New diagnosis and thank you

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SHK

SHK

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Just wanted to make an introduction and say thank you to all the posters. My Edward Quartermaine (EQ for short) was diagnosed on June 7, 2012. I was panicked, stressed out, and thoroughly overwhelmed the first few days. I found this forum and read the introductory posts, as well as other newbies’ threads, which helped me a great deal.

We’ve since found another vet I feel a bit more comfortable with, who has more experience with diabetes than our previous vet. We went back today for his first blood test since the diagnosis. It wasn’t great, but it was lower (382 vs. almost 600 last week). We were bumped up to 2.5 units Lantus twice a day (we started at 1, then 1.5, then 2), and instructed to retest his blood next week, which I can do at home once I stop getting freaked out about poking his ear.

He has a wet food diet of Instinctive Choice, with the occasional grain-free Fancy Feast can (I call it his McDonalds). He’s not much of a drinker (at least before the diabetes), so I add about 1/3 cup of distilled water to his food twice a day. The vet said he's doing a decent job of keeping hydrated despite all the peeing he’s doing. We did all of this prior to the diagnosis, because he also has Feline Interstitial Cystitis (FLUTD or whatever the vet calls it nowadays). He also takes 2 capsules of Cosequin each morning to help with his urinary issues. There are Feliway diffusers burning all around the house and I’m trying my best to keep calm for him. He’s adapted to the injections much faster than I thought he would. EQ is a tough-looking, big black former shelter cat (how old we don’t know – maybe between 8 and 12?), but a super-sensitive baby on the inside.

If you read this far, I salute you! Apart from my thanks, I do have one question (for now). I know that it will take a while for him to get regulated, or even close to it. He’s a stressed cat already, and any increased stress complicates his urinary condition. Regarding blood testing - the vet said it’s ok to go by his drinking and urinary activity, rather than test his blood (to reduce stress), until we get his results lower and closer to the normal range. He also said we’re quite a ways away from performing a curve. Does that sound right? What advice would you give regarding testing for those just starting out on insulin? Test a lot? Weekly? And when do you test? Ok, I guess it’s more than one question. Thank you in advance for any pointers and advice!
 
I'm glad you're feeling more relaxed!Dainty is also fond of the "kitty smoothie", she now won't eat her dinner if it's too chunky. It now has to have the texture of a puree. I understand being a little nervous about testing. I watched a number of youtube videos plus the instruction from this site and it still took me quite a bit of time to get the hang of it. You really should be testing before every insulin shot at the very least. just to see how he's doing before adding insulin. Going by urine alone probably isn't going to be the best indicator of where EQ (cute name btw) is. I do realize your situation is complicated by medical issues but testing at home is the best way to follow his diabetes and prevent hypo situations. Going to the vet's also tends to raise glucose numbers so you might see different numbers at home.
 
No, your vet is not right. For starters, how is testing at home more stressful than you having to pack your cat up and take him to the vet every time you need a test? Stress affects blood glucose and those numbers from the vets should be disregarded. Raising him up to 2.5u based on those tests is just plain dangerous for your cat.

Home testing is extremely important, especially in the beginning. Right now you are running blind. You have no idea how the insulin is working. Your cat is at risk of a hypo, especially because the insulin was raised based on a single test in the vets office. Please start home testing as soon as possible - it is necessary to make sure your cat is safe.
 
Ry & Scooter said:
No, your vet is not right. For starters, how is testing at home more stressful than you having to pack your cat up and take him to the vet every time you need a test? Stress affects blood glucose and those numbers from the vets should be disregarded. Raising him up to 2.5u based on those tests is just plain dangerous for your cat.

Home testing is extremely important, especially in the beginning. Right now you are running blind. You have no idea how the insulin is working. Your cat is at risk of a hypo, especially because the insulin was raised based on a single test in the vets office. Please start home testing as soon as possible - it is necessary to make sure your cat is safe.
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I have to emphatically repeat that. Raising dose to 2.5U in 10 days is not how Lantus is properly dosed and is dangerous. We recently had someone come to the board whose cat was being given 5U Lantus and died from a severe hypo, so it does not take much insulin to harm a cat.

