Introduction - Giving first dose of Lantus Tonight after BG reading

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Maggie and Atticus

Maggie and Atticus

Member Since 2021
Hello all,

I just wanted to pop on and introduce myself. I am grateful this forum exists! My cat Atticus is 7.6 years old, male, and was diagnosed on Thursday. I am going to give him his first dose of insulin tonight, 1U of Lantus. I will stay awake and monitor for hypo event and will have alarms set through out the night to check on him. He is not a fan of being handled and I am interested to see how he does. I am pretty anxious about the possibility of a hypo event, I have corn syrup on hand and a list of ER vets in my area.

Unfortunately, I moved to a new city and had to find a new vet as Atticus started seeming sick. I have not felt supported or well communicated with by this vet and she emphasized how challenging this would be with my cat's demeanor and seemed like she thought it would be better to euthanize. I don;t have his lab results with me but am going to request them on Monday. I know his liver results were worrisome, his BG was somewhere around 350.

Wish me luck with this first dose and any tips for a newly diagnosed would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

Maggie and Atticus
 
Welcome Maggie and Atticus, he's such a cutie.
If you haven't read any of the yellow stickys on the Lantus forum here they are


https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/lantus-basaglar-glargine-and-levemir-detemir.9/
Great job already creating your spreadsheet. Have you tested him yet tonight, if so would you please fill it in on your spreadsheet

For this vet to say it's better to euthanize him is crazy.
I see in your signature he is eating RX wet, what is it that he's eating.
What was he eating before the RX wet

Most of us feed Fancy Feast Classics Pate, we like to stay under 10 % carbs
I will post our food chart below. They are 2 or 3 % carbs

I see you are using the Relion Meter which is great, our numbers are based on human meters
Start off with 26 or 28 gauge lancets
Most of us freehand using the lancets, some use a lancing device. I would freehand , I find I can see better where I'm poking

Do you have the U-100 syringes with half unit markings, it's easier using them when you might have to increase or decrease the insulin.
We increase or decrease by 0.25 units at a time.

When you get the labs back you can post them on your spreadsheet in the labs column and we have members here that can look at them for you.

Has he lost any weight?
What does he weigh now


You can also buy to have in your hypo kit, Karo wears off quickly

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Beef Feast in Gravy 20% High Carbs



Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Chicken Feast in Gravy. 15% Med Carbs




Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Turkey Feast in Gravy. 15% Med Carbs


Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Chicken and Beef Feast in Gravy 15% Med Carbs
 
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Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up
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6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
 
For a human meter the normal range is US numbers 50-120
Thought this might help, I did a search on human meters and found this but I would still post and ask for advice when you aren't sure






HC is used when BG drops below 50 on a human meter.

  • Below 50: This is considered the “take action” number. If the blood sugar is permitted to go lower, the cat is in danger of experiencing a hypoglycemic event.
    • Retest immediately to determine the reading is accurate
    • Feed high-carb food and recheck blood glucose in 15 minutes
    • Repeat as necessary, testing every 15-20 minutes for at least two hours.
    • Once over 50, follow advice for numbers between 50-70
* Reduce dose by 0.25 units immediately

  • 50 – 70: This is an intervention range. Feed 1-2 tsp of low-carb food and retest in 20-30 minutes.
    • If dropping, offer a little more low-carb food and repeat process
    • If holding, no more food but retest in 30 minutes to be sure they are no longer dropping
    • If rising and over 70, no more food and take a break
    • Retest in an hour to make sure they don’t dip back down again
      1. Kitty must be able to go 2 hours without food propping the numbers up
      2. Every time you have to feed mid/high-carb food, the 2 hour clock starts over
 
Thank you for all of this information!! Sorry just getting back to you, I was testing him while I was away. His BG level read 184 before his meal. I posted to the Lantus forum, should have checked this first!

I was advised on the other thread to skip the insulin shot. I am so appreciative of all this help. I am letting him eat dinner now, and will test later and record again. If his levels are very high I think I will start insulin in the morning.

He has been taking antibiotics for gingivitis and am wondering if that has helped his BG levels fall as well.

