Is treatment helping? *update*

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Theresa6

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I have had my cat on insulin for 2 weeks and I am not sure it is helping. She was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and diabetes at the same time, and we started treatment for both right away. I think the thyroid treatment is helping because she seems to have gotten her appetite back (in fact, now she is hungry all the time where she was eating about half as much before the meds) but she is still drinking tons of water and flooding the litterbox with pee which were the first symptoms we noticed and what brought us in to get her tested.

What could be going on? She is on lantus, 2 units, twice a day. How could it not be doing anything?
 
Re: Is treatment helping?

Are you testing blood glucose levels at home? That's the only way you will know if the insulin and dose is working.

Managing your cat's diabetes requires patience :smile: You shouldn't expect a miracle in just 2 weeks from insulin treatment. Some cats can become regulated within that time but for many other cats, it takes weeks if not months to find the right dose that will regulate the blood glucose levels. Lantus in particular needs a lot of patience. Doses have to "settle" for about a week before you see any effect on blood glucose levels. Frequent dose changes doesn't work with Lantus.

The hyperT probably affects the diabetes a bit. I don't have any experience with a cat who has both hyperT and diabetes but there is probably a member or two out there who can provide help and tips.
 
Re: Is treatment helping?

Theresa6 said:
I have had my cat on insulin for 2 weeks and I am not sure it is helping. She was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism and diabetes at the same time, and we started treatment for both right away. I think the thyroid treatment is helping because she seems to have gotten her appetite back (in fact, now she is hungry all the time where she was eating about half as much before the meds) but she is still drinking tons of water and flooding the litterbox with pee which were the first symptoms we noticed and what brought us in to get her tested.

What could be going on? She is on lantus, 2 units, twice a day. How could it not be doing anything?
Click to expand...

Since you're already doing insulin, your next step is home testing Otherwise, you run the risk of giving her too much insulin if you decide to change her diet as described below.

What are you feeding her? If its dry kibble, getting rid of that and switching to a low carbohydrate canned food may drop her 100 points in a day or two. Please see Binky's Page for info on common cat foods and the percent of calories from protein, fat, and carbohydrate. Aim for foods with under 10% of the calories from carbohydrate.

Also, treating hyperthyroidism may unmask renal disease. A recheck of those tests may be in orde,r too.
 
Re: Is treatment helping?

You might want to take a look at this link on hyperthyroidism and diabetes. Until you have your cat's hyper-T under reasonable control, it may be a bit more challenging to get the diabetes regulated. Both are endocrine disorders so there's an interaction between the conditions.

I would second BJ's suggestion about home testing. It is the best way to know if your cat is becoming better regulated and this is particularly the case if you are changing diet and getting the hyper-T under control.
 
Re: Is treatment helping?

thank you. I have not been doing home testing, I have to admit I am a bit intimidated by it. I recently received my newbie kit from this site, but I have yet to use it... I feel overwhelmed just looking at it! LOL!

As for diet, she is actually on a prescription diet (dry kibble) royal canin hydrolized protien. She also takes famatidine in the mornings. The reason for the prescription diet is vomitting... she has always been a big barfer, and she was throwing up multiple times a day before the diet change and famotidine. Now the vomitting is down to a couple of times a month. She really can't tolerate anything else dry or wet or she is throwing up again. I have tried exclusively feeding wet canned food, many brands of dry food, and all the same result.

I am feeling frustrated. I love my cat, but I don't have the time or energy to scrub caked on litter on her paws every night. I can't even go 24 hours without scooping because she totally floods the box spraying wet litter all over the walls and getting wet litter stuck to her paws and caked on, in between her toe pads. In turn that litter ends up in my bed and in the beds of my children :( I know this is not normal and I was really hoping that getting her on meds would help :(
 
Re: Is treatment helping?

Until the diabetes is under control, you may be better off with NON-clumping litter. Most of the liquid will settle to the bottom, and if you scoop carefully, using a spoon or trowel, instead of a mesh scoop, you can remove the wet litter successfully.
 
Re: Is treatment helping?

Theresa6 said:
As for diet, she is actually on a prescription diet (dry kibble) royal canin hydrolized protien.(
Click to expand...

Did the canned version of the hydrolysed protein diet not work for her? It would be better for her health, due to the moisture content.

There are a number of folk on here who have dealt with inflammatory bowel disease and allergies; if you post with a question on that in the subject line, you may got lots of ideas, some which may be new for you to try.
 
small update...

NO, I do not think treatment is helping! I had a friend who is diabetic herself come over and teach me how to do the home testing, and together we tested Stella. Her blood sugar yesterday around 230 was 380! Tonight just before her shot it was 400. She is getting lantus 2 units twice a day, and it has been over two weeks. She was diagnosed with blood sugar at around 450.

Not to mention that home testing is a real pain! She hisses, scratches, and otherwise tries everything in her power to stop me. It takes a while because even on the biggest setting I still don't get enough blood to do the test (I know this because I ruined two test strips already!) so I have to squeeze the paw once I have poked her and I end up getting scratched by her in the process.

I am feeling very frustrated (see my other litter box post) and I don't know where to go from here. Can anyone offer any advise?
 
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