New member and 1st time diabetic kitty :(

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KimH

KimH

Member Since 2021
Hello all,

I've already found this group to be helpful and supportive, but I feel like I'm spiraling and struggling to figure out this new routine. I have 3 cats and 2 of them are not able to get on a schedule (chronic scarf and barf kitties). My diabetic cat, Denny, is fine with the scheduled feedings but his numbers are all over the place. He is not getting into the dry food because we carry it around or put it away whenever we leave the room and he's isolated overnight. Two nights in a row, his pre-shot reading (2+ hour fasting) was over 500. It was 281 this morning. He ate FF classic pate and a small amount of canned Weruva pate in the afternoon. 3 nights ago, his pmps test read 178 and we still gave 1 unit of insulin per the vets advice. Could anyone take a look at my spreadsheet and provide your thoughts? Two weeks into this and I've already spent close to $1400 on testing and supplies, plus treatment for a UTI that is now cleared up. He has not had any dry food since early this week (and that was only 1 tablespoon of low carb kibble).

Thanks in advance!
 
Welcome to FDMB!

A couple of thoughts and an explanation.

I'm going to have to make some guesses about what's going on. It's important to get both pre-shot tests and spot checks during both the AM and PM cycles. The pre-shot tests let you know if it's safe to give insulin. Without the pre-shot test you're shooting blind. You have no way of knowing if Denny's blood glucose is 400 or 40. Likewise, you want to know how well the insulin is working. The spot checks will tell you that. Like you saw on 12/13, Denny dropped to 94 by mid-cycle. Getting a before bed test every night will give you some reassurance that your kitty's numbers aren't getting dangerously low overnight. If you can get a pre-shot test at AMPS and PMPS every time you shoot, that's critical. Getting at minimum one additional test during the AM and PM cycles would also be helpful.

As for why it looks like Denny's numbers are all over the place, well.... the kinda are. However, there's a reason. Chances are that Denny has been diabetic for longer than you knew. As a result, his body has gotten used to higher numbers. When he dropped into normal range (e.g., the 94), his liver and pancreas reacted by dumping a stored form of glucose and counterregulatory hormones into his blood stream. This causes his blood glucose numbers to spike upward. We refer to this annoying tendency as a "bounce." (It's a slang term we use here so if you call it that with your vet, you'll get a funny look.) It can take roughly 3 days for a bounce to clear.

Getting more data will let you know what's going on with Denny's numbers. It will also tell you if a bounce is breaking.

If you've not had a chance to look at the information on Prozinc, the information is on the Prozinc Insulin Support Group board.

One other favor. This is a link to a post on helping us to help you. You've already gotten your spreadsheet set up. There's also information in the post on how to create a signature. It's helpful to have more information in your signature (e.g., what insulin you're using, date of diagnosis) so we don't keep plaguing you with the same questions again and again.
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
Welcome to FDMB!

A couple of thoughts and an explanation.

I'm going to have to make some guesses about what's going on. It's important to get both pre-shot tests and spot checks during both the AM and PM cycles. The pre-shot tests let you know if it's safe to give insulin. Without the pre-shot test you're shooting blind. You have no way of knowing if Denny's blood glucose is 400 or 40. Likewise, you want to know how well the insulin is working. The spot checks will tell you that. Like you saw on 12/13, Denny dropped to 94 by mid-cycle. Getting a before bed test every night will give you some reassurance that your kitty's numbers aren't getting dangerously low overnight. If you can get a pre-shot test at AMPS and PMPS every time you shoot, that's critical. Getting at minimum one additional test during the AM and PM cycles would also be helpful.

As for why it looks like Denny's numbers are all over the place, well.... the kinda are. However, there's a reason. Chances are that Denny has been diabetic for longer than you knew. As a result, his body has gotten used to higher numbers. When he dropped into normal range (e.g., the 94), his liver and pancreas reacted by dumping a stored form of glucose and counterregulatory hormones into his blood stream. This causes his blood glucose numbers to spike upward. We refer to this annoying tendency as a "bounce." (It's a slang term we use here so if you call it that with your vet, you'll get a funny look.) It can take roughly 3 days for a bounce to clear.

