The Blues

:smile:

 

Buff-puff,

I'm very sorry to hear about you family.

The level of anxiety I was feeling our first couple months dealing with this was nearly crippling for me. It's gotten better.

Knowledge is power. The more you read and learn the more you will be able to do better for your kitty. You've come to the right place, and despite any warts EVERYONE here cares about helping kitties get better. Nobody is paid, it is done as a labor of love and dedication that flows from the love and dedication they have for their own kitties.

Don't worry about the two different type of diabetes yet. I think it is very likely your is the type that can be treated easily by getting the right diet going and helping out with insulin. The other type usually need A LOT of insulin [like 6+ units of PZI even on a low carb diet]. We've just had a kitty that has gone off insulin [for a couple days now] in here that was on 5+ U of PZI!

Do not worry about the past and what you fed - the good news is that you can feed diabetes appropriate food and it will help. It's all about what you do now for your kitty. And you are doing the right thing, home testing and getting on a good diet and getting Kitty regulated. I know it's easy to say but feeling bad about the past is not going to help you get to where you need to go. So keep reading and learning and we'll try to help you as much as we can. With your hard efforts, the future is bright for your kitty.

So get that profile made and link in your sig along with your SS! It's not clear to me that 2u is too much right now [but there is not much data to go on], how long has your kitty been on the low carb wet only diet? It in fact looks like you may be getting some nice looking curves on 2u - another member here Joanna likes to say that the drop from PS to nadir should be about 50-60% and that's about what you are getting. And the curves actually look like curves without any apparent or unexplained spikes. You are getting some pretty fast and early drops and that could be an indication of a hair too much insulin or just your kitty getting used to getting the ProZinc. So.. hopefully you can get that profile going so I can read about your kitty and have a better idea of the whole picture. Also you may want to read about using the U100 syringes with the U40 insulin in the sticky at the top of this forum. Many here do that and it really helps.

 

Hi Gator & H. Thank you for your kindness once again. No, I don't see any warts in this community - I've only gotten lots of help and encouragement here, and I'm grateful for that.

Kelly's post affected me because I'm very concerned about the lack of agreement between the vet medicine experts and I would like to see some consensus regarding simple things such as types of foods (I was sold a bag of dry DM by the vet and the next week told not to feed dry food by the same vet)! I was also given other bits of conflicting advice in the space of 1 week. And the advice to feed Buffy just twice a day was hard to follow, but I did that for a couple of days, and she was begging me to feed her 2 hours later. I think she was starving, as she had only eaten her usual small portion 30 minutes prior to shot time.

All that being said, I trust this community more than the experts. You've all been, or are currently, where I am -- and that goes a long way in convincing me to follow your advice.

I'm thankful to hear the roller-coaster ride gets better. I totally understand the anxiety and crippling describes it well for me too. I wish none of us had to face it. I never knew there were so many cats with diabetes - thought it was rare.

Thank you for saying that. I'm trying hard to work towards that end.

I tackled the SS and am updating it as I test. Not sure how to do a profile but I'll see what I can do.

A week tomorrow, although I discovered some of her regular food was low carb all along.

Great news to hear!!!

I'll get that done as soon as I'm able. What info do I need to have there?

I've read there's a way to use them to get more precise, especially when giving a reduced dose. I'll have to see to that too!

 

The instructions for the profile are located in this topic:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=531
Much in there deals with getting our old profiles from the old board into a google doc. Some of it may help you. My profile is on the old site so...
You can use this "coolification" tool which will help you gt some of the basic questions answered:
http://fdmbcoolification.blogspot.com
Then you should be able to copy and paste the resulting HTML output of that tool into a new Google Document that is set up or saved correctly to handle HTML.

The big questions that get asked all the time are the specific brand and flavor food you are feeding & if your kitty has other health problems - especially keytones. Also note indoor or outdoor kitty. Just as much as you can tell about your kitty. You can look at our profile linked in our sig to kind of see the questions to be answered.

Yes, please do read all the info/links in the sticky at the top of this forum if you have not. It's all PZI specific info and important.

OK this is good. It usually takes at least a few days for the effects of the "bad" food to wear off. Then it can take up to a few weeks to see the big improvements. Sometimes the improvements keep happening for a time after that too. Of course all of this is dependent on how much 'carb toxicity' had built up in your kitty. But this is very good to know, it helps me understand any effect the food may be playing in the curve.

BTW, the squeaky wheel gets the grease around here, so if you have questions don't hesitate to pipe up.

 

And I don't seem to have a problem with that :mrgreen: Thanks for your encouragement. I'm recovering from my breakdown, although The Buff is currently in hiding. Her last test was an error, and when I walked back into the room toting the "kit," she had a stricken look on her little face and ran like the wind.

 

{{{Hugs}}}

We have all been there. When I came on here, it was this or back to sitting on the floor of my bedroom crying over my cat who literally looked like she was at deaths door. Now we are doing very well. There's a lot to take in, but you don't have to get it all on the first day. The majors are what everyone will repeat diet and testing, diet and testing. There are a LOT of helpful people here that will help you look at your numbers and point you to data in other people's numbers to help you make sense of them.

It's all very overwhelming at first but you're doing great. You'll find out the easiest ways to test your cat. There are plenty of people who have a lot of good advice about testing methods. If you get overwhelmed by some of the reading, just ask. Everyone here is someone that is either currently in your situation or has been in your situation.

 

Thank you for the hugs. I'm so sorry any of us have sick furkids, but I'm very thankful for the community here.

