New here and can’t regulate!

[Chance123]

Hello! New here and desperate for help. I will create a spreadsheet and explore the group as well!
My kitty (12 year old male) was just diagnosed with Feline Diabetes. He was given a steroid shot about 6 weeks ago and soon after he started loosing weight and eventually we took him to the vet 2 weeks ago where they tested him and noticed his glucose levels were high and diagnosed him.
He had the freestyle Libre 2 put on him and the insulin is Insulin Glargine-yfgn. Vet said to start him out on 1 unit twice a day. We also switched his food to mostly wet low carb (9lives and Tiki) and have tried to limit dry to only when his numbers are low.
The issue we are having is regulating it. Within 2 hours of receiving the injection his numbers plummet to dangerously low levels. The sensor alarm goes off non stop and it is scary. We give him Karo syrup constantly to bring it up. Then after 12 hours it skyrockets back up to too high. We now have tried to go down to 1/2 a unit and the same thing happens. Yesterday his numbers dropped to around 45 and after lots of Kari syrup it got to a normal range and then spent the next 7 hours going from normal to low. Just can’t seem to get it to remain in that normal range for long periods of time.
last night the Vet said to stop the insulin for 24 hours to see what happens. Of course now it’s creeping up to a high level.
I’m so frustrated at this point. 1/2 a unit is hardly anything but clearly that’s too much. And I’m scared to death to give him anything at this point as I know it’s worse to be too low.
He was given 1/2 a unit of insulin around 9am yesterday and nothing since and currently his levels are at 296

 

[Chance123]

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Here is a link helping us to help you link. If you noticed, our members have some basic information about their cat's in their signature. This helps us to not pester you by asking the same questions (your cat's name, insulin type, date of diagnosis, etc.) repeatedly. We also have a link to our spreadsheet in our signature. We are very numbers driven. The spreadsheet is a record of your cat's progress. By linking it in yoursignature, we can follow along and provide feedback should you need the help
Your signature will be in gray letters , see mine about Tyler
It will also tell you how to set up our spreadsheet and how to use it.it's very easy.
If you need help setting it up just ask

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Hello! New here and desperate for help. I will create a spreadsheet and explore the group as well!
My kitty (12 year old male) was just diagnosed with Feline Diabetes. He was given a steroid shot about 6 weeks ago and soon after he started loosing weight and eventually we took him to the vet 2 weeks ago where they tested him and noticed his glucose levels were high and diagnosed him.
He had the freestyle Libre 2 put on him and the insulin is Insulin Glargine-yfgn. Vet said to start him out on 1 unit twice a day. We also switched his food to mostly wet low carb (9lives and Tiki) and have tried to limit dry to only when his numbers are low.
The issue we are having is regulating it. Within 2 hours of receiving the injection his numbers plummet to dangerously low levels. The sensor alarm goes off non stop and it is scary. We give him Karo syrup constantly to bring it up. Then after 12 hours it skyrockets back up to too high. We now have tried to go down to 1/2 a unit and the same thing happens. Yesterday his numbers dropped to around 45 and after lots of Kari syrup it got to a normal range and then spent the next 7 hours going from normal to low. Just can’t seem to get it to remain in that normal range for long periods of time.
last night the Vet said to stop the insulin for 24 hours to see what happens. Of course now it’s creeping up to a high level.
I’m so frustrated at this point. 1/2 a unit is hardly anything but clearly that’s too much. And I’m scared to death to give him anything at this point as I know it’s worse to be too low.
He was given 1/2 a unit of insulin around 9am yesterday and nothing since and currently his levels are at 296

@Wendy&Neko
@tiffmaxee
@Suzanne & Darcy
@Sienne and Gabby (GA)

 

[Chance123]

I think I got the spreadsheet updated. Haven't given any insulin today. He's been sleeping all day but he does that most days.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

For some reason the spreadsheet doesn't seem to be working quite right. Our template has formulas in there that colour the cells based on numbers (as per the line on the top of the SS). We have all gotten quite used to seeing patterns in colours instead of numbers.

Was the 30th the first day he got insulin? I'm asking because glargine is a depot style insulin which accumulates a "depot" under the skin. For each shot, some goes to the blood stream and some to the depot. Two side effects of this is nice even insulin action, but it also means number get better over time. If he just started insulin 2 days ago, he hasn't had much time to build a depot. Our spreadsheet also has a spot on top that gives the diagnosis date and that's another piece of information we ask to put in the signature. Details are in the link Diane posted in her first sentence.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

I think I got the spreadsheet updated. Haven't given any insulin today. He's been sleeping all day but he does that most days.

You are missing some information we need about Chance

• Add info we need to help you:
  • Caregiver & kitty's name
  • DX: Date
  • Name of Insulin (do not include dose or frequency)
  • Name of your meter
  • Diet: "LC wet" or "dry food" or "combo"
  • Dosing: TR or SLGS or Custom (if applicable)
  • DKA or other recent health issue (if applicable)
  • Bexacat or Senvelgo (if applicable) and dates
  • Acro, IAA, or Cushings (if applicable)
  • Spreadsheet link. Please put the signature link on the bottom line of your signature information, on its own, so it is easy to find.
  • Please do not put any information about your location in the signature for security reasons. If you wish to add your country location, please add it to your profile.

Be sure to click the 'Save Changes' button at the bottom. If you need help urgently it is important we know these things at a glance. We don’t want to waste valuable time finding out information.

