Smoosh Update

Status
Not open for further replies.
S

SmooshyCat

Member Since 2014
Well it has been a few weeks and we are back to a diabetes diagnosis. When I had last left off we had an insulin tutorial scheduled, over that weekend Smoosh had become ill, vomiting, diarrhea general lethargy so we took him to the vet Tuesday morning. They kept him all day, during the day they gave him insulin, at which point he became hypoglycemic. They also drew a fructosamine, which came back normal. He was given antibiotics for pancreatitis and we were sent on our way. His issues resolved and the vet seemed to think the elevated blood sugar was circumstantial. Fast forward two weeks, he is still crying at night and his blood sugar on Friday was over 600 and the fructosamine was no longer normal. We are now back in the saddle with the lantus solo star and hopefully starting tomorrow or Wednesday. We are also looking into the alpha track 2 meter. Any thoughts or suggestions at this point. She wants him to remain on the science diet w/d for the time being as he got used to it due to his gastro issues a few weeks ago, but we will be looking into switching back to tiki cat in the future. Hope everyone else is well!
 
This sounds similar to our experience. Our vet was concerned about sugar in Tisha's urine, then she came down with pancreatitis, so they thought they were related. She was diagnosed with diabetes when the symptoms didn't resolve with the antibiotics. We're about 2 weeks into treatment and about to double her insulin dose. Good luck!
 
Tisha's_Person said:
This sounds similar to our experience. Our vet was concerned about sugar in Tisha's urine, then she came down with pancreatitis, so they thought they were related. She was diagnosed with diabetes when the symptoms didn't resolve with the antibiotics. We're about 2 weeks into treatment and about to double her insulin dose. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Oh no, we had glucose in the urine as well. Luckily the symptoms of pancreatitis (vomiting and diarrhea have resolved) but he is still crying at night. I'm doing research on the meters now, as the expensive one at the vet seems out of reach for us. I am looking at the relion prime as it seems to be pretty well recommended here. Are you using Lantus? I'm still waiting to get everyone's schedules coordinated to schedule the appointment for the first injection and lesson.
 
ReliOn Prime takes a slightly larger blood drop than the ReliOn Confirm, Confirm Micro, aka the Glucocard 01 and 01 Mini from our shopping partner ADW (see shopping link above),

Use 26-28 gauge lancets to obtain the blood droplet. You may need to poke twice in/near the same spot. Catch it on a clean fingernail if Smoosh is wiggly, and test from there.

Always give a low carb treat after testing, successful or not.
 
BJM said:
ReliOn Prime takes a slightly larger blood drop than the ReliOn Confirm, Confirm Micro, aka the Glucocard 01 and 01 Mini from our shopping partner ADW (see shopping link above),

Use 26-28 gauge lancets to obtain the blood droplet. You may need to poke twice in/near the same spot. Catch it on a clean fingernail if Smoosh is wiggly, and test from there.

Always give a low carb treat after testing, successful or not.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I am heading to walmart a little bit later to pick up the supplies, we go tomorrow for our lesson and first injection/bg test. I saw on the site that more people like the prime versus the micro???? I dunno they have got to be better than the super expensive one the vet wanted me to get.
 
The Prime's test strips are some of the least expensive out there which those of us on a budget appreciate greatly. Vets don't check the end user costs for the AlphaTrak or i-Pet.

See my signature link Glucometer Notes for some information on the differences and what the number ranges may mean.

And human glucometers are much less expensive than pet specific ones.
 
BJM said:
The Prime's test strips are some of the least expensive out there which those of us on a budget appreciate greatly. Vets don't check the end user costs for the AlphaTrak or i-Pet.

See my signature link Glucometer Notes for some information on the differences and what the number ranges may mean.

And human glucometers are much less expensive than pet specific ones.
Click to expand...

Yes we definately appreciate budget friendly items. I have been very lucky thst our vet understands our financial constraints. I bought the prime meter, strips and lancets (just the stabbers as I more comfortable with out spring loaded needles) for $29 at Walmart. I also picked up one lantus pen and needles for $123 at acme. It's been an expensive evening but hopefully smoosh will be feeling better soon. How long should we expect his negative symptoms to conitue after starting the insulin?
 
Let's check your starting dose:
What does Smoosh weigh?
How much should Smoosh weigh?
Take the lower number.
If in pounds, convert to kilos (divide by 2.2)
Multiply the result by 0.25.
Round down to the nearest 0.25 ( we eyeball 0.25 and 0.75 increments)

If you already have changed to a low carb diet, and are diligent about dosing on a 12 hour schedule and following a Tight Regulation protocol, you may start seeing some changes pretty quickly.

If you are still feeding high carb food, control will be difficult. However, if you are already giving insulin, food changes must be done carefully, as the glucose level may drop 100 mg/dL and the insulin dose could need a decrease of 2 units, more or less.
 
