1/11 Chet - AMPS: 374, +2: 282, +5 222, +8 273 / PMPS: 422 +3 308 - first time poster

Hello everybody -- Cari (me) and Chet (fur baby), first time posters here! I'm inputting his numbers in the topic title from yesterday since I couldn't test him today while at work, but will use current day numbers in future posts!

Chet has been on insulin since 11/29/18 and has never been in the green. The vet increased his insulin and we finally saw yellow for the first time. I hope this keeps up (eventually into green?!) because I've been very distraught since his diagnosis. He was the most fluffy lovable kitty -- came when you called, cuddled anybody, wanted to be picked up, etc. Now he is scraggly looking, grooms infrequently, sleeps by himself on the floor, and only cuddles when he wants food. Hoping to get him to a good place with all of your support and following a TR method.

Already answered question (thank you!): I've already read the "How Much do I Feed" and "Feed kitty as much as they want?" threads, with the takeaway that if my kitty is underweight, I should feed him as much as he wants. However, he ALWAYS wants food. If I did it this way, he would eat 2 cans every 4 hours for a 24 hour day. That's just too much food and can't be good for him, even if he doesn't put any weight on. Do any of you have advice on how to feed my always starving kitty that already eats 6 to 7 2-oz cans of food a day?

Current weight: 6.5 LB (emaciated)
Ideal weight: 14 LB

His current 24 hour feeding schedule (I tried feeding more every 12H and he was STARVING that way so we switched it up to feed less more often):

+0H, AM shot: Can #1
+4H: Can #2
+8H: Can #3
+12H, PM shot: Can #4
+16H: Can #5
+20 H: Can #6

Chet in a rare moment of cuddles while in the yellow:

 

Hello and welcome Cari and sweet Chet. Most of the people here follow one of our two dosing methods, the Tight Regulation Protocol, from a paper published in vet journals, or the Start Slow Go Slow method, which was developed over time here, before the protocol was published. You might want to look at the yellow starred Stcky Notes on them and see if one of them would suit you. Then you can take dosing under your control, and hopefully get Chet into good numbers sooner. While he is still in high blood sugar numbers, his body cannot properly process the food. Getting insulin into his cells is key. Until his numbers are better, he will be “starving”. He should get his old personality back too.

One more thing, I tried opening your spreadsheet and I don’t have permission to read it.

As far as food, what type are you feeding? I would use the scale as your guide on quantities for now. Also look at calories in addition to carbs and try to maximize calories per can. I fed raw food, which had a higher number of calories per volume and filled my girl up with a smaller volume. For feeding times, it’s best if you can give most of the carbs before nadir, or you can shorten the insulin duration and end up with higher preshot values. I needed to feed my girl in the back half of the cycle or she would have chewed my fingers, so I gave a small amount of zero carb then.

 

I just made the spreadsheet visible to the public -- oops, thought I had done that already! Will read the rest of your post at my next work break. : )

 

Hi Cari,

Welcome to Lantus & Levemir Land, the nicest place you never wanted to be.

I was able to open your SS on my second try - you fixed it as I was typing.

It looks like you just started home testing? That's wonderful. That's the best way to keep Chet safe while figuring out how much insulin he needs to feel better. Always get a before-shot test, so you know it's safe to give insulin, then as many other tests during the cycle as your schedule allows.

Not knowing what his numbers were before you started testing, I can only guess, but I'd say he's bouncing because those yellow numbers from yesterday were lower than his body is used to. That's normal.

Wendy already said everything I would have about feeding. Chet will continue to be hungry all the time until his numbers get better, so that's what you need to be focused on. Don't worry, you'll find lots of help here to accomplish that.

Here is a post we put together to help newcomers get comfortable with this forum, kind of like a FAQ. Please keep reading all the stickies in the first page - there's a ton of info there. It can get overwhelming, so ask lots of questions. We were all new and scared once, so we understand. We love to help!

 

And I was just able to take a break. : )

Hi Wendy and Tricia (and Neko and Harvey >^o.o^< ) and thank you for the warm welcome. I am planning to follow the Tight Regulation Protocol and take control of Chet's dosing, as I've already learned more about FD by reading all the stickies on this forum than my vet has ever explained to me and I'm better able to monitor Chet's dosing on a day to day basis. The vet did perform a full bloodwork on Chet to rule out other conditions -- he is all normal except for the diabetes. I've done home testing before but never recorded it in a spreadsheet like this.

