newbie with questions

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crush40

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Hello..
Smokey is 12 years old. It will be a month on Friday since Smokey was diagnosed with diabetes, UTI and the fatty liver... I was told yesterday that his liver is almost at 100% which is great since they gave him a 50% chance of living... I have force fed him, given him his anti-biotics, insulin and an IV... He has gained weight, eats on his own and now I am focusing on his diabetes. I was happy to find this website... I read that I shouldn't give Smokey the Humulin N insulin which is exactly what I have been giving him... Any thoughts on how to approach the vet on changing the insulin? I just got the glucometer to start testing him - the first round was me trying to hit the vein with a needle four times I was given and the only one who bled was me... I have learned about heating the ear and have on order a lance pen but may go and buy one this week in hopes that I can start testing him with some regularity... Only one test in the vet office was perfect otherwise they were all over the board... The last time they tested Smokey his blood glucose was really high so they changed his insulin to 2 units instead of one... I've noticed that he has gotten really aggressive and is drinking water and peeing like he was when I took him in... Tonight I put his insulin shot back to 1 unit in hopes that he would relax a bit more - it seems to have worked... Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance...
 
Hmm good question. It probably depends on a lot of things, like where you are located in the US you need a vet to write the script for insulin, however, in Canada you don't you can just go to your local pharmacy and buy what you want.

Also it depends on what your working relationship is with your vet, I'm truly blessed with mine because I can pretty much go to them and ask for something and get it as long as I can present a logical reason for why I want it. I'm about to do that with one of my diabetics tomorrow she was started on Lantus but it isn't working well for her even though it is a great insulin for cats in general just not her specifically, so I'm going in to ask for Levemir which I have already started her on since my mom is also diabetic and Levemir is what she uses and let me have some of her extra insulin to see if it worked better which it did. So if you have a good working relationship with your vet you may try just simply telling them that you don't think the Humulin N is working well for Smokey and would like to try a milder, longer lasting insulin such as Lantus, Levemir or Prozinc.

Then depending on if that flies or doesn't fly perhaps research the different insulin choices here and figure out which one you would like to switch too and then see if the folks from that ISG (insulin support group) forum can give you the documentation for that particular insulin to take into your vet to help further your push for what you want for Smokey and if that also fails...start looking for a vet in your area that does work with one of the longer lasting gentle insulins, and use them for Smokey's diabetes and your other vet if you really like them for Smokey's general health care.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
 
Good for you to start home testing. Try to prick between the vein and the edge of the ear, not the vein itself. You will get more bruising there. Cats get stressed at the vets and that stress can really raise the BG numbers.

Come over to the Lantus ISG, there is a lot of information in the stickies (permanent posts at the top of the page.) There are links to several article from vet journals and clinical studies. If you think your vet will be reluctant to switch, print the articles out and give them to him. It will probably carry a lot more weight than a worried pet owner's request.
 
Thank you for all of the great advice!!! We're in Houston, TX... I called Smokey's Dr. on Friday and left a message asking that they change his insulin but they never called me back :sad: so I went online and found another Cat only vet place that had information on feline diabetes and a link here :smile: . I went Tuesday to the Cat Vet Clinic and they changed his RX to Lantus yay!!! The weird thing is... His BG when tested there was 140. They sedated him so they could do a complete exam... Upon examining him they found a back molar that was broken which could be why he stopped eating... After his diabetes is under control he will have to have surgery and a dental exam to see if anymore need to be pulled - poor baby... I was advised not to give him any insulin Tuesday night and to also test his blood before I gave him the insulin Tuesday morning. His BG was 591.... I gave him his first unit of Lantus. The Dr. called me and was concerned about the high number so she instructed me to give him 2 units if his BG was between 400 - 500 she said normally she waits 5 days before increasing but because it was so all over the place she was concerned and that she is coming in a month after his diagnosis... Last night I tested him and his BG was 480 before I gave him the 2 units. This morning when I tested him his BG was 590... He hasn't been himself since the sedation - I think he is scared and upset... I decided to give him only 1 unit this morning... I'm worried that was a bad choice but I've also read that they need 5 days on Lantus to start getting adjusted... He has been hiding from me... My guess is because he is still on antiboitics, shots and the ear test he is over it.. I was also told he was dehydrated and to start back on the IV I have at 100 units every other day - they did give him some fluids on Tuesday. I'm going to give him another day of rest before I start that again... I'm starting to get really overwhelmed... What do you think??? Any more advice? The Dr. is going to call me today with his urine culture... She is testing to see if it could be pancreatis... If there is a chance we will more than likely do an ultrasound on his pancreas...
 
Congrats to you in finding a vet that takes things seriously. It sounds like you are in good hands. And you've done good so far, so just keep up the good work.
 
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