1/2 Buddy

My cat Buddy was diagnosed about a week ago & I've switched him to low carb foods -- EVO dry (8% carb) & EVO canned (0-2% carb). I also started him on lantus this week & noticed his BG before shots has drastically went up yesterday & today... Is this normal?

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key= ... Gb3c&hl=en

He's on lantus & getting 2 units 2x a day, per the vet's recommendation.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

 

Hi CJ,

Welcome. I wish I had found and used this group right after Basil's diagnosis.

I can tell you one of the first things you will hear here is "Ditch the dry." If you are like me, you will be skeptical. I was feeding Wellness Core Dry, like EVO a very high-quality food, and some canned. If you look at Basil's spreadsheet, though, you will see the difference in his numbers after a couple of days of no more canned. I am 100% sold.

 

welcome to Lantus Land!

If you can start by getting some mid-cycle tests, that will help us see how Buddy is using the insulin and how he is doing on this dose. We base dosing on the nadir (lowest point) more than on the preshot, as the preshot readings tend to fall into place once we have a dose that gives us the right nadir.

You can read the stickies at the top of this forum for good information on getting started. If you haven't already, please read the "New to the Group" announcement at the very top of the forum.

Also, if you haven't already, I suggest that you post in the Health forum for general information about diet.

If you can get those extra tests, and post every day, we'll be able to help you manage Buddy's diabetes well.

 

Hi and Welcome to you and Buddy!!!

Here in Lantus Land we each start one "condo" or thread for our kitty for each new day....we link yesterdays' condo to the first one in the day so advisers can easily see what went on the previous day....Any new readings should be added to the one condo for they day....

If you have any urgent questions for the dosing experts, just state something to catch their eyes in the heading of your posts....

We love to visit each other's places too...I basically do some cheerleading and moral support so feel free to stop by and say hello!
We are a big happy family here and are so happy you came by today!!! :mrgreen:

 

Welcome to the Lantus Board.

Ditto on everything that's been said. There are very few members here who feed dry and that is only for very specific reasons. Lydia is a great example of how even a very high quality, relatively low carb dry food can still exert a negative impact on blood glucose (BG) levels. If you have not already seen it, Lisa Pierson, DVM has a great website devoted to feline nutrition.

We are very data driven in this forum so it's wonderful that you are already home testing. (OK, I'm a bit of a testaholic!) Please feel free to open other people's/kitty's spreadsheets to get an idea of how we test and use that information. Likewise read our posts (aka "condos").

There is a great deal of information in the permanent notes that Libby directed you to. Please review the German Tight Regulation(Tilly) Protocol. We use a modified version of this protocol for dosing decisions.

Does Buddy have any complications related to the diabetes or any other health issues. Do you happen to know what his ideal weight is?

The front end of this learning curve is a bit overwhelming -- so be patient. We've all been there and you'll get there, as well. It's also a little scary. This board is a community that is made up of a wonderful group of people (and their cats) who will offer you as much advice, guidance, and support as you want or feel that you need. Please consider posting on a daily basis and ask as many questions as you can think of. (We each open one thread/condo per cat per day since we're a big group.) If you need assistance, there is usually someone around 24/7 as we are an international group, as well.

 

Hi and welcome to the Lantus board!. I have to agree with the others, ditch the dry, the numbers will improve.

You said the vet has you shooting twice a day, but did he tell you every 12 hours? (lantus likes a 12 hour schedule)

 

He was at 22 pounds in August (for his yearly checkup), with BG of 199 when he went to the vet, everything normal. Last Saturday (12/26), I brought him in & he's down to 16.25 pounds. His BG was 401 & UA+ = 4+ glucose while at the vet. They didn't test for ketones, did say his liver enzymes are slightly elevated, but probably just because of the diabetes. Overall, Buddy is still acting pretty normal for him - he's always been very interested in food. I switched him last week to new food, per the information on this site. He is now eating mostly canned EVO food (0-2% carbs), plus a little bit of dry EVO food (8% carbs).

Vet suggested starting him at 2 units of lantus 2x a day (~12 hrs apart) & I've been checking his BG before each shot - it was down to the upper 200s in the mornings for a few days, but has shot back up to the 400s in the morning yesterday & today.

I'm not sure if that is normal? The vet said that his BG would fluctuate a lot in the first two weeks, but this seems a bit odd to me... Buddy is still acting pretty normal, so not sure if I should worry or not.

Thanks.

 

Hard to say whats going on with out some mid cycle checks. If you can, please try to get at least one mid cycle check in each day, and one at night before bed. Please visit some of the other condos and look at other SS.

 

I've been watching his numbers & they keep going down - his spreadsheet has details, but to summarize (so far today):

440 @ 8:30am - gave 2 units
400 @ 2:30pm
372 @ 4:30pm
350 @ 6:30pm
336 @ 9pm - gave 2 units

I'm wondering if he's not hitting his low until the middle of the night (from the morning)? Is it possible for it to take more than the 6 hours to hit his low? He's definitely eating...

Thanks.