Orig. Symptoms Back After On Insulin 5 Yrs. Why? What to Do?

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chezzicatt

chezzicatt

Member Since 2014
Hi. Six to 8 weeks ago, my 15 yr old, who is on 4 units 2x a day of Prozinc, started saturating the litter box and being extra thirsty like he did when he was first diagnosed 5 years ago. He had been pretty stable up until then as far as urine, thirst, etc. In response, the vet had me increase his insulin to 5 units, I saw no change after a week or two so took him in for a curve. His sugar levels were crazy low. As low as 55 at one point. The vet sent us home and told me to skip the evening dose, then go back to 4 units and of course that has not solved the frequent urination and thirst. He has also lost a few pounds. Is it possible that even 4 units is too much for him? Should I have blood work, CBC, etc. done for further exploration? His appetite is still pretty good, he eats both wet and a minimal amount of dry food. Thanks so much in advance fellow cat lovers. I know he can't last forever, but I don't want to be complicating or advancing anything. I love him so.
 
Re: Orig. Symptoms Back After On Insulin 5 Yrs. Why? What to

Welcome to FDMB

chezzicatt said:
Hi. Six to 8 weeks ago, my 15 yr old, who is on 4 units 2x a day of Prozinc, started saturating the litter box and being extra thirsty like he did when he was first diagnosed 5 years ago. He had been pretty stable up until then as far as urine, thirst, etc. In response, the vet had me increase his insulin to 5 units, I saw no change after a week or two so took him in for a curve. His sugar levels were crazy low. As low as 55 at one point. The vet sent us home and told me to skip the evening dose, then go back to 4 units and of course that has not solved the frequent urination and thirst. He has also lost a few pounds. Is it possible that even 4 units is too much for him? Should I have blood work, CBC, etc. done for further exploration? His appetite is still pretty good, he eats both wet and a minimal amount of dry food. Thanks so much in advance fellow cat lovers. I know he can't last forever, but I don't want to be complicating or advancing anything. I love him so.
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He should not go lower than 50 mg/dL on a human glucometer; doing so is an automatic reduction of at least 0.25 units, regardless of insulin or protocol.

A few more details will help us figure out what is going on.
How often are you home testing the glucose?
What kind of meter are you using - human or pet?
What are you feeding, specifically?
 
Re: Orig. Symptoms Back After On Insulin 5 Yrs. Why? What to

Do you home test? It's the best way to make sure your cat is not getting too much insulin. You can test before each shot to be sure the dose you are planning to give is not too much and mid cycle to see how low the insulin is taking him.

The protocol we put together for ProZinc is in blue in my signature.
 
Re: Orig. Symptoms Back After On Insulin 5 Yrs. Why? What to

Thank you, BJM, Sue and Oliver.
No, I have not been home testing, but am willing to do so to get a better handle on things. My vet recommended the Relion, a human testing meter. At mealtime, Sand eats about 1/2 can of the Fancy Feast foods without the gravy/sauce and 1/2 cup of dry cat food: usually Friskies Indoor Delights, twice a day. Naturally, I am somewhat anxious about conducting the testing, but I imagine, that just like when I first started with the syringes, I'll get comfortable with it. I looked at the Prozinc Protocol and it sure looks complicated.
Again, thanks for sharing your experience.
Pamela
 
Re: Orig. Symptoms Back After On Insulin 5 Yrs. Why? What to

It really isn't as bad as you'd think.

You test, feed, and shoot within about 15 minutes twice a day.
You check around +5 to +7 hours after the shot whenever you can to see how low the glucose is going (stay above 50 mg/dL on a human glucometer).
If the glucose drops too low, you intervene by feeding high carb food in small amounts frequently to steer the numbers back up to safety.

You can do this!

See my signature link Glucometer Notes for a few details on glucose testing and what the numbers can mean.

Put a few details in your signature so we can give you better feedback.

