my cat Marcus was diagnosed approximately 3 months ago. We have been doing everything we can to help him but his numbers are not going down. When we first took him in he tested at 425 at the vets office. They prescribed 1 unit of lantus 2 times a day. We did that faithfull, but his numbers are not going down. He absolutely will NOT eat wet food but we switch him to Dr. Elseys chicken after reading the posts here. I am caring for Marcus while my daughter is on vacation. His number are not going down. He has lost weight and is not him self. These are the readings I got today. We are using the ALpha trac and the petsure strips 25-Nov 530 am 279 no food for 6 hours 535 am small amount of food approximately 5 bites 600 am 2 units lantus 707 am 358 free feed Approximately 1/4 cup of dr. elsys gone from bowl 243 426 I picked up food so I can give him his shot. What are we doing wrong ? He has NEVer BEEN BELOW 250. The vet increased him to 2 unit of lantus 1 week ago. Shouldn't he be coming down by now ?
Hi Rebecca, welcome. I understand your frustration. It can take quite awhile to get kitty’s numbers under control. Please post in the Lantus forum. They will help you set up a spreadsheet and get Marcus on the road to recovery. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/lantus-basaglar-glargine-and-levemir-detemir.9/
Don't worry, you are in good hands here. We've all been through this, and our resident experts can help. We wish you the very best of luck with your sweetie. Many paws crossed here for Marcus and his family
While waiting for someone with more experience than I, maybe look at the 2 different dosing methods used by this group - TR: Tight Regulation and SLGS: Start Low, Go Slow. Cats have gone into remission using both methods. Which one is used is usually determined by people's life circumstances. Also, go to the group sticky that says The Basics and go down to where it says FDMB Spreadsheet Instruction to start a spreadsheet for Marcus. By posting all of the BGs you do on Marcus, people will have a better idea of what's going on with him.
Welcome to FDMB. If I'm interpreting the information you provided correctly, Marcus was started on 1.0u of Lantus 3 months ago. His numbers have been high on that dose until a week ago when the vet increased the dose to 2.0u? If my understanding is correct, here's what we would have suggested that you (or your daughter) do differently. Initially, you need to hold the dose for a week. Lantus is a depot-type of insulin and it takes a week for the insulin depot to form and stabilize. At that point, if numbers were not in normal range (50 - 120), we suggest increasing the dose by 0.25u. There's some variability at this point depending on what approach to dosing you opt to follow but you hold the increased dose for anywhere from 3 - 7 days. You repeat this process of systematically increasing the dose until numbers are in the range that you want them. If Marcus was kept at the 1.0u dose for a week short of 3 months and numbers were never below 250, it's likely that his body had gotten used to sitting in high numbers. (This is called glucose toxicity which is a horrible name and makes it sound worse than it is.) Basically, you need to be systematically raising his insulin dose in order to get his body to become reacquainted with normal blood glucose (BG) numbers. So, here's my suggestions: Set up a spreadsheet for Marcus so you can track his progress and we can see what's going on and offer suggestions regarding his dose. I've linked the instructions for setting up a spreadsheet and embedding it in. your signature. If you have a record of his numbers or can resurrect it out of the memory of your meter, it would be great to put that information on the spreadsheet. Review the dosing methods sticky. You are limited to using the Start Low Go Slow (SLGS) approach because Marcus is eating dry food. An alternative to what he's currently eating may be freeze dried raw food. I've used ZiwiPeak air dried food. If you are able to transition Marcus to a low carb canned food or one of the raw varieties, you would have the option of Tight Regulation. Read over all of the sticky notes at the top of the board. There's an overwhelming amount of information there. Let us know if you have questions. We'll help you get the hang of managing Marcus' diabetes. I would get a pack of Ketostix at any pharmacy. Given that Marcus isn't himself and his numbers are high, I would test for ketones. This may be strictly a matter of prevention but I worry when a member is concerned about high numbers and the kitty is acting "off" or lethargic. Ketones, if not caught early can be a life threatening emergency. If caught early, it's still problematic but can be treated effectively. The strips are moistened with the kitty's urine to give you a reading based on the color on the absorbent end of the strip. The color is matched with the key on the container. You just need to follow the directions on the bottle. That's a lot to get your started. Also, does Marcus have any medical issues? Has your daughter ever had his teeth cleaned?
Here is an article by Dr. Lisa Pierson on converting hard core kibble eaters over to wet food. I didn't have that problem with my cat, but I think maybe you could try some of her methods on stubborn Marcus. https://catinfo.org/#Transitioning_Dry_Food_Addicts_to_Canned_Food_
As you poke more and more, new capillaries will grow in and make it easier to get that precious blood drop. Make sure you're heating up his ear really well. A little rice in a sock that you can microwave or a pill bottle filled with warm water are two popular ways to warm ears. I'd suggest going ahead and holding the 2U dose for at least 6 cycles (3 days) unless he drops too low (under 90) and get a few tests in between shot times. If you think of your spreadsheet like it's a puzzle, it helps to see what the picture is if you have pieces sprinkled around. Since you're feeding dry food, you're limited to doing the Start Low, Go Slow dosing method. Have you tried sprinkling some FortiFlora on canned food to see if it will convince him to eat it? My China would eat sawdust if I put Fortiflora on it....LOL Also you can try crushing the Dr. Elseys (if he likes it) or whatever old kibble he used to like the best. Other things are oregano, parmesan cheese, bonito flakes, catnip, and freeze dried treats. Keep trying though! If he doesn't like pate foods, try some foods that are "bits", "flakes" or "shreds". Sometimes texture is a major player in getting kitty to eat what you want them to eat!
Rebecca Can you please post this spreadsheet link in your signature block so it will be easily accessed by us all every time you post. To do that: under your user ID, top right of this page, select “signature”. Enter the following info Caregiver & kitty's name DX: date Name of insulin Name of your meter Diet: "LC wet" or "dry food" or "combo" Dosing: TR or SLGS or Custom (if applicable) DKA or other recent health issue (if applicable) Acro, IAA, or Cushings (if applicable) Spreadsheet link. Please put the signature link on the bottom line of your signature information, on its own, so it is easy to find. Copy the SS link from above; type “Marcus’s Spreadsheet”, highlight that text, click on the hyperlink icon above the text box (looks like a paper clip), paste the copied link into the box and click on “insert”. Please do not put any information about your location in the signature for security reasons. If you wish to add your country location, please add it to your profile. You might want to change your user name so it doesn’t include your last name for privacy issues. You could use Rebecca and Marcus or anything you like that doesn’t use your last name. Welcome to FDMB. I’m sure we will be able to help you all.
