New: Mary and Taco

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MFairy

MFairy

Member Since 2021
Hi everyone I’m new, just tried a glucose monitor for the first time today. Quick background: My cat is Taco he has severe asthma so he’s been on steroids long term, which led to many other issues like Cushings, Diabetes, and liver disease. I couldn’t figure out how to make his picture fit on this site . Just learning a lot. Taco had 1unit of Lantus at 730 am and testing at 1043am was BG 63. I know I have to make a spreadsheet and curve but I was in crisis mode the first day trying to get a handle on things. I hope I didn’t jump the gun by starting insulin without doing more bloodwork? My main question right now is at what low number do I panic and give glucose?!?! thank you for this site!!
 
Ok I wasn’t sure if I should give him some Karo syrup? I’ll try another snack but I only own healthy cat food ‍♀️
 
I think watching his behavior as well as checking glucose every 15 mins is good. Mocha had a low number and I watched him closely. He was acting totally normal and even ate a little. Checked it again & it was heading upwards.
What meter are you using? Human meters read differently than animal. Some of the senior members here have more experience with that & can steer you in the right direction depending on the insulin he’s on.
 
Mocha's_mom said:
I think watching his behavior as well as checking glucose every 15 mins is good. Mocha had a low number and I watched him closely. He was acting totally normal and even ate a little. Checked it again & it was heading upwards.
What meter are you using? Human meters read differently than animal. Some of the senior members here have more experience with that & can steer you in the right direction depending on the insulin he’s on.
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The meter is freestyle precision neo a human version
 
Denver said:
I’d either call my vet or wait on one of the others to chime in. Since Taco is a new patient they definitely need to know what happened.
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I spoke to the vet she advised getting the pet glucose meter and we have a conference call tomorrow
 
Your dose is due @7:30 pm? what time zone. I would try to get a couple more readings before then to see what direction. 5:30, 6:30 and pre shot. Also post with your readings for the day. Hopefully you will get a response from more experience members before shot time. I've been here about 2 months so not an expert but will try to look back and see how you are doing. Did she have any symptoms at 63? If unsure at shot time you could hold and worse case would be start again tomorrow. Although it is important to get on regime low blood sugars can be an emergency. Cats can be managed with human meters, most here use them, they are a lot cheaper to use.
 
I’m going to ask @Bandit's Mom to help you with the spreadsheet and signature. We can’t really help with dosing without a SS.
Did you test before giving the dose this morning?
Maybe you didn’t have the meter. ALWAYS test before giving every dose of insulin to make sure it is safe to give it. Seeing you are new and on the main forum I would not give the dose if the BG is below 200. If it is., stall, don’t feed and test again 20 minutes later. And post and ask for help. Change the subject line to reflect the questions get attention.

What are you feeding? Low carb food?

I would reduce the dose to 0.5 units and see how you go BUT test first and if the BG is below 200 stall as above.

do you have a hypo kit set up. This is extremely important. Please get one set up ASAP.

you will find the hypo link within this link
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-how-you-can-help-us-help-you.216696/

Bron
 
Thanks @Pattylynne and Tigger

It certainly looks like you had an exciting first day! A belated welcome to FDMB!

Bron offered some solid suggestions. I agree; it wo9uld be a good idea to lower the dose.

As far as the meter, the cost for the strips for a pet meter run about $1.00 a piece. I think the cost for Relion strips is about $0.17 and my Contour ran about $0.25. Unless the vet is going to help you pay for strips, I'd suggest sticking with the meter. you have. In addition, if you run out of strips for a pet meter like the AlphaTrack, you can't run to a pharmacy to get some in an emergency. The majority of the members here use a human meter.

This is a post the outlines how. you can help us to help you. Bron has touched on the major points (she wrote the post) but the link will have the information all in one place.
 
