Newb with lots of questions

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totallybeachin

totallybeachin

Active Member
Hi everyone! *waving*
I'm mom to Callie Mae, my 8 year old calico. She was recently diagnosed with diabetes, and after doing some google searches, I found this place.
Been doing lots of reading on this here board and have learned WAY MORE than my vet told me. Thank God for that.
I really want to do the best I can for my girl. So, I have some questions.
I found the thread that contained the SS for me to use to keep track of Callie Mae. I even have the link in my signature. Unfortunately, I have no idea how to use it. To much going on there and I haven't read enough yet I guess to make sense of it.
Secondly, I read about how important the diet is. I want to correct this aspect right away. Currently Callie Mae is on the Hill's Prescription diet in the dry variety. Read as much as I needed to to know this is not good. So I want to switch her to wet as soon as possible. I could just totally discontinue the dry and replace it with wet right now. That wouldn't be an issue. Callie has never been a picky eater. But, thanks to you fine folks, I know that dramatic of a change could cause serious problems without properly adjusting her insulin. I am looking for a good guideline on how to go about this. Let me give a little more info on where we are right now.
Callie Mae is on PZI insulin. She started out at 5 units/twice a day for about a week. At the end of about three weeks, she went to the Dr.'s for a curve. I dropped her of in the morning, picked her up late afternoon and was told to up her insulin to 6 units twice a day, starting that evening. I read so much here that I went out and got a home testing kit and have been doing the best I can. It takes a couple sticks before I can finally get any blood! That's another story! Anyway, with my home testing, I have done "curves" at home and reported my findings to the vet which has resulted in her being on 8 units twice a day, and I am in the middle of conducting another one today. I can guess that after reporting my findings today, the vet is probably going to change the dose to 9 units.
I found the thread that provided the sheet with all the wet food info and was surprised that Walmart brand Special Kitty was on the list, and if I'm reading it correctly, is pretty good in terms of low carb. Is there anything else I should be looking for?
I know I have rambled on for WAY to long, it's just that I find myself a little overwhelmed and I just would like to get some help making sense of it all.
I'm willing to do what needs to be done, I just don't want to mess up anything.

Kindly waiting your responses.

Angela and Callie Mae :)
 
Welcome! You have done a lot of reading and are way ahead of that steep learning curve that comes with this disease.

6 units is a lot of insulin. There are cats with specific conditions that require that much, but in general we suggest a starting dose of 1 unit twice daily. If your vet started with 5 units, you may have been way over her ideal dose. See this info on how giving too much insulin can cause high numbers: Rebound

It is wonderful you are hometesting. If you want to tell us what the problems are, we all have little tricks that helped us. For Oliver, warming the ear was vital. And treats after each test, successful or not.

You are right - swtiching foods can be tricky with a high dose. It is possible that the dry food is keeping her numbers high enough for her to be safe. What kind of numbers are you seeing when you do a curve? For right now, give us an idea with this kind of a format:

amps (number in am before shot) (#units given)
+3 (number three hours after the shot)
+6 (number 6 hours after the shot)
pmps (number 12 hours after the morning shot before you give the evening shot)

If you want help with your spreadsheet, I would be glad to try to help. See your private messages (look up in the corner of the main site page "1 new message"

I would not make a food switch until you get a handle on her numbers.

Here is some great info on PZI: viewtopic.php?f=24&t=32799
 
Welcome Angela and CallieMae

First off YIKES!!! That is way too much insulin for a newly diagnosed kitty to start on, most cats here need no more than 1u twice a day if that much it is very possible that you have already way over shot her perfect dose and the only thing that is keeping her from going hypo is the dry food, so don't change that without greatly reducing her insulin dosage.

I can't really help with the insulin you guys are using as my guy was on Lantus but we have lots of folks here that use PZI, and you will even find a support group here for just that insulin.

