Need help regulating!

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kdamav57

Member Since 2014
Hey guys,

I posted earlier this year about my 13 yr old cat, LEO, being newly re-diagnosed with Diabetes (he was in remission for about a year and a half). Well.... I have had the HARDEST time getting him regulated! He was pretty regulated for a few months, but for the past two-three months, he has been UP and DOWN (very down- very low!) I had him on PZI insulin from March of this year to just 2 days ago... so for about 7 months. He was doing pretty good on it, but since around August, I have kept having to go down on his dosage due to him bottoming out. He'd be in the 300's-400's and I'd only give him 0.5 units and he'd bottom out! It makes no sense! And during these "low" episodes, he doesn't act any different. Just very hungry obviously. But other than that, there is no obvious change in his behavior..... very strange. I, of course, give him corn starch in his gums and feed him during his low episodes.

Finally, after a few days of him getting so low on only 0.5 units of PZI (after he had been in the 300's in the AM), I saw a new vet that a fellow friend with a diabetic cat recommended. He did a full blood panel on Leo... thinking that maybe he didn't have diabetes after all. Maybe something else was causing him to be so up-and-down and making it so I couldn't ever regulate him no matter how hard I tried. Well, the next day I get a call saying it is indeed still diabetes (and some high liver enzymes and some glucose in his urine... Oh and a "gallop" to his heart?)
Well, he recommended we start Leo on a new insulin, NPH. So, I started the new insulin yesterday, and I am having the same troubles! Leo will be high in the 300-400's, I'll give him a small dose, and yet again, he bottoms out!!! SOMEONE PLS HELP ME!!! What am I doing wrong??? I tried calling the vet back today, but, of course, he didn't return my phone call. I'm honestly afraid to give Leo any insulin now if he keeps tanking! But also, I don't want to leave his BS so high..... any recommendations??

To add: I have Leo on a scheduled diet. 1 can of fancy feast in the AM during his first BS check, and one can of fancy feast in the PM (about 12 hours later) during his nighttime BS check. Of course, if he is low I feed him much earlier if needed!

Attached is my spreadsheet for the last couple of months. Someone please help!

~Kelsi (Leo's very frustrated mother)
 

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Also, FYI: I am checking his BS with a Relion Micro meter... vet recommended I get an AlphaTrak meter. Do you think this would make a difference?

Leo looks healthy, acts healthy... but I can't get his darn blood sugars regulated! So high and SO low!! What am I doing wrong?
 
The NPH insulin (Novolin, or Humulin) last only about 6 - 8 hours in the cat.

You may need to develop a sliding scale for the PZI. What concentration did you get - U-40 or U-100?

When you get a number lower than 50 mg/dL on a human meter, you need a smaller dose for that pre-shot. And it looks like 0.25 units of the PZI was about the most you ever needed you give.

See if this ProZinc/PZI protocol gives you some ideas for using it more effectively.

Could you upload the spreadsheet to Google Drive? That way, the viewer doesn't need to have Excel to see it. Make yourself an account first.
 
Alpha Trak is Extremely Cost Prohibitive

The biggest difference I've seen using the Alpha Trak pet meter is the $$s hemorrhaging from my wallet. Also, it is so much easier to use a human meter since clinical protocols are based on human meter readings & the the majority utilize the same - making it more accurate comparing granny smith to granny smith apples vs. granny smith to gala apples. I've been so tempted to get out the statistical software and conduct a full blown analysis on the variation in measurement systems (human vs. pet meters), let alone Tyler's blood glucose levels over time.

I got the Alpha Trak initially and will stop using it as soon as I finish up the $100 test strips... Here's what the past 1.5 months of the cost of using Alpha Trak has added up to, keeping in mind most are the cheapest prices from online stores and almost all required a script from the vet, even the lancets!!!:

-Alpha Trak2 Starter Kit (glucose meter, lancing device, 25 test strips, 30 lancets) = $70
-50 test strips = $54
-100 lancets = $28 (generic lancets could be used, which ended up being $1.25/100 and far superior quality!)
-100 test strips = $108

TOTAL for 1.5 months of testing materials: $260

If I kept at this rate, the annual ongoing cost of Alpha Trak materials (less starter kit) would be: $1520. The annual cost of using a human meter, based on 500 test strips & lancets would be: $75.

The price difference percentage-wise is astronomical: Alpha Trak test strips are 671% more expensive and the lancets...well the lancets are 2140% more expensive ($.28 vs. $.0125 per unit). I should share the spreadsheet on google drive... The material costs are unbelievably prohibitive!
 
Could you add your name to your signature? I have trouble remembering everyone's names! (and "hey you" seems rude!)
 
My cat has had diabetes for the past 2 years or a little less and has been difficult to regulate as well. This is not uncommon in diabetic cats, however, your cat may need Purina DM canned cat food. There are two DM types, one is DM Savory Selects which are pieces in a gravy and/or DM Dietetic Management, which is like regular looking cat food. Never give Fancy Feast, it contains carbohydrates. The pet stores also carries "no grains" canned cat food is all sorts of flavors and different brands. You can try that type as well. Never give dry cat food to a diabetic cat. You might want to talk with your vet about the brand of insulin you're using as well as the food. Mine is on Lantus, which is excellent but expensive. Do not use prescription MD canned cat food or WD canned cat food.

I began to get my cat regulated much better on DM canned cat food and/or "No grains" cat food. Talk to other people about cat diabetes as well to find out what's worked for the cat's glucose regulation.

Mary A. Gallaher
 
Mary A Gallaher said:
My cat has had diabetes for the past 2 years or a little less and has been difficult to regulate as well. This is not uncommon in diabetic cats, however, your cat may need Purina DM canned cat food. There are two DM types, one is DM Savory Selects which are pieces in a gravy and/or DM Dietetic Management, which is like regular looking cat food. Never give Fancy Feast, it contains carbohydrates. The pet stores also carries "no grains" canned cat food is all sorts of flavors and different brands. You can try that type as well. Never give dry cat food to a diabetic cat. You might want to talk with your vet about the brand of insulin you're using as well as the food. Mine is on Lantus, which is excellent but expensive. Do not use prescription MD canned cat food or WD canned cat food.

I began to get my cat regulated much better on DM canned cat food and/or "No grains" cat food. Talk to other people about cat diabetes as well to find out what's worked for the cat's glucose regulation.
Click to expand...

Hi Mary,

There is a lot of great, in depth facts on feline diet and health at catinfo.org by Dr. Lisa Pierson, DVM, especially regarding prescription foods & diabetes: http://www.catinfo.org/#Prescription/Therapeutic_Diets_. Fancy Feast Classic Pate is actually a highly effective canned food for my diabetic cat who quickly went into remission and has had no insulin when I placed him on this diet (literally the same day I started feeding him Fancy Feast). He was on prescription wet food previously until I made the change to Fancy Feast classic pate and again, when he made a dramatic decrease in his blood glucose levels. The things to avoid are canned foods w/ gravy and other tasty adjectives like "grilled, sliced, shredded," etc.

You may also want to look at the nutrition chart on Dr. Pierson's website: http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf as it has an exhaustive list of wet cat food and key nutritional information.
 
Most foods have some carbohydrate in them as that refers to types of molecules, not source of molecules.

The liver, for example, stores glycogen, a form of carbohydrate that is readily converted into glucose when needed. Therefore, any food with liver has carbohydrate in it.
Muscle tissues use glucose as fuel to work; thus they too may have some traces of carbohydrate in them.

And Fancy Feast classic pates are fine to feed your diabetic cat.
 
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