You and this forum are a god send. Thank you, thank you.
 
Maggie and Atticus said:
Thank you! He is a cutie! Tyler is quite a handsome babe too!!
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Thank you, I just got him into remission on 1-24-21
after 2-1/2 years
He's going for his first dental cleaning on 3-16-21 may need a tooth pulled, not sure yet
I'm sure his numbers will go up due to it and stress, hopefully they will go back down again after a week.

Just taking him to my vet for a check up raised his numbers a little for 2 days then back to normal. He gets stressed so easily, big baby lol
 
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Aw I'm so glad to hear he is in remission! I hope he does okay with the dental cleaning/possible extraction. Good thing he's got a dedicated, well-informed Mama on his side!
My tabby is the same way. He is very chill at home but turns into a very different anxious and grumpy kitty at the vet. Makes my heart hurt for them. I wish I could afford a vet that does house calls!
It is very comforting that this community exists. Diane, I really appreciate you welcoming me and giving me all those resources. I'll be studying up.
I'll also be sending good vibes to you and Tyler for his dental cleaning on Tuesday.
 
Maggie and Atticus said:
Aw I'm so glad to hear he is in remission! I hope he does okay with the dental cleaning/possible extraction. Good thing he's got a dedicated, well-informed Mama on his side!
My tabby is the same way. He is very chill at home but turns into a very different anxious and grumpy kitty at the vet. Makes my heart hurt for them. I wish I could afford a vet that does house calls!
It is very comforting that this community exists. Diane, I really appreciate you welcoming me and giving me all those resources. I'll be studying up.
I'll also be sending good vibes to you and Tyler for his dental cleaning on Tuesday.
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Aw thank you Maggie, the members here are so knowledge, in my opinion they know more than most vets do. I am so grateful that I have a vet that works with me and let's me do what I want. I have told her about this group and even printed off tons of information from here to show her how knowledge the members are here.

She was very impressed, I think she even learned a few things lol
She gave me gabapentin to give Tyler when I bring him in for the dental to calm him
down.
When I took him for his check up and blood work he howled all the way there that you would think he would go hoarse.
Then all the way home. It was maddening lol
I have to give it to him the night before and then in the morning before I drop him off at 8:30
Of course I'll be a nervous wreck

Praying he won't need any pulled.
His brother Perry was just the opposite, wouldn't make a peep.
Unfortunately he had kidney disease and I had to let him go on 10-6-20
He was my heart kitty, he loved me like crazy. I miss him so so much

Tyler is a real loner, only kisses up when he wants food.
Perry was so lovable and was always by my side.

Tyler will be 13 the end of March
I did everything I could for Perry, gave fluids, epogen injections for anemia, phosphate binders . My poor boy.

They were named after my favorite rock band Aerosmith lol
Steven Tyler and Joe Perry
I sure named the right one Tyler because he doesn't shut up :p

You have landed in the right place , everyone here is so caring and compassionate.
We are like family and you and Atticus are part of it.

Just keep asking questions and post when you are not sure of something.
Atticus is lucky to have you.
You will do great, it's a lot to take in in the beginning but believe me in no time you will become a pro.
There are members here in all different time zones so if it's very late and you might
need help there are members around thru the night .
We would post and tag them.
I'm glad you found us, you said you weren't crazy about the vet you found , if you don't feel comfortable with her or supported then just look for another one if you have to.
For her to empathize it would be a challenge because of his demeanor and seemed like it would be better to euthanize was horrible.
It's not a challenge, diabetic cats can live a long and healthy life.
Don't forget to get the labs , like I said we have members here that are very good at
reading them.You mentioned his liver results were worrisome.
I pray that it's nothing serious.
Well I rambled on enough and will check on you tomorrow :bighug::bighug::cat:
 
I'm so sorry to hear about Perry <3. I love that you named them after Aerosmith.

And I appreciate the advice about posting whenever. I have so many questions but I don't want to be too high maintenance!

