Tyrone Update

Status
Not open for further replies.
taylor_hubbard

taylor_hubbard

Member Since 2014
Hi Friends,

We took Tyrone into the vet today to do a check on his blood sugars this morning at 8:30am and they were 136 using their alphatrek meter. For now my vet advised not doing the shots and testing. We will bring him in on Friday midday to see an update. Thanks everyone for your help. Could he be already in remission??
 
Hi there ~O) :cool:

Taylor, if it were my kitty I would continue to test between now and the followup visit on Friday. I don't see a reason not to - it's very valuable data.
It's an opportunity to see first hand what is going on with his BGs in the comfort of home, unaffected by the stress of going to the vet.

You don't need the vet to tell you if Tyrone is in remission.

For Lantus users remission is defined as 14 days without insulin and normal BGs (<120 using a human meter). We refer to it as the OTJ (off the juice) trial.
During the trial you test at AMBG and PMBG times only, according to the shot schedule you use (no shots) and if after 14 days all the tests read in the normal range . . .you celebrate. :mrgreen:

SYK - the Alphatrack meters that vets use read 30-40% higher than the human meters most of us use.

You mentioned in a previous post that Tyrone was diagnosed Apr. 5th. Prior to that were there symptoms that prompted you to take him to the vet?
What was his BG at the vet on the day of diagnosis?
Have you made changes to his diet since?

Fingers crossed for Tyrone !
 
Hi Sandy & Black Kitty :-D

I just saw I typed that part wrong and I meant that they want me to keep testing. Yes, I really want to be sure its not some random fluke. Good to know about remission being 14days off. This has been the craziest roller coaster ride and I am really hoping for things to calm down.

Prior to diagnosis the signs were there looking back - I guess I just didn't "see". He always drank a lot of water and was always hungry. After my previous cat passed away last May I started to give soft food in the evening as a special treat to my little guy so I figured it was just wanting the soft food cause he didn't touch the dry stuff much after that. My mom took care of my cats a couple weeks before the diagnosis and noticed that they go to the bathroom quite a bit but I figured with 2 cats sharing 2 boxes it was normal amounts. Anyways, the sign were there!

Tyrone became VERY lethargic on that Sat Apr 5th and taking him into the ER vet they noticed the murmur and tested the blood & urine. He was off the chart high 600 on his bg levels and thus the diabetes diagnosis.

Since his diagnosis we've gone to all wet food - trying to feed mini meals when we are home. He eats hills m/d in the morning & evening (1/2 can) and get a spoon of fancy feast (classics variety) as snack in the mid morning and before bed. Before the diagnosis we had dry Iams cat food out for grazing and he was fed Fussie Cat- typically the chicken & veggie variety (always picked around the peas tho).
 
he was fed Fussie Cat- typically the chicken & veggie variety (always picked around the peas tho).
Click to expand...
That's so funny with Tyrone eating around the peas! Guess he knew that cats don't need to eat vegetables and was telling you that.

Hope the testing goes well and Tyrone maintains his good readings, 40-120.
 
I have to say that I really kinda chuckled when I read your first post about "Tyrone". Reason I chuckled? My name is Tyrone. I will not judge tho, because I have a hansom black haired kitty named Malcolm! haha_smiley

Now onto more serious stuff. It is quite possible that sweet little Tyrone is already in remission. My diabetic was on lantus for 2.5 weeks. I did a curve half a week after his diagnosis and his numbers were down but still diabetic. I then didn't test again for two weeks (vet didn't think I should test too often, plus I hated doing it) and his number was 2.9(52) before any insulin, so I held off. I held off and held off and held off until his 14 days were up and he was OTJ. So he was off insulin in just 2.5 weeks, and possibly could have been sooner if I was checking more often.