Secondly congrats on getting a testing kit and being willing to test at home, that is half the battle already. Now once you reduce her dosage and get comfy testing at home, then you can look into changing her diet to low carb wet food, and yes, Special kitty works just fine. I personally have 11 cats only one of whom is a diabetic and everyone here eats what Maxwell (the diabetic) eats, just good old fashioned Friskies pate variety. On that diet and a short course of insulin Maxwell went into remission pretty quickly. And even my nondiabetics are doing fantastic on the change in diet, their coats are so much shiner and soft just with that simple change, as well as my one with food allergies had those all go away.

If you are having trouble of any sort with home testing please let us know what the problem is we all have our own little tricks and tips to make it easier on you both. One that I can think of right off the bat is are you warming her ear? A warm ear gives up the blood much easier than a cold one, for us I simply filled a thinnish cotton sock with plain white rice (not instant) and heated it in the microwave for a few seconds. It made those early days much easier, but as crazy as it sounds their ears do "learn" to bleed. Also if you would like some hands on helpjust post a general location and we may have someone close by that can pop over and help you get off to a flying start.

Now to explain the spreadsheet thingy: Since we have folks literally all over the world, we use amps (morning preshot#) then the +1, +2, +3 etc are how many hours after the shot was given...so +1 would be one hour after insulin, +2 two hours after etc. PMPS stands for evening preshot number. and U on the spreadsheet is how many units of insulin were given. Then the comments part is for any notes you want to stick in there, like what Callie had to eat, any behavior you have noticed like decrease in urination, or water intake ....Make sense?

Looking forward to learning more about you and Ms. CallieMae, just remember to breathe you are not alone in this sugardance and no question is a silly one, except maybe the ones that go unasked.

Just remember we are all here to help hold your hand/paw through it all and we will teach you all the steps you need to learn to do the sugardance. =)

Mel,Max & The Fur Gang
 
Welcome!

I am new at this also. My cat Kitty was dx 3 months ago and is on PZI.

My first impression when I saw you post was ... WOW, that is A Lot of insulin!

My Kitty is on 3.4 units twice a day and we started at 2 units and worked our way up. In fact, I am pretty sure Kitty is the highest dose PZI cat in our forum-- that has not been dx with special conditions.

Like I said, I am new at this--- but 5 to 8 units twice a day is a lot.

Anyway, Welcome and Good Luck!

Kim
 
Angela, what does the bottle of insulin say? Is it Prozinc? Next, your vet started her out on 5 units which is already too high a dose for most kitties that have already been on insulin for a fairly long time. What size syringe are you using? Is it a U40 syringe or a U100 syringe?

Somogyi is what we call a rebound effect in cats. A cat on too much insulin can respond by going too low at one point in time and then shooting way back up even higher. The more you increase the insulin the higher the kitty goes. That dry food may be what is saving her right now.

You should also buy some Ketostix (test the urine for ketones) or KetoDiastix (tests the urine for both glucose and ketones).

If you are hometesting, you can get her bg numbers yourself. You could also decide not to give her any insulin tonight and start giving her canned food and see what numbers you get in the morning. The way to check for rebound is to either cut the dose in half or stop the insulin, switch immediately to canned, and check the numbers.

Starting out at 5 units was the wrong way for your vet to start her. He should have started her at 1 unit max twice a day (b.i.d.) and slowly increased. Until you get a SS up, can you just post the numbers you have gotten so far? Hometesting will become quick and easy for you to do and always, always test her before feeding and shooting insulin.
 
Wow! Thanks for the timely responses.
After having found this website and doing some reading, I did think "WOW. That's a lot of insulin she's getting"
Callie Mae is a little on the hefty side--17 pounds-- and her numbers that came back from a senior wellness check up had her in the high 600 range. Based on that, the vet started her out at 5 units. She received that for 3 weeks, then went in for her curve. Her numbers that day never came down below 400. That's when he switched her to 6 units. I advised him that I was getting a home testing kit and would keep an eye on her. He asked me to let him know in a few days where her numbers were at. She was on 6 units for about 2 days, her numbers never coming below 300 and was switched to 7 units. Numbers stayed high, changed her to 8 units, which is where she has been for a little over a week.
I will give her numbers from just today, but I have to first say I don't test on that exact schedule. I WILL going forward, now that I know better!, and I haven't checked her before giving an injection. She get's her shots at 6:30/6:30, so I will get a reading tonight and continue doing so.
As for now, this is where we are, just from today.
9:01am---273
11:08am-217
2:00pm--319
4:04pm--291
Her bottle says PZI insulin U-40 and her syringes are 29gauge 1/2cc
 
Does the syringe box say U40 or U100 somewhere on it?

