New - first night giving insulin.

Pussasaurus

Pussasaurus

Member Since 2018
I've been reading the forum and feel a little overwhelmed right now. My cat is 14 and had been urinating frequently and drinking more water than normal. The vet gave her 1 unit of insulin (Lantus) on 9/20 at 11 AM. I decided to wait until tonight 9/21 to give her the first dose at home. I bought the ReliOn meter at walmart and tested 180 just before I gave her food and then her insulin shot. Is there a number reference guide on here somewhere? I feel a little lost right now. Any help would be greatly apprecaited.

They also gave me Hills M/D can food and Purina Pro Plan DM wet food to try. She seems to love them both. Is that the best to feed her?

Thanks,
Brian
 
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Wow, congrats on the testing and the shooting! Those can be pretty nerve wracking to start ;)

First, read the sticky posts at the top of the forum. Lots of good into there, but really overwhelming at first so you'll probably want to go back a few times and reread them over the next few weeks.

First, you always test before shots, and then in general get some mid-cycle tests to see how low the insulin is taking her (nadir).

For me at night, i always make sure to get a test at +3 (three hours after shot).
 
Hello and welcome.

There is nothing special about the Veterinary wet foods, other thatpn their price. For diabetics, a good low carb wet food or raw is best. We try to feed something under 10% carbs. This chart lists many of the foods available in North America https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

It's also good to have some high carb wet food around, which is 15% carbs and above, in case you need to bring her up from low numbers which is under 50. A lot of the foods with gravy are high carb. If you don't have high carb food on hand, you can add a drop of karo or honey to the regular food. For not having had a shot in over 24 hours, 180 is a really good number. 1.0 unit might be too high a dose. Typically we suggest that brand new people don't shoot if the number is under 200. I would test again 2-3 hours after the shot. That is the typical Lantus onset, when the insulin starts working.
 
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Hi Brian, and welcome to Lantus and Levemir Land, the nicest place you never wanted to be.

Congratulations on learning to shoot and test at home. Your testing her is the best way to keep your kitty safe.

We were all new once, and we understand how overwhelming this all is, so know you are among friends and lean on us. Ask lots of questions. We love to help.

Once you get your spreadsheet set up, please create a link to it and add it to your signature block. That way anyone that wants to give you suggestions can easily see what's been going on. If you need help with doing this, just ask.

Here is a post we put together for new members to help them get in the swing of the forum. It's kind of like an FAQ.

We're glad you found us!
 
Welcome to the forum! Life saving going on here every day Brian! Lots of new information to absorb. Take it at your pace but as quickly as you can. In short order you'll become familiar with the slang and all the folks here. Sending hugs and support your way! :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Pussasaurus said:
I've been reading the forum and feel a little overwhelmed right now. My cat is 14 and had been urinating frequently and drinking more water than normal. The vet gave her 1 unit of insulin (Lantus) on 9/20 at 11 AM. I decided to wait until tonight 9/21 to give her the first dose at home. I bought the ReliOn meter at walmart and tested 180 just before I gave her food and then her insulin shot. Is there a number reference guide on here somewhere? I feel a little lost right now. Any help would be greatly apprecaited.

They also gave me Hills M/D can food and Purina Pro Plan DM wet food to try. She seems to love them both. Is that the best to feed her?

Thanks,
Brian
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Welcome :).
There are incredibly knowledgeable peeps on this board who really have a selfless desire to share their wisdom and experiences... just wait, you’ll see :).
Regarding food... check theses two out (both excellent): http://www.foodfurlife.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html and http://www.radfood.com/
 
Thank you everyone! I'm going to head to walmart later to find some Fancy Feast Pate to see if she likes that.
 
Welcome to the group!!

It looks like Wendy gave you the link to Dr. Lisa's food chart and Krystina gave you a link to a good site for an add-in if you want to feed a raw diet. The Hill's product that your vet suggested is high in carbs (13% -- we consider that a medium carb food.) The ProPlan is 6%. The Fancy Feast Classics are much less expensive.

You are absolutely correct. The beginning of this adventure is completely overwhelming. There's a huge volume of information in the sticky notes (and their links). The good news is that many of us have been here for a while and it truly does become second nature. Perhaps more importantly, the people here are very generous with their time and knowledge and we are all happy to answer questions.

At some point soon, you'll want decide which dosing method to follow. There are sticky notes on both the Tight Regulation Protocol (TR) and Start Low Go Slow (SLGS) approaches. TR has a strong foundation in research while SLGS has been used by many people here for quite some time.

Please let us know how we can help.

 
Welcome to the group! :) This place has been an absolute lifesaver and sanity keeper since Ninja was diagnosed this summer - some of the best people I've ever had the pleasure of coming across. As @Mandy & Rex said, someone always seems to be around, which is amazing and so helpful for those "911" moments.
 
Thank you everyone. Still trying to figure it all out. I didn't give her the insulin shot tonight because she tested at 171. Will see what the morning test brings.
 
Pussasaurus said:
Thank you everyone. Still trying to figure it all out. I didn't give her the insulin shot tonight because she tested at 171. Will see what the morning test brings.
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Hello and welcome. Hope to see you around more.

Just curious why you didn't shoot the 171? you shot 177 just a 3 cycles ago which essentially was the same number.

Have you had a chance to read up on the two dosing methods we use here? have you decided which one you would like to follow? or perhaps you have some questions about them?
 
Gill & George said:
Hello and welcome. Hope to see you around more.

Just curious why you didn't shoot the 171? you shot 177 just a 3 cycles ago which essentially was the same number.

Have you had a chance to read up on the two dosing methods we use here? have you decided which one you would like to follow? or perhaps you have some questions about them?
Click to expand...

I had read where some people don't shoot if under 200 so it had made me a little weary of it. I'm still reading things and learning what to do.
 
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