New Member - Nestle

[Karolina & Nestle]

Hello Everyone,
I'd like to introduce myself and my cat as we are new members on the forum.
My name is Karolina and my cat's name is Nestle (DOB June 17/2013) and we live in Canada.
I adopted Nestle back in January of 2015 from a local shelter. He's always been a sweet, loving and healthy cat but then towards the end of 2021 he started throwing up frequently and loosing weight. He also drank lots of water but because he's always been a good water drinker I totally missed it. Finally, in Dec I decided it's time to have him checked out by our vet and after a very expansive blood test and urine test we got our diabetes diagnosis on Dec 15/2021. We started on Caninsulin that very same day and also "prescription" diet (Purina DM dry and wet). But instead of getting better he seemed to be getting worse. I started to feel helpless and 2 months later decided to take him back for more tests as his walking was getting worse. We did some more blood tests to check his kidneys and liver but they all came back good. As I was watching my sweet fur baby deteriorate in front of my eyes, someone from another cat group on facebook suggested I should join Feline Diabetes group. Best. Decision. Ever. That was only 2 weeks ago but I have already learned so much from the wonderful members of Feline Diabetes as well as FDMB.
Soon after joining I switched Nestle's diet from Purina DM to Fancy Feast and Friskies. I also decided to switch his insulin to Lantus (started on Feb 25), and am doing daily home testing. I also learned that we can reverse his Diabetic Neuropathy with Methyl Vit B12 and started that on Feb 24.

I cannot express how thankful and grateful I am to have found both groups and believe that Nestle will get better. Thank you for restoring my faith and will to fight for my fur baby.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Hi Karolina! So glad to see you and Nestle over here on the board! The Facebook group is great for getting people started but dosing advice is supposed to be posted here (but if you post on the board and need an answer quickly, you can post the link to your post here in the group so it's easy for group members to find your thread here.

Since you have your Signature and spreadsheet set up already, you can start posting in the Lantus forum tomorrow if you feel ready to do that. When you post there, we have a special format we use. The subject line should be something like:

Date, Cats name, AMPS ###.....then in the body of your post, you can ask any questions you might have, report on how Nestle is doing, or just say Hi! It can be helpful to read other people's threads too! Others may ask a question you never thought of as well as hearing the advice others get may help you understand what's going on with Nestle too.

You don't have to decide right now, but at some point, you'll need to decide which dosing method you want to use, Tight Regulation (TR) or Start Low, Go Slow (SLGS)

Tight Regulation is a more aggressive dosing method, but also gives the best chance at remission....but it also requires more frequent testing ...at least 4 times a day (2 Pre-shots, 1 mid-cycle on the AM and a "before bed" on the PM cycle) but if you can test more often, that's even better. Just test at different points in both cycles so you get a better idea of when Nestle's nadir is (as well as onset and duration). It allows you to increase as often as every 3 days if the dose isn't getting Nestle where you want him.

On Start Low, Go Slow, you hold the same dose for 7 days (unless he drops below 90) and then do a curve (like you did today). It doesn't require as much testing (but you should still do at least 3-4 per day). We have had cats go into remission on SLGS but TR has the better track record....but TR also isn't for everybody! It takes more commitment on your part because it IS more aggressive but it also means not leaving your cat on a dose that's not working for him. With SLGS, no matter how high he is, you hold the dose until you do the weekly curve.

There's lots of information about both dosing methods HERE

Don't worry about it too much though! If you choose one and find it's not for you, you can switch to the other!

Look forward to seeing how Nestle does! He's got a great mama that I know will do her best!

 

[Hendrick Cuddleclaw]

Hi Karolina, welcome to you and Nestle. It sounds like you're on the right track, my cat Hendrick is on Lantus and it is helping him so much. He has gained weight back and his coat is soft and he is happy and talkative again. All thanks to the wonderful people here! My vet was pretty useless. Glad to see you're switching to Lantus and I bet your Nestle starts doing better soon.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hi and welcome Karolina and Nestle..
Ask as many questions as you like..we are happy to answer them all.