Truffles may be in remission but...

[Catnut]

I had some good news today, the vet wants to take Truffles off of her insulin for 2 weeks then have me do another curve to see if she will still need it, as she has been in the 5 to 8 range on a pet meter with .5 units twice a day! Is this a good way to do this. She also said not to test her but think i will esp. if i suspect something is off with her. She also vomited food not too long ago so now i have a worry she could have a food allergy to what she is eating or maybe another reason, as she also vomited a couple weeks ago. Can insulin make a cat feel ill if she has it and doesn't need it? I gave her .5 units this am as i hadn't heard from the vet yet. She said 9.9 may be a sign if she needs insulin again if i test her, is this right?

 

[tiffmaxee]

Hi. I strongly suggest you don’t go from .50 to otj. My vet did that with Max probably because he had a low nadir in his office and I wasn’t home testing. Max never went otj. Here we go from .50 to ,25 to 0,1 and only if almost all bg tests are under 100 to an otj trial. Some cats even go to a drop dose first. I can’t give an opinion due you as you don’t have a spreadsheet. Good luck. P

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Personally, I'd feel more comfortable commenting if you had a spreadsheet so we could see the trends. However, without a spreadsheet, I agree with Elise. When we are looking for a cat to begin approaching an OTJ trial, we suggest tapering down the dose gradually -- 0.5 to .25 to .1 to a 2 week observation period without insulin. The idea is that you are providing support to your cat's pancreas for as long as possible versus an abrupt stop

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

It's always better to taper off insulin even with the readings you're getting. It can't possibly do any harm to test so that will only make you more sure of what hopefully is great news.
As for the vomiting is she still eating the same food and no major changes in the home. That could be anything and I'm not qualified to even guess at the cause.

 

[Catnut]

ok, thanks. My vet said the dose was soo small i wouldn't be able to give a smaller dose. I will check her soon and see what her numbers are and go from there. Will watch if she vomits again but she is well today so will go from there. I can't seem to figure out the spreadsheet nor have time to do one right now. She has been in the 5's for the most part on a pet meter but was up to 11 earlier in the month, only been testing since Aug. 4th.

If a pancreas is just inflammed, can that mean she only needs insulin for a short time until it heals? The vet mentioned that at the end of May when she was ill. Can a pancreas just heal and a cat doesn't need insulin anymore and can use her own again?

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

One way to look at it is like alcoholism. And OTJ diabetic cat will never be cured and even after years it's a good idea to check once a month. We've had lots of members whose cats went OTJ and they never came back. They can even go on something called a 'vacation'. We want that for you but also to be realistic. If it happens it's not a miracle, you just got the lucky break you both deserve. Positive thoughts!

 

[Catnut]

i am very realistic person so i'm not getting too excited yet, we both sure do deserve some good things esp. a vacation (as i haven't had a real one in a very long time due to money, which is also why I am the way i am, and summer is THE worst time for me due to heat, noise around me and I just hate summer! and this summer has been the worst with dealing with Truffles issues so seeing her improve weekly and monthly has given me hope to keep going on in life. My vet will probably have me do curves twice a month and then check her on and off to make sure she is doing okay, i don't want anything to happen to her or esp. get a big vet bill i can't afford. Luckily i'm home alot due to disability and covid, to watch her if there is any change.

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

Summer is the dead zone here. 100% humidity, don't know my neighbors because everyone is locked up with their AC, dead trees, dead grass in the parks. We have an old big black dog that turns into a carpet sample if he's out there too long. I hate winter too so I'm waiting for those two months when we can open the windows, no furnace or AC and birds singing. This might be the year I buy a snow blower. The last trip we went on was a memorial service; eight flights in four days with an old diabetic cat being boarded. I was sick the whole time.
Good thing inflation, global warming and Covid are just holograms or things would be really bad.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

I agree with Elise and Sienne. You want a strong remission which will last so to do that you need to keep your kitty on insulin for as long as possible and safe.
Please consider setting up a spreadsheet so we can guide you and your kitty off insulin. Stopping abruptly when at 0.5 units may look ok for a while but it most likely will not last and it is much harder the second time around.