Somewhat just diagnosed. Very nervous

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Val9955

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Hi Fellow owners of a very loved fur baby,

My fiesty, 9 yr old, orange tabby "Spanky" was diagnosed with diabetes on Monday. I am worrying constantly about his treatment. Please give me your thoughts or feedback on what I should do.

Background: Spanky is a large cat, 26lbs, but he wears it well. He was only fed dry kibble until his sister passed of CRF last year. In Feb I took Spanky in for a check-up and a fructosamine urine test was performed with a normal result. 2 months ago I took Spanky to the vet bc he was peeing outside the litter box, they said he was to fat to reach the bladder to obtain urine. I was to bring him back and leave him all day so they could catch his urine. He began feeling better and not peeing outside the litter box, so I did not take him back. The Monday before Thanksgiving I noticed he was looking like he had lost weight and also noticed the litter box was filling up fast with urine. I took him to the vet last Friday, and got the test results Monday: He had lost 5 lbs in 2 months, his BG was over 500.

The vet said Spanky is "more than likely diabetic" so come by and "get his insulin." The vet tech was supposed to instruct me on how to care for Spanky. She pretty much told me to feed him this $50.00 bag of dry food and give him $100.00 ProZinc 3 IU 2 times a day and bring him back in 10 days. I cried all the way home. I had a dog in the past that was diabetic, so shots do not bother me, its just the what if I do something wrong that is worrying me.

I have been researching feline diabetes since Monday, and I have not started his insulin yet. So far, I took up the dry food and he is only eating wet food(high protein/low carb). I started testing his blood sugars 12/5: 369 12/6: 309 12/7: 281. I am taking back the expensive dry food the vet told me Spanky "had" to eat.

My questions:
In the 2 1/2 days since starting high protein/low carb, Spankys BG has dropped some, but is still unsafe, does this mean I should not start him on the insulin?
Also in the 2 1/2 days Spanky is drinking less, and peeing less, but he is sleeping more, any ideas on this?
How long should I give him on the high protein/low carb before starting the insulin?
Should I be testing his urine?
What damage am I doing by holding off on not giving him the insulin yet, or what problems will it cause giving him insulin when starting a new diet?
Spanky did throw up once this morning, but I thought it might be him licking the ground where is dry cat food once sat. Is throwing up once the indication of any issues?


Thank you so much for any feedback. I just want my fur baby to be happy and feel good.

Val
 
What a great job you have done so far - diet change and home testing and a good, mild insulin. Fantastic!

Here is a document that will tell you a lot of ProZinc - how to dose it, how it works.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=32799

When did you get the numbers? How long after the shot? That will help us figure out about starting insulin.

Keep reading and asking questions. We would love to help you help your Spanky.
 
Val, I think you could safely start Spanky on some ProZinc as long as you know he is completely off any dry food. You are already way ahead by testing and changing the food but his bg numbers are still in the diabetic range. Thank God you didn't blindly follow the vet orders and start shooting 3 units b.i.d.(2x a day).

If you are home to monitor him before Sat. then you could start by giving him a 1/2 unit, (.5) on the syringe. Test him in the a.m., get a bg reading, give him food and make sure he eats, then give him the insulin. If you feel more comfortable, test him in the a.m. and ask here as to whether you should shoot or not.

I would also suggest you buy some Ketostix (tests the urine for ketones) and if the pharmacy doesn't have them, maybe they will have KetoDiastix (Tests the urine for both glucose and ketones).
 
Hi Val,
If you only knew how far ahead you are already in the "learning curve". So, so happy you've done a lot of research, and all your instincts so far have been right on the money!

It looks like there has been some improvements regarding his BG, and if you tell us when the numbers you got were taken (with regard to when he ate), they will make more sense to us.
It looks like at some point, he will need insulin shots. You will need to figure out what time(s) work best for you given your day to day schedule.
Shots should be given as close to 12 hours apart, every day, as possible. So pick a time of the AM and PM that works for you, and let us know when that would be.

Once you give us that info as to how you came by those numbers (time of day and when he ate) we can figure out what dose seems to make sense. It won't be 3u however. Lots less most likely. Like Hope said, maybe .5 or at most 1.0.