If he is a cat who stresses easily, the BG readings the vet is getting are inaccurate and should NOT be used to base dose on. I hope you will read a couple articles to learn how to dose Lantus properly and either seek a new vet again or simply take control of EQ's diabetes care. Unfortunately many of us here have had to do that, it is why this board exists. We have members who can guide you in understanding what his BG values mean and how to dose accordingly. You must learn to hometest, it can save EQ's life!

http://www.tillydiabetes.net/en_6_protocol2.htm

http://www.aahanet.org/PublicDocuments/AAHADiabetesGuidelines.pdf

I'm sorry I don't have time to write more, but you have found the best place to help you help EQ. Please keep posting and asking questions. Some replies may be as emphatic as mine and Ry's, so please bear with us. We care about everyone's kitties and when we see scary dosing being done, we have to speak up.
 
Once you get started with home testing you'll probably wonder why you were so worried about it :smile: I felt physically ill when I started testing Vyktor but within a week I had realised that the problem was all on my side, he was fine with it. Just make sure you use a really calm approach or EQ may feed off your stress.

Testing prior to each shot is vital to keep EQ safe and testing mid-cycle (or whenever EQ's nadir is - you'll need to test to find out) is required to assess dosing requirements on lantus (you can do this at night if you can't manage during the day). Performing a curve is recommended at least once a week.

Chances are EQ will be quite stressed at the vet and this could affect his BG significantly and I certainly would not feel comfortable (knowing what I now know) increasing the dose based on one random test and a 0.5 increase is pretty large, here we generally increase by 0.25 increments as Lantus is very sensitive and you don't want to go past a good dose for EQ or put him in danger.
 
What country/state/city are you in? There might be a board member who lives nearby who can help you through the first stages of home testing.

And the first time doesn't have to be stressful- I tested my dads cat BG the first time- just warm the ear up pretty good (5 minute massage on the ears and he was drooling on the couch at the end :lol: ) and I got a good amount of blood the first time. Granted, I've been testing for over 6 months now on my cat but when a cat is first being tested there isn't enough capillaries to get any blood from- the trick is to warm up the ear with rubbing, a rice sock, a pill bottle with warm water- BEFORE you try to poke. If you poke three times and get nothing it isn't a loss- you are building up the capillary system so you will eventually get blood. You don't have to be a perfect first timer at this, sweet talk EQ, say he's a good boy, give him a low carb treat at the end and let him go.

The first time for me and Sneakers it took a weekend for me to get it down- and I had a broken meter! Good meters- Relion Micro/Confirm (Wal-Mart and it has the cheapest strips) or Bayer. Bad meters- anything with True in the name or the Freestyle meter that has a butterfly on the strip. Most people choose the meter based on the cost of the strips as the meters are usually the cheapest item- micro/confirm strips are 100/$36 compared to Alpha Track (the pet meter) for $1/strip and the meter is expensive. Pretty much every place with a pharmacy sells meters- just be careful of the brand name. Yes, it is a human meter but we are looking for trends in the BG and this is perfect for it.

Also pick up ketosticks- the cheapest insurance you can get for DKA- 50 strips in a bottle for $7, also found in the meter isle, test his pee with the strip. If EQ has BG #'s higher than 250 he can develop ketones if he also has an infection, stops/less eating food, and his insulin is too low (other reasons but those are the main ones). Daily checking will bring peace of mind. It can costs up to $4000 or more to get a cat through DKA at a vet hospital.

Congratulations for taking this step! Good luck!

Edited to include:
You will also need to buy lancets (a lancet pen might come with your meter). Buy the smallest gauge you can find- 26, 28- as they have the biggest boles and make bigger holes for blood. You can get to the thinner ones later, but now you need the larger ones. And they can be reused more than once- I use one a day and then throw away as it gets dull. The lancet pens... I never got the hang of it so I free-hand the lancet, using a little bit of a cotton ball behind the ear, poke, and get the drop of blood on my fingernail and then lightly pinch the ear with my other hand for 3-5 seconds to stop the bleeding. Then I put the strip in the meter and wait for the blood request and let the strip sip the blood off my fingernail (Sneakers hated that meter close to her head and would flick her ears, so blood on fingernail and I can let her go).
 