She is getting decent numbers, but we can't be sure how much that is influenced by the dry food. And we wouldn't want you to switch completely to wet right away, in case she would crash. But it is also scary to cut back the insulin when you are on such a high dose. Whatever you decide, I would start testing for ketones asap.

The reason this is hard is that we can't necessarily trust the numbers from the vet; stress raises bg levels sometimes as much as 200 points and cats are usually stressed at the vet. So the fact that her numbers climbed with the vet curve could be partially dry food, partially stress and maybe overdosing from the beginning.

Do any of these symptoms sound like your kittty: viewtopic.php?f=12&t=375 These are the conditions that cats who require large doses of insulin may have.

I am going to ask some other ProZinc users to look at your post and give their input.
 
No, her bottle doesn't look like that. I will try and take a picture and upload it.
It's really rather generic. Just says PZI insulin U-40 Roll between palms,yada yada yada, do not shake, that kind of thing. Let me try for a pic for you.
Comes from a Pet pharmacy in Fayetteville, NC. I didn't find it on my own. Vet called in prescription to them and I have to only call them to pay by credit card and they ship it out to me.
I have a pic, but don't know how to post it.
 
IMAG0050.jpg


They are U-40 insulin needles
 
Angela, I believe almost all the PZI users on this board are using Prozinc http://www.prozinc.us/ Your vet is having you use a pzi insulin made up by a local pharmacy and consistency, etc. may not be up to par. I would ask you vet to prescribe to you either the Prozinc insulin or ask him about starting over on Lantus(Glargine) which has a great success rate in getting kitties off insulin and into remission.
 
Sue and Oliver (GA) said:
Do any of these symptoms sound like your kittty: viewtopic.php?f=12&t=375 These are the conditions that cats who require large doses of insulin may have.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the link. I've read it, but don't think that sounds like her. Might just have the vet check it out anyway, just to be sure.
 
Angela,

I second Hope's recommendation of getting another insulin. The compounded insulin by a local pharmacy may not be as effective as ProZinc or my favorite, Lantus.

Even with a very high blood glucose when starting with any of the PZI types of insulin, we recommend starting low and going slow. If you start high, the body will say "something is wrong here." Then the liver dumps glucose to raise the blood sugar back up to what it thinks is "normal." That will be close to or over where it has been. Usually, the liver overshoots the target. This starts a rebound cycle of raising the dose to counteract the dumped glucose.

If you do choose to change to Lantus, be sure you ask the vet for a script for Lantus (glargine) pens (aka SolaStar). It is a gentle, long acting insulin with good results in cats. Syringes can be purchase at Walmart - Relion U100, 3/10 cc, 31 gauge short needle with half unit markings - about $13.

Questions, ask away. We are here to help. It is how we all pay forward remember our newbie time :smile:

Claudia
 
Hope + (((Baby)))GA said:
You should also buy some Ketostix (test the urine for ketones) or KetoDiastix (tests the urine for both glucose and ketones).

If you are hometesting, you can get her bg numbers yourself. You could also decide not to give her any insulin tonight and start giving her canned food and see what numbers you get in the morning. The way to check for rebound is to either cut the dose in half or stop the insulin, switch immediately to canned, and check the numbers.
.
Click to expand...
I am going to go to CVS and look for the urine test strips. That will be the easiest thing I will have had to do thus far. I found a litter box online when I started my feline diabetes search that makes the urine testing easy breezy.
I also would like to know how dangerous would it be to try stopping her insulin altogether and staring her on the Special Kitty tonight at dinnertime. That's seems like the easiest thing to do at this point, but I am scared because she is on such a high dose.
Also, not sure HOW MUCH to feed her. Can says 1 can for every 6-8 pounds twice a day. Well, she weighs 17 pounds and only gets 1 cup of dry per day. 1/2 in the morning, 1/2 at dinner. According to the can, she would get 2 of those for dinner??? That just sounds like to much food.
 
right now she is literally starving to death because her body can't process the food she is eating so letting her eat as much as she wants is fine...Once you get her blood sugar under control her hunger will decrease.