I am looking for a new vet, the one that diagnosed Bubby (Atticus's nickname) didn't give me much instruction on how to do any of this. I've been losing sleep for days about his condition, but I'm scared to start the insulin when his readings are under 200, but I worry about long term damage with delaying. It's hard to get a reading, I had to do his paws and I feel bad for keeping on pricking him. Hoping I'll get better at that with practice and more research.

I appreciate you welcoming me to the family, this has felt pretty lonely so far so it's nice to know you all are here. I'll be posting in the morning I'm sure, trying to figure out if I should start insulin. Calling the vet monday to get his lab results sent to me. Talk to you soon!
 
Maggie and Atticus said:
I'm so sorry to hear about Perry <3. I love that you named them after Aerosmith.

And I appreciate the advice about posting whenever. I have so many questions but I don't want to be too high maintenance!

I am looking for a new vet, the one that diagnosed Bubby (Atticus's nickname) didn't give me much instruction on how to do any of this. I've been losing sleep for days about his condition, but I'm scared to start the insulin when his readings are under 200, but I worry about long term damage with delaying. It's hard to get a reading, I had to do his paws and I feel bad for keeping on pricking him. Hoping I'll get better at that with practice and more research.

I appreciate you welcoming me to the family, this has felt pretty lonely so far so it's nice to know you all are here. I'll be posting in the morning I'm sure, trying to figure out if I should start insulin. Calling the vet monday to get his lab results sent to me. Talk to you soon!
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Hey Maggie, With testing, did you have any luck testing his ear?
Try and start to rub his ears whenever you can just to get him used to his ears being touched. Bring him to the same spot where you plan to test him
Give him a treat after doing it, a lot of members buy freeze dried treats.

When you try and prick his ear and you don't have any luck , give him a treat so he will associate testing and then getting a treat
It will get better :cat:
@Maggie and Atticus
 
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VIDEO: How to test your cat's blood sugar

Here is a video that one of our members made testing her cat, I'm sure you have looked at some already . just by chance the vet didn't tell you , keep the Lantus in the fridge, like on the middle of a shelf, don't put it in the inside of the door.

Do you mind if I ask you what state you live in, I know Lantus is very expensive
Did you buy a vial or the pen?
Only asking because we can suggest where you can buy it cheaper when and if needed again
@Maggie and Atticus
 
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Diane Tyler's Mom said:
Hey Maggie, With testing, did you have any luck testing his ear?
Try and start to rub his ears whenever you can just to get him used to his ears being touched. Bring him to the same spot where you plan to test him
Give him a treat after doing it, a lot of members buy freeze dried treats.

When you try and prick his ear and you don't have any luck , give him a treat so he will associate testing and then getting a treat
It will get better :cat:
@Maggie and Atticus
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I have had a really hard time testing his BG. I've only successfully done it three times total with the help of another person, and from his paw. I haven't been able to draw anything from the ear at all after many pokes. I've been trying to test him for the past hour and he is not having it and I don't have anyone here to help. I've had to give him tiny pieces of a squeezable treat in order to get him to let me try to take his BG. I am going to buy needles with a larger gauge today. Also have no clue how I'm gonna get his pee on a ketone test strip. He has been peeing as often as he was and he's getting pretty sick of me trying to mess with him.

I am wanting to get him started on insulin soon, his clinical symptoms are definitely visible. Walking strange like his back legs aren't looking very normal and he seems like he doesn't feel well after he eats. He has had a healthy appetite since the diagnosis and it looks like he may have put on some weight since the diagnosis on Thursday. Also want to start him on a day where I'm not at work at all so I can monitor him but my work week starts tomorrow. It's hard to know what the right thing to do is.
 
Diane Tyler's Mom said:
Hey Maggie, With testing, did you have any luck testing his ear?
Try and start to rub his ears whenever you can just to get him used to his ears being touched. Bring him to the same spot where you plan to test him
Give him a treat after doing it, a lot of members buy freeze dried treats.

When you try and prick his ear and you don't have any luck , give him a treat so he will associate testing and then getting a treat
It will get better :cat:
@Maggie and Atticus
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These are very helpful tips. I will start touching his ears more and offering a treat every attempted test.
 
