Slow going

[Laurie&Petey]

Hi, I'm curious to know how long it took to get your cat at acceptable BG levels. And what is acceptable? We are on Lantus almost 30 days now, with slow increases and still have not got below 300. Petey seems better, more energy, more social, eating great, but I'm nervous to still be that high. Thank you.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

We have a couple sayings here. First, ECID or Every Cat is Different. The reason a cat becomes a diabetic varies a LOT. For example, my cat had a benign pituitary tumour that sent out excess growth hormone which caused the resulting diabetes. It wasn't until about a year after the tumour was treated that she got close to what I could call regulation. That's an extreme end. Some cats just need to have their diet changed from high carb dry food to an appropriate low carb food and a little insulin help, to become regulated, often within a couple months. The dosing methodology you use also helps, which means home testing.

Another saying here is that feline diabetes is a marathon, not a sprint.

Acceptable levels would ideally be under low 200's most of the time, with some dips to low 100's and upper numbers below 100. But that also depends on what type of blood glucose meter you are using.

We'd need to know more about your cat in order to be able to help. Some of that information is in this post:
New? How You Can Help Us Help You!

 

[squeem3]

My first diabetic never reached remission. Leroy is a year post-diagnosis and is nowhere near remission but he also has other health issues.

You can follow all the tips (good insulin, right diet, testing, etc) and still have a cat who just won't go into remission for some reason or another. IMO having a happy and otherwise healthy cat is more important Just try to keep those blood glucose levels in a normal-ish range with diet, regular testing and dose adjustments as needed.

 

[SmallestSparrow]

Hi, I'm curious to know how long it took to get your cat at acceptable BG levels. And what is acceptable? We are on Lantus almost 30 days now, with slow increases and still have not got below 300. Petey seems better, more energy, more social, eating great, but I'm nervous to still be that high. Thank you.

Every cat is different and mine is a special case so not typical but—the first time he had a blue number was exactly one month in. He had one. Then back to red, pink, and yellow. It’s slow going in the beginning because it starts low and goes up slowly…and the cats body resists changing what has become to feel normal.

it may be hard to see on some others spread sheets because they’ve been at this so long. And some cats went really fast from high to low. But I think many, if not most, took a while especially the first 6-8 weeks.

I know how nerve wracking that is—at exactly one week I’d be texting my vet begging for an increase. I hope your kitty improves soon (ps don’t get discouraged if you look at mine and see Methos still struggles five months in—his tumor will probably never allow good control.

good luck

 

[Laurie&Petey]

Every cat is different and mine is a special case so not typical but—the first time he had a blue number was exactly one month in. He had one. Then back to red, pink, and yellow. It’s slow going in the beginning because it starts low and goes up slowly…and the cats body resists changing what has become to feel normal.

it may be hard to see on some others spread sheets because they’ve been at this so long. And some cats went really fast from high to low. But I think many, if not most, took a while especially the first 6-8 weeks.

I know how nerve wracking that is—at exactly one week I’d be texting my vet begging for an increase. I hope your kitty improves soon (ps don’t get discouraged if you look at mine and see Methos still struggles five months in—his tumor will probably never allow good control.

good luck

Thank you. Helpful and hopeful to look at other's spreadsheets. We finally got a blue number and pulled a black today. Ugh! I just don't think I can ever test that much.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

The minimum number of tests you should try to get is 4 -- you always want to test before you give insulin. Without testing at shot time, you have no way to know if your cat's blood glucose is 400 or 40. Pre-shot testing keeps your cat safe. Once you have a sense of your cat's patterns, which may mean doing a curve (testing every 2 hours over a 12-hour cycle) every so often, you'll know when Petey typically sees the lowest point in his cycle. Knowing when to expect the nadir (low point) can be helpful although the nadir can move around. Except when doing a curve, you want to get. your pre-shot test and at least one additional test during both the AM and PM cycles. Just like you got an unexpected number in the mid-100s today, you want to be reasonably sure that your cat isn't dropping into dangerously low numbers.

That number in the black zone is what we would refer to as a "bounce." Petey isn't used to seeing closer to normal numbers. As a result, his liver and pancreas panicked and pumped out a stored form of glucose along with counterregulatory hormones which spiked his numbers. It will likely take a few days for his numbers to level out again.