New here

Hello I am Mimi from the province of Ontario in Canada. I have 2 cats Rufus and Freddie. It is Freddie, in my avatar, who is almost 12 years old and is newly diagnosed -a couple of weeks ago -with diabetes. His symptoms were excessive thirst and urination and weight loss.
I was heartbroken but determined to do all I could to treat him -so here I am.

I have switched his food to high carb, low protein and he started on ProZinc 1.5 u twice daily on February 23rd. I am testing his BG at least 3 times with a human meter I got at Shopper’s Drug Mart called One Touch Verio Reflect.

 

Hi and welcome to the forum Mimi, Rufus and Freddie.
I’m hoping you mean a low carb and high protein, not a high carb and low protein diet…
Looks like you are set up pretty well. Well done.
I would suggest you get at least one test in every pm cycle as cats often drop lower at night. A before bed test is a good habit to get into. If the before bed test is lower than the preshot BG you might have to get up and test again to see the BG has not dropped too low.
Are you giving a few snacks as well as the 2 preshot meals?
Have you seen the NEW TO THE GROUP ..PROZINC BASICS
I am going to tag @Suzanne & Darcy as she is a Prozinc user

 

Thank you! And you are correct, I meant low carb, high protein, oops!. Thank you for the link to ProZinc Basics I will peruse it now!
I will also make a point of doing a pre bed test.
He does get snacks between his 2 preshot meals!

 

@Bandit's Mom
Hi Bhooma can you take a look at MimiG's SS, it was created for Mimi by the Facebook FD group
I only ask because I don't see the section up top where it asks you what dosing method you want to follow
When she got that BG of 4.3 (77) on 2-23 shouldn't she have reduced the dose?
Can you add the US tab to it.?

Thanks Bhooma

 

Yes. Mimi…if the BG drops under 90 you need to reduce the dose.
There are very few pm cycle tests so we don’t know how low Freddie is dropping overnight.
I would reduce the dose to 1.25 U even though you look as if you are in higher numbers, incase he is dropping overnight and bouncing.

 

He’s only been on PZ since the 23Feb. That reading of 4.3 was after his very first dose of insulin. I was concerned and contacted the cat clinic. The vet who messaged me back said to only give the evening dose if his BG was over 15. That evening his preshot level was 23.1 so I went ahead with it.
The SS was created by the FD support FB page for me. I have no idea how to create another tab with US figures. Sorry

 

Hi I have tagged @Bandit's Mom for you, that is not our spreadsheet that we use.
I'm sure Bhooma can straighten things out for you
Nothing to be sorry about

 

Hi Mimi , are you feeding any kibble dry food ? Only because I see you have combo LC
By the way Freddie is a cutie
@MimiG

 

I'm hoping Bhooma (@Bandit's Mom) will switch out. your spreadsheet for our version. The one you're using is from a FB group that is different than ours and has a tendency to crash. In addition, I tend to discourage members from listing their full name anywhere just to protect your privacy and security.

 

I am slowly transitioning my cats from Royal Canin Sensitive Digestion dry to Dr Elsey’s dry. Freddie is mostly a canned food eater but Rufus the non diabetic cat loves his dry unfortunately.

 

Hi, I have sent you a request for edit access to your SS. It will come to the gmail account associated with the SS. Check the spam folder as well since it sometimes goes straight there!

 

Welcome to the best place you never wanted to be. Waving from the Kawarthas.

 

Welcome Mimi! Freddie looks like quite the charmer!

 

I did not receive it but perhaps it’s because the kind person who created it for me from the FB group is likely the author and she added me as an editor of the SS. Should we just start a new one from scratch especially for this forum. I don’t mind having an extra SS to add data to.

 

Thank you for the welcome! I am going to attempt a BG curve for Freddie today( every 2 hours). Wish me luck!

 

Lol I was going to suggest Dr Elsey's if you needed a low carb dry food

 

Well I just did a glucose curve on Freddie. I’m not sure about the numbers and of course they are World units. What sticks out to me is that 2 hours after his PMPs the number rose unlike this morning when it decreased. There is a minuscule chance he got a fur shot tonight.

 

Hi Mimi,
Well done getting the curve done today. It looks as if Freddie is bouncing from the 11 (200) at +4 this morning. This is why you are seeing the higher BGs tonight.
Here is a definition of bouncing from The Basics:

• Bouncing - Bouncing is simply a natural reaction to what the cat's system perceives as a BG value that is "too low". "Too low" is relative. If a cat is used to BGs in the 200's, 300's, or higher for a long time, then even a BG that drops to 150 can trigger a "bounce". Bouncing can also be triggered if the blood glucose drops too low and/or too fast.The pancreas, then the liver, release glucogon, glycogen and counter-regulatory hormones. The end result is a dumping of "sugar" into the bloodstream to save the cat from going hypoglycemic from a perceived low. The action is often referred to as "liver panic" or "panicky liver". *Usually*, a bounce will clear kitty's system within 3 days (6 cycles).

Freddie is not used to the more normal numbers any more and now his body has to get used to them again and until it does, he will keep bouncing. So it is possible he could stay in higher numbers for up to 6 cycles. It is perfectly normal for newly diagnosed cats to bunce like this so done worry. Some cats like to bounce more than others.
Im going to tag @Suzanne & Darcy again as she may not have got the tag. I would like her to review the dose and she is a prozinv user

 

Thank you so much for this information Bron! I was a bit discouraged seeing the high number after his shot tonight so your explanation helps a lot. I will sleep easier tonight

 

Don’t be discouraged. It takes time for Freddie’s body to get used to insulin. It is a hormone and not a medication like an antibiotic which gets to work straight away. Some cats read the rule book and fall into line fairly quickly but the majority don’t. As long as you are testing, Feeding a low carb diet, and following a dosing method you will get there. Freddie leads this dance.

