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Cheyanne

Cheyanne

Member Since 2022
Hi!
My name is Cheyanne and my cat is Trixie!
  • Trixie is 9 years old. I’ve had her since she was 6 weeks, she was a Craigslist kitty.
  • Trixie was newly diagnosed as a diabetic on March 13th
  • Using prozinc insulin 1u twice a day
  • She is 7.5 pounds at the moment! Still underweight but we’re working on it :)(She was 6.6 pounds March 25th at an urgent care appointment)
  • I use the alphatrak 2 monitor AT LEAST twice a day before insulin shots
  • Trixie also is being treated for a significant kidney and bladder infection
  • BUN was 122 and Creatinine was 6.5 I think so we are treating this infection to rule out kidney failure
  • Blood sugars are seeming regulated but lately a little lower (that’s for another post)
I’m happy to have found this site this morning! Been reading some information before I decide to post my questions, but it’s nice to know I’ve got somewhere to turn to when I need help :)
 
Oh, I bought purina DM savory food and my cat won’t eat her full meals… so we’ve been giving her fancy feast petite pate salmon. With a bit of a pure one soup pouch (I think that’s the brand)
I started her on fortiflora probiotics for some antibiotic associated diarrhea. She LOVES the flavor of the probiotic.
 
Welcome Cheyenne and Trixie
It would be helpful if you would fill out your signature Tap on the blue link here
Here is a link helping us to help you link. If you noticed, our members have some basic information about their cat's in their signature. This helps us to not pester you by asking the same questions (your cat's name, insulin type, date of diagnosis, etc.) repeatedly. We also have a link to our spreadsheet in our signature. We are very numbers driven. The spreadsheet is a record of your cat's progress. By linking it in your signature, we can follow along and provide feedback should you need the help.
If you need help setting up the spreadsheet just ask,
You need to test more just not twice a day before giving insulin
We test our cats after the AMPS (that means the first test in the morning AM Pre Shot
Same goes for PMPS first test at night
Such as +2 that means 2 hours after giving insulin
+3 three hours after giving insulin and so on
We feed our cats more than twice a day larger meal in the morning and larger meal at night, then smaller meals around +2, +4 +6 for both cycles
Most of us feed Fancy Feast Classic Pates or Friskies Pate
I'll give you the link to the food chart
We like to feed 6% carbs or less
What would you say an ideal weight is for Trixie?
The rule thumb is about 20 calories per pound of ideal weight.
So if a good weight for her might be 10 lbs

20x10=200 calorie a day

Here is the food chart
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-chart.174147/
 
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How was she diagnosed? Fructosamine? Did she have the possible infection at the time of diagnosis?

Diane gave the link for the spreadsheet, whatever data you can give us is a huge help.
 
Currently working on the spreadsheet and the signature! Trixies ideal weight would be 10 pounds probably!
At diagnosis, her blood sugar was high and kidney numbers were also high. They told me she was definitely diabetic and possibly in kidney failure. No fructosamine test was done. Infections were present at the time. But I am thinking she was wrongly diagnosed, or maybe she is just well controlled with her diet.
 
Ok let me know when spreadsheet is up! Fructosamine is really the true diagnostic, not exactly a good idea to base a diagnosis off a single blood test - especially when it's possible infections are present (example - my cat is in remission but got an infection - his BG went up nearly to 400, but came back to normal once it was cleared)
 
I think I finished the spreadsheet! I work 12 hour night shifts, and my mom wont do blood sugar checks, but will do insulin. So before i leave i will check her and decide if i am comfortable with giving the insulin or not.. This is all new to me! There are days where i should have tested extra, and maybe even nights. Im still learning! I work with diabetic HUMANS everyday, and I am still working on reminding myself my cat is not a human! :facepalm:
 
Also, i switched the +1 +2 etc for the time while i was filling it out. Just to make it easier on my brain :confused:
 
Reductions are below 68 on an AlphaTrak. So any time you see under 68, next shot is reduce by 0.25U. Trixie dropped under 68 on 3-28 so on 3-29 you should have reduced to 0.25 that morning.
Tagging Melissa
@FrostD to be sure

Also your spreadsheet is not correct up top where you 8a it should say AMPS and after that where you have 9 a, 10 a etc should say +1 the +2 then +3 if you want to leave the times up for yourself you can leave it put go back in and put +1, +2 etc above those times
We all live in different time zones so that's why if we ever ask you what her BG was at +1 etc telling us what times they were doesn't help

Until you get to where you have 8p that should say PMPS
When you don't give any insulin please put NS ( means no shot)
 