I did some research on feeding before the nadir after your advice, Wendy, and this makes a lot of sense why his numbers seem to get very high again in the PM. I'm going to adjust his feeding so that he isn't eating after his nadir (which I will find out through more BG tests!) -- we'll see if he decides to chew my fingers off near the end of his cycle too!

It's also a relief to hear that Chet may be bouncing with his numbers being in the 200's for the first time ever. He has always been between 300 to 400, even while on his previous insulin dosage. I will keep it up with the pre-shot tests and follow the Tight Regulation Protocol after giving him enough cycles to acclimate to this current dosage.

I'm already noticing how supportive and nice everybody is here, and am so happy I found this place!!

 

Cari,
I'm not familiar with the meter that you are using, but it should have a memory that will allow you to pull up previous tests. When you have some time, it might be helpful if you could retrieve the rest of the tests since the first of the year and add them to your spreadsheet. There is no such thing as too much data, and the more info we have, the easier it is to see what's going on.

 

Thanks for fixing the permissions. Any data you have from previous doses that you can put in the spreadsheet will help us. Primarliy focussed on the last ocuple of weeks. Also wondering how you got to the current dose.

Out curiosity, what other conditions did the vet test for?

 

Welcome to the best forum on the web for helping you and for getting your little cuddle bug get back to good health! Sounds like you've got a good handle already by reading the stickies...there's a lot of information there.

Keep up the testing and posting.

We'll be seeing you around the forum. Stop by and read other condos and look at spreadsheets too - it'll help you to see that there are a lot of other kittie beans (moms and dads) taking care of their sugar babies and sharing the ups and downs (literally) every day.

 

You're all wonderful, everybody! I do have a history of readings on my monitor that I will add to the spreadsheet when I get home from work -- I'll post when the spreadsheet has been updated along with answer other questions here.

 

Welcome and you couldn’t be in a better place, these guys are awesome

 

All right, I've added everything to the spreadsheet since December 24. I only did random spot checks though, because I wasn't versed in how often I should be taking readings until I found this forum! Before Dec 24, I had accidentally dropped the monitor, lost its batteries, and wiped the previous readings on the memory. :/

I did a calculation on Chet's ideal body weight and how many calories he should be eating, and it turns out that I am feeding him just about right for his ideal body weight even if it seems like so much food. I didn't realize that the wet food carb & calorie chart I've been using provided calories per 5.5 oz, not per 2 oz. So whew, I'm less worried about that one. I just have to time it right from now on so he's not eating after his nadir!

To answer some questions:

• I arrived at 3.5 Units through the vet. Chet started on 1U and it had zero effect on his blood sugar, so the vet bumped it to 2U (also no effect), then 3U the next visit (minimal effect), then finally 3.5U at the last visit.
• The vet initially suspected and tested for hyperthyroidism -- all good there! The vet also performed a CBC which included platelet count, kidney levels, and liver levels. They performed an abdominal ultrasound as well.

I will definitely be sticking around these forums and reading other posts as well -- we're all in this together!

 

Welcome Cari and Chet!
Chet is one handsome kitty. He reminds me of my Rusty.
Good luck with this adventure. We are all here to help. If you decide to use TR, be sure to follow the protocol with regard to when and by how much to raise the dose. Your vet may have been raising the dose too fast and by too much each time.

Welcome!

 

Hi Cari and Chet. You are in a great forum. Just to give you hope my Kylee was DX and soon after going off the dry to just wet she is now OTJ. She is still diabetic but no juice. I was a nervous wreck and all this aged me. It is a huge adjustment and responsibility, but we do it because we love our sugar babies.
Everyone here is so helpful. Take it one day at a time and know you always have help.
Bless you.

 

Oh Renee' - I had to laugh a bit at this one - yours was thankfully a short journey through the rigors of FD...imagine the aging on those who've been doing this for years! After only a year I feel like I've been at this forever...must make me and others 'the ancient ones'....just sharing a bit of my odd humor here You are so blessed to have gotten your furbaby to the OTJ phase so quickly ... I'm green with envy.