I'M SO FRUSTRATED

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Sarah and Baby

Sarah and Baby

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My kitty won't eat when I want her to eat, but she's eaten a can of food today. and I'm told Lantus is super strict on when you give it, so now that screws up my entire world because

#1 she won't eat so when do i shoot her if she hasn't eaten??? and

#2 I have a terrible schedule, never the same... i can't keep asking my mom to shoot her!


I am using lantus because it was presented as the cheapest option for gentler insulins. I am BROKE so all your suggestions about freeze dried food and all this stuff I can't afford is very frustrating. It's great to say oh try this food or that food, but when she won't eat any of it, then i've wasted a LOT of money i DON"T HAVE


I'm not flaming you all, you have been very very supportive and I REALLY appreciate it. I am just very frustrated with this situation and every time i thought i found some kind of solution, it gets f'd up by real life.
 
Sarah honey, take a deep breath. I completely understand.
Let me ask you a question.... how much did the lantus cost?
Someone posted in your other thread that maybe a switch to PZI may be a good idea with your scedule.
Forget the being broke part for just a minute. how much was the lantus?
 
ah, okay. we can discuss later.

Back to your other problem.... have you give baby his pm shot? wanna go back to that thread?
 
It is not critical for the cat to eat right away with Lantus or Levemir. Most Lantus and Levemir users free feed. I put out food when I give my cat his shot. He might take one bite and walk away. He'll be back to snack during the day. He might eat all of his food. He might eat 1/4 of his food. As long as he is eating something during the day, I am happy.

There is absolutely nothing in your spreadsheet to cause any alarm. You are still in Humulin mode. You do not have to see food being eaten in order to give a Lantus shot. You just need to be sure that the cat is eating some food during the day because it is a bad health sign if a cat is not eating at all. Also, as you get your cat's diabetes under control, his appetite will decrease along with it. That is also normal. Cats with very high blood sugar tend to get ravenous and their appetite decreases as their blood sugar decreases.

Lana
 
Do you get a lunch break at all when you do your 7-3 shift where you can run home or is that not possible? Is your boss understanding at all where you could explain the situation and ask if it would be possible to get a set lunch break? Even if you can't take a lunch at a set time each day, if it's somewhere between 11-1, then you can still keep close to a 12/12 schedule by an hour or so. There is some wiggle room with Lantus--I know there are a few people here that use Lantus who can't shoot a strict 12/12 every day, but they just try get in a reasonable range. It works best at 12/12, but if you're off a little that doesn't mean it's going to stop working! It just means you might have to pay attention to whether the shot is coming early or late so you can note that when making dose adjustments.
 
OMG Lana thank you so much!! That is SOOOO good to know!

Carl you have been awesome through this whole thing, thanks so much for everything!!


Back to the feeding schedule, I don't think I can get time off. I don't really get a lunch hour for my work, and I'm not supposed to leave the site at all during the shift.
 
I will get bashed for this because it is not what is advocated, but I will confess that I am an heretic. I give Simba low carb dry m/d food which he can have out all day and eat, and yet I can maintain him on 2 U Lantus bid (twice a day)

I have reasons for doing this, which is unnecessary to go into here taking up your space, but I've been through it all, the initial switch from high carb dry food to only wet food in 2008, and then back to a mix of high carb dry k/d food and wet food. And now on low carb dry food. That way he gets food in him every day and 2 U Lantus might seem as a lot, but is very little for Simba since he used to be a high dose kitty on 5-6 U Lantus.

I've had to adjust to our situation and this is what suits Simba and I the best at the moment.
 
fwiw, i don't shoot Mousie on a 12/12 schedule. if i want to stay in business and pay the bills and provide what i need to provide, i have to work long unpredictable hours and that's that. I test Mousie twice a day thru the week and shoot her right before i leave for work and again as soon as I get home. occasionally i have to reduce the dose or skip because i worked so damn long that day that the next two shots will come way too close together to be safe. i freeze food in ice cube trays and i put 3 frozen cubes in her food dish right before i leave, which she eats for lunch. and sometimes on the weekends i get a few more tests in or if something raises a flag for me during the evening, i grab the meter and test.

and she's done pretty darn good with that for 5 years now. never had a complication directly related to her odd shot schedule, averages a BG level around 136 99% of the time, gets 1/2 a unit twice a day is all, and still bites me from time to time if i try to be overly human with her. LOL!!

it's life and it's what we can do. key is to remember that it may take a little longer getting to the right dose and you may have to be a bit more patient than most but it can be done. just remember, test when you can, and test for ketones regularly.
 
Ann & Scatcats said:
I will get bashed for this because it is not what is advocated, but I will confess that I am an heretic. I give Simba low carb dry m/d food which he can have out all day and eat, and yet I can maintain him on 2 U Lantus bid (twice a day)

I have reasons for doing this, which is unnecessary to go into here taking up your space, but I've been through it all, the initial switch from high carb dry food to only wet food in 2008, and then back to a mix of high carb dry k/d food and wet food. And now on low carb dry food. That way he gets food in him every day and 2 U Lantus might seem as a lot, but is very little for Simba since he used to be a high dose kitty on 5-6 U Lantus.

I've had to adjust to our situation and this is what suits Simba and I the best at the moment.
Click to expand...

Ann, no bashing from me! Can I ask you what the carb value of the dry is? I have seen many people lately saying that they are having a really hard time getting kitty off the dry. If they have to "wean", then the lowest carb dry would be the least of all evils.

