How long on insulin before your cat went into remission?

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Stacym20

Stacym20

Member Since 2014
I go back and forth on how I feel about Bud's progress. He's come a long way which of course I'm ecstatic about. Of course remission is everyone's goal, is it not? But Bud is not even regulated yet and he's been on insulin for almost 3 months. I can live with giving him injections for the rest of his life if I could just get him regulated. So, I'm just wondering if there even still hope of remission? What's the longest you've heard of a cat being on insulin and going into remission?
 
Hidey was on vetsulin for about a month and his numbers just kept going up and up, switched him to prozinc, changed his diet and had a dental (cleaning and 2 extractions) and within a month went into remission.

Hidey is also VERY carb sensitive so I had to make sure to keep his food at 5% or less for carbs, with him the lower the better.
 
Maxwell on insulin 2 weeks in remission 4+ years and still going, Cassanova 2 years on insulin before I adopted him and being shot blind by previous owner up to 11u bid based only on spot checks and curves at vet, 8 months on insulin after I adopted him and started home testing and adjusting dosage accordingly been in remission 6 months now with only going back on temporarily after needing steroids for a burn to his paw from trying to steal food off a hot oven, Autumn almost 3 years on insulin although micro-dosed now, will probably spend the rest of her life on insulin.

My ultimate goal has never been remission that is just a nice perk if it happens, my goal has always been regulation and happy and healthy on or off insulin. OTJ is icing on the cake.

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
Bob was only on insulin for ten weeks.
The longest I can remember seeing was Peter and Devon's Mocha. She was on insulin for 22 months and went OTJ. There are probably others who went longer.
 
I too was expecting the long haul but was pleasantly surprised by a possible record breaking 7 days on insulin. Some take weeks, months, years, or never, we just don't know when their pancreas will suddenly wake up.
 
Katie was on insulin (Lantus) over a year...almost 15 months. She was never regulated well. I think she had a somogyi thing going on. She has been OTJ for 18 months now (ssshhhh....knock on wood, fingers crossed, etc.).
 
Don't remember which kitty but there was one on the old board that went OTJ after something like 6 years on insulin.

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
Spitzer never went into remission.
Dusty went into remission within a month, with a few spot checks at his owners home.
Gracie is showing no signs of going into remission; she was not treated for months before I got her.
 
Wink went into remission after 5 months on insulin.
There is a cat over in the PZI insulin support group that may be in remission after 3.5 years on insulin.

ECID. Every Cat is Different. Some cats take longer, some cats take a shorter time to go OTJ, some cats never achieve remission or they fall out of remission.

Remember that by treating your cat with insulin and switching to a low carb diet, you are giving your cat the best chance at a healthy, long life. You are helping your cat to feel better and act like a cat again.

So, the BG levels may not be what you would like to see. Think about the WCR (Whole Cat Report) which is the appetite in combination with the 5 P's (peeing, pooping, purring, preening, playing). When you see good, positive improving signs in that WCR, you know what you are doing for your cat is helping.

So, what is the WCR for your kitty today?
 
I wonder about the WCR in terms of Dweezil. His WCR is good. He is playful, alert, bright eyed, affectionate, relaxed, happy. He preens and grooms himself as normal. His fur is soft and silky. His appetite is excellent but not over the top. He purrs when stroked and cuddled. He has been pooping daily and this is actually the best he's been for years (he used to be constipated and we used to have to feed him Metamucil on his wet food). His pee appears regular. If we did not know he was Diabetic, we would have no idea. The pee itself right now does not smell very much of sweet / cider. He is apparently a good weight (according to the vet), though I would like him to be just a bit more towards what he was 1-2 years ago.

And yet...his urine glucose is consistently too high (highest or second highest reading). So he is obviously NOT ok despite his WCR. Does this mean he hides things well, is very stoic, or is just a resilient-bodied cat?
 
Deb you are the one who reminded me of the WCR on another thread of mine. And you're right, that's what I should be focused on, and it is, I'm just getting frustrated with the variables (food, contraband food, fur shots, etc.) and it's frustrating when you have to wait 12 hours before you can try again. Because between those 12 hours I think, and I think, and I think... What do I try next? I come up with a plan and then second guess myself time after time. So one question I have, Should I pay more attention to nadirs or preshot numbers?
 
