Just joined group and starting insulin

[d0zivyhoo]

I guess I'm supposed to introduce us at this location, so here goes:

Kitty was diagnosed with CKD over a year ago, and she's been on Azodyl and sub-q's ever since. It seems to be relatively under control.

However, she was just diagnosed with pancreatitis two weeks ago and diabetes and hypertension a month ago. We're still trying to regulate her BP. Not much we can do about the pancreatitis, since steroids are bad for diabetes. However, we will be trying some pancreatic enzymes.

And, yes, I am also a member of both the CKD and pancreatitis groups.

Kitty's blood glucose was 346 yesterday after switching to wet Hills m/d from Hill's k/d for two weeks (it was 300 two weeks before that, but 384 a month ago - I believe the initial drop was because I stopped feeding k/d dry). Unfortunately, the diabetic diet didn't help further with her glucose, and now the vet wants me to start insulin and mix the k/d and the m/d in hopes of dealing with everything (there was a small amount of protein in her urine for the first time, so I can't keep her on just the m/d).

Will be starting Lantus the day after Thanksgiving, and my vet said not to worry about home testing yet. Ugh. I'm totally scared of sending her into hypoglycemia. The vet wanted me to start 2 units 2x a day. After reading a bazillion threads here, I think I'm going to be a rebel and start with .5 units 2x a day. Gads. Then, she goes into the vet for curves in five days.

The good news is, the vet thinks Sarah has a lot of life left in her. Sarah kitty is a little angel (in fact, she lying in my lap right now purring away); I just hope she stays that way after I start pricking her ears!

Anyway, I am thankful there was so much information provided on this message board that I don't actually have any questions. Thanks to all of you for providing informative documents so I'm educated before venturing on this awful journey.

DZ and Sarah

 

[BJM]

Welcome!
... and breathe!

Great that you've been reading; there's a thread near the top of health which discusses food for kitties with both renal & diabetic issues. The additional criteria besides low carb is lower phosphorus. Some of these over the counter foods may work better than the pricey prescription foods. Do you recall what stage of renal disease she has? Per Dr Pierson of Cat Info, unless the cat's renal compromise is severe, there needs to be enough quality protein consumed to maintain muscle mass, something that renal diets may not provide.

Pancreatitis is very painful; has she got pain meds to take? Are you giving Pepcid, or anything to calm upset stomach?

 

[nancy and payne]

Wow! that is a lot to deal with! first of all BREATHE you can do this ....

If you are starting Lantus I would go to the Lantus tight regulation and read all of the stickies and introduce myself. It is a VERY active list and even around the holidays is busy, have them lead you but you are right starting at 2u 2x a day is WAY too much.

You have a lot going on but right now you need to get her #s down and treat the diabetes. We have found that a pate diet, like Fancy Feast or Friskies will work the best for everything. The Ptitis is better when the diabetes calms down and does well on a pate diet. No dry, it is so bad! like
crack for a cat. Until her #s get better she will be hungry, feed her a lot but because of the Ptitis pate, boiled chicken, turkey meat, etc. mild things on the tummy. Stay away from anything science diet.

You need to test before each shot and with Lantus at other times, they will guide you. Testing gives you power, you will start to see patterns .... know your kitty, not shoot if she is too low.

You sound like you have a firm grasp, you will be fine .....
Nancy

 

[d0zivyhoo]

Thank you for your replies, Nancy and BGM.

Sarah turned 15 last July, and she is in stage III CKD/CRD. So, a low phoshorus food is necessary at this juncture. Unfortunately, Purina doubled the phosphorus content in Fancy Feast sometime last year. I guess it was more cost effective for them to add more ground bone. Ugh. I could add a phosphorus binder, but I'm reluctant at this juncture due to how much other stuff I'm adding to her food. I even went so far as to contact Purina this month - they sent me the entire Fancy Feast ingredient and nutrient list (it's posted on both the CKD and pancreatitis group sites). So, I verified the excess phosphorus based on those calculations

Also, thanks for the Dr Pierson link. I had read that previously as a recommendation from the CKD group. I can't tell you how many hours/days I've spent going over multiple nutrient analysis charts and performing dry analysis calculations, only to come to the conclusion that wet m/d was worth a try (not too high in phosphorus). Unfortunately, the high protein content is a tough one to rectify, and Sarah had a trace in her urine for the first time. So now, I was told to mix m/d and k/d to see how that pans out. I'd make my own cat food, but life is exhausting enough right now. And, yes, dry food really is kitty crack. I wish I had taken her off of it much sooner. Truly, I should have sought out the CKD group much earlier in the game. Stupid me.

Regarding the pancreatitis, she doesn't seem to be in pain, just snoozes a lot. Every time I take her to a vet, the comment is that she just doesn't look like a sick kitty - she is a bit overweight, and due to the sub-q's all of this time, she is well hydrated. My current vet (an internist) and I believe that she isn't experiencing the horrible symptoms due, in large part, to the sub-q's. I can pick her up, turn her over and kiss the heck out of her tummy, all while she purrs away. And, she bounds up the stairs to retrieve her pill pockets 2x a day. However, if the pain does occur, I have plenty of refrigerated Buprenorphine left over from her dislocated knee surgery last year (doesn't expire until nov. 2013). I did discuss using it with my vet, and she stated that would be fine.

So, again, thanks you two. Definitely, I will check out the Lantus group.

Ugh, my head hurts!

DZ and Sarah