Newly diagnosed..

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Misskitty5

Misskitty5

Member Since 2019
Just diagnosed a couple days ago. Just wanted to pop in and say hello. My girl is 2 months shy of 10 years old. I look forward to reading through the posts on here and gaining some knowledge so I can get a better grip on this awful disease.

- Miss kitty’s mama
 
Welcome to you and Miss Kitty!

Lots to learn, but great support here. It can be overwhelming, but we all started in the same place you are and it really does get easier the more knowledge you have.

The yellow stickies at the top of each board have a lot of great info.

A couple of important things to read about are food choices and home blood glucose testing. Once you are testing, we have a spreadsheet to log blood test results to help track how your cat is reacting to a specific dose of insulin.

One thing that would also help is if you can set up a signature with particulars like your kitty’s weight, diagnosis date, type of food, other health conditions, type of insulin, etc. this will help other members to answer your questions and not have to repeatedly ask about the basics of your cat.

Setting up your signature (light grey text under a post). Here's how:
click on your name in the upper right corner of this page
click on "signature" in the menu that drops down
type the following in the box that opens: kitty's name/age/date of diabetes diagnosis/insulin you're using and dosage amount /glucose meter you're using/what (s)he eats/any other meds or health issues (s)he has. You can add your name, and a geographic location (sometimes the time zone matters) Be sure to SAVE when you are finished.

Once signature is set up it will be easier to assist with advice.

You can post future health related questions to the main Health forum. There are also specific insulin forums with knowledgable folks for what type of insulin you are using. This is mostly an intro area. :)
 
Julie and Honey said:
Welcome to you and Miss Kitty!

Lots to learn, but great support here. It can be overwhelming, but we all started in the same place you are and it really does get easier the more knowledge you have.

The yellow stickies at the top of each board have a lot of great info.

A couple of important things to read about are food choices and home blood glucose testing. Once you are testing, we have a spreadsheet to log blood test results to help track how your cat is reacting to a specific dose of insulin.

One thing that would also help is if you can set up a signature with particulars like your kitty’s weight, diagnosis date, type of food, other health conditions, type of insulin, etc. this will help other members to answer your questions and not have to repeatedly ask about the basics of your cat.

Setting up your signature (light grey text under a post). Here's how:
click on your name in the upper right corner of this page
click on "signature" in the menu that drops down
type the following in the box that opens: kitty's name/age/date of diabetes diagnosis/insulin you're using and dosage amount /glucose meter you're using/what (s)he eats/any other meds or health issues (s)he has. You can add your name, and a geographic location (sometimes the time zone matters) Be sure to SAVE when you are finished.

Once signature is set up it will be easier to assist with advice.

You can post future health related questions to the main Health forum. There are also specific insulin forums with knowledgable folks for what type of insulin you are using. This is mostly an intro area. :)
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for the info! I will get to work on that and continue to work on reading through these posts and gathering information.
 
Also just noticed in your signature about her teeth. If she has any current tooth infection or even inflamed gums that can easily raise her numbers considerably too.

As far as food goes, not sure you saw this chart yet, third column shows carb content and you want to find something under 10% carb. Be aware if she is on a higher carb food currently, transition needs to be gradual and their blood sugar will go down from food change so insulin may need to be adjusted along with food change.

https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

Also not sure what dose of Lantus? And her weight? You can add those to your signature when you get a chance.
 
Julie and Honey said:
Also just noticed in your signature about her teeth. If she has any current tooth infection or even inflamed gums that can easily raise her numbers considerably too.

As far as food goes, not sure you saw this chart yet, third column shows carb content and you want to find something under 10% carb. Be aware if she is on a higher carb food currently, transition needs to be gradual and their blood sugar will go down from food change so insulin may need to be adjusted along with food change.

https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

Also not sure what dose of Lantus? And her weight? You can add those to your signature when you get a chance.
Click to expand...
She does have inflamed gums and need her teeth cleaned. We don’t know if she has any bad teeth yet until they get in to clean them but with how much she drools I have a feeling she may have a bad tooth. They haven’t found any infection. I am trying to get her in to get them cleaned ASAP.

I have seen that. Thank you for sending that over. I’m working to slowly get her off the dry.
 
I see the Lantus is 2 units. Do you mean 1 unit every 12 hours, so 2 total for the day? I am hoping that is what you mean. When I see 2 units, we take that to mean 2 units twice a day, which is a very high starting dose and would be concerning to me.
 
Julie and Honey said:
I see the Lantus is 2 units. Do you mean 1 unit every 12 hours, so 2 total for the day? I am hoping that is what you mean. When I see 2 units, we take that to mean 2 units twice a day, which is a very high starting dose and would be concerning to me.
Click to expand...
Yes two units every twelve hours. And she has been doing great.
 