You can also try this, the more testing you can do the better it will be so we can see what his
BG is. I know you hate poking him but if you can get more tests in during the day and night
cycle that would be great
Maybe @+4 , @+6 @+9
Try to vary the times
@+2, @+5, @+8
Its like filling in pieces of a puzzle
@Maggie and Atticus
 
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Chris & China (GA) said:
So do I Maggie! What part of the state of Misery are you in?
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Hi Chris her the ER vet told Maggie to start insulin
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/thr...-is-lethargic-but-eating.244669/#post-2760094
Please read the link where the ER vet said this
Just worried that she has no data
Please take a look at her SS plus she just switched him over to wet food from dry a few days ago
and he's on antibiotics for gingivitis
@Chris & China (GA)


One more link if you could please read it about being on antibiotics, stopping dry food and now feeding RX prescription and what his BG was at the vets

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/thr...-yet-any-recommendations.244625/#post-2759705

@Chris & China (GA)
 
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Maggie and Atticus said:
I am wanting to get him started on insulin soon, his clinical symptoms are definitely visible. Walking strange like his back legs aren't looking very normal and he seems like he doesn't feel well after he eats. He has had a healthy appetite since the diagnosis and it looks like he may have put on some weight since the diagnosis on Thursday. Also want to start him on a day where I'm not at work at all so I can monitor him but my work week starts tomorrow. It's hard to know what the right thing to do is.
Click to expand...


Is he walking like a rabbit on his back feet, like flat footed, and not walking on his toes?
It could be neuropathy, Tyler had it , once I got his BG under control and gave him MethylB-12 it went away , took about 2-3 months
I will give you the link for it.


https://www.vitacost.com/vitacost-vitamin-b-12-methylcobalamin-5000-mcg-100-capsules-6
For neuropathy

Alot of members use this , I use it myself you can buy it on line from Vitacost
Vitamin B-12 Methylcobalamin -- 5000 mcg - 100 Capsules
It's 17.99 just be sure this is the one you buy
Some us Zobaline , but it's expensive
This is the same thing
The only difference is the Zobaline has 200 mcgs of folic acid
So I buy the folic acid at the supermarket and crush it up and add it to the B-12
If you can't find the 200 mcg get the 400 mcg and cut it in half
The Vitacost brand is a capsule so just open it and pour the powder on the wet food
Has no taste, no need to crush it up
The Zobaline is 33.99 for 60 pills, too expensive
I saw a big improvement I'd say 3 months, could be sooner. One capsule a day.
Once you get your kitty better regulated the B-12 methyl will help


Vitamin B-12 Methylcobalamin -- 5000 mcg - 100 Capsules
 
Chris & China (GA) said:
So do I Maggie! What part of the state of Misery are you in?
Click to expand...

I am in St. Louis, what about you?

I dosed Atticus for the first time this evening, his BG was 220. I just felt like I needed to get him started because his clinical signs are starting to be worrisome. @Diane Tyler's Mom I filled out the spreadsheet. Don't know if I am doing this right but I described the whole situation to the er vet on the phone and she said begin treatment. I hope I made the right choice to dose. I will closely monitor him this evening.
 
Diane Tyler's Mom said:
Is he walking like a rabbit on his back feet, like flat footed, and not walking on his toes?
It could be neuropathy, Tyler had it , once I got his BG under control and gave him MethylB-12 it went away , took about 2-3 months
I will give you the link for it.


https://www.vitacost.com/vitacost-vitamin-b-12-methylcobalamin-5000-mcg-100-capsules-6
For neuropathy

Alot of members use this , I use it myself you can buy it on line from Vitacost
Vitamin B-12 Methylcobalamin -- 5000 mcg - 100 Capsules
It's 17.99 just be sure this is the one you buy
Some us Zobaline , but it's expensive
This is the same thing
The only difference is the Zobaline has 200 mcgs of folic acid
So I buy the folic acid at the supermarket and crush it up and add it to the B-12
If you can't find the 200 mcg get the 400 mcg and cut it in half
The Vitacost brand is a capsule so just open it and pour the powder on the wet food
Has no taste, no need to crush it up
The Zobaline is 33.99 for 60 pills, too expensive
I saw a big improvement I'd say 3 months, could be sooner. One capsule a day.
Once you get your kitty better regulated the B-12 methyl will help


Vitamin B-12 Methylcobalamin -- 5000 mcg - 100 Capsules
Click to expand...



