Newly Diagnosed Diabetic

[Zoe Brady]

• Freddie's is 10 years old and was diagnosed end of November
• I'm using Can insulin
• I use the AlphaTrak to do his bloods
• Other than his diabetes he is fit and healthy, they tested liver / kidney failure etc at the time and all is fine there.
• I am in the Uk

He is responded to the insulin as he is more alert, his back legs are still very wonky though, but does'nt seem to bother him much. But it is the fact he is still losing weight (he was 5kg 15th Jan and today I weighed him in at 4.8kg), and he is always hungry, this is a drop from 8kg which is what he weighed last June 2017. As mentioned he is currently on 4 units of insulin twice a day, but his bloods don't drop below 16.

I was feeding him 80 grams of Royal Canin Obesity Food twice a day, but have changed that to 40grams of obesity in the evening and a Sheeba in Gravy pouch for breakfast as I thought he might put a bit of weight on this way. But not sure if it is low enough in carbs.

 

[Kris & Teasel]

Thanks for doing this!

his back legs are still very wonky though, but does'nt seem to bother him much.

This could be neuropathy caused by unregulated blood glucose. Many people find that giving a vitamin B12 supplement (the methylcobalamin type) helps over time. It can take months but the neuropathy can often be reversed to a large extent. You can find this form of B12 in human pharmacies usually. Look for tablets that are a high dose - eg. 1000 mg - and have no sugar in them.

As mentioned he is currently on 4 units of insulin twice a day, but his bloods don't drop below 16.

This is a very high dose. It's possible he needs a high dose but more likely that he was started too high or raised too quickly in increments that are too large. Too much insulin can cause a protective rebound reaction in BG so it looks like the dose isn't working. It's a very common issue.

I was feeding him 80 grams of Royal Canin Obesity Food twice a day, but have changed that to 40grams of obesity in the evening and a Sheeba in Gravy pouch for breakfast as I thought he might put a bit of weight on this way

He should gain weight as his BG comes under better control. It's possible this food is too high in carbs but I'm not familiar with UK foods. @Elizabeth and Bertie and @Diana&Tom might be able to help. The best diet is a canned low carb food. Almost every type of dry food is too high in carbs. We also recommend feeding several small meals a day or allowing kitty to graze if that what he prefers. The only time food should be removed is in the 2 hours before the pre insulin shot BG tests (see testing routine below).

You're already doing the best thing in figuring this out - testing his BG at home. Congrats on that! Our approach here is to set up a BG testing routine that captures the important data for assessing a dose and keeping kitty safe. We log all the data in an online spreadsheet that can be seen by all members. It's the first thing we look at before advising. Any dose changes are made in small increments of 0.25 u because it's too easy to zoom past a good dose when increasing by more. A tiny chhange in insulin can have a big effect.

Here's the basic testing routine:

1. test every day AM and PM before feeding and injecting (no food at least 2 hours before) to see if the planned dose is safe
2. test at least once near mid cycle or at bedtime daily to see how low the BG goes
3. do extra tests on days off to fill in the response picture
4. if indicated by consistently high numbers on your SS, increase the dose by no more than 0.25 u at a time so you don't accidentally go right past a good dose
5. post here for advice whenever you're confused or unsure of what to do.

Here's are links to the spreadsheet we use and how to use it. You want to set up the version for a pet meter and in "world units" not US units:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/understanding-the-spreadsheet-grid.156606/

I hope this helps.

 

[Kris & Teasel]

I should have included this. I suggest you change nothing right now, set up a spreadsheet, get onto the testing routine I described and log some data for a few days so there's a baseline to work from in making dosing decisions.

 

[Kris & Teasel]

Just to add: I know this seems overwhelming but you'd be surprised how quickly it becomes very routine.

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

As mentioned he is currently on 4 units of insulin twice a day, but his bloods don't drop below 16.

Hi Zoe, (waving from Surrey!)
4 units is a high dose. May I ask how your vet arrived at that dose? Did Freddie start out on a low dose and then work up from there..?
And how often are you testing Freddie's blood glucose? Is that '16' before giving insulin, or at another point during the insulin cycle?

We can give you a lot of info on UK foods; but as Kris says above it may be better not to change anything at this point until/unless you have blood testing data that shows how the insulin is working in Freddie's system at the moment. It's good to have a baseline to work from.

If you'd like help setting up a spreadsheet to record Freddie's data on just shout out. There are some kind techy people here who will be happy to help you.

And here's a link to our beginner's guide to Caninsulin. It's got a lot of info in it so do grab a cup of coffee (or tea!), then settle yourself down and have a read through it.
Beginner's Guide to Caninsulin (Vetsulin)

Eliz

 

[JeffJ]

Agree with the advice above. It is overwhelming at first, but after awhile the testing, dosing, and spreadsheet only takes a few minutes a day. Really, it can help save your kitteh's life - since we use that info to help with dosing guidance. And we prevent hypoglycemia events which can be deadly.