Rockie Dad

[Buddy]

Hi everyone, Im new here with a newly diagnosed diabetes cat named Buddy.. :-| Ive read alot of postings here and they have been of great help for me. Im home testing BGS before every insuline shot. Buddies bgs have been Tues 244am, tues 274pm, wed 219am and 257pm. My vet says they are exceptable levels for right now but I dont know???? They seem kinda high... I will admitt that I feel very overwelmed by all that has happened and very alone. I feel like Im walking on pin and needles. I work during the day and Buddy is by himself with my other cat Keyno and I have the worst fear that Ill come home and find Buddy dead and me not being there to help him..... Im usaully a lone ranger but I will admit I am not strong enough to handle this on my own and I could use all the support and help I can get...

John

 

[Carl & Polly & Bob (GA)]

Hi John (and Buddy),
Welcome to the Board!

John, no reason to feel like you need to be the lone ranger on this. Now that you found this place, that ain't gonna happen!
Those numbers really are not terrible. I see you are home testing, and that's a huge benefit over most "newbies". You have the most important knowledge - what Buddy's BG is at any given time. Most importantly, you can see what it is before giving him any insulin, and that's extremely good to know.

What type insulin is Buddy getting, and what's his current dose for each shot?

As long as you are testing him before each shot, and as long as his dose is logical for the BG he's experiencing, you won't have to worry about coming home to find he's dead, John. You are doing this as safely as possible - testing before dosing.

Another thing that is important - what does he eat every day? In case you haven't read it yet, another key to managing feline diabetes is diet. Low carbs are a must for diabetic kitties (known here as sugarcats). Let us know what Buddy is eating, because any improvement to diet will translate to an improvement in blood glucose levels.

You can relax just a bit, John. You've found the best place on the internet to help you and Buddy deal with this. At first, it can be overwhelming, but there are so many people here who have been right where you and he are now, and it does get easier and less daunting.

Again, welcome!

Carl in SC

 

[Jessica & Boo Radley]

Hi John - and I"m so glad you found this place. Carl i soooo right in that you will never feel alone here. There are so many people to help, to support and to help you make this disease and experience a positive one for you and Buddy.

Congratulations on home testing. That is a HUGE first step and probably the biggest gift you can give to your little guy. You're testing now before each shot, but mark my word...before you know it, you'll be testing at night when your home, on the weekends when you're off, etc. It's that drive that I can already tell you have, to know what's going on not only before the shot, but during the time that the insulin is working. You're seeing the 200's, but you're not seeing some of the great numbers that are happening while that insulin is doing it's thing! And you don't know this now...but that data is going to prove invaluable to you as you go forward.

You are going to be bombarded today with so much support and suggestions. You don't know this yet, but you've got a lot more reading to do ;-) ;-) :lol: . Take a deep breath and know you've made a fantastic decision to post last night. Take it all in as you can and absorb a bit each day.

If I had to list he three key things to really get going, I would say these are it:

• Home Testing
  Diet and Nutrition
  Data Management

Each area has many subtopics, but if you can get the basics down....you'll be on your way and you're ahead of the game in that you are already home testing! Carl mentioned some info on the importance of feeding low carb, wet food (and I'll paste some additional info here), and I'll also send paste the template to set up your data spreadsheet

Spreadsheet Link
Feeding Your Cat

So let us know what insulin you're on, what your current dose is and get the above going...and you'll be on your way to a healthier Buddy and a much more confident John!

 

[Linda for Weezer]

Hi John,

Welcome the world of the sugarcats! I can assure you, now that you found this board, you'll never walk alone. I look forward to watching you journey down this road with us. I'm relatively new here too. I can't tell you how much comfort I have knowing there's always someone here to share their wisdom, to hold my hand through a panic moment or just to comisserate if I get overwhelmed. The folks here are very knowledgeable, supportive and incredibly generous with their time.

Again, welcome!

 

[Dyana]

Hi John, and Welcome
We will be here for you and help you with Rockie. We can help you to get to a safe dose by making adjustments in small increments. That's great that you are already home testing. That is part of the tools to keep him safe. Once you do some curves at night or on the weekends, when you have some time off, then you can know about when his nadir is. The nadir is when he hits the lowest blood sugar. A lot of us have automatic feeders. I also am alone and have one diabetic and one civvie (non-diabetic) cat. I work long hours, and leave a feeder like this

out for lunch. My cat is on Levemir insulin, and his nadir is about +7 (7 hours after his shot). He gets his morning shot at 6:00am, and I set one side of the feeder to open at +5 (5 hours after his shot) and the other to open at +7 (7 hours after his shot). Normally, he gets fed food that is 0% to 3% carbs, but if I am worried about him for some reason on certain days, I can leave higher carb food, like 5% to 10% or more, in his feeder for his nadir time.
Ask all the questions you want. We are kind of like a big family here, and are here to support you, and guide you if you ask.

 

[doombuggy]

I am single with a FD cat (see avitar) who was diagnosed in April (Good Friday actually). He was on Lantus (see spreadsheet in my signature) but with the help of this group (and a vet who has some experience with diabetes), I was able to get Cedric into remission in about a month. I think we got it pretty early, as I noticed about a month before his 4/21 annual appointment that he had been drinking alot of water. Changed his diet to grain free, high protien low carb canned & dry, then finally took the dry food away - his BGs dropped 100 points (5/19/11) and 2 days later they were normal, and have been ever since. He's doing great, I give him 4 small meals a day and I use this autofeeder, as it has an ice pack:
http://www.petmountain.com/product/elec ... eeder.html
He gets breakfast at 6am, then a cold bit of canned food in the feeder around 10-11am, a frozen bit which has thawed by 3-4 when the other side opens (and when I get home at 5 he usually hasn't eaten it yet) then dinner at 8. My new stray rescue is not quite into the routine yet, but that's another story. ;-)

I work 2 jobs, 7 days a week and if I can do it, you can do it. The hardest part for me was (and is) the testing part. Cedric had no problems with the injections, and he doesn't mind the testing, but I don't always get blood on the first poke. I use the heating pad in this toy my step mom bought him to help heat his ear (I burned the rice sock, probably because I put it on a napkin):
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... lmdn=Brand

You have found a great place that comes with a wealth of knowledge! Do you live in the Rockies? My sister currently lives in Denver w/her BF after graduating from Univ of Co/Boulder earlier this year and I went to CO for the 1st time for her graduation (right after Cedric was dx'd). If you update your profile with your city & state, there may be someone in your area to get help from if you need it.

Welcome!