New Member Clara and Deb N

[Deb N]

Just diagnosed this past Thursday. The insulin began on Friday 13th and it is going well, she is already improving in her behavior. Switching off of kibble is not going so good, have not found a wet food she will eat. This site has given me a lot of ideas to try. Thank you.

 

[tiffmaxee]

Welcome to the FDMB, the best place ever fir fur babies. Which insulin are you using? Are you testing at home? Human or pet meter? We are very data oriented here so please set up a spreadsheet and signature.
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/
If you need help with the spreadsheet we have people that can help.

Tell us about your cat. How old? How was he diagnosed? Any other health issues or meds being given?

 

[Deb N]

Just diagnosed Thurs 5/12/22 Glucose 283, urine >1,000 very lethargic & symptomatic, hiding, weak. Elevated amylase. Thyroid and other labs normal, no UTI. Age 12 spay, weighs eleven1/2 lbs needs to lose 1-2 lbs. Just started NPH 100 unit insulin, 1-2 units/BID. That is going well except my order of bulk syringes from Amazon did not arrive. Trying to switch off of dry kibble (OH HAHAHA good luck with that) No way. I know I will need to be patient and try the ideas on this site "Transitioning dry food addict to wet food." I go to my vet next this Friday for venipuncture blood glucose, for some reason vet is not big on glucometers (I am a board-certified lab tech, I will get one anyway, I am just a bit overwhelmed right now with some unrelated stuff - very first dog show this weekend and a new rescue horse next week, blah blah blah). Even in just 6 days of insulin, and 3 days of Cerenia (oral pill for nausea due to elev Amylase) I can see a big difference much improvement. I have hope of changing diet and maybe getting remission and not needing insulin at some point in the future. The food change is more difficult than I imagined. Thanks for this site, it has already helped me. I will start a spreadsheet when I start home testing. Thanks again. Deb and Clara

 

[tiffmaxee]

You were given an insulin that is best for dogs due to its short duration. It’s also harsh and can cause sharp drops. Do you think your vet will RX lantus or it’s generic?

 

[Deb N]

My vet mentioned lantus as a possible choice, but she had some valid concern, I think it was supply problems? It was a lot for me to take in, I do have my next appt day after tomorrow, so I will ask about it then. And will ask more specific question about how soon after mealtime to give the NPH to minimize hypoglycemia.

 

[tiffmaxee]

There is now a generic for Lantus. I don’t see anyone having trouble getting it due to low supply. I would detach if I were you.

 

[Hendrick Cuddleclaw]

My vet mentioned lantus as a possible choice, but she had some valid concern, I think it was supply problems? It was a lot for me to take in, I do have my next appt day after tomorrow, so I will ask about it then. And will ask more specific question about how soon after mealtime to give the NPH to minimize hypoglycemia.

hi Deb and Clara welcome to the Remissionaries, the Sugar Team, the best club you never wanted to join (I stole that last bit from @Chris & China (GA) i think)

as mentioned, thankfully in the past few years new generic versions of insulin glargine (Lantus) have become available. I started my kitty on Lantus brand and then switched to Basaglar because of the supply issues and backorder time for Lantus. They are both insulin glargine and work the same, Basaglar is a little less expensive being a generic. I got mine from Mark's Marine (canshipmeds.com) they have great prices but takes about 3 weeks to get to your house

 

[Roxana & Henry]

Hi Clara, welcome to the club. I am a very new member myself and I am in the same boat as you, my cat is a total dry food addict. I initially switched to Young and Dry again for a minute and he loved it but it became clear to me that I really need to switch him to LC wet food as the dry food gets digested differently even the low carb one and his. My Henry gets bored with the food from day to day. So I have to be very creative. I sprinkle 1 or 2 Stella and Chewy freeze dried morsels (different flavors and you can buy the small pack from Chewy to try - if he does not like it Chewy will reimburse you), Fortiflora, Bonito Flakes, pieces of cooked shrimp, chicken and so on to make food enticing .The low carb dry food (that I noted recommended here) is Epigen, Young and Again and Dr Elsey Clean Protein. I initially used that to transition but lost patience due to glucose being so high and wanting to do TR (which you cannot with dry food outside of the freeze dried). My kitty loves the Stella and Chewy freeze dried raw morsels and I see many other cats here do as well. Each cat is different.

As far as Lantus, it was recommended to me by 2 vets as being the best for remission (one being a Feline Specialist) and seems it was a good choice based on what I am seeing on this forum. I pick it up at Walgreens with prescription from vet and never had an issue with being out of stock. I use Good RX and they give a little discount (not too much because the bigger discount is for humans but still it helps). It also lasts a long time (up to 6 months when properly refrigerated) so it will give you time to stock it when you start being low on it. Chewy has it as well. Sounds like there are ways to order online cheaper so you can look into that as well. But if you are in a rush, any major pharmacy that works with pets prescriptions (apparently not all do) will most likely have the Lantus. You can always call them and see if that is the case in your area or even ask about supply chain issues. Wondering if your vet does not have experience with Lantus. My third vet ( located conveniently close to me) does not work with Lantus just Prozinc and was honest about it. So I don't go there for advice on dosing but get other things done. I would very much recommend going to a Feline Specialist Vet if you have one where you live (I have to go 30-40 min to see one but well worth it because she sent me to this site which is a life saver) or a vet that is familiar with Lantus. If that is an option for you of course. It is not always easy.

 

[FrostD]

My vet mentioned lantus as a possible choice, but she had some valid concern, I think it was supply problems? It was a lot for me to take in, I do have my next appt day after tomorrow, so I will ask about it then. And will ask more specific question about how soon after mealtime to give the NPH to minimize hypoglycemia.

I always get nervous when I see NPH mentioned. You will want to read through the sticky here and get that glucometer as soon as you can manage.

You want to make sure he eats and then wait an hour before giving the shot to ensure carbs are on board when it onsets. Nadir (the lowest BG) for cats on NPH is usually +2 to +6 and it can be a very drastic and harsh drop.

We recommend a starting dose of 1U BID if on high carb diet, 0.5U BID is low carb or transitioning to low carb.

When you do get a glucometer fast him for 2 hrs before the pre-shot meal. That gives a consistent number to base shoot/no shoot decisions on. At first, do not shoot if it's under 250, need more data to make sure it's safe.