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Diane Tyler's Mom said:
Reductions are below 68 on an AlphaTrak. So any time you see under 68, next shot is reduce by 0.25U. Trixie dropped under 68 on 3-28 so on 3-29 you should have reduced to 0.25 that morning.
Tagging Melissa
@FrostD to be sure

Also your spreadsheet is not correct up top where you 8a it should say AMPS and after that where you have 9 a, 10 a etc should say +1 the +2 then +3 if you want to leave the times up for yourself you can leave it put go back in and put +1, +2 etc above those times
We all live in different time zones so that's why if we ever ask you what her BG was at +1 etc telling us what times they were doesn't help

Until you get to where you have 8p that should say PMPS
When you don't give any insulin please put NS ( means no shot)
Click to expand...

Okay, I fixed the spreadsheet. I do appreciate the explanation on why keeping the +1 +2 is important.
This is all new for me, and i felt like coming here for guidance would be more helpful than calling my vet. They told me today to start giving .5u if her glucose is over 200. The day she went hypo she was 201 that morning and i only did a half unit. So Im wondering if i need to do .25 units if she gets over 200 to be safe, and kinda see how that goes.. I planned on doing a curve this weekend since I was off work and could monitor her, but she hasnt been over 200, so i havent given any insulin.
 
This spreadsheet isn't reading "right" to me at all - meaning it really isn't like a newly diagnosed diabetic or possibly even diabetic at all...

That 97 the morning after a skip - normally I'd say maybe a wonky strip but it's happening pretty consistently - it tells me her pancreas is working quite a bit. I'm not sure I believe the 53 was real, that was an unusually fast and high bump in 1 hour, even with the honey and gravy.

She's not quite in the normal BG range but I suspect a few things at play - whatever is going on with kidneys/possible infection, overdosed insulin, etc

See how she does tomorrow too. At this point I would be overly cautious on dosing...I would only shoot if she's above 200, and I would only shoot 0.25U (I know it's hard to measure just do your best). I will try to remember to check in on her, tag me if you need any help. I try to pop in mornings around 10a EST, then not again til about 9p EST
 
Okay! Thank you. I was feeling the same. When they told me 0.5u if over 200, i got worried. I wasnt sure the 53 was real, but I was unprepared and had only 2 strips left. So i wanted to act like it was real in case, and save the strips for my next check. I did, however, buy a backup meter and strips the next day! So now I am prepared in case it happens again.
I will keep you updated and keep you in mind if I need anything!
 
Cheyenne --

I would check with your vet and see about getting a fructosamine test. (It's roughly the equivalent of a HbA1c but it is an average over about 3 weeks and the results don't read the same as on a meter.) My rationale is that Trixie's BG (blood glucose) numbers may be elevated due to the infection. What antibiotic did the vet prescribe and for how long? If the vet thinks this is a urinary tract infection, did they get a sterile urine sample (i.e., did they insert a needle into Trixie's bladder to get the sample) and run a cystocentesis to determine what the bacteria is so they know for sure what antibiotic to prescribe?
 
Hi,
So the first week (3/14) they gave her a covenia shot to treat a UTI. They did not do a urine sample until 3/22. At that time she had drops of blood in her urine and she was running back and forth to all of her boxes trying to pee. They didn’t tell me how they got the urine, but I’m assuming a needle to her bladder.They said there were RBCs and WBCs in her urine and they were thinking the infection traveled to the kidneys. So they put her on veraflox for a week. Few days later we brought her in for a progress exam and they started her on 10 days of Cefpodoxime on top of the veraflox. She will be done with all antibiotics this afternoon. We are also doing 50cc of subq fluids daily to help the kidneys flush out any toxins and to keep her hydrated.
I’m not sure why they didn’t do the fructosamine test in the beginning, but I will definitely request it at her next progress exam. They want to see her again about 10 days after all the antibiotics are completed.
 
Sigh....

Covenia is not appropriate for a UTI. Its only indication is for skin infections. In addition, it is a long acting antibiotic -- it lasts for over 2 months. While some caregivers see this as a plus because they don't have to pill their cat, if your cat is allergic to the antibiotic, it's a problem since once it's in, you can't get it out. My vet refuses to prescribe it and we advise against it. This is a link for more information.

RBCs in the urine are not uncommon if a needle was used to obtain the sample. WBCs, however, are an indication of infection. Make sure they run another cystocentesis when you go back after 10 days. You need to have the antibiotic cleared out of your cat's system in order to be sure that it's truly gone. It can take a course of over a month for a kidney infection to clear.
 
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