Precious just diagnosed

[Shachsmom]

My beautiful Precious (male) was diagnosed 2 weeks ago with diabetes. This is a first for me. I've had house cats for 14 years and have battled cancer with 2 of them, but never diabetes. Precious is still in the stage where the vet is trying to get his levels steady. He's really good about getting his shots, so I'm thankful for that!
So glad I found this forum!

 

[Idjit's mom]

Hi Shachsmom and Precious, welcome to FDMB. It's a new journey you are on with Precious now and we would like to help out in any way we can.
A good place to start is by reading the Getting Started and the Education sections on the Home page. It really helps to understand what's going on and how effective treatment can be put into action to help your sugar cat to better health and well being.

In your reading you will find out about the three basic components of effective diabetic treatment: proper diet, insulin therapy and blood sugar testing at home.

Please tell us more about Precious, what kind of insulin is he on, what's the dosage, what is his diet and have you been told about testing his blood sugar at home to keep him safe and see how the insulin is working?

I realize this is all new territory for you, I sure arrived confused, bewildered and not knowing which step to take next. We can help, because we all started where you are now and have a lot to offer as you go forward on this new "adventure".

You can start posting on the Main Health forum HERE if you have specific, or even more general questions. This Intro forum is only the welcome mat and more members monitor the Main Health forum in order to be of assistance.

Best wishes going forward

 

[(GA) Gypsy's Parent]

Welcome Shachsmom and Precious. You've come to the right place to get help. Lot's of people here with many years of experience dealing with diabetic kitties. In order to help Precious, could you provide more information about him? This is typically done via the signature line, which you can see examples of from other people. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/editing-your-signature-profile-and-preferences.130340/ explains how to set up your signature and what info to provide.

The experience of the people here can help you accomplish setting insulin levels and provide dosing levels moving forward once Precious is home. Many vets are good at diagnosing diabetes but have little to no experience managing it. The wonderful volunteers here are responsive and knowledgeable and have helped a lot of people through the process.

To manage diabetes, either in humans or cats, the rule is ABT... Always Be Testing. We all test at home and provide spreadsheet links in our signature for the experts to read and interpret. So, you should be prepared to test Precious once he comes home. There are pet specific glucose meters, but the test strips are $1 a shot (I've used 8 in a day!) and the majority of people use human meter from Walmart (ReliOn Prime) and the test strips are $0.20 each.

There's a lot of info here. The stickies at the top of the forums are very helpful, but overwhelming.

To be honest, I read enough to realize ABT and read some info here about meters and then purchased meter. Watched some videos on how to test (I was apprehensive, but it's relative easy compared to subq fluids). Then I kept reading and learning and posted asking for dosage help and interpretation of results.

As you have been down the cancer route, you are probably aware that diabetes will be a marathon, not a sprint.

 

[Tina Marie (GA) and Jan]

What a gorgeous cat you have. This place is the just the place to be for you and Precious.
Tina and I have greatly benefited from this collection of wise and experienced, and learning members.
Welcome! I'm still pretty new, but learn something helpful every day.

 

[Shachsmom]

Thank you all for your comments and tips. I am truly overwhelmed by this. I'm single and work full time, my family all live at least 2 hours away, so until I found this forum I felt like I was truly in this alone.
Thank you again!

 

[Tina Marie (GA) and Jan]

Thank you all for your comments and tips. I am truly overwhelmed by this. I'm single and work full time, my family all live at least 2 hours away, so until I found this forum I felt like I was truly in this alone.
Thank you again!

You just made me cry. I felt the same way when I came here a short time ago. However, I'd been lurking and seeing what a huge benefit this forum, and people were, to more people than they could know. I began using what I was learning, before I ever introduced myself. Tina is the one who has truly benefited

 

[(GA) Gypsy's Parent]

Thank you all for your comments and tips. I am truly overwhelmed by this. I'm single and work full time, my family all live at least 2 hours away, so until I found this forum I felt like I was truly in this alone.
Thank you again!

I am in a similar situation and it's overwhelming trying to read and learn as well as manage the shots and testing around my work life and commitments! When you have more information from the vet, you can ask questions in the forum that corresponds to the type of insulin your vet prescribes. The people in those forums have experience with that specific type of insulin.