Pattylynne and Tigger said:
Your dose is due @7:30 pm? what time zone. I would try to get a couple more readings before then to see what direction. 5:30, 6:30 and pre shot. Also post with your readings for the day. Hopefully you will get a response from more experience members before shot time. I've been here about 2 months so not an expert but will try to look back and see how you are doing. Did she have any symptoms at 63? If unsure at shot time you could hold and worse case would be start again tomorrow. Although it is important to get on regime low blood sugars can be an emergency. Cats can be managed with human meters, most here use them, they are a lot cheaper to use.
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I’m going to hold tonight’s dose I’m new and I know higher is better than lower. He went down again to 148 at insulin time of 7pm. Totally crying I don’t want to hurt him. I only started testing after his first few doses once my meter arrived. I want to do the spreadsheet thing once I have time to breathe I also have another cat on hospice care.
 
Tha
Bron and Sheba (GA) said:
I’m going to ask @Bandit's Mom to help you with the spreadsheet and signature. We can’t really help with dosing without a SS.
Did you test before giving the dose this morning?
Maybe you didn’t have the meter. ALWAYS test before giving every dose of insulin to make sure it is safe to give it. Seeing you are new and on the main forum I would not give the dose if the BG is below 200. If it is., stall, don’t feed and test again 20 minutes later. And post and ask for help. Change the subject line to reflect the questions get attention.

What are you feeding? Low carb food?

I would reduce the dose to 0.5 units and see how you go BUT test first and if the BG is below 200 stall as above.

do you have a hypo kit set up. This is extremely important. Please get one set up ASAP.

you will find the hypo link within this link
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-how-you-can-help-us-help-you.216696/

Bron
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Thank you and yes I have Karo and ordered other pet glucose
 
Pattylynne and Tigger said:
Your dose is due @7:30 pm? what time zone. I would try to get a couple more readings before then to see what direction. 5:30, 6:30 and pre shot. Also post with your readings for the day. Hopefully you will get a response from more experience members before shot time. I've been here about 2 months so not an expert but will try to look back and see how you are doing. Did she have any symptoms at 63? If unsure at shot time you could hold and worse case would be start again tomorrow. Although it is important to get on regime low blood sugars can be an emergency. Cats can be managed with human meters, most here use them, they are a lot cheaper to use.
Click to expand...
Thank you, seems to go down without insulin so I’m going to hold off and get more readings
 
MFairy said:
I’m going to hold tonight’s dose I’m new and I know higher is better than lower. He went down again to 148 at insulin time of 7pm. Totally crying I don’t want to hurt him. I only started testing after his first few doses once my meter arrived. I want to do the spreadsheet thing once I have time to breathe I also have another cat on hospice care.
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I'm so sorry you're having to deal with that. It's never easy having one sick cat, let alone 2. Take your time with the spreadsheet. No one is judging, it's just easier to make recommendations when they see the big picture.
We know how stressful this is. Trust me, many tears have been shed over here too! You're surrounded by a lot of very caring people here and we will do our best to help you through this. :bighug:
I promise it does get easier
 
MFairy said:
Aww thank you, that made me cry even more but happy cry
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This place has been a life saver for me. I've shed lots of tears these last 2 weeks too. Happy and sad!
I had a kitty with terrible lung disease that no one could ever diagnose. Basically her Xray was completely white, like fibrosis of some sort. Towards the end she was getting weekly steroid shots (usually cats get steroids every few months!), she had a steroid inhaler and a rescue inhaler and we even made her a little oxygen box that she could rest in. It was heartbreaking watching her struggle to breathe. I'm sure we induced diabetes as well but she was so sick her breathing was priority number one. I just wish I had a website like this to turn to. Even though it probably wouldn't have prolonged her life, but it's just nice to know you aren't alone in your struggle. Here's a pic of Mocha watching over her towards the end. RIP Latte :rb_icon:

IMG_1717.jpg
 

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Oh wow that’s really tough to go through. I guess the steroid induced diabetes is a necessary risk sometimes. My guy went from 2ml Prednisolone daily down to 1ml every other day but his breathing is terrible now on this dose.
Thank you for sharing and your pic too:cat:
 
MFairy said:
Oh wow that’s really tough to go through. I guess the steroid induced diabetes is a necessary risk sometimes. My guy went from 2ml Prednisolone daily down to 1ml every other day but his breathing is terrible now on this dose.
Thank you for sharing and your pic too:cat:
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Have you tried an inhaler? At first I thought there's no way she'll go for it, but she eventually complied. I think because she knew it was helping her. They make a device called AeroKat which is a spacer you attach to the inhaler. You put it over their nose & mouth & watch a little green tab move back & forth to make sure they are breathing it in. She had both a steroid inhaler (twice a day) and a rescue inhaler when I saw her struggling
 
