Lynn and Kitten 104 BG!

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Katlyn

Member Since 2012
Kitten's last dose of Lantus was yesterday morning at about 9:45am. Her BG last night at 10 was 66. She ate some Fancy Feast during the night sprinkled with freezed dried treat. She had a few nibbles of her dry Purina DM food. Her BG is 104 as of 9:30 am today. The doctor said to hold the insulin and retest tonight pre PM shot. The doctor is supposed to call me this evening. I left a message saying the Rx food was 13% carbs and this is probably the reason. This may offend her cuz she prescribed this food. But I need to be blunt because it is life or death situation.
Anyone think this is remission? She had ketones last December and has been on same dose BID. I would luv atleast a decrease in insulin. Seems like Kitten may be teaching this young IM doctor.
 
I think that's a good decision to not shoot this morning, given the difficulty testing and very little data about Kitten. Did you see the cat food info at catinfo.org? We teach a lot of vets about feline diabetes. We live it 24/7. Vets have to deal with lots of critters and lots of conditions so they don't specialize in one thing like we do. The best situation is when the vet will be flexible with how you want to proceed with care.
Liz
 
Here's the link to your condo from yesterday: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=97812

It's way too early to know if this indicates remission. It may be that the insulin depot is helping to keep numbers lower than you're used to seeing. It might take a day or several to have a better sense of how Kitten is doing on a lower carb food.

FWIW, vets get very little training in nutrition. It's often the sales reps from the prescription food manufacturers that "educate" them. I'm sure your vet was recommending what she thought was best when it came to a diabetic diet for Kitten. The website on feline nutrition that we refer to a great deal is written by a vet. You may want to share Lisa Pierson, DVM's site with your vet. There is a pretty extensive list of foods on that website. Dr. Lisa is also a huge proponent of canned food -- especially a species appropriate canned food diet (i.e., low carb) for all cats.
 
Oh no..... I was hoping this was not an "insulin reserve" situation. But thankyou for bringing me down to reality. I am just going to have to keep up with the testing this week. My stomach is a bundle of nerves out of anticipation. I would do anything to see her go into remission. Just like all of u. I think a long post I wrote did not get posted by my error. I think I will start a new condo as I have two going.
 
The webmaster is switching over to a new server and your post may be on the old. Or maybe not. :lol: It's making me a bit crazy to have things disappear like that. You are doing a great job and we'll do whatever we can to help out.
Liz
 
Another bit of housekeeping - we try to just have one post per kitty per day. It keeps the board a little easier to follow and keeps all of the info about each kitty more organized. If you could add your question about the depot to this thread and delete your new one, that would be much appreciated. You can also use the question icon in the very first thread and that will get more attention to your thread.

I'm sorry if this is confusing.
Liz
 
Here is Lynn's comment from another thread:
Sienne's post just got me thinking and concerned. If Lantus has a reserve in body, then can Kitten have a large BG reading when this wears out. The hospital had me hold the last two doses. I know it is impossible to even guess with Kitten because on no data. Just have to see how it plays out with her numbers today.
 
Thanks Anne for the link. I read an old condo about depot and carryover and something else. I feel like a deflated balloon. I cannot believe I really thought she was going into remission esp with a large jump o/n. Lantus is complicated and I do not have the brain for it. It is overwhelming. I will expect a rise tonight and she will probably get 1 U. I will be happy with an insulin reduction. I will post BG later. Kitten is chasing her tail right now which is a new "old " behavior. I think it means she is happy.
 
We all go through a stage of hoping the cat will go into remission quickly and easily. And of course you're disappointed when you realize that probably won't happen. Lots of cats do go into remission and some never do (like Zener) but we want to give him the best care that we can. Our vet is always amazed at how good he looks and says no one would ever guess that he is diabetic. The best thing for better care and possible remission is to be able to test. That way, you can keep her in normal numbers (but still safe) and give the pancreas a chance to heal. If you can get her on low carb food (we usually recommend canned, diabetics are perpetually dehydrated so dry isn't so good for them), she's got a decent chance to go into remission. It's a BIG commitment. I can understand why someone wouldn't want to do it. Most people don't. People here are pretty much cat crazy and will do just about anything for their kitties.

It is totally overwhelming at first but we will help you. If you can give shots and get tests, we will recommend what the dose should be and have suggestions for how to deal with various issues. The collective expertise and knowledge here is unbelievable. And people here are kind and caring, in a way that you won't find other places. First of all, we totally understand how important your kitty is in your life. We also know how hard this is and try to be supportive, no matter what. It's really about the cat around here, egos get checked at the keyboard. :lol: I don't know if this is at all helpful for you, just ignore if it isn't. Let us know what we can do to help.
Liz, Zener's other mom
 
Lynn --

The one thing I've learned in the 4 years I've been at this is that you don't always get what you expect. Getting rid of the higher in carb, dry food may make ALL of the difference. My comment about the insulin depot was to make you aware that it is a factor so you aren't disappointed if you see a change in Kitten's numbers. It is hugely important to remember that we are not in control of this sugar dance -- our kitties are the ones in control. Kitten will let you know what's needed. Just keep an eye on the numbers so you know what your next step needs to be.

