is colored by the dosing approach used. Most members here using Lantus are following some version of a published "tight regulation" protocol designed to get cats to heal and recover from diabetes. The success rate is well about 50%, but it does require quite a bit of testing as described above. If you ask for dosing advice, you will generally get advice that is in line with the LANTUS & LEVEMIR - TIGHT REGULATION PROTOCOL
 
I was planning on testing Rocco this morning, but he totally had other plans. Since the vet has me on feeding him every 12 hours (7am and 7pm) giving him a can of FF Classic at each meal. Normally, Rocco is waking me up at least an hour before. I set my alarm...just in case and I am so glad I did. I woke up at 7am and Rocco wasn't around. I go to the kitchen and I found him grubbing on the dry food that I have set out for my other cats. I put the dry food where he couldn't get to it (so I thought). Since my former 23 lb kitty is now 15 lbs...he was able to get to the food. I know it was the 1st time (he's a messy eater) since food wasn't all around the bowl and the wall. He only got a few bites before I caught him. Yup, my baby boy is back to his old bratty self. I had to find a new place to put the dry food so he couldn't get to it...again.
I got a BG meter and I didn't buy any additional strips, so I only have the 10 that came with the meter. I tested it on myself yesterday, so its working properly. Now that I know I have do get some sort of curve...I will do it sometime this week when I am feeling more comfortable testing him. I am scared. I was watching the videos and I am kinda confused as to where to stick him on the ear. Is it on the side "yellow zone" or more directly through the ear like I am piercing his ear? Thank you so much for the advice.

Nic and Rocco
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top