New here, newly diagnosed

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Theresa6

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Hello everyone

I just found this webboard and the faq's page as well :) My cat Stella was just diagnosed with Diabetes, and I picked up her medication today and am going to start her insulin injections tomorrow. Needless to say i am a bit overwhelmed! I am looking forward to getting to know everyone.
 
Hi Theresa and Stella!

A few questions:
What was Stella's blood glucose level when she was diagnosed?
What kind of insulin?
What is the starting dose?
What is Stella eating?
Did your vet talk to you about home testing Stella's blood glucose yourself?

Please answer all these questions before giving that first shot in the AM please?

You have found an amazing place here! There are tons of people here who will do whatever we can to help you out with this, and we all want to make sure that you are doing everything you can to keep Stella safe and get her all better.

Welcome to the "family"!
Carl in SC
 
Welcome ms. Stella & Theresa,

You have found the BEST place for help for your baby..... Support, advice, and just plain ol furry hugs....
I remember (not that long ago) feeling sooo overwhelmed, hate shots (want to pass out just thinking about them), and home testing???? ARE YOU KIDDING?? nailbite_smile
Well, yes, it is all doable and easy to get into the sugar dance routine.

I would guess the BEST advice I could offer quickly ~ home testing.... saves lives of many many kitties; low carb diet helps many many kitties go into remission and become only diet controlled diabetics. This forum can become your sounding board for lots of issues you may have... It is one big family that puts heads together to help our furry families.

The questions that Carl has presented will help tremendously. Please keep posting, checking in, asking questions and furry hellos to Stella ;-)
 
Thank you everyone :) Stella is 10 (maybe 11, she was a shelter cat so we don't know exactly)

For insulin we have Lantus (and our vet says it lasts up to 6 months... for $105 a bottle I sure hope it does!) and she is getting 2 units twice a day. She weighs about 10.5 lbs now, but lost about a lb since April. Her glucose level at diagnosis was 443. She is eating royal canin hydrolized protein diet because she has a history of throwing up (several times a day) so we put her on the royal canin HP diet along with famatodine back in April and at least the throwing up seems to be under control. She was also diagnosed with hyperthyroidism at the same time as the diabetes, so she also started meds for that. Poor Stella! So much all at once.

We did talk about home testing, but the vet wants to see us back in 3 weeks to do a fructosamine level and a follow up thyroid level, and I guess at that point we can revisit the home testing.
 
Why dont we start home testing sooner??? Would be safer for her. 2 units can do alot to bring those numbers down. Plus, lots of times the curves in the vets office can bring up those test numbers up to 100 points. We can help you if you need it?
 
as far as home testing, our vet said we should get a testing kit that is specific to cats, and she said it was something like $120 for just the machine. That is why I am waiting to do home testing :)
 
You don't need a cat-specific system. Walmart's relion meters run about $10 and the strips run about $30 for 100. They may run a few points lower that the vet's system, but are fine for home monitoring. The specific numbers aren't as important as the overall trend.
 
You don't need a testing kit for cats, any human meter will work just fine, I have 2 diabetics and I use human meters on both of them. Walmart has a great little meter for $10 and the strips (the expensive part) are 50 strips for $20. Starting home testing is a vital part of managing diabetes at home.

My Maxwell was 485 when he was diagnoised but in 2 short weeks of Lantus insulin and a diet change to a low carb, high protein diet he was in remission and off insulin altogether. If I hadn't been testing him at home during that time he would have hypoed and possibly died. I adopted Maxwell as a diabetic from this very board, so we had no history together and because of that I wouldn't have caught the early personality shifts that spell the onset of a hypo.

I can't stress enough how very important testing at home while Stella is on insulin is to keep her safe, it also keep a lot more cash in your walle since you won't have to keep dragging her back to the vet all the time for testing.

To date since I have adopted both Maxwell and Musette they have each seen my vet once each...Maxwell so we could teach them home testing techniques and Musette for an ear infection. Otherwise I handle their diabetes at home with the help and support of this board.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
 
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