Nebula *New Member* Newly diagnosed

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Nebula's O`hana

Nebula's O`hana

Member Since 2021
Hello- Our Nebula, (5 year old bengal) was recently diagnosed with diabetes on 6/23/21.

She's been eating and drinking just fine as well as urinating but what concerned us was a shift in her usual activity.

She's usually energetic and often runs on her cat wheel on a daily basis but we noticed the past few weeks that she's been using it less, no longer running on it but walking on it instead.

Back in September of 2020 she weighed about 12 lbs and as of 2 weeks ago when we took her in, she weighed 10.4 lbs. We decided to take her to a vet and since the doctor felt she was healthy, he recommended blood work. Upon reviewing her lab results, the doctor noticed her glucose was a bit high so he requested an additional set of bloodwork to which the fructosamine concentration results were higher than normal as well.

Since our last visit, this past weekend for additional lab work, we noticed that her waist looked thinner than usual. The past few days her energy has wained a bit more, she still chases her toys, eating just fine and using the bathroom just fine but it's apparent that she's weaker than she once was.

We've been extremely overwhelmed due to the lack of information provided from our vet. We've been with our vet since she was 6 months and we are currently looking into finding a new vet to ensure Nebula is getting the care and attention she deserves. We are scheduled this afternoon to administer her first Lantus shot and we feel we are going in blind. Instead of getting a run-down from our vet, we've had to resort to vigorously researching what to expect from hereon out - this is how we found this platform.

Thankfully we were able to find this forum so we can learn what we can do to get our girl into remission.
 
Welcome sorry no one has responded yet
You couldn't have found a better place and such experienced members
Lantus is a good insulin, can you please add to your signature what Nebula is eating
Wet?, Dry, or both
How many units did your vet tell you to start with, you can add that to your signature also


I will give you the link so you can read about lantus and the 2 dosing methods
You don't have to choose one yet if you are not sure

We also have a spreadsheet we use to enter our cats BG on
It's at the end of everyone's post, mine says Tyler's spreadsheet
You can also look at other members because my cat is in remission and I don't test that often


The link will also explain how the spreadsheet works

Here is the link
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/
 
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Do you plan on home testing? It's the only way to keep Nebula safe from going hypo

You test first thing in the morning AMPS means AM Pre Shot, look at some members spreadsheets. Go to the lantus forum and you will see what I mean

Then we do a few more texts during the day cycle
PMPS is the test for the night cycle PM Pre Shot

Lantus is given every 12 hours

We can teach you how to home test
If you are in the US most of us use a human meter, that's what our numbers are based on
At Walmart you can buy the Relion Prime Meter for 9 dollars
17.88 for 100 test strips
You will need lancets 26 or 28 gauge
Some use the lancing device , I like to just use the lancet because I can see better where I am poking
Some cotton rounds put behind her ear so you don't pike your finger by accident
Then fold it over her ear for about 15-20 seconds to stop the bleeding
Sounds worse then it is, it doesn't hurt them

If you have trouble setting up the spreadsheet let us know and we have 2 members that would be glad to set it up for you. They would private message you for some details
 
What are your shooting times?
She's a beautiful kitty
It does seem overwhelming but as soon as you get the hang if it it's easy
You can always post for Help if you are not sure of something, such as if her BG is too low to give her the insulin
 
Do you have U-100 syringes with half unit markings, most vets don't have them
We use the ones with half unit markings because we increase or decrease by 0.25 units
you have syringes with half unit markings

30-unit-insulin-syringe-markings.jpg
 
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Sorry for the diagnosis but I'm glad you found u. You aren't alone and we will be happy to answer any questions you have. The good news is your vet put your kitty on a good insulin. Diabetes is not a death sentence and they can live long healthy lives with it.
 
Thank you so much Diane and Janet. I'll make sure to update my signature! They didn't get us in for the tutorial until 2 pm. So following the 12 hour schedule our next scheduled shot is at 2 am PST. She is a raw eater and previously ate stella and chewy kibble at night as a "snack" (that was removed immediately). We introduced Ziwi Peak chicken to give her another option since she lost interest recently in eating her raw food. She is prescribe 1 unit of insulin.

We do plan on home testing. Our first test results were 86. We are confused and concerned about giving her the second insulin shot.
 
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Nebula's O`hana said:
Thank you so much Diane and Janet. I'll make sure to update my signature! They didn't get us in for the tutorial until 2 pm. So following the 12 hour schedule our next scheduled shot is at 2 am PST. She is a raw eater and previously ate stella and chewy kibble at night as a "snack" (that was removed immediately). We introduced Ziwi Peak chicken to give her another option since she lost interest recently in eating her raw food. She is prescribe 1 unit of insulin.

We do plan on home testing. Our first test results were 86. We are confused and concerned about giving her the second insulin shot.
Click to expand...
86??? How long after the shot was that? How much insulin food they give? We recommend me people do not shoot at all of its under 200 for the preshot test.
 
JanetNJ said:
86??? How long after the shot was that? How much insulin food they give? We recommend me people do not shoot at all of its under 200 for the preshot test.
Click to expand...

Hi Janet, the 86 reading was at the 12 hr mark from her initial shot. 3 hrs later with a meal her BG was at 136, 2 hours after that she reads 125.
 
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