New diabetic Baby and Mom lost

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ritamc

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nailbite_smile nailbite_smile HELP!!!!! My Baby Blue was recently diagnosed with diabetes. I was able to master Blood glucose after I realize the strips were not accurate. Right now she is on 3 units of Humulin once a day but her numbers range from average of 319 in the morning (before insulin) to 230-- 8 hours after it back to the high 424 after 14 hours. I feed her 3 time a day. She is on Purina DM. I mix dry and wet. I am worried this swing in number is not good for her and realize this is nowhere near normal. Please help. All my vet does is tell me to increase her insulin and when I do she crashes. Please help me and her. should I switch her to all canned? Feed her more frequently?
Any avise will be greatly appreciated. Thanks Rita
 
Hi guys, I know this is scary and confusing and I know I'm also not the one equipped with enough knowledge to tell you what to do, buttttt I didn't want you sitting here thinking no one was coming by! I don't know much about your kitty's insulin, mine is on lantus, but I do know that dry food is very very bad for kitties, yes even the DM that your vet probably prescribed for you .. many of us here only feed wet low carb food, and a lot of us feed fancy feast or friskies from wal mart ... I am sure someone will be along soon that can help answer your questions ... just hang in there ok?
 
First, I cannot comment on the insulin you are using; Lantus and Levemir are longer lasting than the one you are using, so it may be worth considering if you are seeing such high numbers way before it's time for the next shot.

As for food, most definitely take away ALL dry foods. There are so very many kitties who need only a change in diet to get better numbers and go off insulin. You need to be feeding low carb and there are no dry foods that are low carb and having good ingredients. I bet if you feed just the wet foods, you are going to see better numbers and a happier kitty!
Refer to Binky’s Food Lists and select some canned foods under 10% carbs.

Others will be along soon with more info and suggestions.
 
Hi

Most cats especially when using humilin N need 2 shots a day. I would strongly suggest that you lower the dose and give 1 unit 2x a day 12 hours apart
N does work for some cats but they are in the minority. With most cats, it hits very hard and fast and does not have enough duration to last 12 hours. Be vigilant with your testing and always test before giving insulin This is a hard insulin to work with.

You do not need or want to feed dm. Lower carbs can reduce insulin needs. You want to stay away from dry foods and feed canned food under 10% carbs. These lists give the breakdown

http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodNew.html
http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodOld.html


It would help others to help you if you make up a spreadsheet so people can see all your numbers
 
One of the hardest things for new people on this site is to consider that the people who post here sometimes know more than the vet. Everyone who answers your post has or has had a diabetic cat and has treated it sucessfully. That is easily over 1000 cats in the past few years. Your vet may see a few diabetic cats a year, if that.

Our method works. Wet lo carb food (http://www.catinfo.org) and no dry. Insulin twice a day, starting at a low dose. (Insulin in cats last only 12 hours or so, so your kitty goes down for a few hours and then is up for the other 18 hours. That feels awful.) And hometesting, which it sounds like you are doing? (Fantastic!)

If I were you, I would divide the dose in half and give it every 12 hours. (Or start over at 1 unit twice a day) I would eliminate the dry and make sure my wet food is between 8-10% carbs (http://www.felinediabetes.com/diabetic-cat-diets.htm) and I would test before each shot and several times during the cycle, keeping track of those numbers. And yes, feeding several small meals during the day will help.

As others have said, it is harder to regulate on the insulin you are using. If you want ideas on a vet who might be more up on feline diabetes, put your city and state in the topic. Maybe we have someone who lives near you.

Don't despair. Yes, this seems complicated and difficult. But we want to help.
 
Just wanted to let you know that I think your welcome posts to newbies are fantastic. Very caring and calming. Exactly what they need.

I know you don't need me to tell you this, but I wanted to let you know that you the way you care so much really shines through. I'm glad you are here for the newbies... well and middlebies and oldtimers :mrgreen:

-Jennifer
 
Just saying Welcome to you and welcome to LL I am a middlenebie and only been here 3 months Trey started on Lantus and he is now 24 days OTJ (off insulin) No advice just everything here says start slow and work up in doses and Breath. Great job hometesting just get control of your kitty`s health. I think Lantus is great.. Kath
 
:smile: :smile: Thanks to you all!!! You have made me feel better about Baby Blue's problem. And will begin by eliminating the dry food. I live in Brooklyn New york does anyone know of a vet who specializes in diabetic cats? And one more question how often do you feed? Thanks again to you all Rita and Baby Blue.
 
