New Diagnosis - so lost and confused - please help!

[hmskelton]

I don’t even know where to start. There is just so much information and we feel like we are doing everything wrong.

Bailey was diagnosed about 3 weeks ago. It started as a UTI where there was glucose in her urine and her blood test read over 500. We retested after her UTI and then got diagnosed.

Her current weight is 13lbs and the vet did not say anything about needing to lose weight.

We starting feeding Purina DM Dietetic Management 2x a day, 1/3 cup at a time, per the vet recommendation. She gets Lantus 2u 2x a day as well. We started at .5 and have steadily increased.

We currently have the Freestyle Libre monitor on her, and her sugars go all over the place. We haven’t seen anything below 200 and she was spiking overnight, so we added a small snack before bed, again per the vet. It helped some but she’s still consistently between 350-450.

What should our next steps be? We have another cat who is non diabetic but we are OK with making any necessary food changes, we just don’t even know where or how to start.

Thank you so much for any support and advice.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Hello and welcome. Lantus is a good insulin and you've got a monitor on her to test her numbers, so that's a great start. The food, well, more on that later.

First of all, there are a few things that you can do to help us help you more. Details are described in this post: New? How You Can Help Us Help You!
You will see that most of us have signature with details about our kitty in them, as well as spreadsheets that contain the blood glucose readings. We use those spreadsheets, along with our dosing methods, to adjust the insulin dose. If you could set up a spreadsheet and enter the last couple weeks of readings, if you still have them, it will help us help you. If you need help with setting up the spreadsheet, we can get someone to help you with that too.

Is Bailey on any antibiotics for her UTI? Do you think that is improving? Infections/inflammation will bring higher numbers.

OK, onto the food. First of all, dry food and especially the DM one, is not a low carb food. We are strong believers in feeding low carb wet or raw food to our diabetics. Where low carb means less than 10% carbs. As long as Bailey's on the higher carb dry food, she will need more insulin. You also do not need to feed just twice a day, several smaller meals a day are better. What was Bailey eating before her diagnosis? Has she ever eaten wet food? I wouldn't switch her food just yet, as sudden changes to a low carb diet cat make quite a difference in the amount of insulin needed, so you want to do it gradually.

There is a lot to learn initially, but we can help. We've all been through that initial learning curve.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hi and welcome to the forum to both you and Bailey.
Ask as many questions as you need. We are happy to help.

 

[hmskelton]

Hello and welcome. Lantus is a good insulin and you've got a monitor on her to test her numbers, so that's a great start. The food, well, more on that later.

First of all, there are a few things that you can do to help us help you more. Details are described in this post: New? How You Can Help Us Help You!
You will see that most of us have signature with details about our kitty in them, as well as spreadsheets that contain the blood glucose readings. We use those spreadsheets, along with our dosing methods, to adjust the insulin dose. If you could set up a spreadsheet and enter the last couple weeks of readings, if you still have them, it will help us help you. If you need help with setting up the spreadsheet, we can get someone to help you with that too.

Is Bailey on any antibiotics for her UTI? Do you think that is improving? Infections/inflammation will bring higher numbers.

OK, onto the food. First of all, dry food and especially the DM one, is not a low carb food. We are strong believers in feeding low carb wet or raw food to our diabetics. Where low carb means less than 10% carbs. As long as Bailey's on the higher carb dry food, she will need more insulin. You also do not need to feed just twice a day, several smaller meals a day are better. What was Bailey eating before her diagnosis? Has she ever eaten wet food? I wouldn't switch her food just yet, as sudden changes to a low carb diet cat make quite a difference in the amount of insulin needed, so you want to do it gradually.

There is a lot to learn initially, but we can help. We've all been through that initial learning curve.

Thank you so much. I’ll find time this weekend to fill out the chart and update my signature. What does the +2 +1.5 etc mean? I did find the chart containing the list of recommended wet foods so any advice on how to transition to that from the DM would be amazing. She was previously fed Natural Balance Green Pea and Duck formula. To be honest she’s always been on kibble. We only tried one wet food a couple of weeks ago and she threw it all up.

Her UTI has cleared with antibiotics but there was still a high amount of glucose in her urine which led to the diagnosis along with other symptoms such as excessive thirst, weight loss, and frequent urination in and out of the litter box. The thirst and urination have greatly improved since starting Lantus but we obviously would like to get to a spot where we don’t have to keep giving her insulin either.

Thank you so much

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

What does the +2 +1.5 etc mean

+2 is 2 hours after the insulin is given. +4 is 4 hours after the insulin is given.

any advice on how to transition to that from the DM would be amazing. She

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/transitioning-your-cat-from-dry-to-wet-food.956/

The thirst and urination have greatly improved since starting Lantus but we obviously would like to get to a spot where we don’t have to keep giving her insulin either.

There is no guarantee of remission, although we all hope for it. The first thing is to aim for regulation where the blood glucose numbers are in normal range with a dose of insulin.

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

we feel like we are doing everything wrong

This is not medical advice so I'll make this quick. It might not look that way now but we have all been where you are now. Just the fact that you're here counts for much more than you think. We've had two sugar cats and while I'm not anxious for a third I can honestly say that what I first thought was what some kind of hysterical tragedy became just a minor inconvenience. It will for you too.
It's your thread's title that caught my attention. You cannot be "so lost and confused" when you've found your way home.

 

[MaryB]

I don’t even know where to start. There is just so much information and we feel like we are doing everything wrong.

Bailey was diagnosed about 3 weeks ago. It started as a UTI where there was glucose in her urine and her blood test read over 500. We retested after her UTI and then got diagnosed.

Her current weight is 13lbs and the vet did not say anything about needing to lose weight.

We starting feeding Purina DM Dietetic Management 2x a day, 1/3 cup at a time, per the vet recommendation. She gets Lantus 2u 2x a day as well. We started at .5 and have steadily increased.

We currently have the Freestyle Libre monitor on her, and her sugars go all over the place. We haven’t seen anything below 200 and she was spiking overnight, so we added a small snack before bed, again per the vet. It helped some but she’s still consistently between 350-450.

What should our next steps be? We have another cat who is non diabetic but we are OK with making any necessary food changes, we just don’t even know where or how to start.

Thank you so much for any support and advice.

hello!
Welcome to the group. I am no expert but let me tell you this group saved my sweet Chloe. I was so lost when I first came here. I didn’t know anything about insulin, food, testing… I was scared to even test her blood sugar and didn’t really even know how. Once I got her off the dry food (that I thought was low carb but wasn’t) her numbers dropped 40 points! Once I stopped using the spring loaded device that was with the meter and I learned where to test her ear not to hurt her, I was able to do it on the first couple tries. Now it’s no problem. She was able to achieve remission, not everyone does and it’s always possible she can fall out of it, but I check her sugar 3 or so times a week now to monitor. I used to check 2-4 times a day. Stay positive! You can do it! Lean on the group for advice and learn from them, they are amazing!!! I learned so much and I continue to seek their knowledge when I have questions.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Welcome to FDMB!

You've gotten some great information so far. Feeling overwhelmed is exactly how anyone new to caring for a diabetic cat feels at this point in the journey. Please ask questions! This group is very generous with their time and information. We'll do our bets to to overwhelm you!!