Mocha's_mom said:
Have you tried an inhaler? At first I thought there's no way she'll go for it, but she eventually complied. I think because she knew it was helping her. They make a device called AeroKat which is a spacer you attach to the inhaler. You put it over their nose & mouth & watch a little green tab move back & forth to make sure they are breathing it in. She had both a steroid inhaler (twice a day) and a rescue inhaler when I saw her struggling
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Yes he was on fluticasone inhaler 2puffs twice daily plus the rescue one as needed and 2ml steroid daily and his asthma was/is still bad. He became allergic to the inhalers and had bloody rashes on his lips and nose and his nose would bleed when I gave it so I stopped about two weeks ago. He is a very good boy you can do anything to him. He likely has Cushings disease now indicated by his ear tips flopped over
 
MFairy said:
Yes he was on fluticasone inhaler 2puffs twice daily plus the rescue one as needed and 2ml steroid daily and his asthma was/is still bad. He became allergic to the inhalers and had bloody rashes on his lips and nose and his nose would bleed when I gave it so I stopped about two weeks ago. He is a very good boy you can do anything to him. He likely has Cushings disease now indicated by his ear tips flopped over
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Unfortunately that's a risk of steroid inhalers. It's easy to tell humans to rinse their mouth out afterwards but not so easy with a cat. The inhalers & oral prednisone eventually stopped working on Latte too so we ended up with the steroid shot as a last resort. She was so good about it. She actually liked going to the vet because everyone doted over her! She only made it till 6 years old which just broke my heart.
You might want to try the oxygen box like we did. Just a plastic box you can buy at Target or any big box store. Get some rubber tubing to attach to it & rent an oxygen tank. It was the same as what they had at the emergency vet so we figured, why not make one for home?
 
Mocha's_mom said:
Unfortunately that's a risk of steroid inhalers. It's easy to tell humans to rinse their mouth out afterwards but not so easy with a cat. The inhalers & oral prednisone eventually stopped working on Latte too so we ended up with the steroid shot as a last resort. She was so good about it. She actually liked going to the vet because everyone doted over her! She only made it till 6 years old which just broke my heart.
You might want to try the oxygen box like we did. Just a plastic box you can buy at Target or any big box store. Get some rubber tubing to attach to it & rent an oxygen tank. It was the same as what they had at the emergency vet so we figured, why not make one for home?
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Oh good idea about the oxygen. Do you need a prescription for that?
 
@MFairy I see you've managed to enter the test data in the SS. Great! :-)
Could you also please add the units of insulin given?

Are you using a pen to give the insulin or syringes? You would need u-100 insulin syringes of 30 unit (0.3 cc) capacity with half unit marks to be able to give less than 1U.
Walmart's ReliOn brand is available for $12.58 for a box of 100.
ReliOn syringes.jpg


I will tag @Margaret (and Pearl) who has experience with asthma and diabetes.
 

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Bandit's Mom said:
@MFairy I see you've managed to enter the test data in the SS. Great! :)
Could you also please add the units of insulin given?

Are you using a pen to give the insulin or syringes? You would need u-100 insulin syringes of 30 unit (0.3 cc) capacity with half unit marks to be able to give less than 1U.
Walmart's ReliOn brand is available for $12.58 for a box of 100.
View attachment 62293

I ordered the half unit syringes they should arrive tonight. So I’m confused…should I consider doing .5 units twice daily instead of 1unit twice daily? I’m still trying to figure out the spreadsheet

I will tag @Margaret (and Pearl) who has experience with asthma and diabetes.
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Oops I wrote in the wrong spot apparently

I’m getting half unit syringes tonight. So should I consider changing to .5 unit twice daily from 1 unit twice daily?
 
My vet said 1unit is standard to start with but she said if I wanted to try .5 that’s fine too, but preference is to keep at 1unit as per what she’s been told. She also said I shouldn’t use the human glucose meter twice now!
I’m trying to figure out if I’m better off staying at 1 unit or going lower then higher versus higher to lower????
 