Hi and Welcome to the board!

Several people have said that you can't give your cat insulin without testing. When my cat was first diagnosed his blood glucose was over 500. My vet told me Nothing about safety in using insulin. He told me to give 2 u of Lantus twice a day, and sent us home. Less than two weeks after I started testing my cat had a near-hypo incident. His blood glucose (BG) got down to 51 (on a human meter). I was testing him that day, I caught it, and I intervened. We were very, very lucky. I don't know how low it would have gone if I had not been testing.

I'm sorry to hear that your vet led you to believe that testing your cat will stress him out and complicate his FIC condition. If you have to take him to the vet to do it, yes, it will. I suspect he told you that doing a curve is not in the near future because the vet expects you to bring him in for the curve, and that will be very stressful for him. Most people on this board think that curves at the vet are a waste of money, the results are worthless, and they cause unnecessary stress on your cat. We do them at home. You can too, and take the results to your vet. I do not think your cat will be stressed by being tested at home. It's a pin prick, and you are messing with his ears which cats hate, but it will be fine.

I am also concerned about the fact that your cat has gone from his original dose to 2.5 units in less than a week with no curves. Please read this right away: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=15887 PRINT IT OUT and put it on your fridge. Also, get your hypo kit ready -- you need 1. Karo syrup, pancake syrup or honey 2. an oral syringe 3. some high carb wet food 4. plenty of test strips, your glucometer, and plenty of lancets, and cotton balls -- all in a neat little emergency kit with another copy of what you printed out. If your cat gets to 50 - worry - if he gets to 40 - intervene for sure (on a human meter). If you are using the AlphaTrac it's 70 that is the lowest number you want to ever see.

Good luck!
 
Thank you all for such detailed information!

My vet actually wants me to begin testing EQ at home and call him with the results, instead of bringing him in, unless necessary. I may not have stated that correctly in my first post. He also said doing a curve at home is perfectly fine. However, he did say it wasn’t necessary to test every day yet until we get closer to lower levels. I don’t know if he said that to help keep the stress level down in the beginning, or if he just doesn’t know. He has diabetic cats of his own that are on Lantus, so I just assumed he knew what he was talking about. So, after reading your replies, I think I understand what you are all saying now. The internet is a blessing and a curse sometimes, with all the information out there. I’m really glad I found this forum and I can’t believe how helpful everyone is so far. We live in St Pete FL. I’m a little hesitant to look for another vet already, but if anyone has suggestions, I’d like to hear them. We used to have an amazing mobile vet, but she retired. We also had another awesome vet, but he left to open his own practice about 40 minutes away. We’re constantly getting left in the dust. ☹

I already had ketostix and some other ph sticks, and had been waving them under his butt almost every time he pees (he is such a good sport) – so far, so good – no ketones. I swallowed my fear and started trying to a blood test today. I got a ReliOn monitor and all the supplies (I also made a hypo kit, thank you max&emmasmommie for the suggestion). I was able to finally get some blood today at 5:45pm (he eats around 6:15 am & pm), and my meter read 336. Is this good or bad, I asked myself. I’m inclined to say bad, but I just don’t know enough yet.

So, now… should I have tested him again after he ate and before the shot? Or after the shot? I’m not quite sure.

Also, I guess there are no “set” numbers I should be looking for, but more ranges instead. Is that true? I started looking at some of your spreadsheets and I might just use one of them as a template for EQ. Is there a chart or anything out there that tells me what general numbers should be at certain times during the day (before meals, after, mid-day, etc.)?
 
Hi, SHK,

You are doing so well -- ketone testing and everything! Here is a link to help you set up your spreadsheet :
http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207.