At diagnosis, did the vet mention anything else besides "just diabetes" that might justify that high of a starting dose? Anything else going on with Spanky?

We'll also help you out with a spreadsheet that will let us see those numbers any time you enter new data.

Try not to worry about "doing something wrong", okay? We've all been in your shoes, some of us not so long ago, so we know the feeling. As long as you ask questions, someone will answer them. If you have doubts, let us know, we'll help you out. This is "what we do". We help, just like we were helped the day we got here.
Carl in SC
 
Welcome to you and Spanky!

What a wonderful mommabean you are by changing the food to low carb but by home testing!!!!

Wondering if Spanky had eaten before any of those test and if so how long before the test?

500bg at the vet and now 281 at home and new food??? what a great thing to see.... Proves just what everyone says here, testing without vet stress and with better carb food - amazing...

Were you able to test for ketones yet? I would suggest that you start doing that even if you are not doing the insulin just yet.

If Spanky is prone to throwing up, please wait a bit before shooting insulin when you start as it is important that they eat and it stays down when insulin is given. My Sugar Bean would throw up some, not all the time. I would try to feed at bit and take it up for 10 min or so, put it back down, let her start eating again and shoot while she is eating.

The vet that Bean went to started her with 1 unit of PZI and increased to 2 units 2 times a day, but I did not because of this site and I was not testing yet. Her numbers dropped close to or just over 100 by the time I was testing and by taking up the dry food. She just loved the ffeast, etc. food that was suggested here and did not really care for the script food so I took it back to the vet for a credit/refund......Bean is now in remission - last shot 5/24!!

You are miles ahead of most by testing, changing food and asking lots of questions. Furry hugs coming your way :cool:
 
Thank you so much for the words of encouragement, they are so appreciated today! I started Spanky on ProZinc this morning. After fasting all night his BG was 344, so I gave him 1 IU. I will test is sugar again this evening before I feed him. I did call the vet and ask them to send me his labs since it was asked if he had any other issues bc the vet told me to start Spanky out on 3 IU a day.
The only other issues were: BUN elevated 41mg/dL, Cholesterol elevated 239mg/dL, Lipase elevated 217 U/L, Absolute Neutrophils 11826 10^9, Eosinophils elvated 1314/uL, Glucose 548mg/dL, 3+ glucose in urine
I think I will start him slow at just 1 IU 2xdaily, how long should I test to determine if this is the right dose or increase/decrease the dose?
I am at work and Spanky is the only thing on my mind. I have been calling my husband throughout the day to see how Spanky is doing. My husbands report: Spanky has been sleeping all day. This is his typical daily activity, he becomes more active at around 6, when I get home from work. Since he has been sick, all he does is sleep.
 
Could someone please send me the spreadsheet that I see so many of you discussing? I would like to know the proper way of when to test BG and charting for the best care for Spanky.
 
Sign on to Google/ then google docs, then search templates for fdmb spreadsheet. When it comes up, follow these directions: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207 It is kind of tricky, so if you need help, just ask. It is a great tool for you, your vet and us.

Unless there are other issues or a history of DKA, one unit twice daily is a good starting dose. You test before each shot to be sure he is over 200 and it is safe to give the dose you are planning on (we can help you with this) and then test mid cycle to see how the insulin is working. It is confusing at first, but soon becomes second nature.

You never know how a new diabetic will react to the insulin. You can always raise the dose if the numbers indicate that is what is needed, but once shot, you can't get the insulin out of the cat! That/s why we like to start low and go slow.

Once he starts hanging out in lower numbers, he will feel better and start acting more like the Spanky you remember. Hang in there!
 
Val, I know exactly how you feel. While I am at work, I MUST MAKE MYSELF get off this site and work ~ lol
Spanky will thank you too. Good idea about the 1 unit for now.
Do you have someone that could test Spanky +4 hours, etc. after the shot? That will tell you how low he will go during his 12 hour cycle. The spreadsheet helped me soo much as I would take note EVERYWHERE and when I finally got the sheet going, it was a savior for sure.
Also wanted to say.........WHAT A GOOD BEAN YOU AND DH ARE! Spanky is in great hands now. dancing_cat
 
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