On avg. mine here are between 8 to 10 lbs they get one 5.5 oz can per day and my diabetic who is just a really big cat (long and tall) is at his perfect weight of 15lbs, he gets one and a half 5.5 oz. can per day. It works out to about 15 calories per pound of cat per day, or there about depending on the flavor of the day. And trust me no one is starving here, in fact a couple of them are kind of on the "fluffy" side and I'm not talking about their length of hair...lol.

But right now don't worry about too much its just important that she eats. High numbers and not eating is a recipe for disaster, especially on that high of a dose.

Also cats aren't dosed according to weight like dogs are, Maxwell is a big boy but at max. he only need 1u twice a day. And of course I have to throw in my vote for a switch to Lantus if possible, but that is just because that is what got my boy into remission. ;-)

Mel, Max and The Fur Gang
 
Just got off the phone with my vet.
Tried not to insult his intelligence, and asked him about acro thingy. He told me not to be to concerned about it at this point. I stressed to him thatold me I have been doing A LOT of reading and I felt that maybe 8 units was to much. He told me he understood my concerns, but that I needed to keep in mind that Callie Mae is nearly 20 pounds and that 8 units for that size cat is really not that much.
Now I don't know what to think.
Does my vet really know what he's talking about or not? I am really worried.
Forgot to mention the worst part.
Based on the numbers from Wednesday and today, he wants me to start her on 9 units! :o
I am really worried about this now.
 
MommaOfMuse said:
right now she is literally starving to death because her body can't process the food she is eating so letting her eat as much as she wants is fine...Once you get her blood sugar under control her hunger will decrease.
Click to expand...
What she is on now, the 1 cup a day, she doesn't even eat it all. Not that that matters to me. I just put her dinner in the bowl right over what's left of her breakfast, and vice versa in the morning with the left over dinner. Her bowl is never empty, she just doesn't eat it all. I was only saying that if I were to feed her the wet food according to the can directions, that would be a lot of waste. 2 cans at breakfast , then 2 more for dinner. Wet food gets hard and nasty when it's been sitting there for a half hour or so. I would want to throw it away. Maybe I should just give her what she wants, a little at a time all day??? Not sure how I could do that on the days I have to work. She's a "snacker". You know, couple bites here, couple bites there. All day. She never eats all at once.
 
I hope others will weigh in on a reduced dose. If you are testing for ketones, I certainly think you can reduce the dose and start transitioning to wet food. You will need to be prepared for some rigorous testing - before every shot and some mid cycle numbers. I am just not sure how much you should reduce.
 
I'm not sure how much to reduce either, I think I would be really tempted to start over at 1u twice a day and test like crazy. But I just don't know for sure since I only know Lantus. I hope someone else weighs in soon. But that is a scary high dose for a newly dxed cat. And no vet is incorrect, cats are not dosed based on weight, that is for dogs since a dog can vary anywhere from a couple of pounds to nearly 100 lbs and don't metabolize insulin as fast as cats do.

Mel, Max and The Fur Gang.
 
I want to say thanks for all the responses.
Lot's of helpful folks here.
I'm with you guys. I hope someone that uses PZI weighs in soon!
A question about the ketone testing.
I have a special litter box that allows the collection of urine in a special "tank". It runs right through some non-absorbent safflower seeds and down into a little container that allows for easy dip-sticking and what not. My question is, how soon do I need to test after kitty has gone? I noticed she was going when I was heading for te door to go to CVS. Can I use that urine to test or should I wait until she goes again?
 
