Recently diagnosed and totally out of my element

[Tasia]

Good morning from Minnesota. Recently learned one of our rescues is diabetic.

Been monitoring for a little over a month. Insulin twice daily. Tiger has been adopted out to a friend who kept putting off taking him to vet. By time we got him he is already developing neurological deficiency in back legs. We’ve gone through a terrible episode of low potassium and nearly lost him. Since that episode he’s continuing to improve but cannot get his sugar anywhere close to normal.

Just went to 3 units Vetsulin twice daily. We are doing blood checks every 4 hours at present.

Trying now to understand the difference in the testing strips.

Thank you for this platform!

Much love to everyone going through this

Tiger’s Meowmie

 

[Idjit's mom]

Hi and welcome Tasia and Tiger. You are in the right place to get solid information and support while you are learning about feline diabetes and effective treatment.

I'm sorry to hear that you have had some critical struggles so far with Tiger, and very happy that this little guy is a survivor and has you on his side to help him improve.

First, let's get the housekeeping done, so that we have access to Tiger's pertinent and current information each time you post.

1. Setting up your signature (light grey text under a post). Here's how:
click on your name in the upper right corner of this page
click on "signature" in the menu that drops down
type the following in the box that opens: kitty's name/age/date of diabetes diagnosis/insulin you're using and dosage amount /glucose meter you're using/what (s)he eats/any other meds or health issues (s)he has. You can add your name, and a geographic location (sometimes the time zone matters) Be sure to SAVE when you are finished.
2. Another thing that will help us help you since your are BG testing at home is to set up a spreadsheet like the one we use here. You will see how the trends and patterns emerge, and members can review his/her progress before offering suggestions or advice:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/understanding-the-spreadsheet-grid.156606/

I have read that raising the insulin dose quickly isn't always the answer to regulating that blood sugar, although many vets recommend that course of action. Sometimes too much insulin can look like not enough. Please visit the Vetsulin insulin support forum HERE and read the yellow tagged stickies that can help provide information and educate you about using that insulin. Ask there about dosing and the long time experienced Vetsulin users can guide you. It may be that the dose is too high, and puts Tiger into low numbers which panic his body, causing his liver to release stored sugars to bring him up..not a cycle you want to be happening. Testing and recording that data is going to tell you what's going on.

Diet is also a contributing factor in blood sugar levels and we can help with offering suggestions for low carbohydrate cat food, to help with regulation. As soon as we know what you are feeding Tiger, we can work on that issue. Diet concerns, the testing/test strip questions and treating the diabetic neuropathy (it's very treatable) are best addressed HERE in the Main Health forum.

You have a huge community here to support you and we will help every step of the way.
Very best wishes going forward

 

[AliceMeowliss (GA)]

Welcome! I have a friend that lives rather near you ish, in Coon Rapids.

Tiger is just beautiful!