Yes thats exactly what is going on with his legs. Thank you for the advice on supplements, I will get him that for sure.
And just very tired and dilated eyes. I worry that he does have ketones, he hasn't peed yet but will test at that time.
 
@Maggie and Atticus - I only joined a month ago and had a super hard time with our cat's ears. It was a complete game changer to go to a 28 gauge lancet. Pookie's ears have definitely adjusted and he knows he only gets freeze dried chicken when it's time to test. We now rattle the bag and he comes running. That doesn't mean that he doesn't try to avoid it, or squirm frustratingly when we wait for a blood droplet to form, but at least he's not cowering or making us curse. His ears seem to bleed a lot easier now as well.

It does take a few seconds for the droplet to form and massaging the ear towards the nick helps. I'm wondering how often I gave up too soon and pricked again rather than waiting for the droplet.

My husband was a better tester with the lancet device initially and did most of the testing. I'm better without the lancet device and since we broke our lancet device I have been doing most of the testing. For me, once we started getting blood easily, it was hard to get the blood onto the strip. Either he would shake his head right when I was grabbing the droplet or my hands would shake too much (benign rest tremor aggravated by stress) and I would smear the drop. We found it helpful to have one person hold the cat and do the jab and the other person hold the strip and machine and grab the blood.

Someone here suggested trying to sing while testing the blood because it forces you to relax. We did, and it helped. Maybe not him, but it did help us. You may want to try randomly singing and throwing the cat a treat throughout the day so that he also associates your singing with treats.

If all else fails, walk away for a bit. This isn't something that's going to be cured overnight, and unless he's at risk for hypo because his numbers are low, it's not something you're going to make significantly worse by not grabbing a middle of the day or night sample. Come back a bit later to do the test.

Good luck - it is a lot to take in all at once. But you'll be amazed at how much better you'll be able to handle it even within a couple of weeks.
 
I have been updating but people are saying that it's not updated so I dont know whats up with that. Just now he is at 193 I gave him a couple treats to test his BG. I gave him less than the vet prescribed, this is so confusing. The vet didn't even tell me to test his glucose. None of this makes any sense to me :(
 
You're totally normal. It's a hard disease and there's lots to learn. Don't worry...you'll get it with some time.

How are you accessing your spreadsheet? Phone/tablet or PC? Are you signed into Google?

This is all I'm seeing:
upload_2021-3-14_19-19-39.png
 

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Thanks for saying that. I appreciate it. I am accessing with my pc. Yes I'm signed into google. I closed it out maybe that updated it for others to see. He read 220 at 430 and I dosed him. He had a large meal of wet food before and during the dose. It was after I called the emergency vet and was worried about DKA. She told me to dose.
 
Diane Tyler's Mom said:
Hey Maggie don't forget to fill in his PMPS for tonight 220
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I'm thinking she didn't wait until her usual shot times. I think she panicked when she saw the 220 and the ER vet telling her to give insulin so gave it at 4:30pm instead of waiting until whatever her usual shot times are going to be.

I've asked her about that when I worked on her spreadsheet but haven't heard back yet
 
Chris & China (GA) said:
I'm thinking she didn't wait until her usual shot times. I think she panicked when she saw the 220 and the ER vet telling her to give insulin so gave it at 4:30pm instead of waiting until whatever her usual shot times are going to be.

I've asked her about that when I worked on her spreadsheet but haven't heard back yet
Click to expand...
Okey Dokey Chris, gotcha , Chris I hope you are doing well :bighug::bighug:
 
I did dose kind of out of panic. He was looking very ill. I felt like I needed to start treating him, rather than delaying any longer for his BG to get higher. I did the ketones test just now and it had trace amounts, so I'm glad I started.
 
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