Matilda's diabetes

[matildajane]

For 6 years Matilda's diabetes has been under excellent control. At the end of last year she was diagnosed with an over active thyroid and is now on 5mg Felimazole twice daily. Suddenly she has started drinking a lot more [4-500mls per day] and weeing a lot. Her kidneys have been tested and are okay. Also she has had tests for growth hormone and Cushings syndrome both were negative. Her insulin has been increased from 2 units of caninsulin twice daily to 4 units. This has made no difference. Her fructosomine level now reads good which it is not. I have tested her urine for glucose and that reads the highest.
Any thoughts would be most welcome

 

[housecats4]

(((((Matilda))))) just want to send healing green light for her to get back on the right path. Prayers also to help also maybe put advice in subject line for more eyes or ? good luck Hugs Kath

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Without knowing BG valve at various times (at shot time, and various times between shots) I can't help you.

 

[Lisa and Witn (GA)]

If you are not hometesting, that would be my first suggestion. By testing her glucose levels before each shot, you will be able to accurately determine how well your dose is working.

Another suggestion is to change to a longer acting insulin such as Lantus, Levemir, PZI or ProZinc. Caninsulin is a short acting insulin and usually does not work well in cats. Lantus and Levemir are human insulins that you would buy from your pharmacy. PZI & ProZinc are pet insulins your vet can order. All of them work well. However, if you change insulins, I also recommend that you start back at 1 unit. Because these are longer acting insulins, at the current dose, you risk hypoglycemia.

Another thing to look at is diet. If you are feeding dry food, even prescription food, that is high in carbs. That is why your dose has increased. However, before you change her diet to a low carb canned food diet, it is extremely important that you begin hometesting and lower your insulin dose. Otherwise she may become hypoglycemic. That could be very dangerous or deadly.

 

[BJM]

Changing to a low carb diet may reduce the glucose as much as 100 mg/dL and may reduce insulin needs by 2 units or more.

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

Hello and welcome to you and to Matilda.

For 6 years Matilda's diabetes has been under excellent control. At the end of last year she was diagnosed with an over active thyroid and is now on 5mg Felimazole twice daily.

...Her insulin has been increased from 2 units of caninsulin twice daily to 4 units. This has made no difference.
Her fructosomine level now reads good which it is not. I have tested her urine for glucose and that reads the highest.

The fact that Matilda's fructosamine test was "good" and yet her urine glucose test was "the highest" suggests to me that Matilda's blood glucose levels may be fluctuating.
A fructosamine test gives a sort of average blood glucose level over the preceeding couple of weeks.
A urine glucose test shows how much glucose is being excreted in the urine (since the cat last peed).
So, I'm just wondering if your urine test just happened to be at a time when her glucose was high. But maybe it's the case that her glucose isn't always high..?

There are lots of reasons for blood glucose levels to fluctuate. And the hyperthyroid may be causing fluctuations.
Other things that commonly cause increases in blood glucose include:
Infection (dental and urinary tract infections are common).
Diet (higher carb foods increase glucose levels, lower carb foods can reduce glucose levels.)
Too much insulin. When the insulin dose is too high this can cause the blood glucose to plummet, which in turn can trigger the liver to release glucose and counter-regulatory hormones into the system. It's a protection measure, the aim of which is to raise the blood glucose level and keep it raised for a time. Sometimes the care-giver assumes the blood glucose is always high, because they're not aware of the times when the blood glucose is low.

What are you feeding Matilda at the moment? Have there been any changes to her diet?

If you could consider learning to test Matilda's blood glucose at home that could give you tremendous insights into what is going on with her.
Hometesting isn't that hard to learn and shouldn't hurt Matilda.
Most of us use glucose meters made for humans. And testing basically involves pricking the outer edge of the kitty's ear to get a droplet of blood; transferring that droplet onto a test strip in a glucose meter; waiting for the meter to count down and give a result; and rewarding said kitty with a treat or a cuddle. cat_pet_icon

Here is a link to a page of pics and basic info about 'hometesting' a cat. But do please ask any and all questions you want to.
http://www.sugarpet.net/bloodtst.html

Eliz