Rita,

Start a new topic and ask for a vet in Brooklyn. I know we have people in NYC - not sure about Brooklyn.

It usually works best to feed small meals every couple of hours. As mentioned, with Humulin, it is good to feed before you give the insulin since it sometimes hits hard. But you can also feed on and off during the day. Some of us use automatic feeders; some people freeze the food in cubes and let the kitty snack. We fed Oliver breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner, bedtime snack and sometimes the feeder fed him during the night (Total 2.5 -3 cans of Fancy Feast at first, then 2 cans daily). New kitties are also literally starving as their bodies aren't processing the food correctly, so it doesn't hurt to feed him more than you usually might. Just split up the amount you decide on between several feedings.

If you eliminate the dry, be watching for lower bg numbers. When we changed Oliver from dry to wet, his numbers went down 100 points overnight. You want to be alert so you don't give him too much insulin.
 
Re: New diabetic Baby and Mom lost Update

:lol: :lol: Just want to Thank you all again!!! Switched Baby Blue to Canned only and her B/G has dropped a 100 points and she is acting like more her old self -- Enjoying loving and grooming and outdoors. Just in our yard!!!!! Long way to go but a big start and I do not feel as lost. Baby Blue thanks you all for the help. Love to all Baby Blue, Piper (her sister Dog) and their Mom
 
Way to go Blue... :lol: :mrgreen: my cat Trey was on Lantus insulin and only 2 months he is OTJ had his teeth done yesterday and doing awesome Healing green light for a speedy recovery to get off the juice..... Kath & Trey
 
Rita: Dr. Skip Sullivan at the Cat Practice in Manhattan will prescribe Lantus. He works Sun/Mon/Tues and his associate on the other 4 days. Also, the Animal Medical Center on 62nd and York (24 hours) is full of specialists. Dr. Sullivan diagnosed and treated my newly-diagnosed cat this past week. He'll want to keep the cat there for several days. I decided to get proactive and learned from all these folks here and took my cat out earlier than he wished, but we've been hometesting blood via the ear several times a day, and I've been getting advice on the dosage with every PS.

Create a spreadsheet and keep track of everything if you haven't already.

ritamc said:
:smile: :smile: Thanks to you all!!! You have made me feel better about Baby Blue's problem. And will begin by eliminating the dry food. I live in Brooklyn New york does anyone know of a vet who specializes in diabetic cats? And one more question how often do you feed? Thanks again to you all Rita and Baby Blue.
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Welcome,
So happy to see you here! My name is Taline, and I'm also a newbie. My cat Bibo was diagnosed with diabetes 33 days ago and I can only tell you, that there is so much hope and good results in treating your Baby Blue, as long as you follow the advices of many of the experienced members on this site.
I want to share with you what worked for me and I'll be here to support you and help you with your questions.

First of all, every morning, I posted a new topic, with the name of my cat, so the members will follow me. I asked as many questions as I had in my mind, and immediately after my posts, members wrote to me and advised me with what to do.
I started Bibo on PZI Idess (discontinued recently) but there are Lantus, Levemir, that you can get. these are longer lasting insulin, that are not harsh like Humilin, and give better results.
The vet wanted me to give Bibo 1u twice a day,(BTW, never left Bibo at the clinic for doing the curve), so that same day, I realized by doing the curve myself, that Bibo didn't need a 1u, so i decreased it to lower numbers, and the members here followed through every step by watching Bibo's spreadsheet (please set it up, it's on FDMB's tech support topic).
I switched his food to only wet food fancy feast variety pate,and mixed a little water with each meal. I fed him 3 to 3.5 cans a day, half a can at a time. So he got smaller meals during the day.It just happened that I was home, and I have a support system, that they can come and feed him, but I know there are automatic feeders out there.
I kept on posting and asking questions, and also checking his blood glucose to better determine the right dosage. And I can only tell you, that it wasn't easy in the beginning, because Bibo's not a friendy guy, he bit me, he ran away from me each time I tried to poke his ear, but I was so eager to get him help and I wasn't gonna give up.
3 weeks into this, Bibo's numbers are regulated, and I haven't given him a shot for 5 days now. I still check his bg everyday, but I'm happy to say that with patience, you can help him so much, and it's sooo rewarding. So please post as much as you can, with Blue's name on the topic, and we will all help you, especially the ones who really know how to advise. One thing to mention to you is Humilin. I urge you to find a vet who would give you a Lantus or Levemir or Prozinc, so you'll feel more confident with the type of insulin that works better for cats. Best of Luck to you and Blue. Tell him we love him very much.
Taline
 
