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Beth&Penny

Beth&Penny

Member Since 2015
hi all, I have a cat who was diagnosed with diabetes at only 7 months old. Her name is Penny & she is now almost a year & a half old. She was getting 10 units of insulin 2x a day & she was doing good up until sept 12,2015. I came home & noticed something wasn't quite right with her so I checked her BG level & it was at 47! I was scared to death for her!!! I put syrup on her gums & gave her wet cat food which she gobbled right up. I think what happened was my husband had given her her insulin that morning & he said she really didn't eat. So I stressed to him that she HAS to eat when she gets her insulin. So I got her stable & she was doing great until this past Friday, sept 18. I had given her her shot that morning & I was running late & she didn't want to eat the moist food so i made sure she had dry food to eat & I gave her the shot & left for work. I got home 6 & a half hours later & found her laying in a puddle of her urine. I very quickly got syrup & rubbed it on her gums & that perked her up enough that she ate moist food Too. I then checked her BG & it was at 38, so I immediatly took her right to our vet. Between the syrup & food she was much better within minutes but I was so scared I needed to see her doctor. Anyway, I'm assuming she never ate her food I left out for her, we have 7 cats so I left out a big bowl of food so I can't be certain how much she ate or if she ate anything at all. The vet said if she won't eat then SKIP the insulin!! So I will be taking that advice VERY seriously!! She also said Penny was running a fever & she tried to get urine out of her to check for urinary infection but couldn't get any. So she gave Penny a shot of an antibiotic anyway, assuming that she has the urinary infection & she told me to only give Penny 6 units of insulin instead of the 10 units she was getting. & in 2 weeks i have to do a BG Curve & bring her back to vet for a checkup.
Well now Im scared to death to give her insulin & I'm a worried mess at work thinking of how I found her. I feel awful, i am trying so hard to help her & make sure she feels good & then 2x this month she could have died. She must have been so scared laying there alone & helpless. I want to learn as much as I can & never ever have her go through that again!! I was so happy when the vet told me about this group! I have searched & searched for a group but never found any that were still active. Finding out about this group is a huge relief for me & I am hoping to learn tons!!!
 
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I won't be of much help, as I still haven't got my boy under control. The one thing I can tell you is that they will need you to set up a profile and spreadsheet and attach them to your signature so that they can quickly and easily see some particulars about your Penny that will make it easier for them to help you. There are some "sticky notes" somewhere at the beginning that will guide you about how to do that. Good luck and I hope someone comes on soon that can help:). Hang in there.
 
So you are home testing BG? I would suggest that the first day that you can be home all day do your own curve.

It will also help if you can tell us what insulin you are using. Lantus, ProZinc, or what. It does sound as though your Penny does need to have the dose reduced.
 
Hi Beth and beautiful Penny, welcome! So wonderful that your vet suggested this group, everyone here is so supportive and understands what we go through as diabetic cat carers. I don't have advice for you as I'm still pretty new myself, but definitely get the spreadsheet set up as Sarah mentioned. It really helps to keep track of what's going on with Penny. Good luck!
 
Hi Beth, Penny is so cute! Wow, it's a good thing you knew the symptoms of hypoglycemia and how to treat it! 10 units seems like a lot of insulin! What kind are you are you using? Also, do you test Penny's BG before you give the insulin? That and some mid cycle tests when possible will help determine how low Penny goes. If you can't get mid cycle tests during the day, try to get some at night, and weekends. I'm so glad you found this group. They have been a big help to me and I'm sure they will to you too. Welcome!
 
Hello and welcome. Penny is only 7 months? So young and beautiful. I don't know all the different insulin available but 10u does seem high. You will receive lots of help here. Keep us posted.
 
Welcome to FDMB.

Normally, cats will eat if the glucose starts dropping much. If you normally leave out some food, that suggests she couldn't eat enough to match up with the insulin and the dose is too high. I'd reduce by 0.5 units immediately, to give you some to read things here and get acclimated.

Here is our link on how to manage a hypo.

We really need to know what insulin you are using, what meter, and what diet. There may be some useful information we can provide you based on those things.
 
woodsywife said:
Hello and welcome. Penny is only 7 months? So young and beautiful. I don't know all the different insulin available but 10u does seem high. You will receive lots of help here. Keep us posted.
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Penny was diagnosed at 7 months old. She is now almost a year and a half old. She was started on 3 units at first but her levels were so so high & not coming down much so slowly the vet upped her insulin & finally at 10 units she stablized some. But because of the 2 incidents recently where her bg dropped way too low the vet reduced her to 6 units. Today is the second day of the new dose so im watching her very closely!! & she is on Novolin N insulin right now but the Vet talked about possibly changing it if her bg levels don't stablize more.
 
Beth&Penny said:
Penny was diagnosed at 7 months old. She is now almost a year and a half old. She was started on 3 units at first but her levels were so so high & not coming down much so slowly the vet upped her insulin & finally at 10 units she stablized some. But because of the 2 incidents recently where her bg dropped way too low the vet reduced her to 6 units. Today is the second day of the new dose so im watching her very closely!! & she is on Novolin N insulin right now but the Vet talked about possibly changing it if her bg levels don't stablize more.
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All 3 vets ive seen say they have never seen a cat SO YOUNG with diabetes & Pennys levels were in the 700's in the very beginning when she was first diagnosed at 7 months old.
 
