Introducing myself and Harley. Newbie....again....

[Suzy B]

Hi everyone, I say 'again' because Harley isn't my first diabetic cat but he doesn't seem to be responding as well as my previous experiences.

I have been reading lots of your very helpful posts over the last few weeks since Harley was diagnosed but haven't really got the hang of what I need to do to ask for advice and recording his curves etc on your spreadsheet which I don't seem to be able to access.

A little background: Harley is a beautiful boy with a wonderful gentle nature and is 11 years old. He isn't overweight and has been on atopica for most of his life due to severe skin problems and has been in stage 1/2 kidney disease for two years. He has been on renal food and doing very well on that in that his kidney numbers have been very stable.

In the summer he was extremely ill with a blocked urethra and had major surgery (pu) followed by a a few bad weeks getting over that when he had a few steroid injections and a few weeks of steroid/ predisolone pills . Shortly after all this we noticed he was peeing copious amounts and he was diagnosed with diabetes just as we thought he'd got through it all.
He is on caninsulin 1.5 units twice a day and we are doing a glucose curve every weekend and get some dramatic and random movement. For instance today PS was 20 and at +4 hrs he was at 8.4 and then at + 6hrs 19.9. Last weekend it seemed to stop working after two hours and the numbers went back up past the PS number of 25. Other days have been much more as expected .

I have suggested changing to prozinc as from what I read it has a more steady impact but my vet seems reluctant maybe as they haven't used it before. Should I just sit and be patient ? I would dearly love to give him the best chance of getting into remission . As I suspect this was triggered by all the steroids is that more likely or not?

With my previous cat we got him into remission for about a year but it was easy to change his diet to a low carb. My vet wants me to continue with the renal food now as he feels diabetes can be controlled whereas kidney disease is life threatening. I am so confused reading up on everything but not really feeling like I'm getting anywhere. I haven't stopped the renal food but I am giving him chicken and fish to be sure he eats at shot time and I'm trying various low carb wet foods but he is getting a bit fussy hanging out for his favorite fresh white fish and I am worried about messing up his kidneys.

Sorry if this is a bit of a ramble - as I'm sure you will understand this is very stressful trying to get his glucose levels as good as possible while juggling with the kidney worry. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you for listening.

 

[majandra]

Welcome!

I am new here as well, and am not able to offer much advice yet for diabetes things, but I know someone will stop by soon who can help you out

Do you have a google account? You will need one to edit a spreadsheet. Also, it is much easier to set up on a computer- you can then edit easy from a phone.

 

[Suzy B]

R

Welcome!

I am new here as well, and am not able to offer much advice yet for diabetes things, but I know someone will stop by soon who can help you out

Do you have a google account? You will need one to edit a spreadsheet. Also, it is much easier to set up on a computer- you can then edit easy from a phone.

HI Majandra,
thank you for your reply. I do have a google account (which I've barely used so a I'm not that familiar with it )but when I previously clicked on one of the links in here it opened google but only showed some of my old spreadsheets and not the intended link - although - when I just clicked on your link to Rhubarbs spreadsheet it opened up fine.

 

[majandra]

May be worth trying again to set yours up. I found it easier to have the forum thread with instructions open in a separate tab since it's a lot of instructions!

 

[Idjit's mom]

Good morning and welcome Suzy and Harley. You have come to the best place you never wanted to be. I would encourage you to begin home testing, instead of taking Harley to the vet every weekend for a curve. The weekend tests are not telling you what is happening on a daily basis, or if it's safe to inject the insulin each time. Usually going to the vet raises the stress levels, which raises the BG levels (blood glucose), and certainly is an added expense. Many/most cats do not feel safe at the vet and will not eat, which also reflects in the BG levels. We can help with information about home testing. It may seem daunting at first, but it soon becomes routine, for you and kitty. It's the best tool you have to keep Harley safe.
I am putting a couple of links here to help members help you, the signature that provides pertinent info that is attached to each of your posts. It saves repeated queries for the same info and you having to provide it.
Then the spreadsheet. Invaluable for determining how the insulin, food and other factors are affecting the BG
SIGNATURE
SPREADSHEET
If you need help setting the spreadsheet up, there are members who are wizard at them, and more than willing to help.
Please come to the Health (Main) Forum and post about these concerns. If you like, you can just copy your message here and paste into a new thread there. More eyes on the issues and more input to help you take care of dear Harley.

 

[Suzy B]

Thank you so much Lou,
We are doing the curves ourselves at home. I don't like doing it as I feel bad hurting him but I know it's much better that having the vet do it . The poor boy runs whenever I approach him these days because I'm either jabbing a needle into him, pricking his ears or poking pills down his throat. It's a wonder he hasn't left home!
I will try the spreadsheet again tomorrow and move to the other forum.

 

[Idjit's mom]

Don't lose heart. Are you giving Harley a treat with each test? I found that at first testing was much easier with a treat before and after, successful test or not. We tried many things, and the Pure Bites freeze dried chicken was a hit! Or how about small chunks of baked or poached chicken breast?
You could also try just taking Harley to the testing station and giving him the treat, and fondling his ears a bit. If you are using a rice sock for warming, use that too. Let him enjoy it and hopefully it will help with conditioning for the actual testing. If you are hitting that "sweet spot" between the edge of the ear and the vein, you aren't actually hurting him, cats have many less nerve receptors in the ears than we have in our fingers. And the more you test, the more little capillaries develop, making it easier to get that little tiny drop of blood. You probably already know these things, but you might be feeling a little overwhelmed again right now. Don't forget a treat for yourself, a bit of chocolate, a glass or cup of a preferred beverage, you deserve it too!

 

[Suzy B]

Thank you, that's interesting about the capillaries developing.
He goes crazy for those freeze dried chicken treats - i have been giving them after his insulin but was a bit worried it might skew the results if I gave them all day when doing a curve. I have cut down on how much he gets and break bits off which is really nice because although he is excited he is so gentle taking the pieces from my fingers. I would have lost my fingers with my old Jake. I test him wherever he happens to be - do you thinking always taking them to the same place works better?

 

[Coco’s Momma]

Welcome to the club, Harley & Suzy!
When I test Coco, it's in the same place - she's just easier to manage on the bathroom counter. With the door shut. And we go through the same testing routine ending with her fave treat. Even though she's giving me the death glare, she knows that treat is coming!

 

[Idjit's mom]

Thank you, that's interesting about the capillaries developing.
He goes crazy for those freeze dried chicken treats - i have been giving them after his insulin but was a bit worried it might skew the results if I gave them all day when doing a curve. I have cut down on how much he gets and break bits off which is really nice because although he is excited he is so gentle taking the pieces from my fingers. I would have lost my fingers with my old Jake. I test him wherever he happens to be - do you thinking always taking them to the same place works better?

I think it would depend on the cat, most cats like a routine so they know what's happening when and where ECID. I don't believe that the freeze dried treats would affect BG if they are all meat. The Pure Bites for dogs is the same stuff (the chicken) and is cheaper per oz in the larger bag. You have to break the pieces down for smaller kitty mouths, but we live to serve our cats, right?