hope I am posting in right area, Newly diagnosed Kitty

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Cindywith4cutecats

Cindywith4cutecats

Member Since 2014
Norman is a 9 year old orange Tiger baby that was diagnosed Sept 30th I am rather upset about the whole thing. He started a diet 15 months ago, he has lost 3lbs to date, slow process. I had the fructosamine (hope I spelled that right ) after 30 days on his diet. He came in perfect, no sugar issues at all. I thought I was in the clear of this disease. Well he stopped losing weight and the Vet suggested Dry hills W/D diet which is high fiber , low fat diet. Within 6 weeks I have a cat that test 426 on the Vets Glucometer and 578 on another Fructosamine test. He is Currently off all dry food and is on high protein , low carb can food . He has gone from 3 units a day down to 2 units as per Vet. I get so confused , like today his preshot , prefood was 131 and his 6 hour check was 71. I lowered him from 2 units to 1 3/4 three days ago cause he was hitting a low of 60 and I was scared .....am I on the right track, I check him all the time, not sure how to do a curve, I check pre shot,pre food , then I check 4 hour and 6 hour. I am using the Alphatracks Glucometer calibrated for Cats and using their test strips....I want him to go into remission and My vet is useless as far as giving any information. I need to be directed to tight regulation and I am going out of town October 23 for 10 days, hubby is good at checking him and dosing him, lucky for me he is home by 2 or 3 in the afternoon to check on him also. I don't understand tight regulation, my vet tells me if he goes below 60 I need to take him the vet right away...
 
Welcome! You are definitely in the right place. You have the basics down - great job testing and yes, wet low carb is the way to go. Hills Wd is 37% carbs; we suggest staying under the 8-10% range.

What insulin are you using?
 
Hi cindy

I am a newbie so not the best person to advise on anything much but hopefully can get things going. It is great you are home testing his Blood glucose and it sounds that you have managed to get some good numbers and are building up a picture of how Norman is doing. I am still finding it tough but this place is just fanatic.

The group will want to know what insulin you are using and your dosing schedule. It is also useful to know the food Norman is eating.

In order for members to comment on Normans regime quickly you are best advised to set up a spreadsheet. I will go find the link to BJM s post about it. You do it through google documents and share it online so everyone can see. It is a great visual record on blood glucose levels.

Back in a second

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=50130
Sarah
 
Welcome Cindy and Norman! You are absolutely posting in the right spot! People will want to know a little more info. What insulin are you using and what type of testing meter are you using? Good job on the food switch. If you're using a human meter, below 60 is lower, but not a cause to run off to the vet. Normal ranges for cats on a human meter are 40/50 - 120. If you're using an Alphatrak it's more like 80-150. I see he is getting down that far so if he gets any lower, post here and ask for help. Do you have a hypo kit prepared for lower numbers? Honey/karo or high carb gravy Fancy Feast?

It is helpful for advisors to see the bigger picture. If you have some time, could you fill out a spreadsheet we use that tracks all of the test numbers you get? Here's a link on how to set it up: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207
 
Lets get your signature fleshed out a bit, so we know the key info for your situation.
Go to the top left of the screen.
Click on User Control Panel.
Click on Profile
Click on Edit Signature
A text box displays.
This is where you paste the link for your spreadsheet, once it is set up.
Add any other text, such as
your name, cat's name,
city and state,
date of Dx (diagnosis)
insulin
meter
any other pertinent issues like food issues, allergies, IBD, etc.

Here are instructions for our grid to record your glucose tests. It will help us give you better feedback. 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.
 
I hope I posted his spreadsheet correctly. Norman is 9 years old and diagnosed on Sept 30th. We are using LANTUS for our insulin choice and using the ALPHATRAK meter for him...So much confusion over that meter and what normal is on those meters. i have found out that 80-130 most of day on the Alphatrak meter is what I am hoping to achieve with him
 
Check my signature link Glucometer Notes for info on meters and number ranges.
 
Spreadsheet looks great! I see you're planning to use M/D dry for when he gets into lower numbers. Dry food takes a little longer to take affect and it can stay in the system longer than a high carb canned food or karo/honey. You may want to consider having some karo/honey on hand or maybe some of the Fancy Feast gravy dinners (the carbs are in the gravy). Even canned M/D would work if you already have that. It makes it a little easier to steer the numbers when he gets too low and you can feed just the gravy so kitty doesn't get too full if you need to get him up and stable. Great job so far!!
 
I just took a look at Norman's spreadsheet, and you and he are doing great! :thumbup Good job on the testing. Here is a link to the Tight Regulation Protocol that we use. About 5 paragraphs down in that document is a link to a PDF called Management of Diabetic Cats by the authors of the original research behind the Tight Regulation protocol. In that document, they say that numbers below 68 on the Alphatrak are the reduction point. That 71 was probably close enough.

As everyone here has said, toss out the dry food and stick to low carb wet food. Have you seen the food chart that many of us use? Pick something under 10% carbs. You don't need expensive veterinary food either. Most of it's not the best quality either. If you want a higher carb food, go with something over 15% on the food chart.
 
I am tossing the dry food. I don't like how he spikes out of control and that just tells me he would never go into remission.. Thank you for all the support. I am going away October thru Nov 3. I am unsure If I will be able to update during that time cause my daughters house that I am staying at is internet free zone lol....My hubby is great and has been learning along with me. Like right now he is 95 at 4 hour check . When I see this I keep thinking we will be close to lowering his units again. He sees the Vet on Saturday, vet wants me to bring my Alphatrak meter to test along side his meter to see if we are getting close numbers to one another...You guys have been great, one lady referred me to this page, she realized I was using the Alphatrak meter and that his number os 58 to 70 had been to low and not safe for my Norman. I love you guys for taking time out of your lives to look at my stuff. I so appreciate everyone of you
 
Cindy...you got on the board, yay. You have already got the basics down...changed to all can low carb diet, regular home testing, spreadsheet, and Norman has been incredibly receptive and on a downward trend. If I were you, I think I'd post in the Lantus ISG TR forum. You are already on a roll and will get the folks who are on your same insulin and following and versed in TR. You already got the basics down from FB. I am on tablet so can't link easily. Just look up at top of page and go to Insulin support groups, then Lantus tight regulation. Read the stickies at top of page if you haven't yet, and Introduce yourself. Watch me go there to find you already posted....lol! Oh well, you are more than ready.....Norman is running a race! You're doing great!!!!
 
2 more comments... Follow BJ's great instructions for adding your 'signature' information. And be sure to include in bold..that you are using ALPHATRACK. It is an important distinction to make so that when someone looks at your numbers to give you advice that is front, center and clear. Also, note it boldly at top of your spreadsheet. Most here use human meters so tend to think in those terms, and you have learned already that human meters run appx 30 pts. Lower than AT. You could also add AT in your subject line at end when you post. We want to help keep Norman safe and be sure advise you get is based on AT #'s. BJ's explanation of SS is also super helpful.

Maybe add a photo of Norman so we can see him! Cindy has already been shooting lower for a newbie, but at time didn't understand difference in her meters range vs the default. But she has done great, tests frequently, and gathering great data so think she is well on her way. And Norman seems to be a star pupil.
Lantus TR. viewforum.php?f=9
 
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