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Steve Kim

Member Since 2012
Hi, my name is Kim. My 2 1/2 yr old boy is named Steve. He was first diagnosed at 10 mths. After 3 mths of tight control he went into remission. :). Noticed he seemed off, brought him to vet yesterday (Saturday). Sure enough, 335. :(. First time around, followed strictly the vets advice. This time around, I am questioning. Especially after doing some extensive reading. At this time, I am not able to home test him and I am worried about a crash. Any conversation with experienced members would be most welcome, as I have some very specific questions. Thx in advance!
 
Hi and welcome!

Can I ask what insulin your Steve has been prescribed? And at what dosage?

What food is he being fed? Has this food changed since his initial diagnosis?

Can I ask why you feel unable to home test his BG? Home testing really is an essential part of treating feline diabetes. And it is so much easier than you might think, within only a period of a few weeks you will be amazed by how much of a routine it becomes.

We've had a couple of other people post recently about juvenile diabetes, you should have a read through their threads:

viewtopic.php?f=28&t=83278

viewtopic.php?f=28&t=81776&p=880643#p880643

viewtopic.php?f=9&t=82144&p=884074#p884074

If you could provide us with that extra bit of info I've requested above, I'm sure you'll receive many replies with advice and support. This really is the best place to be for you and Steve!

Good luck!

H
 
Hi, I did already read a couple of the topics u posted. :). Well, I am embarrassed and amazed after all my reading that Steve has done as well as he has on his current diet. Mind u this was all vet driven and I credit my vet with getting him into remission the first time. Ok, (don't groan), Steve has been eating purina DM 1/4 c dry mixed with 1/4 can wet 2x daily. Has been off insulin (prozinc) since may 2011. Steve is a big boy (17 lbs). Not fat.the only reason I don't home test is because of my vets office telling me it was hard. I believed it and have not worried about since he has been so well until now. :(. I'm running blind at the moment, as it is Sunday and can't go to vet til tomorrow. Even if I did get a test kit today not sure if I could do it efficiently enough that quickly. So he tested 335 at the middle of his curve yesterday. In your opinion, if I stopped the dry completely, without insulin, how would this affect his level? I do want to modify his diet completely but want to do it safely. The vet wanted me to switch him completely to the wet and give him 3 units 2x daily. That has me ??? I went against vet advice. Reduced his dry, increased his wet and gave him 2 units. He has now had 2 injections. He seems ok, Perrier than he was. Idk, worrying, stressing!
 
Hi Kim and Steve,

I would encourage you to go get a testing kit and try testing. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. I am concerned that you have changed his diet to wet and are still giving 2 units without testing. When we changed Oliver from dry to wet, he went down 100 points overnight.

You can get a ReliOn meter from Walmart with lancets (get 26-28 gauge lancets, not the standard 30-31 gauge sold for human diabetics.) for around 40 dollars. Put some very warm water in a pill bottle and use it to heat his ears. (you can also use it as a backing for the poke if that feels comfortable). Have something he loves ready to give him after the poke - a special treat or brushing or lots of love and praise. You may not get blood the first time, but come on for advice. All of us have tricks that helped us when we first started.

We suggest starting at .5 to one unit ProZinc and then raising the dose slowly, as the testing indicates. If you start with the higher dose, it is much harder to guess how much to reduce if you get low numbers. Once you get some numbers, you will have an idea how the insulin is working and how low it is taking him.

One of the concerns with using vet numbers instead of home numbers is that most cats are stressed at the vet and vet stress raises bg levels. So doses based on vet numbers can be too high once Steve gets home and relaxes.

Keep reading. Home testing has literally saved many cat's lives and given every bean a feeling of confidence and control over this disease. We'd be happy to help you do this!
 
Hi, I wish I could do this today but have sick kids and no way to get to store today. I agree with u about the dosing. With no way to contact my vet, what would u do in my position. Stop insulin until I test him or vet tests him? Keep up reduced carb diet? At this moment, I can't do anything until tomorrow at earliest. Yikes and thx.
 
No easy answer. I certainly would not increase the insulin and I would be worried about the 2 units if you switch to wet completely. I guess I would continue with the dry and the same dose and watch him carefully.

