One month in and no improvement

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Mackie

Mackie

Member Since 2017
Mackie was diagnosed with diabetes at the end of March this week year. We started insulin, pro zinc, 2 units twice a day during feeding. It seems to have no effect. His glucose levels in his urine are still through the roof. He is always hungry, and still losing weight. I feel like I need to feed him more than what the vet recommended because he is literally wasting away. Is it ok to feed him more, as long as the food is within the safe carb/quality parameters? I know we need to get his blood sugar levels under control but in the mean time I'm so worried I'm starving my kitty.
 
What are you feeding and how much ?it sounds like a low-carb canned. A cat with unregulated BGs can't process food well and feeding more is appropriate until Mackie is better regulated
Most of us here test our cat's blood glucose at home using a human meter. We test before each shot and periodically between shots. We record our reading and other info in a spreadsheet. See:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
The BG values. especially before shot and bettween shots is necessary to see what is going one with BG throughout the day
 
You can feed any time except for two hours prior to your preshot testing so the numbers aren't food influenced. The best advice I can give for getting the bg under control is daily home testing, so that we can advice on dose tweaking. If you are willing to learn we would be happy to help you with that.
 
If cat is skinny, you should free feed and adjust insulin to suit the BS levels. Withholding food from an unregulated kitty who is losing weight is a recipe for DKA. Are you home testing glucose? This is the first step so that you can test and then learn to adjust insulin yourself. It makes it much easier/quicker to regulate this way instead of relying on curves and dose adjustments at the vet every few weeks.
 
Thank you so much for all your responses. I'm very willing to start doing at home blood testing, I must admit this is all very intimidating and overwhelming. I just constantly worry about my kitty. I'm so glad to have found support.

Mackie is currently getting 3-4 cans of the low carb Tikki Cat Flavors, they are the Hookena, Makaha and Bora Bora Luau varieties. They vary from 55 - 94 calories so I will combine his feedings to equal ~270 calories. Mackie went from a robust 20 pounds last November pounds to just under 11 pounds at this weeks weigh in. While he's not too skinny, he's definitely on the slender side. Is this amount too little?

On a disturbing side note: Mackie's vet discouraged the home testing of blood sugar when I brought it up only to say that none of her "patients ever DO that" and that the equipment for testing cats was not only too expensive but give highly inaccurate results. However, after reading this forum it seems that home testing is not only doable and affordable but necessary. Maybe time for a new vet.
 
Great, another vet dispensing hogwash. Why wouldn't you test at home? There is no reason. None at all. Home testing is the only way to viably know the effects of the insulin dose on your kitteh. I literally can't imagine dosing without testing beforehand.

And in fact if you dose without testing, and your cat has low BG, then you can cause hypoglycemia, which can be fatal if not immediately counter-treated. There is a lot of good info at the top "sticky" posts in the sub forums. Knowledge really is your friend with this well known and treatable disease.
 
Yes, you're in the right place for support and take heart, many people have been exactly where you are at the moment. Testing BG at home is definitely the way forward and if your vet is so anti then yes, may be time for a new one... again, many of us have switched vets.
Good luck and keep reading and asking questions.
 
Have you tried adjusting the insulin levels. I disagree with the vet thoughts, home testing is the solution to track the levels....Hope he will be better soon
 
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