Getting more data will let you know what's going on with Denny's numbers. It will also tell you if a bounce is breaking.

If you've not had a chance to look at the information on Prozinc, the information is on the Prozinc Insulin Support Group board.

One other favor. This is a link to a post on helping us to help you. You've already gotten your spreadsheet set up. There's also information in the post on how to create a signature. It's helpful to have more information in your signature (e.g., what insulin you're using, date of diagnosis) so we don't keep plaguing you with the same questions again and again.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your response. I've updated my signature. I'm doing my best to test during the day but it is a struggle both with my work schedule and limited testing supplies. I just received additional test strips in the mail so I'll try to get some more mid-day numbers but will continue testing before shots. I still can't get over the fact that the test strips cost more than the food! I do at least give him some wet food at the 6 hr mark in the afternoon and evening and he always eats it.

I've read about bouncing but that it would have affected his AMPS number as well. It's all so confusing right now...at least tonight I think I finally mastered the blood sample! A step in the right direction. I have a vacation coming up in a few short weeks and hope to have him more regulated by then.
 
Yes, testing can be very expensive. To save money on testing supplies you can use a human meter. Actually, most members here use one. If you are in the US you can go to Walmart and buy the Relion meter for about $9 and the test strips for $17.99. There are spreadsheets on this site for use with human meters too.

Also getting a hang of testing takes time so go easy on yourself it gets easier. Though it looks like you are doing well.

My kitties likes to bounce too, it takes, some getting use to seeing the varying range of numbers you get as a result.
 
Vets encourage caregivers to use the AlphaTrack. The strips are hideously expensive. The AT meter wasn't all that popular until relatively recently. When I first joined, human meters were commonly used. In fact, the Tight Regulation Protocol that was developed for Lantus was based on a human meter and all of the dosing methods we use here were developed using human meters. Save yourself a lot of $$ and get a human meter!!!
 
Thanks all.

I've already spent a bundle on alphatrak test strips but I'm going to get the Relion meter as a backup/ for additional readings.
 
KimH said:
Thanks all.

I've already spent a bundle on alphatrak test strips but I'm going to get the Relion meter as a backup/ for additional readings.
Click to expand...
The alphatrack test strips that you already bough qill finish very quickly (just like you, we were shocked how quickly the test strips are used up and how expensive they are) so better move to a relion sooner than later, there are a lot of people on the forum that start with alphatrack and are afraid to switch for a long time until they do. There is really no benefit in holding on to it except making your vet happy and that is really not a great reason :D
Just a though: its better to take an extra test than not because of the extremely overpriced stripes

on a more general note: welcome to the forum and be kind to yourself, it will get easier very quickly :bighug::bighug:
 
KimH said:
Hello all,

I've already found this group to be helpful and supportive, but I feel like I'm spiraling and struggling to figure out this new routine. I have 3 cats and 2 of them are not able to get on a schedule (chronic scarf and barf kitties). My diabetic cat, Denny, is fine with the scheduled feedings but his numbers are all over the place. He is not getting into the dry food because we carry it around or put it away whenever we leave the room and he's isolated overnight. Two nights in a row, his pre-shot reading (2+ hour fasting) was over 500. It was 281 this morning. He ate FF classic pate and a small amount of canned Weruva pate in the afternoon. 3 nights ago, his pmps test read 178 and we still gave 1 unit of insulin per the vets advice. Could anyone take a look at my spreadsheet and provide your thoughts? Two weeks into this and I've already spent close to $1400 on testing and supplies, plus treatment for a UTI that is now cleared up. He has not had any dry food since early this week (and that was only 1 tablespoon of low carb kibble).

Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Hi Kim, i wanted to tell you it gets better! I have 3 cats also all with some form of senior health issue. After a few months of struggling AND ditching alpha track for the cheaper relion, things are easier. Sending well wishes to you!
 
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