Introduction of Squirt

[Oldcatlady]

Squirt will be 15 this fall. She is such a gentle cat and has lived in the shadow of my other cat Skeeter who was quite the ruler of the house for almost 19 years. I had to have her put to sleep on June 1 due to the cumulative affects of renal disease and inflammatory bowel disease. In Feb 2014, Squirt had bloodwork and nothing unusual was noted except possibly hyperthyroid. Vet wanted to check around May again. Since I was going to board her in mid June, thought I'd have it checked then. Sometime after the Feb. bloodwork, the litter box was getting a lot of urine, not even clumping anymore. Thought it was due to the renal failure cat. Then Squirt was thinner, but then I'd had her on weight reduction food, so was glad it was working. Then Skeeter died, and the urine continued to be way too much and Squirt was a bit thinner (she was a very overweight cat to begin with, so now she looked pretty good). Thought I'd better get her in so she was checked and diagnosed mid June with diabetes. Being diagnosed two weeks after losing my other cat, who had quite a complicated regiment of care for the last 4 years, was a bit overwhelming. Anyway, I work full time and have a lot of life-stuff going on, but am medically inclined and trained in my work, so this doesn't scare me; however I know it is a serious disease and I hope to be able to get Squirt stabilized soon. Since beginning Lantus, I will admit I've tended to adjust the amount of insulin to what she is reading at test time as I wasn't sure what to do. I've read lots of the docs with this group, but haven't read all the different forums due to a lack of time. But I will spend more time checking things out and I believe I've gotten the right idea now about the 'start low, go slow" idea. That is until she is high, that's why I've panicked (not really-just confused) at times. Consequently she has been swinging up and down a bit. I did the spreadsheet and it is available on Google Docs to view. Naturally I have to travel a bit through August, so that adds a bit of a kink to my plans to get her stabilized as she will be spending time boarded at the vets. Anyway, I'm glad to find this group here and on Facebook. Thanks for listening!

 

[BJM]

Welcome to FDMB.

See my signature links Glucometer Notes and Secondary Monitoring Tools for how glucometers work and other assessments you can make to evaluate progress and report to the vet when you visit.

Please note that the majority of insulin adjustments are made based on the nadir, the lowest glucose level between shots. This is often between +5 to +7 hours after a shot of Lantus. That should be no lower than 50 mg/dL using a human glucometer. Until you have tests showing it is safe, do not give insulin for pre-shot tests under 200 mg/dL. This may gradually be lowered as test data show it is safe.

Another note - Lantus effects are cummulative and build up over several days. If you adjust the dose every day, you will get confusing, erratic numbers. It is best to stick with a dose for at least 3 full days before checking the nadir to see if adjustment is warranted (Tight Regulation protocol - longer for SLGS).

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Welcome Susan! I'm really happy to see you make it over here from the Facebook group!

If you'll go to the User Control Panel (top left side of the page) and add some information in the signature line, it'll help us to help you...and also keep us from asking the same questions over and over again!

Go to the User Control Panel and click on "Profile".....then click on "Edit Signature"

A new little box will pop up and you can add things like
Your name/cats name
date of diagnosis
type of insulin
type of meter
food you're feeding
any other health problems?
The link to your spreadsheet! (this is most important so we can check it anytime before we advise you)....just "copy" the link, click on the URL tab and "paste" it....it'll look like this Your link here[url] Click on "Subm...see some of the information we've put in ours