Need help please! Diabetes and Asthma

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Debbie in Arkansas

Debbie in Arkansas

Member Since 2017
Luke has not been officially diagnosed yet. The vet couldn't get him in until Thurs afternoon. He needs insulin before then. I have been testing with a ReliOn Confirm meter. Here are his numbers:
10/23
1:30 am 491
7:30 am 541
3:30 pm 567
9:30 pm 477

10/24
2:00 am 556

He needs insulin before he gets any worse doesn't he? He is on Prednisolone for his asthma which is what caused the diabetes. I am trying to get him weaned off. I have terbutaline I am going to start him on so I can get him off the pred. I didn't want to start it until his blood sugar is lower. I honestly don't even have the money for the vet visit ($150) and they won't let me pay it out. I have some Novolin N I got in Sept. Should I just start him on that? Or try to get Lantus or ProZinc in the morning? I don't know what to do but he needs help!
 
Debbie in Arkansas said:
Luke has not been officially diagnosed yet. The vet couldn't get him in until Thurs afternoon. He needs insulin before then. I have been testing with a ReliOn Confirm meter. Here are his numbers:
10/23
1:30 am 491
7:30 am 541
3:30 pm 567
9:30 pm 477

10/24
2:00 am 556

He needs insulin before he gets any worse doesn't he? He is on Prednisolone for his asthma which is what caused the diabetes. I am trying to get him weaned off. I have terbutaline I am going to start him on so I can get him off the pred. I didn't want to start it until his blood sugar is lower. I honestly don't even have the money for the vet visit ($150) and they won't let me pay it out. I have some Novolin N I got in Sept. Should I just start him on that? Or try to get Lantus or ProZinc in the morning? I don't know what to do but he needs help!
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Ok don't panic. He's been in high numbers for done time now. We'll done for getting used to testing! One thing you can do in the meantime is get him on low carb food. No dry... No temptations or party mix. Most of us feed fancy feast classic or Friskies pate foods. What is he eating currently?

Where did you get Novolin of he hasn't been diagnosed?


ProZinc or lantus are two good insulin choices, so I would say use one of them over the Novolin.
 
JanetNJ said:
ProZinc or lantus are two good insulin choices, so I would say use one of them over the Novolin.
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I agree with Janet that Prozinc or Lantus or Levemir would be a better choice that Novolin N. As well restricting the foods to low carb wet foods is always suggested.

As far as the terbutaline goes it will not help with the inflammation part of the asthma.

" The most commonly used bronchodilators for cat asthma are terbutaline, theophylline, aminophylline, and albuterol. Bronchodilators do not control inflammation, so they should never be used as the sole therapy without steroids. Inflammation of the airways causes irreversible changes. Bronchodilators ease respirations and are integral to the treatment of feline asthma."

https://www.adwdiabetes.com/articles/what-if-diabetic-cat-has-asthma

Some people with asthmatic kitties will use the Aerokat mask with Flovent. Since it goes directly to the lungs there is less systemic effect of the steroids.
 
JanetNJ said:
Ok don't panic. He's been in high numbers for done time now. We'll done for getting used to testing! One thing you can do in the meantime is get him on low carb food. No dry... No temptations or party mix. Most of us feed fancy feast classic or Friskies pate foods. What is he eating currently?

Where did you get Novolin of he hasn't been diagnosed?


ProZinc or lantus are two good insulin choices, so I would say use one of them over the Novolin.
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I'm very surprised at how easy it is to test! His litter mate, Bo was on Novolin. I still have almost a whole vial of it. Not that I'm wanting to use it just because I have it but the vet cant get him in and he is needing something. I also am having trouble coming up with the vet fee! I really want him on Lantus or Prozinc. Its just getting it thats the problem. He is on Fancy Feast classic but the past few days he is not wanting to eat it. I dont like giving him temptations or gravy foods but he needs to eat something:)
 
Debbie in Arkansas said:
I'm very surprised at how easy it is to test! His litter mate, Bo was on Novolin. I still have almost a whole vial of it. Not that I'm wanting to use it just because I have it but the vet cant get him in and he is needing something. I also am having trouble coming up with the vet fee! I really want him on Lantus or Prozinc. Its just getting it thats the problem. He is on Fancy Feast classic but the past few days he is not wanting to eat it. I dont like giving him temptations or gravy foods but he needs to eat something:)
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I don't see why you couldn't use it until you get him to the vet. Something is better than nothing. You can always switch insulin.
 