To edit your signature

Go to the top left of the screen.
Click on User Control Panel.
Click on Profile
Click on Edit Signature
A text box displays.
This is where you paste the link for your spreadsheet, once it is set up.
Add any other text, such as
your name, cat's name,
city, state,country
date of Dx (diagnosis)
insulin
meter
any other pertinent issues like if there are any food issues, history of DKA, hepatic lipidosis, pancreatitis, allergies, IBD, etc.
Then Click on Submit to save it.
 
Re: Orig. Symptoms Back After On Insulin 5 Yrs. Why? What to

Hello.
I saw something in your post that made me want to come add my 2 cents.
You mentioned friskies indoor delights dry. That's a pretty high carb food. Eliminating that one could make a huge difference.


If you cat needs some crunchies, I would recommend you try either young again zero carb or Epigen 90 instead. Those are those lowest carb dry foods on the market that I know of.

Ideally we avoid all dry food but there are some kitties who truly resist.
Young again will send you a sample if you call them. I don't know if Epigen does but it never hurts to ask.


Secondly, check your canned food.
carbs in % . . last number is phosphorus ( FKD cats need under 250 phosphorus)
4% - fancy feast CLASSICS chicken feast- 546 - beware of those that are not classics ...
4%- fancy feast chopped grilled feast pate -569
2%- fancy feast cod, sole & shrimp feast pate – 787
4%- fancy feast Ocean Whitefish and tuna pate 823
1% -fancy feast Savory Salmon feast pate – 369
5% -fancy feast Tender beef feast pate -637
5% -fancy feast Tender beef and chicken feast pate -502
5% - fancy feast Tender beef and liver feast pate – 525
4% -fancy feast Tender liver and chicken feast pate -598
3% - fancy feast Turkey & giblets feast pate – 355
5% -fancy feast salmon and shrimp feast -550
4% -fancy feast kitten tender turkey feast -474
5% - fancy feast kitten tender ocean whitefish feast - 689
5% -fancy feast chunky chicken feast -637
7% - fancy feast chunky turkey feast -624
7% -fancy feast chunky chopped grill feast - 454
8% - fancy feast Flaked chicken and tuna feast - 434
0% - fancy feast Flaked fish and shrimp feast - 701
8% - fancy feast Flaked Salmon and whitefish feast - 458
7% - fancy feast Flaked Trout feast-395

8% - Friskies flaked with tuna and egg 415
9% - Friskies Poultry platter – 438
5% - Friskies Special diet Beef and Liver entree 241
5% - Friskies Special diet Turkey and Giblets dinner pate 189
5% - Friskies Special diet Beef and Chicken Entree pate 242
4% - Friskies Special Diet Whitefish dinner 351
7% - Friskies Special Diet with Salmon 228
7% - Friskies Salmon dinner classic pate 499
8% - Friskies Turkey and Giblets dinner 338
8% - Friskies Supreme Supper 416
6% - Friskies Mariner's Catch 393
Click to expand...



Remission can go away with age, health issues, infection and in your case, that high carb dry food.

Be very vigilant when you switch dry foods .
You need to be monitoring bg at home so you can see the difference if there is a sudden drop.
We want him to stay safe.
 
Re: Orig. Symptoms Back After On Insulin 5 Yrs. Why? What to

Thank you, BJM, Rhiannon and Shadow for sharing the info. I will review it again more thoroughly ASAP. My cats are gonna hate me when I cut out the crunchy stuff, but it will be for their own good for sure. I won't be able to afford the more healthy, expensive food just yet. There will be a lot of incessant meowing going on. Oh, well. It is obvious that a number of changes will have to be made--for the better!
 
Re: Orig. Symptoms Back After On Insulin 5 Yrs. Why? What to

I don't know how big the sample is that they send.... but if you request one....
and you get a friend of two to request one..... you might have a good size stash.

on the young again, it says 2 tablespoons is a full days meal.
 
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