And I’m really trying to get the numbers each hour or two but I’ve already messed up by scaring Taco with the meter so he runs away and has an asthma attack so I’m letting him chill and I’ll try as best I can. Had to use his rescue inhaler so the last thing I want is for him to be scared of all this
 
Question:
His numbers didn’t go as low today as yesterday, is that because I skipped last night’s dose?
 
So you have given 1U yesterday morning, no shot last night and 1U today? When was what about between 8/18 and yesterday?

Most of us use human meters since the strips are cheap.
 
You are so patient I’m sorry to keep asking questions. My vet said the human meters have different numbers so I’ll won’t get accurate readings until I switch
 
MFairy said:
And I’m really trying to get the numbers each hour or two but I’ve already messed up by scaring Taco with the meter so he runs away and has an asthma attack so I’m letting him chill and I’ll try as best I can. Had to use his rescue inhaler so the last thing I want is for him to be scared of all this
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Are you giving him a LC treat after the test? Warming his ear and massaging it will make it easier to get the blood flowing. Some people find that talking to the cat or singing etc helps calm both the pet and the caregiver. With time it will get easier. Have you seen this page with tips and videos for home testing?
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

MFairy said:
My vet said the human meters have different numbers so I’ll won’t get accurate readings until I switch
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Yes, human meters do read a lower. However, the difference is not very much at normal blood sugar ranges. They difference is quite a bit at very high numbers, but those numbers are too high anyway. Pet meters are a relatively new invention. Most people, including vets, used human meters before. Not only are the strips 5x the price, you can also not walk into a pharmacy and buy them if you suddenly run out.

MFairy said:
You are so patient I’m sorry to keep asking questions.
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Feel free to ask as many questions as you want! We were all new once and we know how overwhelming it can be. Especially when your vet (who you want to believe) tells you one thing and somebody else tells you otherwise.

MFairy said:
8/18 pm 1 unit 8/19 1unit am and pm then 8/20 only am and today 1 unit am
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OK. I've added that to your SS. I think you can go down to 0.5U from tonight as suggested by @Bron and Sheba (GA). If you get a number below 200, do not feed or give insulin and post here for help. You can start a new post with a title like "STALLING! PLEASE HELP WITH PM SHOT" or something like that that will catch people's attention.


He seems pretty flat today going by the +5. I think you can wait till PMPS to get the next test. If he will let you, get a test at +9. Feed small meals through the cycle. But remember not to feed 2 hours before the shot, because you do not want to ensure that you get a number that is not influenced by food.
 
Ok you are amazing thank you for all the guidance! He’s usually food motivated but he’s not feeling well so there’s been no chance for bribery. I’ve taught all my cats to come for medicine and treats but I’m failing miserably with the BG testing. My other cat on hospice gets 5 medicines twice a day!!!! So good to know: food through the cycle but not 2 hours before insulin. Got it!
 
MFairy said:
You are so patient I’m sorry to keep asking questions. My vet said the human meters have different numbers so I’ll won’t get accurate readings until I switch
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Your readings will not be the same as the vet’s. But the main reason for testing at home is to know whether your cat is safe. The exact number is less important. Our tools help you know what’s safe for cats using a human meter.

I have both the pet meter and the human one. I use the human one every day because it’s cheaper. If I need to give numbers to the vet, I’ll use the pet one after I use the human one.
 
I think if you wanted to go down to .5 for a while while you’re establishing patterns, you would be okay. I AM NOT AN EXPERT, but some of the pros suggested it would be a good idea for tonight.

If you have questions about whether you should shoot, it’s a good idea to start a new thread with the ? prefix and write something like STALLING - HELP. That will draw the eyes of the pros.
 
Librarianista said:
I think if you wanted to go down to .5 for a while while you’re establishing patterns, you would be okay. I AM NOT AN EXPERT, but some of the pros suggested it would be a good idea for tonight.

If you have questions about whether you should shoot, it’s a good idea to start a new thread with the ? prefix and write something like STALLING - HELP. That will draw the eyes of the pros.
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Ok thank you
 
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