In general, you need only test him right before the 12 hour shot time, then let him eat, and then give him the shot. (Because I know my cat will eat well, I give the shot before I feed him so that I don't forget to give it, but my cat is a grazer, and I take away his food 2 hours before his shot time. He is demanding food by test/shot time. If he seemed uninterested I would not give the shot first.) No need to test after the shot unless there is an additional reason, but I won't overload you with info on that right now.

As to when and how much your cat eats at other times of the day, there are myriad ideas about how to feed a diabetic cat, and it can depend on the cat's eating habits, too. I let mine eat anytime he wants to except 2 hours before the 12 hour shot time because I want to get a BG that is not affected by a "food spike."

It is wonderful to hear that your cat is down to 338 at shot time given that he was at 600 when diagnosed. In a well regulated cat the test at shot time should be the high point of the 12 hour period, and sometime between 5 and 7 hours after the shot should be the low point. We call these +5 and +7. Ultimately, you will want your cat below 200 all the time but never below 50(on a human meter.) On this forum there are two (or more) schools of thought on regulating a cat. One is that you should try to keep the cat in what is considered a normal range for a healthy cat. Another idea is that it is "too dangerous" to try for a normal range because of the risk of hypos. So, a second idea is to try to keep the cat above 100 at all times and below 200 at shot times -- the "safest" way to go.

You will find support for both ideas here. Some people on this board are able to keep their cats in the normal range with very few risks because of the time and energy they put into the effort. They believe very strongly that having a normal range for BG is very important. I personally would choose the "safer" method because I know myself well enough to know that it is actually safer for my cat given the demands on my time and energy. (However, my cat's situation doesn't give me a choice right now - he "bounces" around from 550 to 80, and everywhere in between. He has some other problems though, and I have been at this for only 4-5 months.)

As far as the vet is concerned, my opinion is that if you find a vet that will work with you, and yours seems to be willing to do so, you are set. I am very surprised that a vet who owns diabetics would tell you to give insulin without testing and would raise the dose the way he/she did. However, I sometimes wonder if vets are afraid to tell us up front all that is involved in treating a diabetic for fear that owners will be overwhelmed, and give up without even starting. They are certainly unable to get owners to pay the huge amounts of money it would truly take to let the vet do it all for you. So, maybe they are walking a tight rope sometimes.

Have a good night.
 
I know this seems sappy, but I could not be doing this without all of your help. To have a vet say, "oh, it's no big deal - it's so easy to test at home," is one thing. But to have encouragement from so many who are going through the same thing, well, it makes all the difference.

I was able to test again before breakfast (386 @ 5:50am)! The warm washcloth was the perfect trick. He's not happy with me, but I think he's learning the routine already. I'm shocked at how little blood I need - I'm no longer worried about shredding his ear up over time. I wish I had joined the forum and learned to do this earlier; I could have tried a curve or a mini-curve this weekend. But I know I'll feel confident enough to do one next weekend to see what his low points are during the day.

I'm feeling more optimistic now. One thing that's been nice about it all? My other kitty, Dex Dexter, stopped liking to be brushed a couple years ago. I couldn't understand it - he used to love it as a kitten. And he's the floofy type that really benefits from a regular day-of-beauty! Now he begs for it again; he must be jealous seeing his buddy get extra brushes after his shot. :smile:
 
Hurray! Welcome to the Vampire Club!

You will be amazed at the sense of control you get from testing at home. You will be able to test if she looks funny (don't they all :mrgreen: ) and be assured her blood sugar is normal. You can test before each shot and be sure the amount of insulin you are going to give is safe. You can test midcycle and see exactly how the insulin is working.

If you need help getting the spreadsheet set up (so you can keep track of your numbers and so we can see your dosing history at a glance when you have a question) send me a pm.
 
That is great! With your shot time BGs (we call them AMPS -- am preshot and PMPS) being in the mid 300s last night and this morning, you never know, you might get lucky and have an easy case. Let's hope so!

If you do get a low pre-shot number here's a link for what to do: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=61797

Once you have some confidence, get some tests at +4, 5, 6 or 7, and find out how low he is going. Choose a different hour each time you do it. If you can do that every few days and every few nights, you'll get some good data to use later. It is wonderful that the new meters need so little blood, and my test strips (Relion) "suck" the blood up so they are more than worth the money.

