Need help......

[CindyJ]

My cat Baxter was diagnosed with diabetes about 6 weeks ago. I recognized the symptoms and brought him in right away. I was so sure this was going to be controlled relatively fast. Ha!! Boy, was I wrong. He started on Lantus 2 units twice daily for 3 weeks, did a glucose curve at home. Blood sugars were in the 400-500's. Then Lantus increased to 3 units twice daily for 3 weeks. I did another glucose curve and levels were even higher: 40o-670. Ugh!! Scary. Sooooo, my vet increased him to 4 units twice daily a few days ago. I have done some spot glucose checks (using an Alpha Trax 2) and there are NO DIFFERENCES IN HIS BLOOD SUGARS!! So I am ready to pull my hair out.

Do I need to start over at 2 units twice a day and increase much more gradually in .5 unis? Help!! I feed him only canned Purina pro plan grain-free. But I've been mixing with a little CatSure which I read was OK for diabetic cats???? But maybe not. He also has problems with constipation, so I had been giving him some Laxatone, but I see it has corn syrup in it. He also gets Cisapride for gut motility. Sorry this is so long. Need feedback. Thanks in advance!!!

 

[Kris & Teasel]

My cat Baxter was diagnosed with diabetes about 6 weeks ago. I recognized the symptoms and brought him in right away. I was so sure this was going to be controlled relatively fast. Ha!! Boy, was I wrong. He started on Lantus 2 units twice daily for 3 weeks, did a glucose curve at home. Blood sugars were in the 400-500's. Then Lantus increased to 3 units twice daily for 3 weeks. I did another glucose curve and levels were even higher: 40o-670. Ugh!! Scary. Sooooo, my vet increased him to 4 units twice daily a few days ago. I have done some spot glucose checks (using an Alpha Trax 2) and there are NO DIFFERENCES IN HIS BLOOD SUGARS!! So I am ready to pull my hair out.

Do I need to start over at 2 units twice a day and increase much more gradually in .5 unis? Help!! I feed him only canned Purina pro plan grain-free. But I've been mixing with a little CatSure which I read was OK for diabetic cats???? But maybe not. He also has problems with constipation, so I had been giving him some Laxatone, but I see it has corn syrup in it. He also gets Cisapride for gut motility. Sorry this is so long. Need feedback. Thanks in advance!!!

It's very likely that the dose was increased too quickly and by too much. The best way for us to see what's going on before giving advice is for you to set up the spreadsheet we use here and enter all the data you have into it.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
If you need help with this just ask. There are techies here who will assist.

 

[CindyJ]

Ok, will do. Thx

 

[Tricia Cinco(GA) & Harvey]

Hi Cindy, and welcome to Lantus & Levemir Land, the nicest place you never wanted to be.

As Kris said, and you guessed, it is entirely likely that the dose was increased to much, too fast. Too much insulin can often look like too little. It's good that you are paying attention to that, and wonderful that you are home testing! That is the best way to keep your precious Baxter safe.

If you haven't already, I highly recommend you read the stickies at the top of the Lantus & Levemir page, starting, logically enough, with New to the Group? This will give you the basics and help you start to understand what is happening with Baxter and how to help him. I know there is a lot of info here, and it is very overwhelming at first, especially when you are already scared and anxious. We have all been there and understand, so ask as many questions as you want - there is no such thing as a dumb question. We will help you all we can.

The first step, as Kris said, is to set up your spreadsheet and link it in your thread. Then we need some basic info on Baxter to help you figure out the best dose for him. How much does he weigh? Is he overweight, underweight, or just right? How old is he? Was there any kind of illness or medication (like a steroid) that may have brought on the diabetes? Does he have any other conditions, besides the constipation? Any other meds besides the Cisapride?

Here is a post we put together to help new members get comfortable using this site: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/updated-tips-for-new-members.173572/ It contains a lot of links and answers to frequently asked questions.

We're glad you found us and we can't wait to learn more about you and Baxter!