 

Hello Mimi and welcome. It looks like you are doing very well! I’m so happy you are testing. You are miles ahead of a lot of new people and that will help keep Freddie safe. Thanks for getting that curve yesterday - that is so helpful. It looks like his nadir was approximately at +4. I would say that we hold the dose for the full 14 day period of time and reevaluate the dose after that. You read through the SLGS method for dosing, right? Just a few more days and we will most likely need to increase by another .25 units., but we will see. Hopefully your U40 syringes have half unit markings? If at any time he should drop below 90 (5) you would decrease the dose. What is your schedule like today?

 

Yes, my U40 syringes have half unit markings. I work today from 4-9 . Would you suggest I do another curve before we increase the dose? I have not heard back from the cat clinic yet. The receptionist did call me on Friday to schedule a recheck for Freddie and when I queried what it would entail she said check BG levels. I told her I was testing Freddie at home and would forward the results for the vet to peruse.
I just read through the SLGS method and of course I started Freddie on 1.5 as you know. That was what the vet prescribed.

 

Hi, the owner of your spreadsheet was indeed the person from the FB group who had set it up for you. I have set up a new spreadsheet as per our format with the US tab included. You would continue to enter values in the World tab like you did before. The values in the US tab are automatically calculated, so don't worry about that. Here is the link to the new SS:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Bjx5h3LMr35WGaf5ulU0ME9URA3fRZWZi8v2dYfXUcM/edit?usp=sharing

Please replace the SS link in your signature with this one? I have transferred ownership of the SS to you.

Please let me know if you face any issues with the SS

 

Thank you! I have changed the link on my signature. Not sure how to make it a hyperlink .

 

Great. What you have is just fine but if you'd like it to say "Freddie's Spreadsheet" with the link to the SS, I can tell you how to do it.

 

Sure I would like to know how to do it

 

You are doing great! I'm really proud of you! As for doing a curve, it depends on how many tests you can get in during the week. If you can kind of test around at different times to fill in blanks (on different days) then we should have an accurate picture of what it going on. You can try to get a +4 and a +6 -- and some different hours. Then over the course of a few days we will already have "curve" data except on different days. If you want to do a curve and are able to do so, then that's fine, too. It's just not always necessary. It was really good that you did one this past weekend though, since he's really new to insulin.

What does he eat? You said he likes wet food but that you have been giving them some Dr. Elsey's dry? What is the wet food and do you know the carb percentage of the food? I'm glad you've been making the transition slowly as switching from higher carbs to lower carbs really will have the effect of reducing BG and, of course, all dietary changes with cats are best made gradually anyway to hopefully prevent diarrhea. I hope it's going all right for your two cuties.

 

Freddie has been eating FF pate and Dr Elsey’s cans. I leave out the Dr Elsey’s dry through the day mostly for Rufus.

 

• Take off the link to the SS in your Signature
• Type Freddie's Spreadsheet there
• Select/highlight "Freddie's Spreadsheet" and click on the link button in the menu - it's the one that looks like the link in a chain. It's the first button on the left.
• Paste the link to the SS in the pop-up box that appears and say Insert
• Click on Save Changes

 

Thank you Bhooma!

 

Freddie’s pre shot was 12.9 this morning, the first time it has been below 20 on this 13 day journey. I gave him 0.75 PZ instead of what he has been getting (1.5). I will monitor him today but am curious about what I should give him insulin wise for tonight? I guess it will depend on his levels today and tonight…

 

Wow. That was a surprisingly low preshot for Freddie. I think it was a good idea to give the reduced dose. Hopefully you can get even more tests so we can see how he does on .75 when he starts with a yellow preshot. Good job.

 

His BG @ +2 was 10.7. I will keep monitoring it until I go to work in 3 1/2 hours. Then of course I will be curious to see what his pm preshot level will be!

 

Me too. I hope it won't be too high due to the reduced shot... but then the positive side of that is ... it will make your decision to shoot the 1.5 very easy.

 

Well Freddie’s PMPS was 24.1 so I of course gave him 1.5 tonight.
While I was at work, our vet called to have me increase Freddie’s dose to 2 . I don’t think she had seen today’s values and told me if it was 10 or below not to give the insulin but if it was over 20 to give 2 units.
I forwarded the link to his live SS to the clinic and I hope she has a better look at his numbers.
Looking at the data prior to this mornings low AMPS, would you think an increase to 2 units is warranted?

 

Since Freddie’s AMPS was 24.5 , I followed my vet’s advice and gave Freddie 2.0 this morning.

 

It looks like Freddie had a big bounce. I see he went into the yellow at the last test. I hope you will soon have more tests and he's doing all right this evening.

 

He’s fine this evening, thank you for asking! His PMPS was 13.1. I hesitated a bit to give him his new dose of 2.0 that his vet prescribed but I went ahead and lo and behold he was wet when I rubbed him post shot so I’m pretty sure it was a fur shot.

 

Hopefully it was only a partial fur shot. I do hope you will test him tonight as his preshot was only 236 and he is going to drop - unless it was a full fur shot. Paws crossed for Freddie!

 

. Well he’s not dropping.
I just tested him and he was 17.5 (315). I will do one more before I go to bed.

 

That's very surprising. It must have been a fur shot. It is good to write on there that it was a fur shot or partial fur shot. I hope today goes better