Remission Question, please help

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dragongirl81008

dragongirl81008

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Hello!

So here is my story, dinky was diagnosed with diabetes on the 14th of this month. We immediately went and put him on a high protein wet food diet, while researching which insulin was in our price range. He had been on the wet food for 6 days before starting insulin. Our glucometer came yesterday, we immediately tested his BG. 5 hours after insulin it read 57. The mere we are using is the Bayer contour. Today before food and insulin it was 67, 1 hour after food and insulin, it read 37. Obviously it's reading somewhat low, my vet said it could be 50-60 points off. But she still said to give insulin. My question, is it possible he could go into remission within a week of being diagnosed? Or is it better to continue insulin? Please help.

Thanks!
 
Using a human glucometer, you want pre-shot tests to be no lower than 150 mg/dL on a human glucometer once you have mid-cycle test data showing it is safe.
You want the lowest glucose between shots to remain safely above 50 mg/dL on a human glucometer.

And yes, by changing to low carb food and giving insulin, the pancreas may be recovering its function and it may be possible for the cat to become diet-controlled.
 
If you give shots, mid-cycle would be the time period in between shots. So if the shots are 12 hours apart, any tests done in between the shots.
In theory, the peak effect of the insulin would be happening 5-7 hours after a shot. We refer to that as "+5" or "+7", the number of hours after the shot.

I agree with BJM. Especially at the beginning, you would not give insulin if you read a 67 at shot time. 67 is a perfectly normal blood glucose number. Insulin given when the BG is normal could cause dangerously low levels. That 37 you saw was "hypoglycemic". Below normal. Especially scary since it was only an hour after the shot. The shot would not have started having an effect just an hour after the shot.
What you most likely witnessed was your cat's body working like it is supposed to -
Food is eaten.
It causes an increase in BG short term.
The pancreas responds and produces insulin.
The insulin allows his cells to absorb the glucose and turn it into "energy" to fuel his body.
The BG stays in normal ranges until the next feeding.

What was his BG when he was diagnosed?
Was this just his second day on insulin?

What happened after the 37? When was that?
 
My question, is it possible he could go into remission within a week of being diagnosed?

While it doesn't happen often, yes some cats can get back to normal just from the change in diet.
 
And yes, they can go into remission just that fast with diet change alone. My Maxwell, was on insulin only 2 weeks, while his foster mom changed over his diet and had him flown from Boston, Mass to Hastings Nebr. I gave him 2 shots total and he was in remission and has been for going on 5 years now. :D

Mel and The Fur Gang
 
When diagnosed his BG was in the 500. This was his 3rd day on insulin, and his 9th day on a purely high protein, low carb wet diet. The 37 was last night, at 7:30pm just an hour after his insulin and dinner. He showed now signs of hyperglycemia. He was active, alert, and responsive. He played with me and the other cats, then became his normal lazy self and slept.

When it read low I called my vet, she stated to reduce his insulin to 1u instead of two, but to still give it. I didn't. I am about to check his blood now before breakfast.

How often should I be checking his blood? Every six hours? Before he eats? What's best to establish a pattern?
 
Always test before you shoot.

When possible, test to see how low he is going:
For Humulin/Novalin NPH, that would be roughly 3-4 hours post shot
For Caninsulin/Vetsulin, that would be roughly 4-5 hours post shot
For Prozinc, Lantus, Levemir, or BCP PZI, that could be from 5 to 7 hours post shot.
 
Thanks for letting us know that you are using Prozinc insulin. You hadn't said before which insulin you were using and we do not like to assume that just because someone is posting in the Prozinc forum that they are using Prozinc. Could have been another insulin like BCP PZI or any of the other insulins.
 
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Add any other text, such as
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Ok, signature added. Thanks so much.

This morning, after no insulin at his normal time, his BG was 214. 2 hours after food it read 233.

I will test again before his dinner and then give insulin.

Normal range is between 50-150 correct?
 
Roughly.
Off insulin, 40-120 mg/dL on a human glucometer
On insulin, 50-130 mg/dL on a human glucometer
Divide by 18 if you're not in the US.
 
So it has been 2 days since Dinky has had insulin. His BG is hovering between 40-50. No matter what, before food, several hours later. Any time i test, its reading normal. Is it safe to assume this is him in remission?
 
OTJ Trial instructions (These are the criteria we use when following an OTJ Trial.)

Here are the instructions for an OTJ trial:
  1. Test at your normal AMPS and PMPS times. Feed multiple small meals throughout the day as much as possible (smal meals are less likely to overwhelm a newly functioning pancreas). The morning test is now called the AMBG. The evening test is now called the PMBG.
  2. If your cat is green (0-99 mg/L human meter, 0-130 mg/L pet meter, 0-5.5 mmoL) at your normal test times, no need to test further until the next "PS" time, just feed small meals and go about your day. If the numbers are blue (100-199 human meter, 130-230 pet meter, 5.5-11 mmoL), feed a small meal and test again after about 3 hours. Food raises BG's. So if the number is lower 3-4 hours after a meal, then the pancreas is working!
  3. After 2 weeks, if everything is looking good, we have a party! And boy, do we party hearty.
    clip_image001.png
Sometimes, the trial doesn't work the first time and we have to give a little more support by starting the cat with a tiny dose of insulin again. I had to do that with Wink. We simply start the cat back on a tiny dose of insulin to support the pancreas with healing for a bit longer. Our goal is a strong remission and it's better to be safe now then sorry later that you rushed it. With just a little more time we will probably get that strong remission we are looking for.

The jury is still out, but here's hoping they come back with positive news in another 12 days.
 
Day 3 and things are still looking great! BG has stayed consistent and right on track to your post.

*crosses fingers*

I'm hoping to have that party soon. Lol
 
So I thought in would give abit of an update, we are on day 12 without insulin and his BG is perfect, hovers around 40-50 on the human glucometer. 2 more days to go and it official. Then we are off to the vet to get him double checked and this boy will be diet controlled from here on out.

Only bummer is I have a full vile of prozinc that is more then likely going to go to waste...stuff wasn't cheap either.

But, it was worth it to get dinky healthy lol

Just wanted to keep you guys in the loop. :-) Thanks for all your help.
 
Here's hoping that Dinky keeps this trend going. Let us know when it's official so we can celebrate with you. :kiss::kiss::kiss::kiss:

And we'll give you tips to help you keep Dinky off the juice.:otj:

You might want to consider offering the Prozinc vial to someone else via our Supply Closet forum.
 
My Herb was on insulin for one week. As long as he's eating low-carb canned food, he does great. I test occasionally now, but he consistently reads in the normal range. He just couldn't eat kibble. Good luck to you & Dinky - I hope he continues to be a diet-controlled diabetic!
 
There may be someone here who can take the left over insulin off your hands if you post it in Supply Closet.
 
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