new onset diabetic.. .please help:(

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Brandy & Max

Brandy & Max

Member Since 2020
My boy was recently diagnosed with diabetes yesterday. However he does need to gain atleast 2 pounds. Does anyone have any suggestions on wet food and dry food that I could feed him? I took him to the emergency vet yesterday d/t a blood glucose of 600. They kept him 11 hours and performed a glucose curve but they administered Novolin N b/c they did not have Lantus in-house. So he was prescribed 2 units of lantus bid. This morning's bg was over 500. I fed him wet food and he did eat maybe a tablespoon of dry food. I gave him the 2 units of Lantus via pen. I rechecked a bg 4 hours later and it was actually higher at 600. It makes me wonder if it actually penetrated his skin or b/c I forgot to shake the pen before administering. All of this is a little overwhelming. He is acting like he is starving and I want to give him something to eat but at this same time I want to choose something that will make him gain weight and not shoot his sugars up. His CBC and BMP were otherwise unremarkable.
 
Welcome. I'm about to have dinner but I'll try to answer some of your concerns quickly. Other people will post in depth.

Lantus has a distinct smell, similar to a band aid or a hospital smell if that makes any sense. You will know if you give a "fur shot." Never, ever, never give a second shot if you think you gave a fur shot. You do not know how much insulin actually went in.

Lantus, despite what the vet may have said, does not need shaking. Some insulins do, but not Lantus.

Lantus is a depot insulin. It can take up to 5 days for the depot to fill. You won't see the results right away.

The dry food does not help. There are very few dry foods that are low in carbs. I'm not in the US. I believe the acceptable dry foods are Young Again and one of the Dr. Elseys brand. A US member will chime in about these.

Here is the link to a food chart written by a vet who has done her homework regarding carbs. You will be looking for something under 10% carbs.

An unregulated diabetic cat cannot metabolize food properly. That is why they are always ravenous. Yes, feed a meal when you shoot, and feed snacks of wet food a couple of times throughout the cycle. Just pick up any food two hours before the next injection. You don't want a pre-injection test to be carb influenced.

My dinner is burning.

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Feline diabetes is a marathon. Don't expect results overnight. It can be managed and we can help you get there.
 
jade1229 said:
My boy was recently diagnosed with diabetes yesterday. However he does need to gain atleast 2 pounds. Does anyone have any suggestions on wet food and dry food that I could feed him? I took him to the emergency vet yesterday d/t a blood glucose of 600. They kept him 11 hours and performed a glucose curve but they administered Novolin N b/c they did not have Lantus in-house. So he was prescribed 2 units of lantus bid. This morning's bg was over 500. I fed him wet food and he did eat maybe a tablespoon of dry food. I gave him the 2 units of Lantus via pen. I rechecked a bg 4 hours later and it was actually higher at 600. It makes me wonder if it actually penetrated his skin or b/c I forgot to shake the pen before administering. All of this is a little overwhelming. He is acting like he is starving and I want to give him something to eat but at this same time I want to choose something that will make him gain weight and not shoot his sugars up. His CBC and BMP were otherwise unremarkable.
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WELCOME TO FDMB! We are so glad you found us. Theres a wealth of information here with good folks that will help you decipher it all.
First...Please feed your cat as much he wants. An unregulated diabetic is ravenous. Without insulin his little body isnt processing the nutrients he needs.Once he gets on a regiment of insulin he wont be AS hungry.
I cannot give dosing advice but the addition of ANY dry food is going to work against the insulin. We do not recommend it for diabetics. IF dry food is part of his daily diet please give less and less every day to wean him off it. Testing during this time is imperative.
Hold on for more replies.
This is the best place to learn how to take care of your diabetic kitty to keep him safe.
Is it a him? would you feel comfortable sharing your names? It just makes it easier. ;)
My name is jeanne and again welcoe to the best darn place to help you help your kitty:bighug:
 
jade1229 said:
My boy was recently diagnosed with diabetes yesterday. However he does need to gain atleast 2 pounds. Does anyone have any suggestions on wet food and dry food that I could feed him? I took him to the emergency vet yesterday d/t a blood glucose of 600. They kept him 11 hours and performed a glucose curve but they administered Novolin N b/c they did not have Lantus in-house. So he was prescribed 2 units of lantus bid. This morning's bg was over 500. I fed him wet food and he did eat maybe a tablespoon of dry food. I gave him the 2 units of Lantus via pen. I rechecked a bg 4 hours later and it was actually higher at 600. It makes me wonder if it actually penetrated his skin or b/c I forgot to shake the pen before administering. All of this is a little overwhelming. He is acting like he is starving and I want to give him something to eat but at this same time I want to choose something that will make him gain weight and not shoot his sugars up. His CBC and BMP were otherwise unremarkable.
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Jade I use to doubt when I gave my cat her Lantus shot also , what my Vet did to help me was she used clippers on each spot to inject so I could see her skin clearer it was not shaved to the skin just cut down in two spots . This made it much easier for me to know . The Lantus pen honestly makes you doubt yourself I use to have to look to see if the units I set went back to zero .
 
Dusty & Roe said:
The Lantus pen honestly makes you doubt yourself I use to have to look to see if the units I set went back to zero .
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We actually don't recommend using the special pen needles. The biggest reason is because you can only do dose changes in whole units, which is fine for humans, but our sugarcats need dose changes in much smaller increments. They should be in .25 unit increments.

We use regular insulin syringes and pull the insulin out of the pen (like using the pen as a "mini-vial"). Some syringes come with half unit markings which makes it easier to get those micro-doses.