Let's see -- There is a lot to learn, but here are a few things I wish I'd known earlier rather than later:
1. Do not use a syringe more than once - you do not want to contaminate your insulin.
2. Keep your insulin in the refrigerator, but not the door of the frig, and make sure it is not in a spot that it will freeze. I believe it's true that insulin will last up to 6 months if you keep it refrigerated, uncontaminated and generally free of air bubbles. Supposedly, it expires 28 days, but that's when it's not refrigerated.
3. Do not shake your insulin- there is no need, and it will cause bubbles that will break down the insulin. If you see bubbles in the insulin try to get them out. I hope you are using the Lantus Solostar pens, and if so, you can just squeeze them out with dosing mechanism on the end of the pen. I use that mech every time I shoot to keep my insulin free of air. If you are using the pens continue to use syringes to draw the insulin out of the pen.
4. Find out where is the best place on the cat to give the injection, and it is usually not the scruff (poor absorption). I use the flank, some use the belly, some use the back near the spine. Ask for advice on this and see what people say, if your cat is difficult when you giving the shot.
5. Learn about the "shed." See http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=150
6. Watch out for dehydration. It's great that you are mixing water into your cat's food. Watch for constipation, too, and post to ask what to do about it if you see it happening. There may be other considerations with this issue given that your cat has FIC.
7. Use the notes area off to the right of your spreadsheet everyday to take notes on his behavior, his water drinking, his litter box usage, and any changes to your treatment. If you come upon a complication, you will want to have a record that you can look back to and review for clues.

I had to smile when you said you couldn't do this without the support of this board. I think we all feel that way, at least in the beginning!

Have a great day.
 
Welcome to FDMB!

In general, you need only test him right before the 12 hour shot time, then let him eat, and then give him the shot.
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I have to emphatically disagree since you are using Lantus. Every type of insulin is different. With Lantus, because it it a long-acting insulin, the pre-shot test is important so you know whether it's safe to give a shot but Lantus dosing is based on the lowest point in the cycle (the nadir). If you are only getting pre-shot tests, you could easily end up overdosing your cat. If you can start to get spot checks at various times, it will help you to understand how Lantus is working. At minimum, you want to get one test per shot cycle in addition to your pre-shot test.

To be honest, I think many (most) of us were more nervous about testing than our cats. There are any number of people who will tell you that their cats will readily run to their test spot. Setting up a routine is important. Testing in a limited number of places helps. But, what helps even more are treats! it doesn't matter if a test is successful or unsuccessful, EQ gets a treat. Cats can be very food motivated and once you make the association between testing and treats, you're kitty will be OK with the process. We have lots of suggestions for treats that are low carb (e.g., freeze dried chicken, Wellness jerky style treats, or even plain cooked chicken).

There is a great deal of information about Lantus and it's use in the starred sticky notes at the top of the Lantus board. Below are links and an outline of the information in those links:
  • Tight Regulation Protocol: This sticky contains the dosing protocol that we use here. There are also links to the more formal versions -- the Tilly Protocol developed by the counterpart of this group in Germany and the Queensland/Rand protocol developed by Jacqui Rand, DVM and published in one of the top vet journals.
  • New to the Group: Everything you wanted to know about this forum and more. Info on our slang, FAQs, links to sites on feline nutrition and to food charts containing carb counts, how to do a curve and the components to look for, important aspects of diabetes such as ketones, DKA, and neuropathy, and most important, info on hypoglycemia.
  • Handling Lantus: how to get the maximum use from your insulin and what to not do with it!
  • Lantus depot/shed: This is an important concept for understanding how Lantus works.
  • Lantus & Levemir: Shooting & Handling Low Numbers: What data you need in order to be able to work toward remission or tight regulation as well as information if you have a low pre-shot number or a drop into low numbers during the cycle.
 
I wish! Nothing about this boy’s health is lucky (other than he got out of the shelter and came to live with me)!

