Hi from Bonnie and Harvey

Status
Not open for further replies.
BonnieBT

BonnieBT

Member Since 2021
Hello, everybody! I found this forum a couple weeks ago shortly after my 12 yr old kitty, Harvey, was diagnosed. It's been an overwhelming time, and I'm just now getting set up here. In fact, this post is largely to test and see if I have the spreadsheet and signature lines set up right. My spreadsheet is missing a few lines from when he was boarded while my husband and I were out of town, but I will get those numbers when we go back to the vet on Thursday.

We have gradually increased to 3 units of Lantus twice a day. Originally our vet wanted us to skip insulin if his BG was <150, but now she says as long as it's between 100 and 150 to give 1 unit. We haven't seen numbers that low though since she made this change.

Harvey eats well. He has 1/2 can DM for breakfast and supper each, before his shot. At lunchtime and bedtime, he gets 1/2 can of Fancy Feast pate. That's what he was eating before his diagnosis, and the vet said she recommends it for cats that refuse the DM, so I figured we should go ahead and use it up.

I took him to the vet because I was worried about recent weight loss (he was 17 pounds in November but has dropped down to 14 pounds this summer) and because of his feet. Instead of walking on his toes, he has lowered to walking on his entire front feet. The vet thinks some of his gait issues with his hind legs is due to arthritis, and we are going to try acupuncture starting Thursday.

I'm really disappointed that he hasn't improved more quickly. :(
 
Hi Bonnie,
Your spreadsheet and signature look great. I'm pretty new here as well, but here's some starting advice:
Try to get more tests in throughout the day/night. That helps us see how low the insulin dose is taking the cat, and Lantus dosing is based on the lowest glucose number of the cycle, not the pre shot number.
The alphatrak meter is fine, but if you want a more economical option, you can use a human meter and strips purchased from any pharmacy. I recommend the relion prime. Most of us here use them, they work just as well as the pet specific ones and the strips are a lot cheaper.
The concensus here is that prescription food isn't nessecary, it's very expensive and no better than over the counter options. Most people feed either fancy feast classics or friskies pates, but anything under 10% carbs is just fine. Avoiding all dry food is recommended, almost all of them are way too high in carbs for a cat.
I hope this helped a little, and I'm sure some more experienced members will come help you with dosing soon.
 
Your story sounds very similar to mine. My 15 year old cat was diagnosed recently as well. What I learned from this group was that the weakness in my cats hind legs were related to his diabetes! I thought it was from an injury from climbing up a fence in December so we took an x-ray and vet said he was showing signs of disc degeneration in his spine probably caused by age. So I accepted the results and then over the next three months, I started noticing him drinking a lot of water and losing weight. That's when I took him back to the vet where he was diagnosed having diabetes and I hit the web to educate myself on the topic. I came across this site and found an article on neuropathy and was shocked to find out it was related to his diabetes! I wish I knew back in December what I know now. I would have had them test his blood when I took him in for the x-ray :( Everyone suggested that I try methylcobolamine (activated B12) for the leg weakness. A lot of people use Zobaline, once per day and it's available on Amazon. He's been on it a month and I already see a difference. He actually runs to the kitchen now to be fed when before he would walk 3 feet and then lay down for a couple of minutes before walking again.

I'm still struggling to get his numbers down and when I posted that I was frustrated that it was taking too long, I received a lot of encouragement from others reminding me that it doesn't happen over night. Just keep on the path and things will improve. Much luck and love to you and your kitty <3
 
Hi Bonnie and welcome to the FDMB! You're doing a great job with testing and feeding low carb food. My advice to you is for you to start posting on the Lantus forum. It's the most active forum here on the message board and there are amazing people there who can help you get Harvey regulated. Second thing to suggest is for you to get mid-cycle tests. That means a test at +2 during the day and in the evening, and at least one or two more tests between shots. We need to know how low Lantus is taking your kitty in order to help you with dosing. The final step would be for you to choose a dosing method, and all of that info can be found on the forum: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/lantus-basaglar-glargine-and-levemir-detemir.9/
 
Hi, everybody, thank you so much for the warm welcome. I especially appreciate the heads up about the Lantus forum and Zobaline. I'm going to check out both of those. I think I've updated my signature.

We got a Freestyle Libre 2 a week ago, and I really like it. Harvey doesn't seem to be aware he has it on at all. I have a timer set on my watch to go off hourly when I'm awake and at home, and it has been great for getting frequent readings throughout the day.

Harvey got diagnosed a couple days before I left town for a couple weeks, so my husband was the one who learned how to give the insulin shots. When I got back, he kept doing it, but he's out of town this week for work. I had a lot of anxiety about taking over the shots, but it truly is no big deal. So that's a relief!
 
I'm not sure why folks are suggesting you need more tests. You have lots of data starting on 8/20.

You may want to take a look at the sticky notes at the top of the Lantus board. They contain a great deal of information about Lantus, dosing, etc. I'd encourage you to look at the information on dosing methods. Regardless of your choice of method, we increase and decrease doses in a much smaller amount than your vet has been suggesting (i.e., 0.25u vs 1.0u). It's very easy to whiz past what would be a good dose for your cat if you are increasing in large increments. If you are using a Lantus pen to dispense insulin, you will need syringes.

We also evaluate doses more frequently than what you've been instructed. Holding a dose that doesn't get your kitty into closer to normal numbers can allow glucose toxicity to develop. This sounds much worse than it is. Basically, if your cat has been hanging out in higher numbers, your cat's body treats the high numbers as the new "normal." It makes it harder to get the numbers to start coming down.
 
I'm using a regular vial, so I'm not really sure how the pens work. I am a little confused about the idea of .25u though. I have a hard enough time distinguishing 4 units from 3 or 5; there's no way I could see 4.25, 4.5, etc.
 
Welcome. We use syringes with half unit markings. Yours are fine but do they have half unit markings? You half to either eyeball where .25 is or get digital calipers. Once I started using calipers I was lost without them. Come join us on the lantus forum.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top