Merry Is Still Not Regulated

Discussion in 'Feline Health - (Welcome & Main Forum)' started by LuanneP, Oct 25, 2017.

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  1. LuanneP

    LuanneP Member

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    Jul 24, 2017
    Hi guys,

    Merry is now up to 2.5 units of Lantus BID and he's still experiencing high numbers whenever I test him. He came to me in July when his previous person surrendered him to rescue and he was actually in remission until May. Because he was in remission not that long ago I didn't think it would take this long to get his diabetes under control & I had actually hoped he'd go into remission again by now but so far he's not even controlled yet.

    At first he was eating just the DM food, then I started to add some Fancy Feast Pate (classics) to it in order to help offset the cost for the rescue group. Eventually he was eating more of the FF than the DM and now he's on Holistic Select Grain Free Turkey with some FF. I always add a topper of cooked meat (ground beef is his favorite) to his meals as well but that's just meat. The Holistic Select Select is low carb but not as high in protein as the DM but either way, his values are about the same on all those foods.

    If I didn't know Merry was Diabetic I certainly wouldn't even think he's ill. He's happy, playful, he's gained needed weight since being with me, he doesn't drink or pee excessively etc. So he's feeling good despite not having his diabetes controlled.

    The vet is likely going to increase his insulin again soon since we're not seeing improvements on the 2.5u. I just feel like maybe I'm missing something & that's why he's still not controlled. This is a new vial of insulin since he came to me, he had a full work up by the vet, kidneys are good, thyroid is good etc etc. He had a dental in Sept in hopes that getting the bad teeth out would help get his diabetes under control but that didn't make a difference (he needed the dental regardless). I guess he could have developed one of the conditions since he was in remission that would make him insulin resistant & if it were up to me I'd start testing for some of them now (I don't like to wait) but the rescue won't want to pay for those tests at this point.

    I guess I don't really have a question but just looking for support or other suggestions if there are any.

    Thanks guys =^^=
     
  2. Larry and Kitties

    Larry and Kitties Well-Known Member

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    Dec 28, 2009
    What you are getting now is essentially a high, flat curve. One cause of that is giving too much insulin. A cat can tolerate too high of a dose without going low because the liver can dump glycogen in the blood stream to maintain BG.
    If there are no ketones in the urine and Merry is eating OK I would try three days at 1 unit twice daily and see if you get lower BGs
     
  3. LuanneP

    LuanneP Member

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    Jul 24, 2017
    Thanks @Larry and Kitties :) Merry was on 1 unit when he came to me. His previous person wasn't knowledgeable about feline diabetes & she wasn't working with a vet or any knowledgeable folks like those on this board so he was on 1 unit from May until he became my foster & had a full workup by the vet. First we got him a new vial of inulin because we didn't know how old his previous vile was or if it had been stored properly. He was still high with new vial so he was increased to 1.5 units & so on. So he was on 1 unit for 3 months or so. Do you still think I should drop him back to 1 unit or maybe go back to 2 units (since he was high on 1 unit for so long)?
     
  4. Larry and Kitties

    Larry and Kitties Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    I would test urine for ketone and if not reduce dose to 1 unit twice daily and see what happens to BGs. The dental may have reduced the required dose.
     
  5. LuanneP

    LuanneP Member

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    Jul 24, 2017
    Ok, will be interesting to see how he does.
     
  6. LuanneP

    LuanneP Member

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    Jul 24, 2017
    Hi guys, So I dropped Merry's dose down to 1.5 units on Oct 26 at his PM injection (I know Larry suggested 1 unit but I felt better going back to 1.5) and Merry's numbers are not much different than when he was on 2.5 units. Should I keep him on 1.5 a few more days to see if they start to look better? His spreadsheet is up to date if you want to take a look. I'm confused & really don't understand what's going on. He had that nice blue reading on Oct 6 at his PMPS reading (he was getting 2units at that time) & then I probably screwed it up by getting scared & not giving him his PM injection.
     
  7. Larry and Kitties

    Larry and Kitties Well-Known Member

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    Dec 28, 2009
    How old is the Lantus?
    By now I would had expected to see a noticeable difference when you 2.5>1.5 units, even if the insulin was old.
     
  8. LuanneP

    LuanneP Member

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    Jul 24, 2017
    One of the first things we did was get Merry a new vial of insulin when he came into rescue because we didn't know how old the one was that he came with or if it was stored/handled properly. So he got fresh insulin the beginning of August.
     
  9. Larry and Kitties

    Larry and Kitties Well-Known Member

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    Dec 28, 2009
    I would give the 1 1/2 units another day and if no improvement increase to 3 units and see what happens.
     
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