I started a spreadsheet – thank you for the template. Whoever put this together is awesome! I had one of my own, but it’s not conditionally formatted or anything fancy like this one.

Thank you for the info about Lantus. I knew some of the info, but not about the pens and air – my vet did say he’d prescribe the pen next time to lower my costs (the pharmacies here won’t fill Lantus without a prescription). So far he’s been really good about getting his shot – doesn’t flinch at all. He was never a “treat” cat, and that’s one of the signs that made me realize he was sick – he started wanting them when I gave them to the other cat. I think he likes the extra brushing I give him more than treats. Prior to his diagnosis, I had his wet food on a feeder timer to ensure a stable feeding schedule (I try to reduce stress any way I can), but I stopped doing that. I saw that some of you let your cats eat food in between shots during the day. He usually eats all his food within 1-2 hours and I don’t leave anything out during the day – should I? I’d be afraid my other piglet would eat it all.

I’m obsessive about avoiding dehydration, and thankfully his skin is doing the “spring back” thing again (has been for several days now, yay!).

Does insulin cause constipation? I know some pain meds can, but I guess I need to read more about side effects of insulin. Whenever he was feeling tummy-crummy before his diagnosis, I used to sprinkle some dairy-free acidophilus (sp?) on his food (and lysine during the early days of him coming to live with me – he had awful runny eyes not attributed to an infection). Do you think acidophilus would harm him now that he’s diabetic?

I’m very concerned about the shed, now that you’ve brought it to my attention. That’s a very scary concept! Ok – does it affect the shed if I inject into different sites (ie. one side of spine in AM, opposite side in PM)? I saw it could take 2-5 days for a shed to build up. YIKES! I wish I didn’t have to work this week so I could monitor him during the day to find out his nadir. Right now, I can only do glucose testing in the AM and PM before the shot, and then maybe some PM tests before I go to bed. Will I get useful numbers if keep poking him in the PM after he’s eaten? If so, when should I test if he ate at 6pm and got his injection at 6:45 (assuming I don’t stay up all night)?

I’m sorry for all the questions that are probably answered elsewhere, but I think if I had to find the answers on my own, I’d be lost. We got our new Smart Cat litterbox today, so I'm off to set it up. Cross your fingers he takes to it!
 
Hello. "In general, you only need only test him right before the 12 hour shot time . . ." In this response, I was answering a specific question, but I made a poor choice of words -- you seemed to wonder if you were supposed to test immediately after the shot, and the answer is no. Trying to throw "In general" in there wasn't enough. I hope the rest of my advice about hypos made that clear, but if not, thanks for catching that, Sienne. When you start using insulin at first you need to know if he's going way low once the shed has filled to avoid a hypo especially at the dose you are using. Do the best you can.

If you want to follow Tight Regulation, please do. For the Tight Regulation Protcol, you would have to test in the middle of every cycle or be at constant risk of a hypo. I can't do it with all the other demands in my life. I use the "Relaxed" Lantus protocol, because I don't know how to take care of everything else I need to do and follow Tight Regulation, too. I'm afraid I'll kill my cat. My cat's numbers are horrible, but he looks healthy, and he's happy, clean, fluffy and loving – a vast improvement over how he was looking a few months ago.

For the long run, in the Relaxed Lantus forum you still need to test in the 4 tor 7 hour range during some cycles even if its inconvenient. You need to know this information for the day and for the night. Some cats have very different numbers in the day and night. If it's impossible to test in the daytime, do it on the days that you are home, and in addition, you are going to have to set your alarm, and do it at night.

Regardless, you can't change the dose without knowing how low he is going in the middle of the cycle. Just doing a curve on the weekend might not be enough if you don't actually get a "curve," but some crazy numbers because of something that is going on with the cat or because you are overdosing him. You need to compare your curve results to what you know are his usual mid-cycle numbers.

As to other testing times, you might test very soon after the shot if you have a reason (like you gave him a full shot when he was at 151, and you want to see how he's doing, or you want to see how his food is affecting his BG at +1). You need to test at the 2 hour mark when you run a curve -- +2, +4, +6, +8, +10 and +12. You can also do mini curves +3,+6,+9, +12.

