Nnewly diagnosed, scared witless readings all over the map

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Cathy S

Member Since 2012
My cat developed diabetes as a result of an attack of pancreatitis last week. She was released on Saturday afternoon. The next morning her readings wer 7.2 and in
the evening it was 3.2 I did not give her any insulin. The next morning it was 18.7 so she got one unit of insulin but she pulled away from me and some it landed on her fur.
(In addition to the testing/insulin she is also taking painkillers and antibiotics)I called the vet and via a tech I was told not to give her anymore and just monitor her. That
night it was 27.4 called the vet again and this time I was told to give her 1 unit and then a half a unit. This morning at 6.30 her reading was 1.1!! I had read your board
about low blood sugar so I rubbed some corn syrup on her gums and gave her some friskes gravy tinned food. She ate about a third of a tin. In 15 minutes her reading was
3.5 then 30 minutes later it was 7.0. She was still eating. She seem sleepy but not really sick. Two hours later it was 10.3 then two hours after that it was 5.4 so I felt
better. I just took it now and it is 30.9!! I tried to give her insulin again but my hands shook so bad I don't think she got it all because some was on her fur. Should I take
her to the vet? My own vet is away until tomorrow and I get the impression the clinic thinks I am panicking over nothing but I am so scared for her. She ate some of
her dinner and appears to be ok just not as perky as she usually is. Would someone please advise me ASAP?
 
Re: Nnewly diagnosed, scared witless readings all over the m

Yes, she is bouncing around. When a diabetic kitty goes low, their body thinks they need more glucose, so the liver releases some. Then the numbers bounce up into higher numbers. This is scary, but not unusual. The trick is to also find a dose that won't take her so low that you have to skip the shot. When you skip, the next number is high because it's been 24 hours since the last shot.

We should be able to help you figure out a safe dose that will keep her in better numbers. What kind of insulin are you using? What kind of food?
 
Re: Nnewly diagnosed, scared witless readings all over the m

oh thank you so much for replying. I just did another test and it is been an hour and it is now 28.4. She is on one unit of Lantus (Can) I have been supposed to feed her
dry kibble medical gastro intestinal moderate calorie stuff but she likes the gravy so much from Friskies chicken gravy that when she was so low I just let her eat as
much as she wanted all day. She was pretty hungry. I have seen her go to the water bowl and drink for about 30 to 40 seconds about four test. She doesn't appear to be
peeing very much. Like I said my hands are shaking so bad that I have bungled her injection tonight but what I don't wnat to do is give her anymore and end up with really low numbers again in the morning. Do you think I should continue to test her through the night every hour or two or three? Thanks again
 
Re: Nnewly diagnosed, scared witless readings all over the m

Hi Cathy,
The first thing we tell people who are freaked out and stressed over their cat's diabetes is BREATHE! It will get better and there is hope and help here for you & your kitty.

Since you are checking her blood glucose, that is a huge step in the right direction. That low you got this morning is a great indication that she needs very little insulin and perhaps only for long enough to get over her pancreatitis.

My recommendation would be to give no more than .5U of insulin at next shot time, that means only one half of one unit. We can help more if we know which insulin, as there are differences in how they work. Since she went so low on 1.5U (do I have that correct that she got 1U then they told you to give another half unit?) she certainly needs much less than that. Since you tried to give insulin and are not sure how much went in, please don't give her more, as Sue explained.

If you feel she is sick, by all means taking her back to the vet is the best thing to do. You know your cat and it is better to be safe than to wait and things get worse for her. The main thing to realize about feline diabetes though is that a lot of the care is up to the owner since we have to give shots and check blood glucose as you are doing. That means you have more control, just like human diabetics do, over your kitty's illness. You are doing a great job with that so far, although I'm sorry it's so nerve-wracking and you're having a hard time with the shots. We have all been there. It gets easier, I promise.

If you did not give her more insulin after the messed up shot (we call those fur shots), then you probably don't need to test her every 2 hours if her blood glucose is not dropping. Did you attempt to give her 1U or 1.5U?

Pancreatitis is somewhat common for diabetic cats. It is hard to treat, but here are some suggestions:
1. Pain meds such as buprenorphine. Pancreatitis is painful and cats hide pain very well. With pancreatitis it should be assumed the cat hurts, even if they don't act sick.
2. Fluids, either done at vet's office or at home with fluid bag, tubing and needles. 50-100ml twice a day is safe. One counter-indication would be if cat also has heart disease, HCM.
3. Vitamin B-12 shots.
4. Anti-nausea medication.
5. Diet is also important, although there is some disagreement about whether low fat foods really help or not. Some of us have experienced near miraculous results with a raw food diet. Raw food should be properly supplemented however. There are online vendors of prepared and supplemented raw food such as FelinesPride.com or Nature's Variety raw medallions may be available through good pet stores.