OK. Novolin NPH is known to last only 8-10 hours in most cats. That could be part of the problem.

There are some other, longer lasting insulins such as ProZinc and BCP PZI which have similar management to NPH, but tend to last 12 hours in the cat. I would strongly encourage you to switch to one of those.
 
BJM said:
OK. Novolin NPH is known to last only 8-10 hours in most cats. That could be part of the problem.

There are some other, longer lasting insulins such as ProZinc and BCP PZI which have similar management to NPH, but tend to last 12 hours in the cat. I would strongly encourage you to switch to one of those.
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Ahhh good to know!! I will talk to my vet about it. Thx!!
 
BJM said:
Welcome to FDMB.

Normally, cats will eat if the glucose starts dropping much. If you normally leave out some food, that suggests she couldn't eat enough to match up with the insulin and the dose is too high. I'd reduce by 0.5 units immediately, to give you some to read things here and get acclimated.

Here is our link on how to manage a hypo.

We really need to know what insulin you are using, what meter, and what diet. There may be some useful information we can provide you based on those things.
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That makes sense!! I thought I was being extra safe by leaving out food so I was so surprised when I found her so sick but you are right, if she got way too much insulin then the food won't be enough to bring her bg back up. I never thought about it that way. & if I switch her to a better insulin then she pry won't need as much & it will last longer. Just in the few minutes of being on this board things make much more sense!! I love Penny's vet, he is very careful with her & takes his time with her & puts a lot of thought into her diabetes but he's not the best at explaining things so I can understand them. Or I get overloaded with info & forget things!! So I try writing things down now but sometimes I am confused when I go back & read it. Or like my last visit I was an upset mess so I worry that I probably am forgetting something.
They did reduce her insulin from the 10 units to 6 units.
Will there ever be a point where she won't keep having to have her dose adjusted? I am so scared anymore every time I give her insulin that it's too much or not enough. We've been dealing with this for almost a year now & at first her bg level was 700 plus! But the vet started her on like 3 or 5 units & slowly upped it & finally at the 10 units she seemed to be better & there was more spunk to her, so I thought Pen was finally at a good place. I do know my vet has said that her insulin the Novolin sometimes doesn't work as well but it was inexpensive & I had another cat that was (briefly) on the Novolin at the time Pen was diagnosed so I asked to keep them on the same insulin. But now my other cat is doing great with no more insulin & if switching is going to help stabilize Penny more then I am all for it! For the Novolin I pay about $25 so that is a great perk!! My vet said the other insulin he was thinking of switching her too (which I can't remember the name) is up towards $200. But at this point if it's going to reduce the amount she gets, last longer & get her much more stable then I will try it!! I don't ever want her to go through the hypoglycemia ever again or be that sick again.
 
woodsywife said:
Hello and welcome. Penny is only 7 months? So young and beautiful. I don't know all the different insulin available but 10u does seem high. You will receive lots of help here. Keep us posted.
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Hi & Thank You for the welcome!! I am so relieved to finally have found people to talk to! Penny was diagnosed with diabetes at 7 months old but she is now about a year & a half old.
 
Sharon14 said:
Hi Beth, Penny is so cute! Wow, it's a good thing you knew the symptoms of hypoglycemia and how to treat it! 10 units seems like a lot of insulin! What kind are you are you using? Also, do you test Penny's BG before you give the insulin? That and some mid cycle tests when possible will help determine how low Penny goes. If you can't get mid cycle tests during the day, try to get some at night, and weekends. I'm so glad you found this group. They have been a big help to me and I'm sure they will to you too. Welcome!
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Thank You!! She is such a funny sweet but bossy little girl!! She is the youngest of our 8 cats. We have rescued all of them from bad situations. Penny was found by my daughters boyfriend on a cold very rainy night cuddled up to her mom in the middle of a road. Her mom had been hit by a car & killed. Penny was about 2 months old & her eyes were so infected that she couldn't really see & she was skinny & starving & cold!!
She was pretty sick so he scooped her up & took her home with him for the night. The next morning he called me & asked if I could help so I went & picked Penny up & it just so happened that that day I had a vet who makes house calls coming to my home to see our 10 yr old cat Max who we thought had bad asthma but as the vet was examining him he passed away from heart failure :(
It was so unexpected & sad. Before the vet left I had him look at tiny little Penny & he gave me eye drops & put her on antibiotics & I nursed her back to health! She really helped me through Max's unexpected death & although we already had 7 cats I just really felt like Pen Pen was meant to be with us, so that is how we ended up with this sweet soul who has given me about 20 heart attacks & has cost us an arm & a leg haha
I wouldn't trade her for the world though!! We just adore her!!
Penny is on Novolin insulin & I do have a bg monitor & I do test her often but not every time. I also do a bg chart where I spend a full day testing her bg every 2 to 3 hours. I've been doing that about once a month for the vet.
 