Could someone else pick up the supplies for you? At least while you are waiting, get him prepared for the testing. Figure out a place where you are going to test, take him there, mess with his ears, give him lots of praise and a treat and let him go. After a few times doing that, add the pill bottle (or a rice sack - fill a thin sock with raw rice, knot it and heat in the microwave until very warm but not hot) and mess with and warm his ears. Treat, praise and release. By the time you get the supplies, he should be ready.
 
Alas, no. No one available to help today. Wish it were otherwise. I am inclined to feed him his altered diet and no insulin. Can't decide which option would be better for him? I know which is better for me. This is so stressful and frustrating. :(. Not your advice just in general.
 
In my opinion, the risk of one or two more days "shooting blind" without BG testing, compared to the risk of a heightened BG if you stop the insulin and switch over to an all-wet diet (to reduce the BG as much as possible) immediately, and then get a BG meter ASAP... well if it was me, now, with all I've learnt since Cleo was diagnosed (including the terrifying experience of waking up in the middle of the night to her having a hypoglycaemic seizure - I was not BG testing, and relying on vet's advice to just up the dosage) - I'd hold off the insulin until I had a BG meter. But that's just me. And there are many others with more experience than me here, so....

Realistically, when can you get a glucometer? Walmart sell a good one, the ReliOn. It's cheap also. The vet shouldnt have tried to put you off home testing. If you have a psycho-kitty like I do, it can be tricky to start with. But Cleo has been especially difficult, and is by no means an example of a typical experience. But even I've got there, and am able to test regularly; so you can too.

I guess that's the defining factor - when could you start BG testing?

H
 
IMHO, I would hold off on giving insulin till you get a meter.......especially if you remove all dry food today. Better a little too high for a short while than too low one time at risk of hypo.
 
Realistically, probably tomorrow and see vet as well. I am inclined to stop insulin until I know his glucose level. That at least two meals away. I want to work with my vet as the staff has been great to us. He's sort of a celebrity there. :). Both because of the DM and because he's such a good guy. I'm hoping his dr is receptive to my reasons for concern.
 
A meter test done at home before going to the vet will also clue you in as to vet stress induced numbers which can push some cats higher than 200 points just from stress.
 
Thx everyone, I'm worried about my success in attempting home testing. I'm sure I'll get the knack eventually it's mor Steve having the patience. He is a great guy but he hates to be manhandled or restrained unless its his idea. My vet did a stick test and urine test, both were high. I was lead to believe that high levels in his urine were not indicative of stress but helped to confirm his blood reading was accurate. Does that sound right?
 
Welcome Kim and extra sweet Steve!

I'll echo the above...meter before injection. We shot blind for almost 2 months in the beginning because I didn't have a working computer. My vet said we didn't need to test (he didn't know HOW to teach us) so we didn't...and I worried...and I worried. I come from a family of diabetics so testing was ingrained. As soon as I got hooked up again, I landed here, bought the Walmart Relion Confirm meter and pokied myself to understand how then we started....I wouldn't even think of shooting blind EVER again. There were several times that I would have lost my sweet boy if I had.

BIG HUGS! It's NOT hard to do, just different...
 
Our first time thru this I shot blind for the entire duration. They had me honestly believing it was really the best way. Constant stress and worry but he did go otj. Just can't do that this time. When I left the vet yesterday I was seriously debating whether I should think about putting him down. I cried myself out and started doing research. Being able to home test him would change everything for me. I've been getting ready to cancel our holiday plans to make sure he wouldn't crash while we r out. Might still need to but at least if I knew his bg level, I would worry a whole lot less. Thank you all again!
 
Don't worry! Home testing is a lot easier than vets make it out to be. I estimate that within 3 weeks, you'll be a pro at it and Steve won't even mind. I just started testing at the end of October and now my kitten, Michelangelo, actually wants to be tested because he's looking for a treat! :lol:

I wrote up a list of "newbie gotchas" that might help so you'll know what to look out for and what you don't need to worry about. In fact, the whole post contains some good information: Cat's Ears

Also, if he went OTJ before, there's a very good chance he'll do so again. :-D Please let us know how things are going!
 
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