You might want to read all about Lantus/ Glargine
Here read all the yellow sticks, On your spreadsheet where it says dosing method ( SLGS or TR )you have syringes . Read about the 2 dosing
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/lantus-levemir-biosimilars.9/

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

Tagging Bhooma @Bandit's Mom to help you with the spreadsheet

 

[Chance123]

No he has been on it for almost 2 weeks now. It took me awhile to get the spreadsheet together as is so I only added the last few days. I will continue to work on it. It’s a lot of work and when you are a bit stressed about your kitty it even seems like more work just to get answers . I tried to add a bunch of info to the original post until I can get the time to update the spreadsheet. Thanks for responding.

For some reason the spreadsheet doesn't seem to be working quite right. Our template has formulas in there that colour the cells based on numbers (as per the line on the top of the SS). We have all gotten quite used to seeing patterns in colours instead of numbers.

Was the 30th the first day he got insulin? I'm asking because glargine is a depot style insulin which accumulates a "depot" under the skin. For each shot, some goes to the blood stream and some to the depot. Two side effects of this is nice even insulin action, but it also means number get better over time. If he just started insulin 2 days ago, he hasn't had much time to build a depot. Our spreadsheet also has a spot on top that gives the diagnosis date and that's another piece of information we ask to put in the signature. Details are in the link Diane posted in her first sentence.

 

[Chance123]

Tagging Bhooma @Bandit's Mom to help you with the spreadsheet

I put most of that on my original post and on the spreadsheet. Where else do I put the info?

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

I put most of that on my original post and on the spreadsheet. Where else do I put the info?

Hi it has to be put after you have Chance 13 year old male tabby. Look at mine about Tyler
To add what I asked tap on your name up top then tap on signature and add the information
Only because members need to see it there , they don't go back and read where you have it

 

[Wendy&Neko]

I tried to add a bunch of info to the original post until I can get the time to update the spreadsheet.

Best just to add a new post to the thread, so people don't miss that you edited the first post.

The other reason for putting things in your signature is that it's always there. If you started a new thread, people would keep asking the same questions over and over.

No he has been on it for almost 2 weeks now. It took me awhile to get the spreadsheet together as is so I only added the last few days. I will continue to work on it.

If he's been on the 1 unit since the start, then the depot was fully in place. The other thing about the depot is that after a reduction, it can influence 4-6 cycles after a reduction. What I'm try to get a picture of is how long he was on 1 unit, then how long on 0.75 units before you dropped to 0.5 units last night (note the typo in the units cell for last night). Once I know that, I can suggest either starting back at 0.5 units, or giving 0.25 units a try.

Note, quite often a steroid induced diabetic can have their insulin needs drop quickly, sometimes to the point of not needing insulin any more. That plus the food change (when did that start?) can also impact the amount of insulin he needs.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

How are things going with Chance?
What dose are you giving? I can see the BG dropped to 40 with 0.5 unit. You need to reduce the dose to 0.25 unit. Are you giving snacks during the cycles as well as the 2 main meals?
I can see the spreadsheet but there are no colours so I’ll tag @Bandit's Mom to see if she can fix it for you.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Here is a photo of 0.25 unit

 

[Chance123]

How are things going with Chance?
What dose are you giving? I can see the BG dropped to 40 with 0.5 unit. You need to reduce the dose to 0.25 unit. Are you giving snacks during the cycles as well as the 2 main meals?
I can see the spreadsheet but there are no colours so I’ll tag @Bandit's Mom to see if she can fix it for you.

Thanks for checking. I still have to fix the spreadsheet and signature. Will after the holiday. well things are odd as my vet said to stop the insulin and see how it does. I’ll see if I can attach the latest

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

I would not stop the insulin yet. Chance is still getting higher BGs at times.
Are you testing for ketones in the urine?

 

[Chance123]

I would not stop the insulin yet. Chance is still getting higher BGs at times.
Are you testing for ketones in the urine?

So my vet told me to stop for now to see what happens so I feel I need to listen to her. Chance's levels were dangerous low for long periods of times within 2 hours of giving insulin. It became scary as at one point it was in the 40's. We were already down to 1/2 unit. He has been off now for 3 days. Have not had the urine tested but it is something we will do after the holiday weekend. This was his readings yesterday.

 

[Chance123]

One of the things my vet is also looking into is if this is related to a steroid shot he received. Chance had this hacking like cough for a while. They were thinking it may have been feline asthma. So they gave him a steroid shot. Within a week of that we started noticing Chance drinking alot of water, urinating alot and then started loosing weight. After 2 weeks of this we took him back to the vet where they tested his sugar (no they didn't test it prior to this). Thats when he was diagnosed with feline diabetes.
On July 1 my vet was concerned that his numbers were so dangerously low (even after me giving him Karo syrup multiple times during the day to get it up). So thats when she said to take a break for a few days and see what happens. She said it's likely that the diet change alone might be helping. AND its better to be too high then too low for a few days.

 

[JL and Chip]

Steroids can definitely trigger diabetes in some cats, often transient. One of my cats was a steroid-induced diabetic — once the steroids were stopped, he came off insulin quite quickly. Restart steroids, back into diabetes and insulin shots. I was cautioned that the more times it happened, the harder it might be to get him back off insulin.

If it’s truly asthma, an alternative to steroid injections is to use inhaled meds (such as Flovent) with an Aerokat inhaler. I also had an asthmatic cat and the inhaled meds were considered the gold standard (with less of a systemic impact).

Also, the Libre can give wonky readings at lower numbers so it’s worth getting a manual BG check (using a handheld meter) to confirm the readings.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Also, the Libre can give wonky readings at lower numbers so it’s worth getting a manual BG check (using a handheld meter) to confirm the readings.

I agree. The libre is not reliable for BGs under 100. I would definitely get a manual meter and check the BGs. People who have done this have found the BGs are actually not nearly as low as the libre is recording.