New member, introduced Rusty, now update

[Marie&HerCats RUSTY]

Hi. Im Marie and my diabetic cat is Rusty, DLH Orange 11 years old.
Diagnosed with ".....idiopathic vestibular disease" and diabetes with BG of 444

After one month of vetsulin shots his BG is now 389
Started at 5 units after 2 meals daily then 6 units, now 6 units in am 8 units in pm

Very appreciative of the info and support in my new member post/thread because I am now feeding him only moist high protien low carb food, Tiki Cat included. And breaking food into 4 meals.

Its been a rough month for poor Rusty..and us. I pray his BG levels continue to drop

 

[Kris & Teasel]

Please consider setting up a spreadsheet like we use here to track his BG levels. Testing him at home is the way to go. I worry that he’s on very high doses AM and PM and still staying high. I don’t know if this is the case with Rusty but another member had her cat at the vet’s for a long time recently so the vet could get kitty stabilized on insulin, among other things. The dose went up and up to 5 or 6 units with only erratic BG numbers to show for it. Now kitty is at home, owner is testing and is learning that kitty’s good dose might well be less than 1 unit twice a day. Same insulin as yours.

 

[Marie&HerCats RUSTY]

Hi Kris, thanks for responding and feedback!
Its so unsettling to know that you can't always take a Vets instructuons & treatment as the best.
So new to all of these, only been one month and 3 visits since diagnosis and attempt at stabilizing.
I have not started home testing yet. I thought it would be best to take him test for now, plus Vet did not say anything about home testing yet.
I do record feeding times, hours, date, BG on date of office visit, food brand with %s.

 

[Kris & Teasel]

Hi Kris, thanks for responding and feedback!
Its so unsettling to know that you can't always take a Vets instructuons & treatment as the best.
So new to all of these, only been one month and 3 visits since diagnosis and attempt at stabilizing.
I have not started home testing yet. I thought it would be best to take him test for now, plus Vet did not say anything about home testing yet.
I do record feeding times, hours, date, BG on date of office visit, food brand with %s.

We're here to help. Your story of frequent vet visits, no recommendation to test at home, increasing insulin to very high doses, etc. is a common one unfortunately. It takes a mighty leap of faith to try something different, especially when advice is coming from an internet group. We ALL went through that mental struggle. Here are some things for you to think about:

• vet stress usually raises a kitty's BG so any dose determined at the clinic might well be too high because of this
• if the dose is being determined by a single blood test at the clinic, that's an even worse situation
• when in a cycle (the 12 hours between doses) a BG test is taken will affect its interpretation in a major way
• if that particular cycle is one where BG levels are inflated by a phenomenon we call "bouncing" (can be an overreaction to a possibly too high insulin dose) here on FDMB any test taken in that cycle is invalid from the standpoint of dose determination
• many vets seem to think that BG stabilization will happen in a relatively short time whereas we know it can take many weeks if not months
• low carb wet food is best and reading labels is key - grain free might not be low carb, for example.

Give yourself some time to think about this. If you decide to undertake testing at home you don't need your vet's permission and we can help with a lot of tips and tricks.

 

[Amanda & Shmee]

Hi Kris, thanks for responding and feedback!
Its so unsettling to know that you can't always take a Vets instructuons & treatment as the best.
So new to all of these, only been one month and 3 visits since diagnosis and attempt at stabilizing.
I have not started home testing yet. I thought it would be best to take him test for now, plus Vet did not say anything about home testing yet.
I do record feeding times, hours, date, BG on date of office visit, food brand with %s.

We're here to help. Your story of frequent vet visits, no recommendation to test at home, increasing insulin to very high doses, etc. is a common one unfortunately. It takes a mighty leap of faith to try something different, especially when advice is coming from an internet group. We ALL went through that mental struggle.

I can attest to this, Marie. You are in great hands here. Kris and many others here are very knowledgeable and helpful. I am new to feline diabetes as well, and it was hard to trust someone other than your vet. One thing that really helped point out the importance of this group to me was that someone suggested to ask my vet how much experience they have with feline diabetes, and how much experience they have getting those cats into remission. It was hard for me to ask the vet this question, but I am glad I did. My vet for example was experienced in treating feline diabetes, but not getting them into remission (she said she had "very few"). Most vets want to get your cat into an area where their organs are functioning properly (I believe this is 200-300, Kris can correct me if I am wrong here). Ultimately the goal of this group is to do what is best for your cats safety (by following dosing protocols, increasing only by .25 or .5, testing BG at home - very important), and to get your cat into remission (BG in normal range, no longer needing insulin). My Shmee is on Lantus so I am most familiar with that forum - that forum alone has had almost 400 cats go into remission since 2008 with the help of these great people so far!! (Here is their latest OTJ ["off the juice"] party here: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/otj-party-for-zorro-today.195137/#post-2184181) This really put things into perspective for me. My vet has not gotten any or "very few" cats into remission, compared to the Lantus forum has helped almost 400 cats get into remission. They have the data and experience to back up their advice.