Sarah & Jackie said:
I won't be of much help, as I still haven't got my boy under control. The one thing I can tell you is that they will need you to set up a profile and spreadsheet and attach them to your signature so that they can quickly and easily see some particulars about your Penny that will make it easier for them to help you. There are some "sticky notes" somewhere at the beginning that will guide you about how to do that. Good luck and I hope someone comes on soon that can help:). Hang in there.
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Okay I will look into that & do the spreadsheet!! Thx for letting me know!
 
Anitafrnhamer said:
So you are home testing BG? I would suggest that the first day that you can be home all day do your own curve.

It will also help if you can tell us what insulin you are using. Lantus, ProZinc, or what. It does sound as though your Penny does need to have the dose reduced.
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Penny is on Novolin Insulin but after reading on here I am more convinced to switch her to something better & longer lasting.
I do a curve at home once or twice a month & I do test her BG levels every couple days. Plus Ive had Penny at the vet for check ups about every 2 weeks since she was first diagnosed when she was only 7 months old ( she is now currently almost a year & a half old). Her BG level has for the most part always been very high & took a long time & a lot of adjusting to get it semi under control, so we have spent a lot of time at the vet & doing curves. About a month or so ago the vet brought up switching her insulin but we hadn't decided on anything because she was doing good on the 10 units 2x a day. But then on Sept 12 2015 I came home & found Penny a little out of sorts so I quick tested her BG & she was down in the 40's! Scared me to death! But I gave her syrup & food & got her stable & her bg went back up so I thought that had happened because that morning when she had her insulin she didn't eat much. So I started leaving food out for her to eat thinking that would solve that problem. So for the next few days I pricked her little ears so much testing her bg level & everything seemed normal so we continued doing what we had been doing.then this past Friday I made sure she ate, gave her her insulin & when I got home later in the day I found her laying in her urine, so I gave her the syrup & checked her bg which was only 38 & I got her to eat food & then I took her to the vet which is thankfully only a mile from our home!! When I got there she had perked up a lot & was doing much better. They told me to reduce her insulin from the 10 units to only 6 units. Penny's doctor wasn't working so they told me to give her the 6 units 2x a day & in a week or two do a curve & let them know where she's at & to make an appt with Penny's normal vet & then I can talk to him more about possibly switching her insulin.
 
Tara & Ivana said:
Hi Beth and beautiful Penny, welcome! So wonderful that your vet suggested this group, everyone here is so supportive and understands what we go through as diabetic cat carers. I don't have advice for you as I'm still pretty new myself, but definitely get the spreadsheet set up as Sarah mentioned. It really helps to keep track of what's going on with Penny. Good luck!
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I will work on the spreadsheet ASAP!!! I am so relieved to have found this group!!
 
My vet said the other insulin he was thinking of switching her too (which I can't remember the name) is up towards $200. But at this point if it's going to reduce the amount she gets, last longer & get her much more stable then I will try it!! I don't ever want her to go through the hypoglycemia ever again or be that sick again.[/QUOTE]

I know this scenario to well. Smokey was on Prozinc which will cost me about $200 a bottle. So my vet switched to Vetsulin which is $54 a bottle and lasts me about 6 weeks. It's the only insulin they use and keep in the practice. What did I know about insulin for cats. I didn't know about this site at the time. Now a year later Smokey is unstable. From this site I now know to test before shooting. And there are other insulins that I can order. I'm not afraid to change his diet around. I question everything at the vet now. I have my questions ready when I go on the 1st with him. This site is the best!!:cat:
 
Hi Beth!! What a cute name for a cute kitty!Penny! I like it!
Whew! What a time you are having! I can relate. I have 6 of my own. Each one has a hard luck story, in other words..No Way would I have been able to say, "No, I can't take another kitty in!" So here we are.:cat:
I had Tucker on Novolin for the first two weeks. He (and I) did not do well on it. It's terribly harsh and the good that it does, doesn't last very long. Consequently very exaggerated highs and lows. So hard on little bodies.
We chose ProZinc, which has much more staying power and flexibility with the actual dosing. My work schedule is erratic, so the flexibility is key.
I know you're reading around on this site, so have you seen that we suggest mandatory pre-shot testing before you give intended dose? Otherwise Beth you have no idea if it is safe to even give the insulin. Nor what the dose needs to be.
I hope you can add a few details to your signature, such as what food you are feeding Penny and how much. @Robin&BB has taught me that food must be treated almost like the medicine itself when treating a Sugar Kitty. She has helped me get Tucker under control in that department.
I am pretty new around here, but 10 units BID sounds like it is too much. Especially with the hypo episodes. Hypo causes kitty to become more sensitive to the insulin!!
I hope you can get that spreadsheet going soon, so we can see Penny's numbers and get you some good dosing advice to help her precious little self.
Ask for help here, anytime. Someone can help you with the spreadsheet set up, too.
All the best -Brenda
 
Another note on NPH - Tpically, it lasts 8-10 hours in the cat, with its nadir (lowest glucose)about +3 to +4 hours post shot. Some folks have dosed every 8 hours to get better control when using it. That isn't always possible for folks.
 
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