newly diagnosed with diabetes

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jacksmum

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My poor cat has been diagnosed with diabtetes. He only started having symptoms a few weks ago .. I noticed him drinking more and more voiding. he has always been so healthy and curious , it was a shock to us.. He is taking 2 U Lantus X2 daily .He had a BS curve done at the Vets today and my Vet has recommened that I do them at home.. I will try and get my pharmacy to sell me a monitor... I have an old model but the strips are expired so the reading might not be accurate..my Vet has explained everyting quite well but it is nice to see a place where I can come to with questions
Jacksmum
 
Good vet!! We do support hometesting here, so it's great to see that you have a vet of the same mindset. It really isthe best way you have to care for your cat's diabetes; it allows you to monitor the BGs at home, watch for hypo episodes, and know if it is safe to shoot. It's not that scary, and we can walk you through it. Many, many pharmacies will give you a free meter with purchase of strips. Ask for one that uses the smallest drop of blood- your cat will thank you! (And there's no real need to tell the pharmacy people that it's for your cat. ;-) )

The excessive urination and drinking (PU/PD) and weight loss are clear indicators of non-regulation, so hopefully you will see a turn around in that very soon.

While you are at the pharmacy, please get a bottle of ketostix, as well, to monitor the urine daily for ketones.

I am a little concerned that you are already up to 2u of Lantus ... without hometesting, it's hard to tell if you have overshot the optimal dose (sorry- no pun intended). Pop over to the Lantus ISG and take a few minutes to read their sticky notes - very valuable info there : viewforum.php?f=9

Now we need to know about diet. As with humans, diet is very important in controlling feline diabetes. Can you tell us what you feed Jack?

Most important ... welcome aboard! There's lots to learn, so take your time and absorb. You're in a good place, and we're here to help.
 
Hi there and welcome! Just dropping in from work for a quick minute to see if anyone was in need of ASAP help and noticed your post. Welcome to FDMB! Although I can't stay and chat, I just wanted to welcome you. Will pop in later if I can, but I'm sure that there will be lots of folks popping in to give you some advise.
FWIW, I too am concerned that you are giving 2u of insulin w/o hometesting. Just an fyi....I go to Walmart for my meter and strips. They have the ReliOn micro ($12.00 for meter) and the strips are $20 for 50. My Walmart is open 24/7 so if I get low on strips I can always run there and get them.
 
Thanks for the response .. I was a nurse in my other life so Iam comfortabel witht he injections and testing. I got a glucometer today and took his forst home BS it was 8.9 mmol/L
As for his food, he is on Science Diet Dental .. he needs the larger kibble otherwise he tends to gobble and then throws it up.. He does the same with wet food so our Vet said not to bother switching him because keeping the food down was important,he is also a grazer.so far he has only lost 1/2 kg .
thanks again for the info.
 
welcome aboard.
adding that it would be helpful to take a look at http://catinfo.org to see why it's so important to switch to a low carbohydrate canned/wet food diet. dry food is chronically dehydrating and cats have a low thirst drive. it does not help teeth any more than cookies or crackers do for us. different story for a cat that is so sick it cannot eat -- in that case, getting them to eat is the most important thing and if they will eat only dry that's what they get.

dr lisa lists ways to transition a cat from dry to canned food, too.

hope this is helpful.
 
I hope you come back on. 8.9 is the same as 162. ( We tend to use non metric numbers as most of the posters here are from the US. Multiply your number by 18.) With a new diabetic, we would suggest you not give insulin unless the number is over 200 at shot time. It definitely looks like your 2 units may be a little high. Have you sure read the stickies on Lantus and its shed?

The diet may be the thing that is keeping him as high as he is - and I am saying he is low for a new diabetic. If you are feeding Science Diet Oral Care Adult, it is 26% carbs http://binkyspage.tripod.com/dryfood.html We try to feed between 8-10%. But don't change until you consider lowering the dose and are confident and ready to hometest often. Oliver went down 100 points overnight when we changed from dry to wet.

I free feed wet, freezing the food so he can graze.
 
Hi again.. I checked his BG beofre his insulin and it read 360 (sorry i forgot about the metric reading..). . he does seems a bit brighter today actually attempting to jump up on my bed .It is going to take some practice doing his BGs .I stabbed myself once and took my own BG LOL.he is now totally ignoring me...
 
Hi there :)

Are you in Canada/UK/NZ? I ask because of the metric bit...I'm in Alberta, Canada

TD is likely what made my cat Squeak diabetic, and it eventually caused skin allergies in my nondiabetic. Canned food is wayyyyyyy better for all cats, and it is a fallacy that TD helps dental health...

Hometesting is great; considering letting us know your general location if you want local help

Jen
 
It sounds like he is reacting well to the insulin. Keep track of his numbers so you have the data you need if a dose change is necessary. 360 is a normal enough number before a shot for a new diabetic. If the 160 was about his nadir (the lowest point the insulin takes him) that is about on track too. The nadir with Lantus is usually somewhere 5-7 hours after the shot, but every cat is different. And Lantus builds up a shed so he may react more in a few days to the same dose. Have you checked out the Lantus support group site? They can be a great resource for you.
 
I am new at all this too.
Go to the Lantus support area, read the sticky notes at the top, especially about the Storage Shed/Insulin Depot.
Also about the Lantus protocol.

It will probably take awhile before you see good numbers with this type of insulin.
Its important you increase at a low rate of .25 when you do increase and keep at that dosage for a certain amount of time.
Those sticky notes explain it all.

You will get stressed out, you will wonder if you are doing the right thing, etc.
We all have been there.

As everyone has told me, you need to be patient, which sometimes is hard to do, because you wonder if the kitty will be ok with the waiting game.

We have all been stressed and panicked.
Its normal.

Its very imortant to home test, In the begining you need to test more often to see where the numbers get the lowest at and how fast they go back up.
Real high, then real low..........the kitty feels terrible.
More of even numbers, even if higher are better.

Once you get to the correct dosage....It will be easier for both you and the kitty.

Good luck.
 
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