Carl
 
Sarah,

Of course your Baby can eat whenever she wants.
And as for the strict 12/12 schedule...there are a few members on lantus who also have this.
I believe Cindy and Mousie is one. I can pm her to talk to you.
So you don't have to worry about the food...forget about that...just the shots.
I know I can help you figure a schedule....is there 2 different schedules you work....or many?
This is doable.
As long as kitty is eating at some point in the day forget about enticing treats.
And honey, you will look back. I can promise you. You will look back, and sigh....'wow, this is easy now'
You may want to post on the Levemir board with your lantus questions as they run a much looser ship and not handcuffed to a protocol of severity.

You can always call me too,
Lori
 
Lori: during the week I work either 3-9 or 7-3 mostly. on the weekend it's different, one week i work 3-11 and the opposite week i work 11a-7p with at 3:30-10:30 thrown in there for good measure. that's why I chose 11 as my shoot time, with the weekends being my solid schedule that i'm for sure going to have.
 
carlinsc said:
Ann & Scatcats said:
I will get bashed for this because it is not what is advocated, but I will confess that I am an heretic. I give Simba low carb dry m/d food which he can have out all day and eat, and yet I can maintain him on 2 U Lantus bid (twice a day)

I have reasons for doing this, which is unnecessary to go into here taking up your space, but I've been through it all, the initial switch from high carb dry food to only wet food in 2008, and then back to a mix of high carb dry k/d food and wet food. And now on low carb dry food. That way he gets food in him every day and 2 U Lantus might seem as a lot, but is very little for Simba since he used to be a high dose kitty on 5-6 U Lantus.

I've had to adjust to our situation and this is what suits Simba and I the best at the moment.
Click to expand...

Ann, no bashing from me! Can I ask you what the carb value of the dry is? I have seen many people lately saying that they are having a really hard time getting kitty off the dry. If they have to "wean", then the lowest carb dry would be the least of all evils.

Carl
Click to expand...


It's 15 %, and the lowest we can find here in Sweden and Denmark. Charlotte, also on here, from Denmark, with diabetic Prop who is OTJ, had a Royal Canin diabetic dry food with 18 %. So when we compared the m/d dry food was the "better" then in lowest carb. We are in a pretty difficult food situation here in the Nordic countries, as there isn't any of the low carb wet foods on Binky's list here, so we have to make do with what we have on the market.
 
Sarah and Baby said:
Back to the feeding schedule, I don't think I can get time off. I don't really get a lunch hour for my work, and I'm not supposed to leave the site at all during the shift.
Click to expand...

That's too bad. :sad: In New York State, it's a law that if you work 6 hours they have to give you at least a 30 minute break. I thought maybe it might be the same in other states.

Ok--let's try a plan B--you also mentioned that your mom has been helping you out and that she'll have to stop helping soon--is there something there that might be fixable with that situation so that she can continue to help you out on those weird schedule days? Or do you have a neighbor or a friend that might be willing to help you out in either the am or pm so you can get a reasonable schedule down? Like if you shot at 6am/6pm schedule instead is there anyone who can help you during your 7-11 shift?
 
Sarah and Baby said:
#1 she won't eat so when do i shoot her if she hasn't eaten??? and

#2 I have a terrible schedule, never the same... i can't keep asking my mom to shoot her!
Click to expand...

#1 Are you trying to switch to canned food at this time? If so, try sprinkling some dry food on top to entice her to eat. Sometimes it only takes a few pieces. Parmasean cheese on top also works for some cats.

#2 If you have not already considered hometesting, this is another reason to learn. With Lantus you do not necessarily need to keep to the 12/12 schedule. However, as long as the shots are at least 10 hours apart and you are hometesting to make sure that the blood glucose (BG) levels are high enough to shoot, you have some flexibility with Lantus. My schedule varies from day to day and as long as you do both of these things, you should be able to keep her shots on a modified regular schedule.
 
carlinsc said:
I have seen many people lately saying that they are having a really hard time getting kitty off the dry. If they have to "wean", then the lowest carb dry would be the least of all evils.
Click to expand...


The generally "approved" low carb dry foods to feed if you must for whatever reason are Nature's Variety Instinct (the chicken one is 7% carbs. Not sure what the carb % for the two newer formulas are but I'm guessing about 7% as well), Innova EVO (8%), and Wellness CORE (11%).

Even those these dry foods are low carb, they may still keep blood glucose levels high for some carb-sensitive cats. That's not necessarily the end of the world. The cat may need a little bit more insulin to keep blood glucose levels where they should ideally be. If you have to, try to feed mostly canned and limit the dry to a very small part of the diet.
 
Julia & Bandit said:
Sarah and Baby said:
Back to the feeding schedule, I don't think I can get time off. I don't really get a lunch hour for my work, and I'm not supposed to leave the site at all during the shift.
Click to expand...

That's too bad. :sad: In New York State, it's a law that if you work 6 hours they have to give you at least a 30 minute break. I thought maybe it might be the same in other states.
Click to expand...


Keep in mind that there are people who have to commute long distances for an hour or more to go to work, by car or public transportation. Going home during a half hour/hour long lunch break to check on a diabetic cat is not feasible.
 

That's too bad. :sad: In New York State, it's a law that if you work 6 hours they have to give you at least a 30 minute break. I thought maybe it might be the same in other states. [/quote]

I work in group homes so instead of getting a lunch break, they provide food for me. I have to eat in the house with the residents.

I've seen a lot of different things going on here, I'm wondering if the 10 hr difference is true, with home testing. I am home testing now (see spreadsheet)
 
squeem3 said:
Keep in mind that there are people who have to commute long distances for an hour or more to go to work, by car or public transportation. Going home during a half hour/hour long lunch break to check on a diabetic cat is not feasible.
Click to expand...

I commute an hour each way to work, so I understand that. But many people live in the same town where they work, which is why I asked.
 
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