newly diagnosed and starting insulin tomorrow

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spinonem

Member Since 2014
Well, I want to say that I am grateful for this group. I have been looking at a lot of the information and posts gathering information to help guide me. My cat's name is Simon. He will be 16 on the 27th of this month. He has been on pred for a couple of years now as well as monthly injections of B12 to treat IBD and low cobalamine levels. Since his surprise diagnosis ( he was not drinking or eating a lot) his pred has been tapered to zero but the B 12 will continue. The hope was that by eliminating the pred his BG would normalize. This did not happen so I picked up the Lantus today. I wish I had read about the pens before doing so that would have helped immensely. I had bought dry DM and he loves that although now I know h e should just eat canned so I am weaning, or trying to anyway, him off of dry food which he loves. He was eating Natural Choice but is not eating that overly well at the moment so I am also feeding Fancy Feast classic flavors. I am not totaaly new to this diabetes adventure as we had a dog with diabetes late in her life. I am not thrilled with having to stick Simon in the ear and neither is he. I hope that Simon and I will weather the coming days gracefully and that I will do a good job with his glucose readings.
 
Sounds like you are on the right track and have educated yourself.
From this statement "I will do a good job with his glucose readings" I assume you are going to home test.
Are you starting off on one unit of Lantus twice daily?
 
I am going to start on one unit twice daily. However, Simon has other ideas about his ear being stuck this AM and is irritated to the point of trying to bite. I have given him breaks but clearly this is not going as I had hoped. I have gotten blood twice before while we were watching to see if his BG readings would come down as we tapered the pred but no luck this AM. I am afraid to not get a reading before giving the insulin, just in case. cat(2)_steam
I forgot to introduce myself last night when I posted, my name is Brenda.
Thanks!
 
Hi Brenda, welcome to FDMB!

Here's a link to a page of pics and info on hometesting. But ask any questions you want to. People here have a lot of tips and tricks when it comes to getting blood out of a kitty's ear (not least of which is remembering to reward the kitty with a treat - even for 'unsuccessful' tests.) cat_pet_icon
http://www.sugarpet.net/bloodtst.html

Eliz
 
Thank you so much. I looked at that site then failed getting blood from his ear a few minutes ago. I gave insulin this morning at 10 to 10 and was trying to check his blood glucose now at about 5 hours past injection. Is that how I should start? Did I understand correctly? Sadly his ears look bruised. This makes me feel horrible. Is it important to check his glucose.now after his first injection?
Thanks!
Brenda
 
You can apply a dab of Neosporin ointment with pain relief a minute or two before testing, wipe off, and then test. It helps the blood bead up and reduces the annoyance.

Also, if you absolutely must.get.blood (ex you think he might be low), you can aim for the vein itself. Just know that it may bleed profusely so you'll want to snag a droplet quickly and apply direct pressure over the prick.

Its OK to get the blood droplet on a clean fingernail and test from there.
 
Hi Brenda and welcome to the message board.

On the home testing, I have a few questions that may help you out.
Are you warming the ear first with a rice sock? or rubbing it to get the blood flowing?
Do you hold something firm behind the ear to poke against?
Do you free hand the lancet or are you using a lancet device?
 
Thank you for your responses. I tried the neosporin last night and that seemed helpful. I have been trying to rub the ear but maybe I need to do the rice sock. Simon is not overly thrilled as soon as I begin touching his ears. I am using a lancet without a device. I have not been using anything to press against other than my finger as holding him in place on the bathroom counter it would just add another element. Well maybe I need the extra element so I will work on that. I am going to do a reading andinsulin injection now so I will try the rice sock and repeat the neosporin with pain relief again. Poor Simon. Oh, last night pre injection his BG was 302. Not where I want it I know but it was down from 392 in the morning yesterday before insulin was begun. I wasn't able to get a mid day reading because I never got blood and he needed a serious break from me and my lancet.
Thanks so much,
Brenda
 
It helps to do some positive conditioning as follows:

At times other than testing, give him a bit of loving, massage the ears, and give a low carb treat. Repeat randomly throughout the day.
 
I should have thought about the positive reinforcement. Thanks for the reminder!
His BG was 237 (using a one touch ultra meter) best one so far. Gave the one unit of lantas and he ate a little after I put him down. Will keep an eye on him. He is already a little wobbly due to arthritis issues so I can not use that as a gage of low BG.
Thanks!
Brenda
 
[Glucose reference ranges are unsubstantiated and have been removed by Moderator]


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *​
Examples of using the chart:

Ex. You are a new insulin user and you test your cat before giving insulin. The test is 300. It probably is safe to give insulin.

Ex. You are an established user of Lantus, following the Tight Regulation protocol. You've tested around +5 to +7 to spot the nadir. It is 200 mg/dL. You probably need to increase the dose, following the instructions for the protocol.

Ex. Your cat is acting funny. The eyes are a bit dilated. You are concerned and test the glucose. The number is 35 mg/dL. ACK! The cat may be in a hypoglycemic state. You quickly follow the HYPO protocol linked in the glucose reference values chart. (which we really, really, suggest you print out and post on your refrigerator.)
 
How's things going now?

A few things to note...

1. Don't shoot if he is under 200, until you have enough testing to know what he will do. This is a good time to set up a spreadsheet to track his numbers. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207

2. Try and get mid cycle tests. Dose changes are based on nadir, or low point of the day and that's how you know how the insulin is working... I usually recommend 3-4 tests a day

- ALWAYS before every shot (preshot test) to make sure he isn't too low - as a newbie that too low number is 200. But as time goes on and you get more data and he comes more into a normal blood glucose range we reduce your no shot number.
- Mid cycle -5-7 hours after the shot to see his "nadir" (or low point). The low point is what you base dose changes on, not the preshot level. This test can be hard for people who work during the week but it can be done overnight and/or at weekends.
- Before bed - 2-3 hours after your evening shot. If this number is lower than your preshot number you may want to set the alarm for a later test that night as it implies an active cycle

Wendy
 
Thank you so much for all the help everyone. It is a lot of information to digest! I will say that we were having a very rough time with the ear sticks. Not getting blood and upsetting Simon. However now that he is on gabapentin for pain contol for his arthritis things are much improved. He reacts much less to the lancet and we are both calmer because of that so blood is easier to obtain. His numbers are coming down and soon we will do a curve to see where we are in the big scheme of things.
Does it help to feed meals if at all possible? I have been working toward this but it is slow progress. Both of my cats are older and are not eating overly well so taking food up seems counter productive as far as caloric needs go.
Thanks!
Brenda
 
I free feed all 15 cats in the house, including Gracie, the diabetic. The food is mostly gone by the time for the next feeding. Seems to work OK for all of them.
 
welcome brenda, and simon.
u r in the right place. u will receive a lot of support, guidance, and care here. these ppl r lifesavers, and will help get u through.
 
oh, and i think free feeding is good. just my opinion :)
to help keep urself calm, u might want to take walks, read a book, nap, whatever makes u feel good. i know how stressed i was at first. if u take care of U, u can take much much better care of simon. its true. ppl here will tell u about singing to him, and all sorts of tricks. singing during the procedure can calm u both. i make up songs for larry. whatever makes u feel calm, and maybe even silly...good luck!
 
Here are some more tips and tricks that you might find helpful when first starting out with testing. Take your time, be patient, and take lots of breaks! If you find yourself getting stressed, stop for a few minutes and try again later. If you're stressed, Kitty is probably stressed, too. ;-)
 
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