New Member- Pretty Overwhelmed

Hi All,
I’m honestly really happy to have found this page and I really hope I could get some advice. My cat (9yo M) was diagnosed with diabetes in December and he was prescribed Lantus Insulin. He was originally getting 3units 2x daily and his blood sugar was all over the place (I take it pretty regularly and it ranges from 4-17). He dropped down to 1unit 2x daily because his sugar was in the normal range and was doing fine but now his blood sugar is back up (11.6 today) and he’s getting 2u and 1.5u.
I’m just really worried about how long it’s taking to get his sugar consistent.
One of the other things worrying me is he keeps losing weight and I don’t know why. He was pretty consistent at 11.6lbs but I took his weight this morning and it was 11.0lbs. He’s getting more than the recommended food and it’s really worrying me. He’s eating DM (diabetic management) food from Purina because it’s what the vet recommended.

I am just overwhelmed and worried about him and I’m sure I’m not alone in that but I don’t know what else to do

If anyone has any advice (or words of encouragement which I also definitely need haha) I would really appreciate it.

Thank you all!

 

Welcome!

Start by reading this thread if you haven't already done so: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-how-you-can-help-us-help-you.216696/

Getting a spreadsheet set up and all of your cat's blood glucose numbers put in will really help us and your vet.

There are stickies with info on using Lantus here: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/lantus-levemir-biosimilars.9/

What country are you in? I'm assuming somewhere outside the US since you posted mmol numbers.

The Purina DM is junk and is perfectly ok to feed something better quality and much lower in carbs You don't need the vet's permission to feed something way better. There are food charts that FDMB members use to find low carb canned foods. If you let us know which country you are in, we can point you to the right food chart.

 

Hi!
Thank you for the help, I do have a spreadsheet setup and I've been tracking but it does seem all over the place. I'm in Canada and I was originally giving my guy Orijen since I really liked the formula and I'm in school for animal sciences so I was pretty happy with the formula but I'm not a vet so when he got diagnosed I had no idea what food was best

I tried to figure out how to add info to my profile and can't seem to figure it out so in the meantime, here's some more info:
Kitty's name: Rascal
DX: December 15, 2023
Name of Insulin (do not include dose or frequency): Lantus (pen)
Name of your meter: OneTouch Verio
Diet: "combo"
Dosing: TR (I believe), he started at 3.0units and it was increased to 3.5 per dose then brought back down (now at 2 and 1.5)
DKA or other recent health issue: some weight loss and muscle loss in back legs
Spreadsheet link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19wfsobw9x4LtYAiEr5BIeOEwxa5lg0IPhf3E0D_dEwY/edit?usp=sharing

I also tried going through the Lantus guide (thank you again) but it is really confusing/overwhelming so I'm not sure if I'm 100% understanding but I wonder if I should essentially restart his insulin according to that guide (start at 0.25/kg bodyweight and increase based on the glucose numbers in the guide).


If theres any other info I can give let me know! I'm just worried about him and generally pretty stressed and overwhelmed so any advice or support is incredibly appreciated.
Thank you all in advance <3

 

To get to your profile, log into FDMB. At the top right corner somewhere is your username. Click on that. A box with options should appear. Choose Signature. Enter all your cat's info into the signature. Click on Save Changes when done.

The Canadian food chart: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...ZVTk_tYNVRaoG_3Dfy64/edit?pli=1#gid=964479244

Some of the foods on this chart are also available in Canada: https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

Don't feel bad about not knowing that to feed Every newbie kicks themselves for not feeding their cat the right food for years. Low carb canned food is best for diabetics. Raw and home cooked food are options too. Ideally no dry food. I wouldn't change the diet just yet, though. A diet change can have a big impact on blood glucose levels and the current insulin dose may end up being too much.

Does your cat have neuropathy in the back legs? Some diabetics have that. It's treated with methylcobalamin. Zobaline is one product but there are others. I think @Wendy&Neko can point you to a lesser expensive product as well as help with any Canada specific questions you have about food or where to get testing supplies, etc.

 

I think I got it thank you!

I'll look into getting him different food, he really isn't that picky so hopefully he won't care. I do still have a fair amount of his current food left and it was incredibly expensive so that's a little less fun but if I should wait to switch anyway, that works for me.

He did/does have some neuropathy in his legs but it seems to be getting better (he was incredibly flat-footed before and is actually picking up the back of his paws now and using more of his paw pad).

I really just worry about all the fluctuations in his blood sugar and I've never had a diabetic cat so I don't know what's normal but it seems abnormal to me that its been months and his levels still aren't constant (but I really don't know).

And apologies for all the stress, I'm just really worried about him and I just want him to get better.

Thank you for all your help, its really really appreciated. If you have anything else, I'm all ears, thank you.

 

Take a deep breath and relax This is a good read: https://www.felinediabetes.com/dear-mom.htm This one too: https://www.felinediabetes.com/newdiag.htm

 

I really really appreciate that and you honestly thank you <3

I'm clearly overhwhelmed haha but I really just want to get his blood glucose back to normal range and I just wish I knew what dose was right.
I have a vet appointment this week and I'm hoping I can get some more specific insulin answers to some questions but I also want to get his blood tested so I hope I can get a better handle on things.

Thank you again, really, I appreciate it a lot.

 

Have patience It might take a bit of time to find the right insulin dose.

There's a Lantus board here on FDMB if you want to take a look around and see how other cats are doing on Lantus and the various biosimilars.

 

Waving from Ontario. Welcome.

 

Welcome! If you can download and set up our spreadsheet it will help us help you. You have the data which is great. You don’t need to add it all but a couple of weeks would be great. Sounds like by combo you are feeding wet and dry so if you want to follow one of our dosing methods it would be SLGS. If you look on the lantus forum you can read all about our methods. No reason to do this right away though but the spreadsheet will really help.

https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/