Also, if you're using the pen, you're not supposed to refrigerate it which means it'll go bad much sooner. At the price of Lantus, you want it to last as long as possible!.

Another negative is that when you use the pen needles and the "dial a dose", you're supposed to waste 2 units each time to "prime" it. That's throwing away 4 units per day!

You can get a box of 100 3/10ml, 31 gauge insulin syringes with half unit markings from WalMart for $12.58. Then you just pull off the cap and insert the syringe just like you would with a vial (except you don't inject air into the pens)
 
Most of us use syringes to withdraw Lantus from the pen, and inject using the syringe. It's much easier to figure out whether the insulin got in with that method. Another benefit with syringes, we increase or decrease doses by 0.25 units at a time, because cats are sensitive to small changes. Only with 1/2 unit marked syringes can you make those small changes to the dose given. There is more information in the yellow starred Sticky Notes on top of the forum about Lantus.

As for food, look at the food list linked for you in the second post by Kel, and look for food that his carb % less than 10% but higher fat content. That'll help him put back some pounds, as will giving him insulin to get his blood sugars lower. This will probably be a slower process than you expect, we call feline diabetes a marathon, not a sprint.
 
jt and trouble (GA) said:
WELCOME TO FDMB! We are so glad you found us. Theres a wealth of information here with good folks that will help you decipher it all.
First...Please feed your cat as much he wants. An unregulated diabetic is ravenous. Without insulin his little body isnt processing the nutrients he needs.Once he gets on a regiment of insulin he wont be AS hungry.
I cannot give dosing advice but the addition of ANY dry food is going to work against the insulin. We do not recommend it for diabetics. IF dry food is part of his daily diet please give less and less every day to wean him off it. Testing during this time is imperative.
Hold on for more replies.
This is the best place to learn how to take care of your diabetic kitty to keep him safe.
Is it a him? would you feel comfortable sharing your names? It just makes it easier. ;)
My name is jeanne and again welcoe to the best darn place to help you help your kitty:bighug:
Click to expand...

of course...My name is Brandy and my sweet boy's name is Max. I lost his sister two years ago d/t liver cancer which was devastating and I am thankful that I found you guys. It has been a little overwhelming to say the least. I took Max to the vet about a month ago and his blood sugars were normal which was puzzling to me. He had been drinking alot of water and urinating large amounts a couple months prior. All of his bloodwork was perfect but she recommended an ultrasound and echocardiogram. She stated that his results were consistent with IBD or GI lymphoma and only a biopsy would confirm diagnosis. He is 12 and i do not want to put him through that. So if one could imagine this diagnosis was somewhat unbelievable in that his bloodwork was perfect, no nausea, no vomiting. She started him on prednisolone because of this and i believe that may have sent him over the edge. What is anyone's thought on this? The ER vet stated she thinks the weight loss is coming from his diabetes. So pretty much, the other vet was basically treating the ultrasound. The only symptoms he had was a three pound weight loss in the past three years. I just wonder why it did not show up in the bloodwork that he was diabetic.

Thanks,
Brandy
 
Hi Brandy and Max! :bighug:
Sorry I cant answer your question but I bet there are folks here who can;) or at least give an opinion.
Hang on fr more replies.:)
 
Steroids are often that "last straw" that tip them over the edge....but the good news is since you caught it early, it's more likely that once it's out of the body and with a little help from insulin, he could very well go into remission.

It's also very common for diabetics to lose weight. Their bodies can't use the glucose in the food without insulin. Think of insulin like it's a key and on every cell in the body there's a lock. Without the keys, all that glucose from the breakdown of food stays in the bloodstream instead of going into the cell to nourish them so even though the cat might be eating huge amounts of food, the cells are still starving to death.
 
Brandy & Max said:
She stated that his results were consistent with IBD or GI lymphoma and only a biopsy would confirm diagnosis. He is 12 and i do not want to put him through that. So if one could imagine this diagnosis was somewhat unbelievable in that his bloodwork was perfect, no nausea, no vomiting. She started him on prednisolone because of this and i believe that may have sent him over the edge. What is anyone's thought on this?
Click to expand...
On my third cat with GI lymphoma now. Depending on the ultrasound, and where the inflammation is, you can diagnose with an endoscopy, which is a lot easier on the kitty. And yes, you do need endoscopy or surgical biopsy to definitely determine if it's IBD or lymphoma. Small cell lymphoma treatment is not as bad as is sounds. With the right protocol of steroid and mild chemo every couple of weeks, more than 90% of cats go into remission. If eating OK, weight loss is usually one of uncontrolled diabetes, hyperthyroidism, or small cell lymphoma. For some SCL cats, losing weight is the only symptom. I've been blessed with vomiting or constipation, a clearer sign.:rolleyes:

For cats that are on prednisolone for GI issues, budesonide is an alternative steroid that usually doesn't impact blood sugars, and is more localized to the GI system. My Neko could not have prednisolone due to her heart, so she was on budesonide. If Max needs a steroid, budesonide may be a good alternative that may help him get over diabetes.
 
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We see an internal medicine specialist at the Emergency vet I initially took him to, not the one that did the ultrasound. I am going to request a second opinion or perhaps he may even be able to obtain the actual images.
 
My Rico had IBD and the pred they put him on turned him into a diabetic but I caught it in a few days (because my other my is diabetic I knew what to look for).

He was in remission within less than 3 weeks- I dosed him VERY carefully because I knew his pancreas worked. Then like @Wendy&Neko I put him on budesonide and he remained in remission for about 3 years until he passed at 21:(
 
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