Maxine New Diabetic Lantus

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Sue and Oliver (GA)

Sue and Oliver (GA)

Member Since 2009
Maxine's Mom posted at the end of someone else's thread so I started a new thread for her.


Hi. I am new to the board and new to feline diabetes. My 13 1/2 year old tabby, Maxine, was diagnosed two and a half weeks ago. Her bg at vet was 400+. The vet said 1.5 units Lantus twice a day and to feed her DM Savory Selects. Now I hear that gravy isn't good and Savory Selects has gravy AND is higher in carbs than other wet food!! I have taken her off all dry food. She seems much better now....drinking and peeing less, and behaving more herself. But I haven't tested her once! I go to the vet tomorrow. Everyone on this board is making me think more about testing her. Should I be testing her even if she seems ok now?
To summerize: She gets insulin twice a day and 1 3/4 cans wet food daily, consisting of one can DM Savory Selects and 3/4 can Natures Variety Chicken Instinct.
Maybe I should switch Friskies Pâté like everyone does here.
I am so confused and yet, Maxine seems fine. help!
BTW she lost weight/muscle mass before diagnosed and is now 11 lbs. I would like to see her put on a pound so I need a low carb/higher fat wet food. Any suggestions. I can run this all by the vet tomorrow.
Thank you for any response!!
 
Hi! Hope you can find your post here.

Yes, most of us home test, to be sure the dose we are palnning to give is a safe one and midcycle, to see how low the insulin takes the kitty. Many vets don't tell people about testing, maybe so they won't be stressed about shots and testing, or maybe because having the cat tested at the vet is a profit for them. We like tests at home because stress raises blood glucose levels and most cats are stressed at the vets. Then doses based on those numbers can be too high once you get home.

You don't need your vet's permission to test. Many people here send their numbers to the vet, using our Goggle spreadsheet. If you want, we have a shopping list and can teach you how.

And yes, the pates are lower carb than gravy foods. But I would get confident home testing first before I change over. His bg levels could come down and you want to be on top of that.

Your vet did prescribe a good insulin. It's not the one I used so I can't advise on dosage.
 
Thank you for replying. Yes! I found this new thread. Maxine has been through enough experiences which is why I am not home testing. Maybe I will have to start. My question is how do you know your cat is in remission? Do you have to stop the insulin and see? What were the signs that your cat was in remission? This is all so overwhelming.
 
Hello and Welcome,

I have 1 kitty in remission on day 24 and another in day 9 of a trial without insulin, let me share with you what my experience was in regards to remission.

Others will come along and give you more information but thought I would start. It is only with their knowledge and my persistence, that I am where I am today.

I am going to simplify this as you are new and I do not want you to focus on this piece as there are so many more pieces to the puzzle.

How they those pieces fit together or don't is all part of this quest. Since "Each Cat is different (ECID) and they do not come with an owners manual, you have found the best place to be. All the people here are very knowledgeable and are very willing to help.

Getting the numbers under control and modifying the dosage to get and keep the numbers low is the first step.

You will be watching for a nadir of 50 - 60. At this point you will probably notice lower Pre-shot values and will be reducing the dosage.

Once you are down to a dosage of under .5 with numbers and curves being consistent, then you will be ready for a trial of no insulin.

May your "Sugar Dances" be short and few.

All the best!
Kevin
 
Hi Maxine's Mom,

Glad you found your thread!

Just for Reference, we generally consider a cat regulated if, on insulin, they are in the mid to lower 200s at preshot and in double digits at midcycle, but not below 50(which is approaching hypo territoty). We say a cat is in remission if, off insulin, they range from 40-120 for two weeks. We suggest new diabetics not shoot under 200 for a preshot until they have enough data to predict what their cat might so. If you'd get a below 200 preshot early in the dance, we suggest stalling: waiting 20 minutes, without feeding and retest. If the number rises and is 200+, then shoot.
 
I wonder, Sharon, what range the vet feels is remission...it would be safest if you'd check her numbers at home and stay on top of them. Lots of cats fall out of remission; the trick is to catch it right away, if that happens.
 
See my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for some additional assessments which may help you monitor your cat's health.

You might check the weight weekly and keep an eye on food and water intake and output.
 
Its pretty rare for a vet to be treating hundreds of feline diabetics, other than research programs. Most vets see a couple per year and you're lucky if they're up to date. You might check out these American Animal Hospital Guidelines. for review with your vet.

If you were a diet-controlled diabetic yourself, you would home test to spot anomalies, especially if you observed something was off. And even if you didn't feel something was off, you'd test because how you feel wouldn't necessarily clue you in to your glucose levels until they were extremely off (hypo, or hyper/DKA). That is why home glucometers came into use.

Its the same priciple extended to your cat.
 
I just love all the replies and help. So...we took Maxine to the vet today, 6 hours post AM shot and her bg was 88. The vet said NOT to give her insulin and, in fact, give her food when she got home. Maxine seemed fine, by the way. Anyway, the vet said perhaps with a change of diet we can TRY to go without insulin for the next few days and then bring her back to the vet and see how she is.
SO....my NEW QUESTION is....what are the BEST CANNED food LOW CARB diets out there. She is getting Nature's Variety Chicken Instinct and Wellness Beef and Chicken/ BUT she had ALSO been GETTING THAT HIGH CARB DM SAVORY SELECTS with her shots. So, I have stopped the DM food (this is the one with the chunks of meat and the gravy) and will not ONLY give her VERY LOW carb foods now that she is off insulin for a few days. Which ones are the best? I REALLY want this to work without insulin. I know it may not work, but I want to give it a try and need advise on the lowest carb foods. ALSO,,,,,everyone seems to like Friskies classic pates but there are meat by products as top ingredients and I thought that was a bad thing.
Please help!!!
Thank you, Jane (Maxine's harried mom)
 
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