Tuxedo Mom said:
I agree with Janet that Prozinc or Lantus or Levemir would be a better choice that Novolin N. As well restricting the foods to low carb wet foods is always suggested.

As far as the terbutaline goes it will not help with the inflammation part of the asthma.

" The most commonly used bronchodilators for cat asthma are terbutaline, theophylline, aminophylline, and albuterol. Bronchodilators do not control inflammation, so they should never be used as the sole therapy without steroids. Inflammation of the airways causes irreversible changes. Bronchodilators ease respirations and are integral to the treatment of feline asthma."

https://www.adwdiabetes.com/articles/what-if-diabetic-cat-has-asthma

Some people with asthmatic kitties will use the Aerokat mask with Flovent. Since it goes directly to the lungs there is less systemic effect of the steroids.
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Thanks for the info! He is on Flovent 250 twice a day. Also Serobid about 1 hr before Flovent. I use albuterol as needed but that is not very often. Since terbutaline is a bronchodialator (sp?) I was hoping to give him that and be able to at least lower is pred dosage. I have gotten lots of help from the feline asthma inhaled meds group!
 
JanetNJ said:
I don't see why you couldn't use it until you get him to the vet. Something is better than nothing. You can always switch insulin.
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That is what I was thinking. My Bo was on 3 units of Novolin. The vet said that was a low dose so there wasn't as much risk of bg dropping to low....although I was always watching for it.
 
Debbie in Arkansas said:
That is what I was thinking. My Bo was on 3 units of Novolin. The vet said that was a low dose so there wasn't as much risk of bg dropping to low....although I was always watching for it.
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Three units is actually a relatively high dose, unless you mean 1.5 twice a day. And way higher than the recommended starting dose of 1 unit twice a day. I wouldn't give more than a unit at a time to start. How old is the vial? Make sure it looks clear with no floating bits.
 
Since this will be the first time using insulin and Novolin N can have an onset at +2 (similar to Caninsulin/Vetsulin) you might want to get a +2 test to start with. Every kitty reacts differently to insulin. My one kitty dropped very low on her first shot of Levemir, which is a much gentler insulin. Also when you start be sure you will be around to monitor and make sure you have a "hypo kit" ready if needed.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/jojo-and-bunnys-hypo-tool-box.2354/

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-treat-hypos-they-can-kill-print-this-out.15887/
 
Tuxedo Mom said:
Since this will be the first time using insulin and Novolin N can have an onset at +2 (similar to Caninsulin/Vetsulin) you might want to get a +2 test to start with. Every kitty reacts differently to insulin. My one kitty dropped very low on her first shot of Levemir, which is a much gentler insulin. Also when you start be sure you will be around to monitor and make sure you have a "hypo kit" ready if needed.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/jojo-and-bunnys-hypo-tool-box.2354/

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-treat-hypos-they-can-kill-print-this-out.15887/
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Thanks so much! Should I start with 1/2 unit?
 
Debbie in Arkansas said:
Thanks so much! Should I start with 1/2 unit?
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Sorry I didn't get back earlier but I was out. Make sure you do a preshot test with at least 2 hours with no food before the test. You could start with 1/2 unit and do some testing through the cycle to see how well that dose works. You can always increase after a day or two if you are not seeing much movement.

A test at +2 +4 and +6 should give a good indication of how well that dose is working. Of course if the numbers are dropping too much then you would want to test more.
 
I hope so! Goodness. It seems like I'm always trying to help but wind up making things worse! Do you happen to know the carb content of Whiskas Choice Cuts poultry pouches? Its not on Dr. Pierson's chart and I can't find the info anywhere.
 
Debbie in Arkansas said:
I hope so! Goodness. It seems like I'm always trying to help but wind up making things worse! Do you happen to know the carb content of Whiskas Choice Cuts poultry pouches? Its not on Dr. Pierson's chart and I can't find the info anywhere.
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Not sure but the third ingredient is wheat gluten and fourth is starch. If it's got gavy I'd skip it.
 
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