You're right -- Lantus is complicated. You'll get the hang of it. None of us had any expertise when we first got here. Ask questions. The people here are incredibly generous with their time and knowledge. We want you to be the expert on Kitten and we're all here to help.
 
Thankyou for the posts. The party is over for now.. I just did a pee test and boy did it register positive for BG and quickly. She is at 1% with 2% being the highest. I am glad I read post about depot, or I may have passed out to see it that high. Agh.
I was so happy for her. So.. I will test her tonight before her insulin shot. I wish her neck area was not so thickened and lumpy. I appreciate support, and I must look like a complete moron to the pros on this board. The poor vet tech that had to listen to me practically screeching with joy this morning. Even my husband was shaking his head cuz even he suspected a depot. Agh!
I would like to add that I have read Dr. P.'s site previuosly and read her warning Re: correlation between stopping dry and hypo. When Kitten started taking Lactulose, I thought it was being absorped into her blood due to a comment the vet tech made. That it is safe for a few days for diabetics. Not until I joined a constipation group did I see a post stating that it is only in GI tract. That was yesterday and I confirmed that with the hospital today. So, I thought It would balance out then I missed the pee tests and voila..an unexpected situation. Then I freaked out waving the remission flag. The flip side is that my husband and I were forced to ear prick her and we were successful probably out of desparation from the negative pee readings. So that is great news. Twice in one day with her is a record.it
It is always a new issue that seems to keep me from gearing toward remission. Now it is a big med change which will cause her to be off for weeks. I am not sure I even am going to do the chemo. I want a good quality of life for her. Not vet visits every month and destroying her kidneys. So, alot to think about. Sorry for long post and thanks for the help. I will post her BG for pm and am in the morning. Hopefully a quiet night for her.
 
Have you seen the most excellent video on YouTube starring Buddy? Do a search for "How To Test Your Diabetic Cat's Blood Sugar At Home" on YouTube. That's how we learned to test. Everyone has their own techniques that they develop, like twisting the lancet a bit. Also, what gauge lancet are you using? We use a 28 gauge. Higher numbers are smaller and much harder to get blood. We freehand the poke, others use the lancing device. Another suggestion is to apply pressure to the ear after the poke for about 20 sec, if Kitten will let you, to help stop bleeding and help with healing. Also you can put Neosporin ointment with pain relief on the poke. That helps too. And most important, always give a treat or petting or something special for Kitten. I hope this is helpful, and ignore it if isn't.
Liz
 
Hi Liz. That is helpful about twisting the lancet. We use a lancet pen and the same guage u do. We started out with a 33 G which did not work. I think I have seen the Buddy video. The cat that is on the desk? We cannot do it freehand. I poked thru my other cat's ear. Kitten might let us apply pressure. Thanks again.
 
UPDATE on Kitten: I am very concerned Re: the doctor's instructions for Kitten. I was told to give her 1/2 U BID for the next 1-2 days. And not bother with blood sample until day 2. I was also told to give her back her dry food to keep her regulated. But I am doing blood tests and I am calling with the results. I was told not to bother if I did but could if I insisted. What???
Sienne.. I would appreciate your two cents on these instructions when u can.
Also trying to push med change again and said Kitten can just be on laxatives instead of trying to eliminate dry. Oh my goodness.
 
How are things going with you two now? Have you decided to continue with the ear-pricking with Kitten?

Re: the dry food does not keep cats "regulated." It seems to be at cross-purposes to medicate with laxatives to treat the symptoms instead of just getting rid of the problem (dry food). If Kitten will tolerate wet food without any problem, then there's no reason to keep her on the dry, which is artificially inflating her numbers to higher than they should be (that's what too much carbs will do to a diabetic). Just my $0.02. ;-)
 
But I am doing blood tests and I am calling with the results. I was told not to bother if I did but could if I insisted. What???
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A lot of vets are not used to their clients home testing. When they do, it's a whole new ballgame.

The vet may be very busy and not used to getting the test numbers so frequently. They may not know how to charge you for the numbers you call in.

With our spreadsheet, you can share that with the vet also. Just send them the link.

Bottom line, vets are not set up to deal with folks like us that home test our cats.

I was also told to give her back her dry food to keep her regulated.
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Which dry food? One of the prescription diets?

We prefer to follow the nutritional advice of vet Dr. Lisa Pierson. For any cat, not just a diabetic cat, wet food has so many benefits.

We have found that ultra low carb food, <10% will help to get your cat regulated better than any of those prescription foods.

Food bottom line, You own the cat, you get to decide what you want to feed her. I'm hoping, that will be the beneficial low-carb canned.
 
I see you have a SS but have not updated it. Would you put in some numbers from the last few days? Please?

That would help us to see what is going on and what the food is doing to help with the numbers.

Thanks.
 
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