I cross-posted for you over on the PZI support group to see if I could get you a few more experienced eyes to weigh in, and linked them over here to this post. Hope it helps just wish I know PZI as well as I do Lantus. <sigh>

Mel, Max & The Fur Gang
 
Just a quick note...there are a few folks who do use a compounded insulin called pzi made up at the pharmacy. Often it will become a u100 insulin but I don't think the insulin is bad or anything. It is being done regularly.
I also prefer Lev. or Lantus but this insulin is ok FWIW
And I would think starting over with a spread sheet, an appropriate diet and 1 unit would be a healthy thing to do.
Lori
 
I just finished putting all the data I have to date in my SS.
There's not very much. I pulled it off the memory of y tester.
Could someone click on it, let me know if it's coming up? I made it public, but I noticed it was private. When I made changes, it spit up a new link. Just need to know if that link needs to be updated in my signature.
If you are able to access it, have a look at what little numbers are there and please tell me what you think.
If I need to update the signature link, I will do that right away. I stand ready at the keyboard!!.....lol

Quick Edit to add:
Any responses to the question about the ketone testing? Should I go ahead and try it out now or just wait until she has a fresh urine in the box?
FWIW, I bought the Keto-Diastix.
 
totallybeachin said:
He told me he understood my concerns, but that I needed to keep in mind that Callie Mae is nearly 20 pounds and that 8 units for that size cat is really not that much.
Click to expand...

My cat Noxin is just over 21 lbs, and if I hadn't have been home monitoring, the 2.5 units of lantus he was on would have hypoed him.
 
beggargirl said:
totallybeachin said:
He told me he understood my concerns, but that I needed to keep in mind that Callie Mae is nearly 20 pounds and that 8 units for that size cat is really not that much.
Click to expand...

My cat Noxin is just over 21 lbs, and if I hadn't have been home monitoring, the 2.5 units of lantus he was on would have hypoed him.
Click to expand...
I am getting very concerned here!
I appreciate all the help here, I really do. I'm just starting to really freak out here.
Not sure if I am just LOOKING to see something to make me feel better or what, but I did find this on the PZI page.

"How Much Insulin is Too Much?

The Cornell University Feline Health Center has addressed the topic of high insulin doses in cats. Excessively high insulin doses are those greater than one to two units of insulin per pound per day."


Any thoughts?
 
Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. :?

In my case Noxin had been on dry food, and I told my vet that I was going to switch to all wet and that I wanted to decrease the dose a good deal, but she insisted I reduce from 2.5 units (once a day) to only 2 units.

The wet food switch was close to all Noxin needed to get the diabetes under control, so the combination is what really brought him down quick. But I was watching and expecting it, so it wasn't much of an issue, and I played it safe and skipped shots and lowered his dose.

So far it sounds like your cat is managing his dose fine. :)

Edit: But you should wait until more experienced users who know your insulin pop in to give advice. I'm new here AND unfamiliar with your insulin, so :)
 
Hi,

I posted earlier. I use PZI, but am by no means one of the more experienced users. For what it's worth, I feel certain my Kitty is the highest dose Cat in the PZI forum group. She gets 3.4 units twice a day. We started at 2 units a day and have worked up to this.

Also, insulin is not dosed based by weight. My Kitty weighed 8.25 pounds at dx and now weighs over 9. There are cats in our group, that receive .5 units on 300 preshots.

I can't imagine that your cat needs the amount of insulin your vet is suggesting.

Hopefully, some of the other PZI users will weigh in.

Kim
 
One more thing-- my vet shared the same information regarding the dosage by pound with me. So, I had all types of test performed to rule out any reasons Kitty was getting (at one point) 7 units and only weighed 8.25 pounds. Everything came back negative on the test--so don't get freaked out over that.

I got freaked out.......and everthing was fine!

Kim
 
Should I start being alarmed?
Pre-shot she was at 316
2 hours later, 176.
She has only been below 200 once since she was dx.
I went ahead with the 9units at shot time, soooooo, guess it will be a long fretful evening for me!
I am going to keep my eye on her. Picked up another bottle of test strips when I went to CVS. Amazing how much those buggers cost and so easily I go through them.
Also went ahead and tested her urine. It wasn't fresh, but since I hadn't heard anything back about it, I figured what can it hurt. It showed negative, but, I don't know if that's because it wasn't fresh. Could be a false negative since I have no idea about any of it.
Any feedback on that????
 
