newbie here- dumb dumb is gone.

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Re: newbie here- dumb dumb just started insulin today

Another concern would be dehydration.

Dehydration Checks

Gently pull up the fur at the scruff of the neck and release. if it snaps back quickly, the cat is fairly
well hydrated.If it stays pulled up - “tented”- the cat is moderately to severely dehydrated.

Press a finger firmly on the cat’s gums, then remove. If the gums immediately pink back up, all is well.
If the gums stay blanched white, the cat is dehydrated to some degree. Also, if the gums feel sticky
or tacky (dry), the cat is probably dehydrated.
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb just started insulin today

DD numbers are skyrocketing since i put him on the furosemide. he's drinking water and peeing a lot and thats supposed to be happening. i cant tell if this is a bounce or directly related to the furosemide.
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb just started insulin today

Since Dumb Dumb needs the furosemide to get rid of the fluid in his lungs, you may need to increase the amount of insulin to compensate for these higher BG readings you are getting.
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb just started insulin today

Another tip: try using distilled water in his drinking bowl or if you add any water to his food. It has no other minerals to be processed, so may help pull out some of the extra fluid.s
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb just started insulin today

With those high levels I hope you are watching his urine for ketones.

Hope he drops down soon.
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb just started insulin today

i will buy some ketone strips tonight...hopefully they will have them at pet club. for now, i am just checking his breath in case it smells like acetone...so far it just smells like arse!
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb just started insulin today

You get them at a human pharmacy. You may have to ask at the counter, as they may not be out on a shelf.
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb just started insulin today

Lol!

I find them in most pharmacies including Walmart.. Often behind the counter but no prescription needed.
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb might be hypo? 39 at +10

he was 160 at +6, now he's 39 at +10...acting very antsy pacing around. i just gave him syrup on his gums. this will probably send him into a bounce. i raised his dose to 2.25 because it appeared the furosemide was making the insulin not as effective... i should have stayed at 2.0 he just ate some FF grill feast with gravy. i'm also worried because i gave him some buprenex an hour ago.

update- retested now he is at 113 at +11. i think he should be okay now. will keep an eye on him and will be testing every hour
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb might be hypo? 39 at +10

I'm glad you got him back up. I would reduce the dose back to 2.00. And try not to feed, for the next hour to see if he goes up some more or comes back down without the food influence.
The Karo can wear off quickly, but hopefully, he's on his way up now without anymore being given.
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb might be hypo? 39 at +10

I see you are approaching shot time too. Problem is that the ff gravy may be hiding his real BG number so you may want to skip this shot.. Dyana what do you think? The other option is to wait till the gravy food has cleared his system but it could take two hours which will put you off schedule.

I agree to reduce dose back down to 2. However because he dropped so low today you will likely see high numbers for 2-3 days as a result. This is called a "bounce" and is normal. Don't panic and hold the same 2 unit dose- unless he drops under 50 again. After the bounce you will really see how the 2 units is working and it might also be too high.
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb might be hypo? 39 at +10

i waited for the food the clear and i was a couple hours off schedule...but i did give him his next shot since i got his numbers back up. i was so tired from staying up with him last night that i took a nap and next thing i know its time for his next dose and i missed his nadir reading! ughh. i'm excpecting a bounce for sure...so i will hold at the 2.0 and see what happens.
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb might be hypo? 39 at +10

49 at +6 tonight...uggh! not again! nailbite_smile
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb might be hypo? 39 at +10

Is he still low? Were you able to get him back up?
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb might be hypo? 39 at +10

yeah he is up to 300 now... he ate an hour and a half ago..so some of that is probly food induced. but he seems fine now. phew!
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb might be hypo? 39 at +10

What did he eat? Regular food or high carb? That's a huge spike in an hour and a half. I wonder if he was lower than the 49 before you caught it.
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb might be hypo? 39 at +10

He earned a dose reduction by 0.25 units due to that low.
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb might be hypo? 39 at +10

vinneesf said:
i fed him FF flaked tuna feast
Click to expand...

Just be aware for next time, the FF Flaked Tuna Feast is only 9% carbs. All the flaked styles in the Fancy Feast are 9% carbs or less.
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb might be hypo? 39 at +10

Are you going to reduce dose again? He earned it!

Keep checking for those greens - I suspect his dose might still be too high and every dose reduction is a step towards no insulin at all!

Wendy
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb might be hypo? 39 at +10

i think he is hypo again... 123 at +5 , then 78 at +6. and that was my last test strip!! both the walmarts around here are all out of relion test strips... i ordered them online but those wont get here til monday.. the only other walmart is 45 minutes away. i don't wanna leave him right now. he was pacing, crying, and now is laying in the litter box right now. i'm giving him ff beef feast in gravy with syrup on his gums.
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb might be hypo? 39 at +10

Hypo would be under 50. But you don't know if he is going to be there as you are out of strips. Can you send someone for you?
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb might be hypo? 39 at +10

i waited til DD was doing better then i went and got some more strips. i don't know if he went hypo or not but he was acting like it... however, it might have been a side effect of the mitrazapine. he doesn't seem to do well in the green numbers... he seems best when he's in the blue numbers. i lowered his shot to 1.75.
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb might be hypo? 39 at +10

You'll get to know your cat pretty well during the process of testing and monitoring. If aiming for 100-150 mg/dL seems to work better, then stick with that. Sometimes, you have to start there, and as the body gets re-accustomed to lower numbers, then you may shift lower.