BJM said:
Let's check your starting dose:
What does Smoosh weigh?
How much should Smoosh weigh?
Take the lower number.
If in pounds, convert to kilos (divide by 2.2)
Multiply the result by 0.25.
Round down to the nearest 0.25 ( we eyeball 0.25 and 0.75 increments)

If you already have changed to a low carb diet, and are diligent about dosing on a 12 hour schedule and following a Tight Regulation protocol, you may start seeing some changes pretty quickly.

If you are still feeding high carb food, control will be difficult. However, if you are already giving insulin, food changes must be done carefully, as the glucose level may drop 100 mg/dL and the insulin dose could need a decrease of 2 units, more or less.
Click to expand...

*it looks like the starting dose will be 1.039*

Smoosh currently weighs 9.15 and that's down from around 13lbs. He is a male Himalayan so he should be on the larger side. Due to the pancreatitis he is on hills science diet w/d canned, half in the morning half in the evening the. He is free to graze with the other cat on a combo of the w/d dry and halo dry.
 
Round that down to 1.0 units (I like to put in the decimal point to make sure it is read correctly).

The research does not support a low fat diet for cats with pancreatitis. It does support a low carb diet for diabetic cats and W/D is not it. Pop over to Cat Info to read more from Veterinarian Dr Lisa Pierson.
 
Well I gave the second dose of insulin this morning and he seems to be doing well. Last night we noticed that he seemed to have more energy and wanted to interact. We tried to test his sugar before bed but he just wasn't willing to cooperate. This morning he did resume some of his normal screaming in the early AM but I assumed it may be him having a spike in the sugar as he was nearing the time for his next dose. I managed to give him the insulin all by myself this morning and he was left in the care of the pet sitter (to make sure he didn't have any bouts of hypoglycemia throughout the day). Tonight my husband will be giving him insulin for his first time and we will attempt to test his blood sugar prior to the injection to compare between yesterday and today. Yesterdays was 299 on the relion meter, so we assumed around 330.
 
The assumption around here is that you are using a human meter, so all talk about blood glucose numbers is done in "human" numbers and if you're using one of the pet monitors, you have to yell it when you give info. So, go ahead and just let us know that he was a 299 at PMPS (pm pre-shot, there's also the amps, am pre-shot value that you'll see a lot).

If you can stop the grazing on the dry food, then that is likely going to have an immediate and marked improvement on his numbers, but at this point I'd recommend getting used to testing (both you and Smoosh) first and then starting to make the diet changes as soon as you feel comfortable doing the tests. You'll need to be able to get at least one test mid-way between shots for a few days after making any food changes to be sure he's still safe.

It's all so overwhelming at first, but this site and the people here are absolutely wonderful. You'll get it all figured out for your situation and kitty soon.
 
Oh no, we had glucose in the urine as well. Luckily the symptoms of pancreatitis (vomiting and diarrhea have resolved) but he is still crying at night. I'm doing research on the meters now, as the expensive one at the vet seems out of reach for us. I am looking at the relion prime as it seems to be pretty well recommended here. Are you using Lantus? I'm still waiting to get everyone's schedules coordinated to schedule the appointment for the first injection and lesson.
Click to expand...

Sorry for the late reply. Yes, we use Lantus. Even though her numbers are still high, they came down with a small dose and we saw a return to a higher energy level within a day or two. My spoiled kitty got a new cat tree from DH, who insists he doesn't like the cat, and has been happily climbing it today. :cool:
 
[Glucose reference ranges are unsubstantiated and have been removed by Moderator]

We suggest using an inexpensive human glucometer with pet-specific reference numbers (which your vet may not know about). One many of us use is the WalMart Relion Confirm, or Confirm Micro, which is also sold at American Diabetes Wholesale as as the Arkray USA Glucocard 01 or 01 Mini (same manufacturer - Arkray USA). It uses a tiny blood droplet and the cost is significantly lower for test strips (like $0.36 each). In Canada or other countries, you'll need to look for one you can afford, and easily obtain test strips to use.


* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *​
Examples of using the chart:

Ex. You are a new insulin user and you test your cat before giving insulin. The test is 300. It probably is safe to give insulin.

Ex. You are an established user of Lantus, following the Tight Regulation protocol. You've tested around +5 to +7 to spot the nadir. It is 200 mg/dL. You probably need to increase the dose, following the instructions for the protocol.

Ex. Your cat is acting funny. The eyes are a bit dilated. You are concerned and test the glucose. The number is 35 mg/dL. ACK! The cat may be in a hypoglycemic state. You quickly follow the HYPO protocol linked in the glucose reference values chart. (which we really, really, suggest you print out and post on your refrigerator.)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top