kse
Very Active Member
Today, marks the one year anniversary of Kitty's Diabetes Diagnosis. I will never forget the vet visit. I knew something was not right with Kitty, she was losing weight, drinking excessively and the litter box was drenched in urine daily. I just knew it was her kidneys, and I had already given the vet my speech about how I wanted to keep her comfortable, but I didn't want to chase her the rest of her life to give pills (I had done that previously with a CRF cat). There was no doubt in my mine, that her days were numbered.
Then the vet came back with the blood work results and claimed.."She is Diabetic, We can do this!" I remember thinking, we can?!
The first thing I did was searched the net and found this site. The first response I got on my initial post on the board, was from St. Sue---Sue and Oliver! She welcomed Kitty and Me, and advised me to change her diet, start hometesting and to set up a SPREADSHEET! She probably mentioned the SS first!
We started out on DM--and ditched that after a week for Fancy Feast. I was scared to death to give the shots...scared I would hurt Kitty! But, I learned. And, I was awful at testing. And to top it all off, my vet instructed me to give Kitty the Prozinc only once a day! She also advised me that I could make Kitty anemic by testing so much!
I would post daily in PZI and I was continually told by the members here, that the once a day dosing was NOT enough. But, I didn't listen. I mean how could these people on a message board know more than my vet? So, I dosed once a day. One month later, Kitty went into DKA--- due to the insufficient insulin supply she was receiving (coupled with an ugly UTI). I should have listened to the group here! It was a very hard lesson to learn.
I was also awful at testing the cycles. Everyday, I would post Kitty's preshot numbers, and the group would tell me I needed to find her nadir and get more mid cycle tests if I wanted to regulate Kitty. I didn't listen, for months I only tested preshots. And, for months she remained too high. One of the reasons, that I didn't test a lot midcycle, was because I didn't like the test results that I was getting when I did test--- and I felt like I was failing Kitty. I was almost embarassed to post the test numbers, because I took it personal. Then finally, one day, with the encouragement of some here that I now call friends, I decided to get serious and try to help Kitty!
She was very complex at best. At one time, she was getting 5 units BID, only to see her preshot numbers remain in the 400s-- though her nadirs were in the 200s and 100s. We discussed everything here, from the possibility of Kitty being Insulin Resistant, having Hyper T, or being Acro. All of these were very devasting conversations to me. Many here encouraged me to switch to another insulin. Trust me, I heard it all! Kitty was very complex.
But, as a group we continued to try to figure Kitty out. Finally, last summer, the notion of TID dosing was mentioned for Kitty. I was scared to death-- new things to consider --- insulin overlap, shooting into rising numbers...etc....But, with a lot of encouragement , I tried it! My vet discouraged this also---- "I could kill Kitty with a wrong dose decision!"
I now stand here a year later, with my hat in my hand, as I now consider Kitty regulated and doing great. Yes, she might have some other health issues, but her diabetes is well under control. I have made many friends here and I feel indebted to the support and advice that the group has given me with Kitty. You never let me give up-- you have always been there...and, I Thank You!
I didn't intend on this post being so long, but I wanted to share my experience to give encouragement to all the new PZI users. Cats do not come any more complex than Kitty. Remission was never a goal for us! We lost many battles in this fight against Diabetes, but in the end, I feel like we are winning the War!
Thanks to everyone here. You are all family to Kitty and Me.....we will forever be indebted!
Wishing everyone a great day, from a regulated Kittyville! .....
Then the vet came back with the blood work results and claimed.."She is Diabetic, We can do this!" I remember thinking, we can?!
The first thing I did was searched the net and found this site. The first response I got on my initial post on the board, was from St. Sue---Sue and Oliver! She welcomed Kitty and Me, and advised me to change her diet, start hometesting and to set up a SPREADSHEET! She probably mentioned the SS first!
We started out on DM--and ditched that after a week for Fancy Feast. I was scared to death to give the shots...scared I would hurt Kitty! But, I learned. And, I was awful at testing. And to top it all off, my vet instructed me to give Kitty the Prozinc only once a day! She also advised me that I could make Kitty anemic by testing so much!
I would post daily in PZI and I was continually told by the members here, that the once a day dosing was NOT enough. But, I didn't listen. I mean how could these people on a message board know more than my vet? So, I dosed once a day. One month later, Kitty went into DKA--- due to the insufficient insulin supply she was receiving (coupled with an ugly UTI). I should have listened to the group here! It was a very hard lesson to learn.
I was also awful at testing the cycles. Everyday, I would post Kitty's preshot numbers, and the group would tell me I needed to find her nadir and get more mid cycle tests if I wanted to regulate Kitty. I didn't listen, for months I only tested preshots. And, for months she remained too high. One of the reasons, that I didn't test a lot midcycle, was because I didn't like the test results that I was getting when I did test--- and I felt like I was failing Kitty. I was almost embarassed to post the test numbers, because I took it personal. Then finally, one day, with the encouragement of some here that I now call friends, I decided to get serious and try to help Kitty!
She was very complex at best. At one time, she was getting 5 units BID, only to see her preshot numbers remain in the 400s-- though her nadirs were in the 200s and 100s. We discussed everything here, from the possibility of Kitty being Insulin Resistant, having Hyper T, or being Acro. All of these were very devasting conversations to me. Many here encouraged me to switch to another insulin. Trust me, I heard it all! Kitty was very complex.
But, as a group we continued to try to figure Kitty out. Finally, last summer, the notion of TID dosing was mentioned for Kitty. I was scared to death-- new things to consider --- insulin overlap, shooting into rising numbers...etc....But, with a lot of encouragement , I tried it! My vet discouraged this also---- "I could kill Kitty with a wrong dose decision!"
I now stand here a year later, with my hat in my hand, as I now consider Kitty regulated and doing great. Yes, she might have some other health issues, but her diabetes is well under control. I have made many friends here and I feel indebted to the support and advice that the group has given me with Kitty. You never let me give up-- you have always been there...and, I Thank You!
I didn't intend on this post being so long, but I wanted to share my experience to give encouragement to all the new PZI users. Cats do not come any more complex than Kitty. Remission was never a goal for us! We lost many battles in this fight against Diabetes, but in the end, I feel like we are winning the War!
Thanks to everyone here. You are all family to Kitty and Me.....we will forever be indebted!
Wishing everyone a great day, from a regulated Kittyville! .....
you thought I was crazy but evidently you tried it and it worked!! You are a great Mama Bean!! Sally will indeed benefit from all you have learned this year. I just wanted to say it's been a great year, congratulations! 