Oh it's my favorite part too, but I also should state that all 3 of my current sugarcats I adopted after they were diabetic, and were either not being treated in Maxwell and Autumn's cases and grossly overdosed and shot blind in the case of Cassanova (who lost his first momma, when she passed away). So I never held out much hope for any of them going into remission, but both my boys are living happily at the Falls, just Miss Autumn in typical tortie fashion is refusing to give up the last 0.08u yep that is a teeny tiny dose. I keep threatening to just stick her with an empty needle because I swear she is addicted to the attention and the needle prick....lol

But also when I look at what I started with in her and what is sleeping on my lap now, if I have to give insulin for the rest of her life, she is still my icing on the cake. I took in a cat that looked like death warmed over, so matted she was living in a straight jacket of her own fur, so dehydrated that her little ears didn't even feel like kitty ears, but thin beef jerky, she reeked of ketones (transported to me with moderate ketones) didn't even weigh 5 lbs and she is mostly Maine Coon mix. (ideal weight 14 lbs). Unable to stand because she was down on both her hocks and her wrists. I just sat on the bathroom floor with her the first night and bawled my eyes out, because she looked so bad I was afraid she wouldn't even survive to go to my vet and get shaved so I could get a needle into her skin through the mats.

Almost 3 years later she is in good weight, smacking my semi-feral kitten around, running to the kitchen when I call the gang for meals, and snuggling in bed every night and giving good morning kisses...that is the icing...a happy health and okay for now just a wee bit extra sweet.

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
With any insulin, both the pre-shot and nadirs have value to know what they are. You want the pre-shots to know that your kitty's BG is high enough to give the insulin. You want to know the nadirs, so you know how low the insulin is dropping your kitty and can think about increasing or decreasing the dose. There are different protocols for the various insulins. I'm not as familiar with the Prozinc as some people here are.

You may want to post over in the Prozinc Insulin Support Group forum, for suggestions specific to your insulin.

Like Autumn, Wink was also in bad shape when I took him in as a foster from the shelter. Read his profile in my signature if you want the details.
 
@Deb & Wink I realize the pre shot numbers and nadirs are important for different reasons, what I should have clarified is the trouble I'm having is when I raise Bud's dose, his pre shot numbers climb so he's going higher on a higher dose so I've been struggling with trying to decide if I should keep his dose lower just so his pre shots are lower, but I know I don't have enough data to see what the different doses are doing at nadir. I'm basing this all off the +3s that I grab before bed. I think I will start setting an alarm to grab some mid cycle numbers because I don't really like waiting for the weekends to get the whole picture. It's just the +3s have been high enough that I haven't worried about him going hypo. I have been posting in the ProZinc forum but bottom line is I know I need more data to figure out what's going on.
 
Yes, setting that alarm for nightitme tests is awful, but since so many of our kitties seem to drop lower at night, getting some tests in during the PM cycle may be very useful for you.

One other test you might try for, is that "one last test before you go to bed test". Not sure how long it is from your PM shot until your bedtime, but this pre-bedtime test would provide you with another data point. You've been doing that +3 sometimes and seeing some nice yellows.

Keep posting over in the Prozinc/Pzi forum. More people over there that know your insulin and can make suggestions.

I see you are already trying lower carb foods and someone suggested you try eliminating the beef flavors, in case that is making Bud's BG levels rise.

Yeah on the pinks instead of the reds!
 
The other thing I would point out, and don't get me wrong, ALL tests are valuable data. The +3 tests - that would be right around the time that the insulin is reaching "onset". So the number may not be much lower that the preshot test numbers. Peak effect should theoretically happen between +5 and +7.
You don't need to become sleep deprived with middle of the night tests. A couple of mid-cycle tests (5-7 hours after the PM shot) will give you a better idea of the effect of the current dose.
Or a mid-day test on days you are able to be home at that time.

Your +3 tests do have value. If you see a much lower number by +3, that gives you advanced warning that they might drop lower by nadir. Like I said, all data has value.
 
The +3s are right before I head to bed unfortunately. His gets his shot at 7 and I test him at 10 and go to bed. Well his +6 was higher than his +3 last night (spreadsheet is up to date) so I don't know what to think. I was actually awake on my own and didn't have to set an alarm. At what point do you think about switching insulin? It looks like ProZinc was working at one point but doesn't seem to have much effect lately.
 
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