Are you home testing yet? I would be concerned as that is twice as high as normal starting dose for Lantus and it takes about a week before you see full dose effects ( it takes a week for a new dose to fully accumulate in her system). She is not yet on that dose for a full week, but things can change very quickly and I don’t want to see Miss Kitty in a dangerous situation. Not trying to scare you, just want to err on the side of caution for your girl.

It would be really helpful to make sure she is safe to start home testing and get a spreadsheet started so we can better help you and Miss Kitty.

I am copying a couple of other members that have been doing this a lot longer than I have to see if they have same concerns on that 2 unit 2x a day starting dose.

@Bobbie And Bubba @Sienne and Gabby (GA) @Bron and Sheba
 
Julie and Honey said:
Are you home testing yet? I would be concerned as that is twice as high as normal starting dose for Lantus and it takes about a week before you see full dose effects ( it takes a week for a new dose to fully accumulate in her system). She is not yet on that dose for a full week, but things can change very quickly and I don’t want to see Miss Kitty in a dangerous situation. Not trying to scare you, just want to err on the side of caution for your girl.

It would be really helpful to make sure she is safe to start home testing and get a spreadsheet started so we can better help you and Miss Kitty.

I am copying a couple of other members that have been doing this a lot longer than I have to see if they have same concerns on that 2 unit 2x a day starting dose.

@Bobbie And Bubba @Sienne and Gabby (GA) @Bron and Sheba
Click to expand...
Once I get my home testing kit I will be checking it daily. But for now I’m comfortable with her dosage as she has been improving more everyday. I’ll reassess her dosage with my veterinarian in a month as needed. Thank you for looking out. :)
 
Hello and welcome to the FDMB, Miss Kitty! It's good to hear she's doing so well!

Good job starting the transition to an all wet food diet and getting your signature in place so quickly. The information you've provided will help us help you.

Like Julie, I'm a little concerned about the 2 unit dose since you're not testing Miss Kitty's blood sugar levels at home. If you chose to follow the Tight Regulation Protocol (an aggressive dosing method requiring frequent testing) the starting dose suggested would have been a little less than 2 units twice a day or 1.925 units. Generally speaking, a starting dose of 1.5 units would have been suggested. I understand you're comfortable with your vet and that's wonderful! However, not all vets have a full understanding of the cumulative effects of Lantus. It's unlike the insulins typically used in the past to treat feline diabetes.

That said, we've compiled a list of information and links to help make home testing easier:
You can pick up an inexpensive blood glucose meter kit at any pharmacy. Many of our members have found WalMart to have among the best prices for kits. It's always a good idea to have a back-up kit anyway. Knowing how low the insulin is dropping Miss Kitty is the only way to keep her safe.

We don't want to overwhelm you with too much information at once, but I'd like to invite you to join us on Feline Health - (The Main Forum) to ask questions or share any concerns you may have.

Hope to see you posting often! :)


Symptoms of & how to treat HYPOGLYCEMIA - what to do if your kitty experiences hypoglycemia
Jojo's Hypo Tool box - be prepared, what to have on hand in case of an emergency
Don't Panic! or How to Handle Low Numbers
 
Jill & Alex (GA) said:
Hello and welcome to the FDMB, Miss Kitty! It's good to hear she's doing so well!

Good job starting the transition to an all wet food diet and getting your signature in place so quickly. The information you've provided will help us help you.

Like Julie, I'm a little concerned about the 2 unit dose since you're not testing Miss Kitty's blood sugar levels at home. If you chose to follow the Tight Regulation Protocol (an aggressive dosing method requiring frequent testing) the starting dose suggested would have been a little less than 2 units twice a day or 1.925 units. Generally speaking, a starting dose of 1.5 units would have been suggested. I understand you're comfortable with your vet and that's wonderful! However, not all vets have a full understanding of the cumulative effects of Lantus. It's unlike the insulins typically used in the past to treat feline diabetes.

That said, we've compiled a list of information and links to help make home testing easier:
You can pick up an inexpensive blood glucose meter kit at any pharmacy. Many of our members have found WalMart to have among the best prices for kits. It's always a good idea to have a back-up kit anyway. Knowing how low the insulin is dropping Miss Kitty is the only way to keep her safe.

We don't want to overwhelm you with too much information at once, but I'd like to invite you to join us on Feline Health - (The Main Forum) to ask questions or share any concerns you may have.

Hope to see you posting often! :)


Symptoms of & how to treat HYPOGLYCEMIA - what to do if your kitty experiences hypoglycemia
Jojo's Hypo Tool box - be prepared, what to have on hand in case of an emergency
Don't Panic! or How to Handle Low Numbers
Click to expand...
I have a test kit arriving tomorrow. Thanks so much for the info!
 
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