I hope this helps you feel better. You can do this!
 
Re: Nnewly diagnosed, scared witless readings all over the m

Cahy, the first thing you should do is take some deep breaths. It will be okay. One night at higher numbers will not hurt her. She is probably running high because she had high carb food (Friskies with gravy) all day. No, you never want to reshoot even if you are sure you did a fur shot. There is always the chance that more insulin went in than you thought. We believe it is better to be high for a day than low for a minute.

If I were you, I would do some research on a good wet low carb food to feed her. Here is some info on choices for pancreatitis: Pancreatitis Diet

What works best is a low carb diet, consistent dosing and hometesting and a good insulin. You have several of those covered: You are hometesting and you have a good insulin. Lantus dosing is based on midcycle numbers (nadirs) so I know they will ask you to start getting numbers around 6 hours after the shot to see how the insulin is working.

Oh good, I see Vicky has posted. She can help you with Lantus.
 
Re: Nnewly diagnosed, scared witless readings all over the m

Thank you so much again! I tried to give her one unit of Lantus. I am glad to hear I am not the only person who messes up on the shots. I was not going to give her any
more insulin because she went so low on 1.5 units. My vet did mention that this could just be a temporary thing which needless to say I am hoping it is. I will be frank
part of my problem right now is that I just have a complete knee replacement done three weeks ago and I can hardly walk and I can't drive and i am on pain killers
myself. Plus I have a 'helpful' neighbour who is a 'dog' person who keeps phoning me supposedly to find out how she is and then tells me I should just 'put her down' because she is just costing me money and she probably has cancer etc etc. Last April she had her first attack of pancreatitis and the vet bills were over $2000. this time it is 1600.
and of course like most people I can't afford it especially as I am off work and on limited income. Plus I have 5 other stray cats that I have adopted so I am majorly
stressed and anxious. Sorry to be such a problem but you are such an angel to respond to me. Thanks so much ;-)
 
Re: Nnewly diagnosed, scared witless readings all over the m

Cathy S said:
Thank you so much again! I tried to give her one unit of Lantus. I am glad to hear I am not the only person who messes up on the shots. I was not going to give her any
more insulin because she went so low on 1.5 units. My vet did mention that this could just be a temporary thing which needless to say I am hoping it is. I will be frank
part of my problem right now is that I just have a complete knee replacement done three weeks ago and I can hardly walk and I can't drive and i am on pain killers
myself. Plus I have a 'helpful' neighbour who is a 'dog' person who keeps phoning me supposedly to find out how she is and then tells me I should just 'put her down' because she is just costing me money and she probably has cancer etc etc. Last April she had her first attack of pancreatitis and the vet bills were over $2000. this time it is 1600.
and of course like most people I can't afford it especially as I am off work and on limited income. Plus I have 5 other stray cats that I have adopted so I am majorly
stressed and anxious. Sorry to be such a problem but you are such an angel to respond to me. Thanks so much ;-)
Click to expand...

That sounds good that you tried to give only 1U of Lantus and if not all of it went in, that may mean she only got about .5U.

Cathy, I am so sorry you're having such a rough time. Is there anyone else who can help you, because someone telling you to put your kitty to sleep is not what you should have to hear right now, especially after you've spent so much already! I hope you said you don't want to hear that. Have you sought help with your financial needs for your pets? Some communities have organizations which will help with food and litter. There is Diabetic Cats In Need which can help you with diabetic supplies. https://www.facebook.com/DiabeticCatsInNeed and website http://fdmb-cin.blogspot.com/
 
Re: Nnewly diagnosed, scared witless readings all over the m

Thanks so much for the suggestion Vicky. If worst comes to worst I will contact one of them. My neighbour is rather toxic and I just politely said I would get my information from my vet thank you. If I understand you I should not be feeding her anymore tonight and if I get a chance to check her glucose six hours after her shot? Why would my
bet tell me to check her glucose every 12 hours? Stupid. This website has given more information in the past four hours than I have got from my vet in the past 7 days and it is free and with people who have experienced and are experiencing this situation. Thank you again. I am wondering if with me being to upset and having to test her
blood so much part of her problem could be I am stressing her out. She is running away every time I come near her. I forgot to mention her name is Lotus. I read one
posting from a lady who said her hands shake and she could cry because she could not get blood out of the ears and she felt so bad hurting her cat. I know just how she
feels.
 
