kate and lucky
Active Member
For those of you who don't know us (looks like quite a lot!) it's been over 18 months since we started the sugar dance.
FDMB was an absolute life saver for us.
I'm British, but live in Germany and don't have a particularly good handle on the German language. That made the sugar dance even harder for us.
We went through 4 vets before going back to an english army one. They were fairly clueless too but at least I could understand them and explain my reasonings.
Sweetgrass (Kimmee) and Patti (Merlin) were absolute bricks.
The second vet hypo'd Lucky on her first insulin shot by giving her 5u! That was a very scary night.
Initially the vets wouldn't give us insulin. The first said Lucky was too fractious and thus I should PTS, do nothing or give her special food. I went with the good old DM. My lil furball was starving (I know why now!)
So moved onto 2nd vet, but they wouldn't give insulin either as said she had a heart condition. Enter cactus juice!!! Vey big on alternative medicine here.
In the meantime I found FDMB and switched Lucky to Felix (under 10% carbs). Her bg's dropped from over 400+ to around 250.
Eventually 2nd vet agreed to give Caninsulin-point blank refused Lantus/Levemir saying it was the law that we had to use caninsulin (vetsulin)
Then the hypo!
She didn't fair well. 3rd vet as she wasn't doing so good (and 2nd had said PTS) said no she had rallied and said to keep trying.
Enter army vet. They at least agreed to give me a script for Levemir.I do have to thank someone who no longer posts on the board (politics) living in Germany who gave me the translation for the script.
We then moved here and LL became our home. We formed a lot of cyber friendships that were invaluable through the highs and lows.Jojo and Jill, Dyana, Ronnie, Janice, The Heathers, Deb,Lyn are just a few. I managed to link up with Heather and Jasper (now OTJ :mrgreen: -TOOK THEM NEARLY 2 YEARS)AND WE CAT SAT FOR EACH OTHER FOR OUR RESPECTIVE HOLiDAYS.
i GOT lUCKY BEAUTIFULLY REGULATED AND THEN pANCREATITIS STRUCK.
This is where it went horribly wrong.The vets would not throw all the things that you should at P's at my lil furball suffered for it. Her FpLi test was off the scale 50+.They wouldn't give me sub q's. At the last minute we found another vet but I had agreed for the vets to take Lucky in for IV fluids. I was due to collect her the next day and take her to the new vets (who had agreed to support sub q's. Got the details from the German Diabetes Katzen forum).
Then I got the dreaded phone call saying Lucky had had a seizure. There was nothing I could do. We drove to the vets and I had to say goodbye to my sweet girl. I can't describe the anger and heartache. That was last September and still reduces me to tears when I think back.I miss her terribly and couldn't bring myself to get another kitty. There will never be another Lucky for me.
I have every now and then come back to pay forward all the knowledge and experience I have, particularly anyone from the UK as foods are very different and vets even less knowledgeable on the whole than USA and Canada.
However, we are now expecting a new addition to our household. :RAHCAT :RAHCAT :RAHCAT
I'm expecting my first baby :mrgreen: almost a year to the day I lost my beautiful lil furball.Funny how life works out. I know she's watching from the bridge and I will cherish the 16 years we had together. One day I will have space in my heart for a new furball, just not right now.
I think of my cyber friends and their furruies often and for those of you I don't know, I hope you make as many firm friendships as we did and have a succesful sugar dance.
Scritches to all your lovely, beautiful furballs-you are all true animal lovers. :YMHUG:
FDMB was an absolute life saver for us.
I'm British, but live in Germany and don't have a particularly good handle on the German language. That made the sugar dance even harder for us.
We went through 4 vets before going back to an english army one. They were fairly clueless too but at least I could understand them and explain my reasonings.
Sweetgrass (Kimmee) and Patti (Merlin) were absolute bricks.
The second vet hypo'd Lucky on her first insulin shot by giving her 5u! That was a very scary night.
Initially the vets wouldn't give us insulin. The first said Lucky was too fractious and thus I should PTS, do nothing or give her special food. I went with the good old DM. My lil furball was starving (I know why now!)
So moved onto 2nd vet, but they wouldn't give insulin either as said she had a heart condition. Enter cactus juice!!! Vey big on alternative medicine here.
In the meantime I found FDMB and switched Lucky to Felix (under 10% carbs). Her bg's dropped from over 400+ to around 250.
Eventually 2nd vet agreed to give Caninsulin-point blank refused Lantus/Levemir saying it was the law that we had to use caninsulin (vetsulin)
Then the hypo!
She didn't fair well. 3rd vet as she wasn't doing so good (and 2nd had said PTS) said no she had rallied and said to keep trying.
Enter army vet. They at least agreed to give me a script for Levemir.I do have to thank someone who no longer posts on the board (politics) living in Germany who gave me the translation for the script.
We then moved here and LL became our home. We formed a lot of cyber friendships that were invaluable through the highs and lows.Jojo and Jill, Dyana, Ronnie, Janice, The Heathers, Deb,Lyn are just a few. I managed to link up with Heather and Jasper (now OTJ :mrgreen: -TOOK THEM NEARLY 2 YEARS)AND WE CAT SAT FOR EACH OTHER FOR OUR RESPECTIVE HOLiDAYS.
i GOT lUCKY BEAUTIFULLY REGULATED AND THEN pANCREATITIS STRUCK.
This is where it went horribly wrong.The vets would not throw all the things that you should at P's at my lil furball suffered for it. Her FpLi test was off the scale 50+.They wouldn't give me sub q's. At the last minute we found another vet but I had agreed for the vets to take Lucky in for IV fluids. I was due to collect her the next day and take her to the new vets (who had agreed to support sub q's. Got the details from the German Diabetes Katzen forum).
Then I got the dreaded phone call saying Lucky had had a seizure. There was nothing I could do. We drove to the vets and I had to say goodbye to my sweet girl. I can't describe the anger and heartache. That was last September and still reduces me to tears when I think back.I miss her terribly and couldn't bring myself to get another kitty. There will never be another Lucky for me.
I have every now and then come back to pay forward all the knowledge and experience I have, particularly anyone from the UK as foods are very different and vets even less knowledgeable on the whole than USA and Canada.
However, we are now expecting a new addition to our household. :RAHCAT :RAHCAT :RAHCAT
I'm expecting my first baby :mrgreen: almost a year to the day I lost my beautiful lil furball.Funny how life works out. I know she's watching from the bridge and I will cherish the 16 years we had together. One day I will have space in my heart for a new furball, just not right now.
I think of my cyber friends and their furruies often and for those of you I don't know, I hope you make as many firm friendships as we did and have a succesful sugar dance.
Scritches to all your lovely, beautiful furballs-you are all true animal lovers. :YMHUG:
congratulations, kate!