I would post the dose tonight and the numbers on the PZI board if I was you.

9 units is A Lot.
 
I think you should start a new topic, say you use ProZinc and give your dose and numbers so far. I am nervous- that is a pretty fast drop. Be sure you have extra strips and plan on taking another test in 30 minutes or so. PZI usually reaches it's lowest point at +6 so you will need to do some tests between now and then.

You need a fresh sample to do the ketone test. You stick the strip directly into the urine stream.
 
wow! that is a lot of insulin and yeah, be ready for a long night most likely.

i have a virus on my computer at home so it's not working right now so once i leave work here in a bit i won't be back probably until monday.

just want to cover a couple things. i'm sure others will be around for the night but to make sure you are seen if things go sour, you can ALWAYS start a new thread, post in all capital letters something eye catching like HELP! CAT HYPOING! or HELP! BG 19 or something like that. there is also a nice red 911 icon you can add to your post which always catches people's attention.
 
Thanks guys.
WOW, this place is great!
Ok, here's where I am now. Not sure if a new thread is needed or just keep this one updated. I posted all this in the PZI section, but will put it here too.
PMPS 317. I gave her the 9U-- :shock:
Also, with dinner I put out a little dish of Special Kitty wet food. Not a lot, about 1/3 or 1/4 of the can along with her regular dinner, dry Hill's prescription diet.
She ate a little bit of the wet. Went to that little dish twice for a few bites. Also was snacking on her regular dry stuff, so she's got both in her system.
at +2 she was at 176 and at +4 she is down to 120.
I'm a little worried because she is dropping so much and she has never seen a number below 200 since dx.
I got the hypo sheet ready just in case, but I hope I don't need it.
Any advice?
 
I answered on PZi too. Your 120 is a safe number, but it would be nice if it was a little later in your cycle. You don't need to worry until you get down in the 40-50 range. I think you will need to get some more tests in tonight. Hopefully he will start moving up after +6.
 
That's what I'm hoping for.
It's amazing how fast time can fly when I am watching TV or surfing the net, but when I am sitting here watching the clock, BEGGING for 12:30 the seconds seem to just TICK TICK by. :lol:
I am trying to be patient. I really wat to get another reading now, and in 5 more minuted=s and then in 5 more minutes, but, I am just staring to really geta handle on the home testing, I don't want to push it. My little girl has been such a trooper the last week or so. I have been having to stick her 5 sometimes 6 times to get her to bleed. I had read somewhere about warming the ear, but somehow managed to let it go in one side and out the other. To much information input it somehow slipped right on by. Someone mentioned it tonight so I tried it. MAN! That is definitely the way to go. HUGE drop of blood and only 1 stick! I know kitty is happy about that!
 
Just tuning in.... I would suggest having her eat some of her regular dry food at this point. With that dose, my guess is it's the dry food that is keeping her from getting low #s, so (especially if she is acting hungry) I would let her eat it.
 
Some general thoughts/questions:

- When you say she is eating Hill's, which one is it? m/d, or w/d, or something else?

- I am a fan of free feeding, so if she likes to munch a little here & there throughout the day I think that is a perfect way to go. That is good for their pancreases as well. You want to be able to continue the same pattern at night though, so you don't have a big disparity btween their daytime & nighttime patterns.

- On the food/dose question, there are several ways you can approach it. The simplist I think is the 1u do-over - switch to canned food over a few days and at the same time drop immediately down to 1u BID. Sometimes I think a more fine-tuned approach is in order, but it's hard to imagine backing down gradually from the 9u and being able to make any sense of the data and the doses and not accidentally overshooting, so I'd probably do a 1u do-over during a food switch, and then raise the dose fairly rapidly if that is not enough.

- Is her weight a good one for her, or is she overweight? i.e. is being overweight potentially part of what is contributing to the diabetes? many cats who come here are underweight, so I am always curious when we get a "full-figured" kitty :-D
 
oh btw, one thing people do is freeze canned food in small portions and then put those out to keep it fresh throughout the day - might be worth a try when you get to that point...
 
