Tinker just Dxed again, I am a little rusty

Tinker's Mom

Tinker's Mom

Member Since 2017
Hi nice people,

My kitty Tinker was diagnosed in October 2017. He was prescribed Lantus and I think I gave him 2 units BID (I can't remember!). I was testing periodically and he did great. His pancreas healed and we were able to discontinue the insulin after only 4 months (woo hoo!). He never got hypoglycemic.

This year his diabetes came back in May or June. We tried him on Glipizide which didn't work. So we went back to the vet today and got another Rx for Lantus. The Dr wrote it for 2 units BID but I am going to start with 1 unit BID. I have re-read everything here but I want to make sure I have this right! So bear with me.

My plan in the morning (around 7am) is to do the following:
1) Check his sugar
2) If it's around 200 which it always is, feed him and then
3) Give him 1 unit of Lantus

Then should I check him throughout the day? I work from home so I can check periodically.

Also I am not sure how often to feed him. He is very spoiled and currently gets fed on demand all day long (4-5 times a day) (although I think probably he's so demanding because he is nauseated and doesn't feel well from the diabetes). I feed him Nature's Balance LID wet food. He has a very sensitive stomach so I am not sure what kind of "high carb" food to get (if any) to have on hand just in case. Most new foods he will puke up. I do have icing on hand from last time.

Thanks for the tips and help!!!!
Laura
 
Welcome back! Sorry to hear Tinker is out of remission. Before giving any Lantus I'd get several tests - at least a day or two to see how low he's going just on food.

All vets love to start out with 2 units - regardless. Seems like that's all they know to prescribe. That's too much insulin for most cats...

Please read the stickies above and select a protocol. Get someone to help you with your spreadsheet to add up to date numbers. What meter are you going to use?
 
Hi!

While not identical ( I have had two previous cats who were diabetic on insulin) I too felt rusty with my most recent cat's diagnosis.
I found this sticky to be the most helpful for sure to help me brush up on what I am looking for and when it's usually ok to shoot and when I should hold off etc. And it has nice info on two separate dosing protocols that you can follow + how often testing is suggested for each.
Dosing Methods: Start Low, Go Slow (SLGS) & Tight Regulation (TR)
I was worried about when to feed etc. too. My boy is acting so ravenous that he too has been demanding food throughout the day. I gather that generally speaking the most important is to make sure to feed at each injection time. And snacks throughout the day are generally ok but to hold off at least the 2 hours before his next dose+test is due. I am pretty new around here so others might have more specifics or thoughts on this. I'll let others chime in on the HC food, but if needed I imagine mixing the icing into his LID wet would work (might just not know the exact carb % you are giving)
 
Given that it's been a while since Tucker was on insulin, you may want to make sure your starting dose is at a reasonable place. If you plan to follow TR, initial dose = 0.25 x ideal weight in kilograms. Unless your kitty is either tiny or "fluffy", chances are the starting dose will be around 1.0u.

If you plan to follow SLGS, the starting dose is at 0.5u.

I would get some early checks on his BG just to make sure there aren't any surprises..
 
OK this is all very helpful. For some reason I didn't understand that TR and SLGS were different "protocols".

I am using Freestyle Lite for humans. It's weird that when he was tested at the vet his sugar was really high (over 300) (and it wasn't due to stress I think, because he was knocked out) but at home it's usually around 200. Is that because vets use kitty testing method? They did test his fructosamine and urine but I never got a report. I will have to get them to fax it to me.

The insulin wasn't ready yesterday so I will start tomorrow. I think I have got his sheet all set up in my signature. Thank you!!
 
Even if he was knocked out, just being loaded into a crate, taken for a drive and walking in the door of the vet's office is stress enough to have the body release cortisol which is what drives the BG up....takes a little while for that to clear out of the bloodstream.

Now if you knocked him out at home first...…...;););)
 
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