Intro and first blue, +5 107

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Sophie & Fitzy

Sophie & Fitzy

Member Since 2021
Hi there! Got my first blue while testing so I’ll be up for a while, and I thought it would be a good time to introduce myself! I take care of Fitzy, an 11 year old Siamese. He was diagnosed on Feb 1st of this year. We really appreciate all the work the experienced people put into keeping this board a helpful place.

I was wondering if anyone has an example of a spreadsheet or thread of a cat who was making the transition from high carb dry to low while also on a dose like 5u. I’ve searched but I’d love to see what that transition looked like from a blood glucose perspective. I’m planning to go very slow, and I am testing. I’ve read everything on catinfo.org, multiple times! :)

Also I promise I know his dose is high for just being diagnosed and that his food needs to change, I am working on it. All cats are different and I’m doing the best I can which is pretty good, thanks to this message board!

Fitzy is truly my best friend. He says hi too!
 
Hi and welcome Sophie and Fitzy

Can you tell us what type of food you are feeding him at the moment? .
I am very concerned that he is only 1 month into the FD diagnosis and he is already on 5 units of Lantus.
Lantus is a depot insulin which means that part of the dose is kept for a depot which increases each time the dose is increased and it influences the BGs moving forward.
The depot from 5 units is considerable.
You are also increasing by too much. We recommend increases in 1/4 unit increments or sometimes 1/2 unit increments. 1 unit increments is too much.
You are risking Fritzy dropping suddenly.
I would go back to 4 units and then if an increase is needed, I would go up by 0.25 or 0.5 depending on the nadir.

Please don’t change the food until you have some experienced people helping you as changing the food to a low carb diet can drop the BG up to 100 points.....sometimes more and you risk a hypo event if not monitored very closely.
 
He is currently eating dry, Blue Wilderness Weight Control Chicken. I know that is not recommended for diabetic cats. We started the insulin before I found this message board so we didn’t get the chance to see if diet would work first. I don’t plan to change the food entirely anytime soon, just hoping to see which ones might work. Fitzy falls into the “never liked wet food before” camp. All the insulin changes have been at the direction of my vet since I’m still learning so I’ll talk to them about going back to 4. Is it the risk of going too low the reason you recommended that or also because of a pattern or something you noticed in the numbers? I appreciate you taking the time to reply to me, thank you for the information.
 
I do, I immediately retested and got 80. Twenty minutes later, we are at 132. Yes, long night indeed, it’s 2 am for me.
 
Dropping under 68 on the alphatrak meter is an automatic reduction in dose.
Please go back to 4 units at the very next dose. Do not wait to ask your vet, you need to do it at the next dose to keep Fitzy safe.
Dropping under 68 on the alphatrak meter is the ‘take action’ number where you need to give high carb food to bring the BG up into safe numbers.
As you are using dry food you would only be able to do the Start Low Go Slow method and the reduction number for SLGS is 90.

Please be aware that the depot from the 5 units of Lantus could influence the next several cycles so please monitor closely, even through you will reduce to 4 units.

I would not continue to feed the dry high carb food for too much longer before finding some sort of lower carb food.
It is just like feeding ice cream and cake and giving insulin to a diabetic. Not at all suitable.
There are a couple of low carb dry food options if Fritzy will only eat dry.
Dr Esley is one and the other escapes my mind at the moment. Someone else will chime in I’m sure.



 
@Bron and Sheba (GA) thank you! 4u at next dose. We have some Dr. Esley coming tomorrow so the plan is to see if I can sneak three pieces in with his current cat candy (his current dry food). I will keep monitoring him for the next couple hours as well, and keep my sheet updated.
 
Just checked and we’re at 141. He is snoring, snuggled up next to his roommate Pip. I wonder if he is dreaming up a reason his ears keep feeling a twing...
 
Sophie & Fitzy said:
Just checked and we’re at 141. He is snoring, snuggled up next to his roommate Pip. I wonder if he is dreaming up a reason his ears keep feeling a twing...
Click to expand...
He will most probably bounce from the low numbers, which is quite normal so don’t be alarmed if the BGs are high for the next several cycles. Bouncing is caused by BG dropping too low, too fast or lower than the cat is used to since becoming a diabetic. This causes the cat to dump regulatory hormones and stored glucose into the system which sends the BG high. Bounces can last from 1 to 6 cycles. There is nothing you can do about bounces, except waiting them out. It doesn’t mean you need more insulin.
 
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