Tigger and his continued weight loss after Vet stopped his NPH

[Terry Marie]

Hi....I am a new member and very much hope that I can get some good feedback on my beloved Tigger. He is 15 and was diagnosed with Feline Diabetes approximately 5 years ago. There were no problems until last month when he went hypoglycemic and dropped to 50. After multiple tests, the Vet reduced his NPH from 6 units to 2 units. At the follow up visit (2 weeks later), the BG was 250. His Kidney and Thyroid Values were normal. The Vet did not palpate any abnormal lumps and his Xray results indicated no abnormalities. The Vet did indicate that his vision had diminished significantly and that he had lost 3 lbs. I am very concerned that he is deteriorating as quickly as he is. His appetite has decreased and he much less active. I love my Vets but I get the feeling that because of his age, there is more of a "nothing more than we can do" attitude in their approach. Has anyone experienced anything similar to Tigger? I have always been a fighter for all of my nonhuman family members. I am not ready to throw in the towel. Any advice/help would be greatly appreciated...Tks, Terry Marie & Tigger

 

[BJM]

Welcome to FDMB.
Home testing the blood ways is the best way to take control of the situation and know exactly how well the insulin is or isn't working for him. All you need are an inexpensive human glucometer, matching test strips, and lancets for alternate site testing (25-28 gauge). Many of us use the ReliOn Confirm or Confirm Micro from WalMart.
NPH insulin typically lasts about 6-8 hours in the cat, leaving 4-6 hours without glucose control.

 

[Melanie and Smokey]

Is there a possibility o getting a different insulin? NPH is a fast, short acting insulin. There are better insulin out there for cats that would probably be gentler and longer lasting like Prozinc, PZI, Lantus and Levimir. To get good control with NPH you'd probably need to give less per shot and give more than 2 shots per day. If you start to home test as BJM mentioned, you will be able to see what kind of work the insulin is doing and what kind of adjustments need to be made.

What is Tigger eating? Feeding a low carb wet food can often help cats achieve better regulation too.

Sounds like there are no other complications, just need to get some better regulation going on for Tigger. Do some reading around the site, there is a lot of great information on here.