NitroViper said:
Im still so scared reading everyone else posts about constant testing and nothing going right. Constant testing 4-8 times a day, choosing whether to give insulin or not, to give more or less. If I kill my cat ill never get over it.
What I am afraid of is if I start this regiment that he will all of the sudden get worse quickly and if I didn't start it he would survive along time with a better diet. Like he is fine now, he doesn't act strange, he seems very happy and alert. Just his legs are getting weak. Im afraid if I start giving him insulin and testing he will turn into a different cat, and health problems will start showing up quickly.
Hi Jason and Wease! LOVE his pictures! He is so darn cute! My sugar dude Eddie was diagnosed just before Christmas. He wasn't feeling well at all. :cry: I can tell you that we went through the same fear and anxiety that you're experiencing. Like, how on earth are we going to be able to make this shot thing work with our schedule? Hypo - OMG I could kill my cat accidentally?! His numbers aren't going down!? WHY?! I think every newly diagnosed kitty caretaker goes through this.
The shots themselves are definitely not a big deal. It really doesn't hurt them. The needles used for insulin injections are really fine gauge and they barely feel it, if they feel it at all. If anything, it annoys them that they have to hold still for 5 seconds while you give the shot. My DH does most of the shooting now, but when I first was giving shots, I know Eddie could sense that I was nervous. Now, I take a few deep breaths before getting Eddie ready for his shot, which we give right after eating, so he's all full and happy, and make sure I'm in a positive, calm state of mind. I give him pets and love and praise after each shot.
The ear testing definitely gets easier. It took three days of trying before we got blood. DH wanted me to quit because I was so frustrated, I was in tears! Wouldn't you know it, within about two weeks, we were testing pros. Now, we usually get more than enough blood for each poke, and it takes about one minute. There's tons of tips on this board for the ear testing, and lots of people are happy to chime in to help you be successful with testing. Eddie, and I think most other cats, really don't mind the ear tests at all. The better you get at it, and the more their ears "learn to bleed (which sounds weird, but is true)" the simpler and quicker it is. It takes me way longer to set up the testing supplies now than it does to actually test. Eddie actually likes testing, since it means he's going to get a special, exclusive treat. He sits patiently on my lap and purrs while I do it. I'm convinced that Eddie thinks the ear testing is making him feel better, so he associates me doing it with feeling better. This process has definitely given Eddie and I a closer more loving relationship.
A lot of folks here test very frequently. And that's who you're going to see posting more frequently to the board as well. There's no requirement as to how many times a day you have to test, other than before each shot (for safety), and if possible, some mid-cycle tests so you have more information about how well his dose is working. Any other testing is really just to get more information. With Eddie for example, I test all the time because I really like to know the data about how a given dose is working for Eddie. It's really not
necessary for me to test as frequently as I do -- I just like to have the info. :smile:
While you may be able to lower Wease's overall BG with a diet change, that's probably going to be just part of the picture. You don't want him to just "survive" if he feels miserable with high blood glucose all the time. Unregulated diabetes means that the cat cannot process it's food, and it's pretty much a slow starvation. :sad: DKA, which is a complication of unregulated diabetes can be deadly, and extremely expensive to treat. You are here because you love Wease and want to do what you need to do to get him healthy, and that is likely going to include insulin. Many, many cats are able to go into remission with the use of insulin and a diet change, meaning that your cat would no longer need insulin injections. Misty and Rumpelteazer are an example of a PZI (ProZinc) cat and caretaker that very recently went into remission, meaning kitty no longer needs shots! :mrgreen:
There's several different choices of insulin, and it sounds like you're considering a compounded PZI. That works similar to the ProZinc that we use for Eddie. It's really a flexible insulin, and you
can adjust his dose as needed, and you don't have to be quite as consistent with the timing of the shots. You may be reading the threads for cats that are on one of the depot insulins which are a bit more complicated to understand. PZI is "in and out" which means that once it wears off, it's done, and you don't need to worry about a carry over into the next dose.
As for worrying about changing dose, there's different "protocols" for different types of insulin. What you might be reading again is questions from folks about whether to adjust based on the protocol for their particular insulin. The dosing advice you will get on this board will always be aimed first and foremost, for Wease's safety, and secondarily, to improving his blood glucose numbers. Assuming you go with the PZI, you'll likely want to start posting on the PZI sub-forum for dosing advise. Sue and others will chime in to give you advice on dosing, and the information you get will also come with an explanation as to
why a particular recommendation is given. With Eddie, for example, we followed a conservative "sliding scale" with very gradual increases at first. We then had some discussions and some input on going with a more aggressive dose, and I made the decision to do that, since I felt comfortable with monitoring Eddie's levels. Other people feel more comfortable with a more conservative approach.
When I very first started posting, I asked for dosing advice about three times a day!
And there's nothing wrong with that at all! You can ask for dosing advise for each and every shot. :smile: You can see that I post in Eddie's daily "condo" what's going on with his numbers. This is not required, but it's nice to have some folks look over Eddie's numbers and give input and support. Sometimes people simply post encouraging words on your kitty's condo, and if you're having a rough day, that can mean all the difference in the world. :smile: If I have a question, like I did just this afternoon, I ask, and I get an answer. :smile:
There's a LOT of information to absorb, but you will get it! My suggestion would be to focus on one thing at a time, like Sue suggested. Start trying the ear testing, and start working on the diet change. You can always start the insulin at a low dose, and then once the testing and diet are under control, focus on tweaking Wease's insulin dose. Hang in there! It gets easier! Before you know it, you'll be posting on the threads of "newbies" telling them how nervous you were when you very first started, too.
Jen and Eddie