See my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for some additional assessments you may find helpful.
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb might be hypo? 39 at +10

i got the ketone strips and so far the results are negative at 15 seconds.
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb seems to bounce after every green

DDs preshot numbers are often in the 500's or higher regardless of what dose he is on. how often can a cat have a bounce? every time he gets a low number he seems to bounce. like every couple of days. how do you get this to stop recurring over and over again?
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb seems to bounce after every green

vinneesf said:
DDs preshot numbers are often in the 500's or higher regardless of what dose he is on. how often can a cat have a bounce? every time he gets a low number he seems to bounce. like every couple of days.
Click to expand...
A cat can bounce very frequently. Some are champion bouncers, and Dumb Dumb seems to be one of those. :shock:

how do you get this to stop recurring over and over again?
Click to expand...
There isn't anything you can do to make this stop. Some cats will bounce over and over again until their body gets used to those lower numbers. You have to wait it out, sometimes for months.
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb seems to bounce after every green

Why did you increase the dose again? 2 units was too much as you saw on the 27th. And too high a dose can cause quick drops and high nasty bounces which can last 48 hours. And when you increased his bounce looked like it was just clearing.

have you read the protocol? I would have held 1.75 the full three days to see how it worked before changing it. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1581

If it was my cat I would reduce again to 1.75 and give it 3-5 days before making a change to see how it works.


Wendy
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb seems to bounce after every green

i increased his shot to 2.25 one time only on the 26th because after 8 days his numbers were still too high and had no reason to believe he was in a bounce... but the 2.25 got him too low so i immediately went back to 2.0 on the 27th thru the first of the month when i reduced it to 1.75 on 3/1 for a couple days but numbers were too high so after 3 days of 1.75 so i went back to 2.0 on 3/3 and have been holding there ever since waiting in case its a bounce. isn't that what i'm supposed to do...don't change the dose while i wait for the bounce to clear?
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb seems to bounce after every green

Generally, we make insulin dose adjustments in quarter unit increments (eyeballing 0.25 and 0.75), unless mid-cycle/nadir glucose values are above 300 mg/dL.

Individuals following the Tight Regulation protocol for Lantus/Levemir have guidelines for dealing with cats having higher nadirs and needing faster increases. For safety, you should be testing 3-4 times a day - pre-shots, mid-cycle, and before bed.
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb seems to bounce after every green

Is there anyway you can leave some food out, probably need a timed feeder for this, so Dumb Dumb can eat during the middle of the cycle?

If he gets some food around +5, this may keep him from diving too steeply by +6 - +7 and then bouncing again way high.

Just a thought.
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb seems to bounce after every green

i free feed him because i'm haven't been available during the day recently because of a new job i started. but i will figure something out to withhold food early in the cycle and feed him during the mid cycle. i do test him for preshots and mid cycle but i missed a couple of mid cycles because of my new job. trying to manage his diabetes along with his other issues is really difficult.
 
Re: newbie here- dumb dumb seems to bounce after every green

Pet Safe 5 compartment feeder might do the trick.

Or, you could freeze food into small servings and put out both fresh and frozen. The frozen can be eaten as it thaws. You could test this to see how long the frozen piece took to thaw. (Note the size of the food-cicle affects the rate of thawing.)
 
i had to put dumbdumb to sleep tonight... he had numerous issues that had gotten worse..the diabetes wasn't the biggest problem, it was the fluid in his lungs that overwhelmed him. the diuretic removed some of the fluid but the fluid immediately came back and he was at the point where there was nothing left i could do for him. i feel like i've been fighting the inevitable for the last 8 months and DD finally gave up. i could see it in his eyes earlier this week and despite my efforts, he just got worse and worse. i knew it was time... he was my best buddy for the last 17 years ever since he was a kitten. thank you so very much to everyone on here that helped me with his diabetes. i wasn't very successful with bringing his numbers under control and it was frustrating at times. i really appreciate how everyone here is so understanding and so helpful and generous with your advice and your time and attention. i wish everyone here the best
 
Lighting a ring of candles, in memory of your beloved sugardude Dumb Dumb. Goodbye sweet darling, you will be sorely missed. May you be enveloped in loving paws at the Rainbow Bridge.
 

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Oh I am so sorry to hear about your loss of dumb dumb! Please know that your precious cat is at the Rainbow Bridge will all who have gone ahead before us.

I am praying for peace and comfort to come to you through your memories of him.
 

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I'm sorry it was time for Dumb Dumb to go. I hope he visits you once he's found his way. Land softly, lil one wings_cat
 
thank you everyone for the nice words! and thank you jt and trouble for the candle ...that was so awesome!
 
Aw, honey, I am so very sorry for your loss.

Please know that you did all that you could for him.
I'm sure Dumb Dumb knew that he was loved, and that counts for SO much in this world.

I hope the good memories you have of him will help to lighten your grief.

Sending you a big, big (((HUG))) from the UK.

Eliz x
 
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