It also has really helped to try and understand what is going on with my cat. Having the data (your spreadsheet) with all your saved BG numbers, your increases, and a notes section for anything else, is a great thing to have in itself. My vets team is so impressed with the spreadsheet this group has come up with!

Good luck to you and Rusty, he is so handsome!!

 

[Marie&HerCats RUSTY]

Already looking at home testing monitor kits etc!
Rusty wont be tested again until next Monday, so I was sitting here in angst battling my gut feelings that office testing is skewed and that I want and need more control over monitoring and being more proactive.
Im just abit fearful of changing his dosage myself so early in the "game"
Im going to read up on home monitoring in this forum and odering a monitor today. Thank you

 

[Marie&HerCats RUSTY]

I can attest to this, Marie. You are in great hands here. Kris and many others here are very knowledgeable and helpful. I am new to feline diabetes as well, and it was hard to trust someone other than your vet. One thing that really helped point out the importance of this group to me was that someone suggested to ask my vet how much experience they have with feline diabetes, and how much experience they have getting those cats into remission. It was hard for me to ask the vet this question, but I am glad I did. My vet for example was experienced in treating feline diabetes, but not getting them into remission (she said she had "very few"). Most vets want to get your cat into an area where their organs are functioning properly (I believe this is 200-300, Kris can correct me if I am wrong here). Ultimately the goal of this group is to do what is best for your cats safety (by following dosing protocols, increasing only by .25 or .5, testing BG at home - very important), and to get your cat into remission (BG in normal range, no longer needing insulin). My Shmee is on Lantus so I am most familiar with that forum - that forum alone has had almost 400 cats go into remission since 2008 with the help of these great people so far!! (Here is their latest OTJ ["off the juice"] party here: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/otj-party-for-zorro-today.195137/#post-2184181) This really put things into perspective for me. My vet has not gotten any or "very few" cats into remission, compared to the Lantus forum has helped almost 400 cats get into remission. They have the data and experience to back up their advice.

It also has really helped to try and understand what is going on with my cat. Having the data (your spreadsheet) with all your saved BG numbers, your increases, and a notes section for anything else, is a great thing to have in itself. My vets team is so impressed with the spreadsheet this group has come up with!

Good luck to you and Rusty, he is so handsome!!

Thank you and so reassuring!

 

[Amanda & Shmee]

Already looking at home testing monitor kits etc!
Rusty wont be tested again until next Monday, so I was sitting here in angst battling my gut feelings that office testing is skewed and that I want and need more control over monitoring and being more proactive.
Im just abit fearful of changing his dosage myself so early in the "game"
Im going to read up on home monitoring in this forum and odering a monitor today. Thank you

Sounds great. Yes one step at a time (believe me, this is all overwhelming I know that well!! haha). My first step was getting my own meter too. At Walmart you can get a ReliOn meter (I have the confirm) for about $15 I think, a box of 100 testing strips to go with it is about $40, and the lancets are like $2.

These great YouTube videos were recommended to me on how to do it. I don't use the pen either, you get a lot better control and no scary clicking noise if you just use the lancets. (Buy a box of the grey ones at first if you get the ReliOn, they are larger gauge to help you get blood. Once you are more used to it you can get smaller gauges)

 

[Marie&HerCats RUSTY]

 

[Marie&HerCats RUSTY]

Sounds great. Yes one step at a time (believe me, this is all overwhelming I know that well!! haha). My first step was getting my own meter too. At Walmart you can get a ReliOn meter (I have the confirm) for about $15 I think, a box of 100 testing strips to go with it is about $40, and the lancets are like $2.

These great YouTube videos were recommended to me on how to do it. I don't use the pen either, you get a lot better control and no scary clicking noise if you just use the lancets. (Buy a box of the grey ones at first if you get the ReliOn, they are larger gauge to help you get blood. Once you are more used to it you can get smaller gauges)

Video is FANTASTIC!
Ordering monitor today. Walmart didnt have a Relion in stock yesterday