Just sending hugsss lots of healing green light Glad you are taking control of your kitty`s health and are on the road to recovery Kath
 
Welcome to the FDMB family Sara and Baby Blue!

I had to look twice at his name...I have a Baby Blue as well, although I doubt he even remembers that is what his name is...lol. Our Baby Blue is a blue point siamese mix, although named Baby Blue when he was a kitten he has been called either Bebe or B-Bert so much I'm not sure he even remembers his true name.

Sounds like you are getting very good advice so I'll add nothing to the mix, but to say you are now in the best place you never wanted to be to keep your sanity and help your lovely boy get and stay happy and healthy. There is a wealth of good advice and concern on this board. Never worry that even though you may have only a few of us actually posting there are many more of us that are keeping an eye on things. And unlike a lot of vets there is no such thing as being the wrong time to ask questions and get answers. We don't close for weekends or holidays. =)

Best of Luck and Welcome again.

Mel & Muse (GA) and purrs and head butts from one Baby Blue to another.
 
Welcome to our board. You received very good advice and am so happy to see that you weren't afraid to follow it and so happy to see that Baby Blue's BG has dropped. Dude was diagnosed over 6 years ago and he was a "free feeder" on dry food with just a bit of wet at mealtime. He too was started out on N - and when I changed his diet to ALL wet - FancyFeast low carb foods per our food list - he also dropped over 100 points immediately.

He is now on Levemir - which is a longer lasting insulin and much easier (Lantus is similar).

Do be sure that since you're not giving dry,you watch his insulin dosages and test him because it will be easy to give too much insulin with his number being lower.

Good luck - keep us updated - sounds like you're doing great.

Emmy & Dude (& Mittsi too)
 
I've been in NYC since Fred has had diabetes for the past 5 yrs and I've yet to find a vet that advocates--or understands home testing. Not that they aren't there but I def. know more about the diabetes nuances than any vet I've ever met--and all from this board. The standard line from my current vet is always--increase thedose--when I get high numbers--but even if I do a tiny bit--Fred goes near hypo--what I've recently realized is that I now need to time his food intake--which I never did before. He's been on 1 unit pretty much more or less and now that seems to work...anyway, hopefully someone here has a vet that advocates hometestin gand gets it. My vet at Lincoln Sq accepts that I do it, but I still am never confident of his advice. Perhapst 5th Ave VEt clinic at 5th and 14th are good...Jess a vet tech from there is always on this board. I LOVED our cardiologist from there, unfort. he Just moved back to Canada. good luck
 
Our vets at the Cat Practice in NYC (5th Av @ 20th) encourage home testing. Bummer that they didn't make a big enough deal about determining nadir and making dosage decisions based on that. Thank goodness Dr. Pierson (west coast specialist) hammered that through my fat head. Like Martica said, basing dosage increases simply based on the high numbers is not enough to make an informed decision.

Martica and Fred said:
I've been in NYC since Fred has had diabetes for the past 5 yrs and I've yet to find a vet that advocates--or understands home testing. Not that they aren't there but I def. know more about the diabetes nuances than any vet I've ever met--and all from this board. The standard line from my current vet is always--increase thedose--when I get high numbers--but even if I do a tiny bit--Fred goes near hypo--what I've recently realized is that I now need to time his food intake--which I never did before. He's been on 1 unit pretty much more or less and now that seems to work...anyway, hopefully someone here has a vet that advocates hometestin gand gets it. My vet at Lincoln Sq accepts that I do it, but I still am never confident of his advice. Perhapst 5th Ave VEt clinic at 5th and 14th are good...Jess a vet tech from there is always on this board. I LOVED our cardiologist from there, unfort. he Just moved back to Canada. good luck
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