It's Hill w/d.
And she is quite the little porker!
She has been obese her whole life. Vet had her on Hill's r/d for awhile, but, she gained a few pounds on that. After that, she went back to non-prescription food. I have always had concern for her weight, the vet just told me some kitties are just meant to be big like some people. I have never given her more food in her dish than what was recommended on the bag. Of course, the bag never had a weight that high, but I would just stick with the amount for an adult cat. And she isn't a big eater. Always food left in her bowl. She just picks at it all day long. I'm sure the weight is a contributing factor. I don't know how long she has had diabetes. I did a complete wellness on her when she was about 2 or 3 to rule out diabetes or a thyroid problem because of her weight. Everything came back negative at that time. It was me that wanted another wellness done this time around also. Figured she was getting up there in years and it had been a while so, I took her in. This time however, her sugar was through the roof. In the 600's! Now, here we are today.
 
Yah, that was my suspicion if she is tolerating 8u and the vet doesn't think that is a high dose. W/d is mega-mega-high carb I'm pretty sure. If that is his normal thing to give to diabetic kitties, that would make sense that the cats he is treating are probably on higher insulin doses than we tend to see here. My cat was on dry M/d, which is something on the order of 1/3 (?) the carbs in the W/d, and he needed over 4 units and I still couldn't get him regulated on that.

I think you will be a lot happier once you can get her switched over to lower carb food and get the dose to something less :shock: . W/d is old school I think, there used to be the thinking that high fiber food (?) helped diabetes, but that has been debunked IMO.

Sorry I am hazy on some of the details on carb counts & such!

How is she doing? How many hours past shot time are you at this point?
 
I am going on 5 and 1/5.
Going to retest again at 12:30.
I gave her the same amount of dry as usual. 1/2 cup. She's on 1 cup a day so I give her 1/2 for breakfast and 1/2 for dinner. Only tonight I went ahead and put just a little dish of wet out with her dry. She ate from the dish twice and ate her reg. stuff also.
She seems to be doing fine. Curled up on the back of the couch atm enjoying the breeze from the window. I just loved her up a bit to see how she's doing and she gave me her little "hi mom" meow. Pupils look fine and she isn't lethargic or anything. :smile:
 
Thanks.
I will print it out and take it with me on our next visit. See how he does with it. If he doesn't seem to responsive, I think I will be looking for a new vet. It's a shame too, if I have to go that route. He has been her Dr. since I adopted her. BUT, as nice as he is, if he isn't on the right page with this, I feel I have no choice. This isn't just "some cat with diabetes", this is my baby girl!
 
Awww, she is buuuuuuuuuutiful!

Have you been able to get another BG reading? You are around +6 now I think? That is more or less when the insulin is at peak. Hopefully you will be in the clear soon - it would be good to verify that with a reading if possible.
 
Angela, you need to tell CallieMae that posing in that position does not slim the figure down ;-) W/D is so old school, like 11+ years ago, when we all learned to pitch the dry, especially the vet favorite for diabetes W/D, and go to canned only. R/D is even worse.......both high in carbs, nothing but fiber, and the cats just eat more because they are not getting the nourishment they need.

I trust you know by now that if you remove all dry you need to drop that dose way, way down. She is an adorable calico and very pretty. Her position reminds me of Maru, the Japanese kitty on YouTube.
 
That is her favorite position. I don't think she will be giving it up anytime soon!
It's funny how she lays there like that. All splayed out. Looks like a frog!!..........lol
Any comment on my numbers?
I think she's in the clear for the night.
 
If she ate some dry a little while ago, that is your increase in BGs at +6. If she did not eat she would likely have dropped lower - good if you are not riding on 9u of insulin, scary on that dose which is why I recommended the dry. Looks like she is probably ok for the night - Hope do you agree? Anyone else around? I need to sign off soon.

Have you thought about what your plan is in the morning? Dose? Food plan? Let us know what you are thinking...
 
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