I was looking over your profile and noticed you are also free feeding. I've started doing that against the advice of my vet (and apparently the folks at ProZinc according to their website) but Buffy has stopped begging and all in all she's seeming more like her old self. She did give me a scare earlier today, probably part of why I've been in such a weird funk. I walked in and she was sprawled on the floor, her head bobbing oddly. My heart nearly jumped out of my body and I rushed over to her in a panic. But she just looked up at me lazily and yawned, and it was then that I noticed a ray of light bouncing on the ceiling - which of course is why her head was bobbing! A month ago I would never have overreacted that way, now everything sets me into panic mode.

Regarding FF - do you stick to 1 or 2 flavors, or do you switch around? BTW, thanks for your encouragement.

 

I have 2 cats and 2 kids, and both my furbabies tend to not want to eat if there's a kid nearby or a car honks or a shadow passes over the moon . You just never know. Also, my Ari is coming back from being skin and bones because of the FD (before I became somewhat test obsessed and on information overload.) I just couldn't see the reasoning behind limiting their food when she had lost so much weight and was finicky. Maybe for some cats that would work, but not for mine. I kind of went with the old parenting advice "It's your kid (cat.) If everything you feel tells you something is wrong to do, then it's wrong to do." Gotta go with your gut, sometimes.

We stick with the Chicken Feast. I don't see a problem with feeding other flavors as long as they are LC and your cat likes them. We've been mixing ours with other foods that are lower phosphorous because Ari had some elevated kidney #'s, but she either doesn't like them or they give her diarrhea, so often we go back to the one style.

Another thing on the free feeding... especially when you're finding a dosage. This may just be my observation, but if you do overshoot a bit and your kitty feels himself going too low, it's seems logical that he would search out food. Having it available seems to be a smart choice. We were at a higher dosage a month and a half ago and when Ari's dosage started lowering rapidly she'd come trotting out to the food dish as the insulin doses were higher than she needed. I think she was trying to get those BG's back up. It's what I do when my bg's bottom out, so I can't think that survival instinct is limited to the 2 legged species.

If you ever need immediate help, you can always PM. If no one's hovering around the boards, it will alert whoever you pm in regular email.

 

This has been my thoughts too. Also, I had a tough time getting her to eat enough to sustain her for 12 hours, even of wet food. When first diagnosed, I was sold DM and instructed to feed 1/4 cup twice/day. All I can say is they don't know cat behavior very well. She ate a few morsels and didn't touch it again. I'm wondering how insulin would have worked off that?

I'll remember to do that. Thanks.

 

Your post here makes me glad that I did that big long write up about our vet visit. It has been so hard to go against the advice of our vet, especially when I have friends around home that question me questioning the 'expert that went to school for god know's how long for this field' :lol: When I got told advice that would have seriously hurt my Oscar (not testing at all for 2 weeks) despite me showing data that would argue otherwise, it was enough for me to say - maybe you don't know everything and maybe you don't know what really is best for my Oscar specifically. I am so very glad that you have found this board, because it has been a wonderful support system for myself. Feel free to pm anyone on here, because I have always found everyone to be very willing to help.

 

:lol: I'm glad you did too -- we need to be informed and hash out the conflicting vet advice compared to the success rate here.

Although... nailbite_smile ... the "expert" advice in your post had me in panic mode and near hysteria over Buffy yesterday due to too many differing opinions - wondering who is right if they don't even agree amongst themselves :YMSIGH:

Anyway -- as the day went on, The Buff bounced back and I was feeling more upbeat -- and I thought better about dragging anyone else down with my blues, so I deleted. :mrgreen:

Thank you. I too am grateful I found this place. And I agree wholeheartedly, so many have stepped in and helped with every situation I've faced in my short time here. I would have lost it by now if not for the great folks here.

 

Hello! I see I am a bit late to the party, but I wanted to welcome you to the board. I have caught up on most of your posts, I think, and it sounds like you're on the typical new-to-FD roller coaster ride that we have all been on. You seem to be doing well as far as reading and getting your SS in order and getting the hang of things.

I totally understand your frustration regarding conflicting/incorrect/dangerous information from your vet. Like Gator said in a previous thread, vets have a myriad of medical information and diseases to keep up with, and it seems nearly impossible that they can know everything about everything. You are Buff's best advocate, and you are well on your way to being able to make the best decisions for her. About 9 months into this disease, I don't consult with my vet about anything regarding feline diabetes anymore. I think it's easier for both of us that way. ;-)

Just as a disclaimer, Buzz is no longer on PZI and so I can't really give any dosing advice regarding that insulin. However, this forum is growing every day and you have been getting excellent advice from Gator and others so far. Keep up the great work, and I look forward to seeing how Buff progresses.

Edited to correct Buff's gender. ;-)

 

Thanks for the welcome :smile:

Roller coaster describes it well! But it helps to know you've all been there and attest to it getting better.

I've come to the conclusion, with reading others posts, that may be the best way to handle it. I understand they can't know everything, any more than a physician can, but my vet told me a couple of conflicting things from one week to the next, which was frightening to me. Also vet's partner in in the office that demonstrated injection and sold me the insulin actually thought it was okay to free feed (Buff's vet wants her on twice daily feedings, which poor thing was hungry). It's just very frustrating trying to know what to believe when the vet's advice from office to office vary.

Definitely so, they've been a lifeline for me - although I pester with lots of freaking-out questions at times.

And yes, Buffy is a little girl. It probably would have helped to register as Buffy, as Buff can be gender neutral. Buff-puff is one of her nicks, along with Bufferator, The Buff, Missy-lou, among others. And she responds to all of them.