His last lantus shot was Jan 18th/14 and I now test every two weeks. His bg readings were constantly between 3.5(63) and 3.9(70) on my bayer counter next meter. That was on a 100% fancy feast diet. I have since switched to a home made diet based very closely on Dr Lisa Piersons recipe. His BG has been 4.0(72) and 4.1(74) since on this diet with the exception of the last reading which I took while he was at the vets and I got 6.1(110) on my meter and 7.4(133) on their alphatrak(btw, the difference between the alphatrak and my meter is almost bang on to what is said here). I'm hoping the increase was solely just because he was at the vets. He gets REALLY spooked out at the vets. I am going to test again on the weekend.

I really really hope Tyrone is as lucky as Clarence. I know if love accounts for anything he will be otj very soon.
 
So I took my lil Tyrone off insulin on Tuesday night because his numbers were very low. He threw up this morning at 5am (which isn't terribly abnormal for him but it's been awhile since he has) and I tested & he was 95mg/dh (Relion confirm meter) - no other signs of hypo or sickness. This would have been 2 hours before his shot. Then I tested at 9am and it would have been +2 after his shot (but no shot was given) and he was 161mg/dh. Still in the normal range, correct? Noticed that Sandy mentioned normal BG as being below 120. Advice?
 
So I took my lil Tyrone off insulin on Tuesday night because his numbers were very low. He threw up this morning at 5am (which isn't terribly abnormal for him but it's been awhile since he has) and I tested & he was 95mg/dh (Relion confirm meter) - no other signs of hypo or sickness. This would have been 2 hours before his shot. Then I tested at 9am and it would have been +2 after his shot (but no shot was given) and he was 161mg/dh. Still in the normal range, correct? Noticed that Sandy mentioned normal BG as being below 120. Advice?
 
Hi there :cool:

Sorry to hear Tyrone threw up. You say it's not abnormal - can you tell us about that?

161 is a bit above 'normal' . How long after his breakfast was it?

If you get a number that is above normal again, feed him a mini meal (a good tablespoon or so) and re-test in 3 or so hours.
If the BG has returned to normal range it indicates his pancreas are functioning by producing insulin on their own to metabolize the food.

It may be that hos pancreas are in the process of healing and 'sputtering' at this point and may need a bit more support with injected insulin.
Time will tell. Keep observing and making note of what you see.

Good job!
 
Sandy and Black Kitty said:
Sorry to hear Tyrone threw up. You say it's not abnormal - can you tell us about that?
Click to expand...

Tyrone has thrown up since we adopted him over 9 years ago. It always came & went in cycles. Sometimes because of hairballs and sometimes not. We done switches on food & didn't really make a difference. I actually was convinced he threw up because out of emotions. When my other cat passed last year he threw up on some of our possessions - shoes, clothes on the ground, he even tried to throw up on my head as I slept one night shortly after Artemis died. I figured he was grieving (I know it sounds weird). He calmed down and life resumed until I adopted a kitten. He started throwing up on his possessions. Toys, cat tree- you name it. He was almost "marking" his stuff. Then he got over her & stopped. He really hasn't thrown up in quite a while (been a few months) aside from last night. He's been washing himself alot lately - maybe catching up from these past few weeks so could be hair related as well but didn't see any hair balls.

I want to say he was fed a little bit of food at 7am- my husband fed him. I will check later tonight with your food suggestion to see where his levels go. Thanks!! :)
 
He is still a bit high as the others said. Can you switch out the hills md with the fancy feast classic pâtés instead. Hills md is 14% calories from carbs and that's too high for diabetic cats.. We recommend under 10% caloires from carbs like the fancy feasts classic pâtés and friskies pâtés.

A change in food to lower carb may be enough to bring him into normal range ie 40-130 on a huma meter,

Wendy
 
To avoid more GI upsets, you may want to make the switch gradually, swapping out 20-25% of the old food with the new food each day until transitioned completely.
20% new : 80% old
60% new : 40% old
80% new : 20% old
100% new

OR
25% new : 75% old
50% new : 50% old
75% new : 25% old
100% new
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top