As for the food, there should be some out all day while you are gone and at night, so that if his BG gets way low, he can go to eat it and save himself from a hypo that you don't notice is happening. People have different strategies for this when they have a cat that will eat it all or a second cat that gets the food. One is freezing the food, and letting it thaw out on his plate. Look around for other ideas here.

From my experience, I don't think insulin causes constipation, but I honestly don't know. I can't answer the rest of your questions because I don't know the answers, but I'm glad to hear he's well hydrated. That's very important for the distribution of insulin and any hormones his pancreas is trying to produce.
 
Thank you for your reply, Dale (is that your name?). I'd like to follow tight regulation, but I'm afraid it's just not logistically possible for me to test him on weekdays between 7am and 5:45-ish pm due to my working almost 40 minutes away from home. I wish I could come home during a lunch break, but it's just too far away. So I'll work with what I've got, and follow your suggestion to test whenever I'm home, and set an alarm to wake up and test at different times overnight. I still plan to try a curve during the day and night this weekend, just to see what kind of daytime data I can collect for comparison's sake. I figure the more data I can get, the better, even if it's limited by my schedule.

I'll look for the ideas about leaving food out during the day. I've never really left food out for them before, but have always made sure both cats are fed right about 10-12 hours apart. They're not free feeders, but they do take between 1 and 2 hours to finish the meals completely. They scarf for a little bit, take a break to groom, then scarf again, then take a break to poop, then finish up. So funny!

I just noticed the post icons, and will be sure to post the question mark one whenever I have a question now (I assume that's what it's for).

I have good news! When I got home today, he followed me into the bathroom and got onto the counter to get his kisses like usual. But this time, he STAYED when I got the lancet and supplies out to test him (he ran away every time before). He wiggled a little because I had to try 4 different times to get blood, but he actually purred through the whole testing procedure - while my civilian kitty looked on jealously! I can't believe my luck - I hope it holds. Now, if I could just get these numbers closer to a range that will help him... baby steps.
 
SHK,

Glad to hear he's letting you test him. That's great. Yes, having more data is better than less. You will need to find out how your cat responds to the insulin -- when is his low -- at 4, 5, 6, or 7, -- and how low it is. You want to know if the insulin is lasting 12 hours or if it's not lasting long enough or too long. You want to know if you have a lovely curve or a plunging ravine (or maybe a jagged peak like Max -- ugh, I hope not!) Then, you'll have the data on the spreadsheet so that someone can help you dose.

Yes, my name is Dale. Emma is my 13 month old "spider monkey" posing as a human baby. She's a the beach today with grandma. Otherwise, I'd be erasing "ewoasnvxkcvjdsfasdf;dkjfnzd;fisdfnelxcpo" from this post every so often. Max is the grumpy, old man who is 80 in cat years. He's curled up next to me snoring his tiny cat snore.

You know, when I first came here so many people here helped me tremendously by posting links for me and giving me advice. I was overwhelmed, and scared for my cat, and there is soooo much information here. So, I'm passing that kindness along. It's the best I can do as I can't give dosing advice. Maybe someday I'll be able to do it.

I understand about Tight Reg. I wish I could do it; I really do. Doesn't he deserve it? Yes, he does, but if he dies from a hypo I'll never be able to get over it.

Come on over and start posting in Relaxed if you like. A lot of us follow the format that is required for posting in TR, but you don't have to in Relaxed. It is best for organizational purposes if you start a new post on a particular day and then, the next day that you post, you start a new thread (with a link to the previous post, if possible.)

When you do decide you need dosing advice, I suggest posting in either the Lantus TR or the Lantus Relaxed or both. When it comes to dosing, the people in TR know so much, and I think it's at least partially because they test so much, and they are very committed to what they are doing. There are people in Relaxed, of course, who know plenty, too. The TR people check out the Relaxed forum sometimes, too, and answer questions. You can browse the posts in any forum and pick up information, if you have the time.

Have a good day.
 
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