Re: Nnewly diagnosed, scared witless readings all over the m

Do you give her a treat every time you test? That's the secret to this whole thing. Cats don't have many nerve endings in their ears. It isn't that it's painful; it's that you are doing something different and strange to her. Once she realizes a treat is doing with each poke, she will be much more compliant.

There are lots of low carb treats. We like PureBites (freeze dried meats and fish) and Bonito Flakes. Many people just use cooked chicken (no spices) cut into tiny pieces orieces of tuna (packed in water, not oil)

The important thing is that testing her is keeping her safe, so you are doing something good for her. (imagine if you gave 1.5 units on those low numbers!)
 
Re:newly diagnosed, scared witless readings all over the map

Hi Sue,
I never thought of it. Is that foolish or what? I was just so relieved to have it over with and let her go that I didn't think about the treat aspect. The only thing i have in
the house right now is the temptations which my cats all like so the next time I have to do I test I will give her one. they are probably too high in carbs so I will try to
get the ones you mention the next time I order groceries. thanks so much for the suggestion.
 
Re: Nnewly diagnosed, scared witless readings all over the m

I want to thank everyone I am feeling so much better and so less anxious. She is sitting on the bed beside me and I just had to give her a couple of treats. I am off to
bed and hopefully the two of us will have a good nights sleep. thanks again!
 
Re: Nnewly diagnosed, scared witless readings all over the m

We have all been through what you are experiencing right now. The diagnosis is very upsetting, the costs of the vet vists, the uncertainty, the BG going all over the place at first, getting less than enough information from the vet, and on and on. The reason people hang around this site is that it is very helpful.

I would make sure that my cat had food available for at least 6 to 8 hours after the injection especially if I was asleep or not at home. Many cats will go to the bowl when their BG gets low enough. Not always, but it's a safety net to have in place.

I'm glad someone posted a link to foods for pancreatitis. My cat had that. It can resolve, and it might come back again, but there are ways to manage it. Be aware that if you switch from dry food to wet it can have a pretty intense impact on BG levels in some cases. You will want to carefully check the BG with your meter when you are making the switch. Also, my cat got sick from a sudden change in food once, very sick. So, now, I put about 1/8 to 1/4 of the new food with the old food, and then move to 1/4 to 1/2, then 1/2 and 1/2, etc. as I make the switch.

It's very unlikely your cat has cancer. I thought that at first, too, -- "Oh, my gosh why would the pancreas be a problem? Cancer! Ahhhhh!!!!" Based on nothing more than a diagnosis of pancreatitis and diabetes, I would not jump to that conclusion now. Diabetes is managable in most cases, and it could be something that will go away for some cats.

It is really wonderful that you are home testing. You can catch the lows and feed the cat to avoid hypoglycemia, and you can find out how the insulin is working throughout the day to get help here or from your vet in figuring out the right dose.

Here's a link for hypoglycemia issues: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=15887. You can print it out and keep it on the fridge or where ever you will be able to grab it when you get a low number. You will also want to prepare a hypo kit: Karo syrup; high carb canned food tins; plenty of testing strips (15 or so) put in reserve in the kit; lancets; an oral syringe; an extra battery for the meter; and maybe even an extra meter.

For safety reasons, when you are preparing to give insulin, make sure the cat is willing to eat between the time you test the blood and the time you inject the insulin, and do not give insulin if the meter reading is below (U.S. value 200 which is) 11.1 (for you) until you have had a chance to gather a lot of information (test readings at all different times of day) about how your cat is going to process the dose you are using.

As for treats, I use cooked chicken that is sliced for sandwiches. It's easy, and Max loves it.

I suggest that you take a look at the Lantus forums, and the "Stickies" that are the posts at the very top of the boards. Try not to get overwhelmed. While you are learning post your questions and your cat's BG, what he's eating, and how he's acting. People will help you through until you learn what you need to know to handle this yourself. I've been dealing with this since February, and I still rely heavily on the board members. There so many exceptions to every rule -- just like in medicine for humans. It's so wonderful to have experienced people who will point out things you would never think about, especially when you are having a panic attack when the cat isn't "normal" at the moment!

Good luck!
 
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