1st 24 hours

I dropped off our newly-diagnosed cat to the vet yesterday (Wednesday) morning, picked him up last night, and have administered two insulin shots. It has been roughly 24 hours.

I have to admit to not being prepared for the level of stress we are feeling in our household. After reading through some of the posts on these boards, researching the many links, and preparing various logs and charts, I guess I expected caring for our cat to be like maintaining a machine. After giving him his first shot, I realize how naive I was.

It's amazing how every little thing causes stress now. Is the cat sleeping too much? Did I wait too long after feeding him to give him his shot? Did he eat enough food? Is 2 units too much? Should I feed him some canned food and some dry? (That's what the vet did, so in the interest of consistency, I committed to a week's worth of the prescription stuff, both wet and dry). Did the needle go too deep? Not deep enough? Did I get all the bubbles out? Did I roll the insulin enough?

Rinse and repeat. Twice a day.

:sad:

 

First thing, THIS IS NORMAL!
And Breathe, I promise you.....this is doable and easy to put into a schedule....

I just takes getting into a routine both you and your baby. The best way for the 'too much insulin' is to test at home...

You could do like I did and start practicing the routine without the lancet in the pen. lap time, treats, loving the ears, test kit out, put strip in meter, every step except the actually pokey poke. Bean and I went as far as putting the pen to her ear, and clicking it for her (and I) to get used to the noise. And yes, I was a nervous wreck.... for a while. Then I realized we were getting the hang of it......really? I just woke up one day and went - wow - this is not as hard as it was 3 wks ago....

Also, I did consult w/ the vet but more advice here, from folks that do this EVERY DAY, and it really helped calm me down, which calmed Bean down too. I would also smell the area after shot....just to make sure I did it right. If I smelled meds, I figured I did a 'fur shot'. Even experienced shooters will do that every once in a while.

I would like to share a read for you that carl is sooo good to post for those of us to read;

http://www.felinediabetes.com/dear-mom.htm

I hope you can read this and this is soooo true with us all ;-)

What kind of insulin are you using? what kind of needles?

Hang in there, furry paw hugs coming your way!! :YMHUG:

 

Geez, give me a little warning next time, will ya? I can't be seen crying at the office!
:smile:
-eric

 

LOL Eric,
I read this often and yes, tears come to my eyes each time as this is ME and my poor watched Bean girl.. :shock:
I hope this also made you smile....sounded as though you just might have needed one.
Keep us posted and hang on, there is always someone here that can lend a paw, or whatever it takes to get thru the moment.

 

I can promise you that it does get a lot easier. Right now it is all new and overwhelming. But it will not take long for you to develop a routine and feel like an old pro. :mrgreen:

If you have not already started doing so, start reading the info on this site about diet, hometesting, insulin and hypoglycemia. Ask any question you may have. We have all been where you are now and are here to help you.

 

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone. Tonight, I performed my first home test. The cat was far more laid back about it than I was, and he seemed to be annoyed that I repeatedly stopped petting him to fiddle with his ears. I took the test about 12 hours after his previous shot, and one hour after dinner (25 grams of high protein wet food -- he didn't really want more than that) and he registered a 252. A few days ago before he started treatment, he was in the 400s, so I guess it's working. I gave him his shot (2 units), so I'm going to test him again in a few hours (he's on ProZinc, which I understand to be a slow-acting insulin), just to see how far numbers have fallen.

Just for "fun," I tested my skittish, obese, 4-year-old non-diabetic male. I started to get worried about him primarily because of his size, but also because he drinks a lot of water. However, he tested at 56, so that's reassuring. I'm glad to know that I have some time to get his diet under control before he ends up in the same condition as the other cat.

I have a feeling that testing is going to be a psychological balm for me. Despite the stress of having to draw blood, I think having numbers will make me feel better.

Thanks again for your help!
eric

 

Soo Proud of you and ??? - did not catch the kitties name?

Please test about +2 hours from the shot.... and again +2 And if you can another +2. that insulin should go its lowest 4-6 hours into the shot. How many carbs were in the food? I would assume that you have higher carb food - just in case of low numbers right? We call that our hypo kit....

Very glad he did better than you expected! gooooood boy! ;-)

If by any chance, he starts going low and you need to ck here, please do, lots of folks on here 24/7! What a great place!!!

Once I got the hang of it, Bean was in remission and it felt even weirer not to test for a while..... we still test just not that often.

Keep us posted on those numbers and again, great job! dancing_cat

 

Yes,I definitely have the higher carb food (and syrup, if needed). I'll test him again in a few hours.

Just curious, what is "low?" From what I've gathered on this site, anything under 100 is low, and 50 is on the edge. (This makes me curious about my second cat who tested at 56...)

 

I will let others comment as well.
but you should not be 50's in the +2 without watching for a lower drop because the nadir - lowest number - should be +4 - +6 after the insulin, but every cat is different. They can drop low and quickly....Trust me, I am NOT trying to scare you, but now that you are testing, you can keep an eye out on that boy....
Bean will test 40 -60 but that is with no insulin, so she is good. You can check her spreadsheet if you would like. It is in my signature and will show you how her numbers go without insulin. and what insulin can do with high numbers.... not much and alot.
good numbers are single digits but not low single just after shot time.

 

Thanks, I'll keep an eye on things. I tried to click on the spreadsheet in your sig, but it looks like the link is broken.

 

Huh. Now, that's weird. I just tested again, and he's actually up to 276.

There is a distinct possibility that I merely squirted him with insulin rather than injected it (I think I saw someone here call it a "fur shot."). I couldn't tell, though, because I had doused the injection site with alcohol, so I wasn't sure exactly what I was looking at. Oh well. Try again tomorrow!

 

Baxter is/was on ProZinc. We are on a OTJ trial right now.
One thing I do to prevent a "fur shot" is gather the skin & make what my vet called a 'tee pee". I kind of seperate the fur (Baxter is long haired) so I can see the skin & inject the needle. I hold the needle using my index finger almost at the tip of the needle & use movement with the palm of the hand to inject.
I hope all that makes since.

Also, how long ago did you feed him. They tend to go up right after feeding so he might still come down in a few hours. So go ahead & test him again in a little bit.

Jenn & Baxter

 

There is absolutely no need to use alcohol before injecting. Just tent the skin up and inject. The smell alone might turn him off of the shots. Kudos to you for getting right on the hometesting.

 

FYI, +4 and he's down to 206. Again, not 100% sure that I actually injected him last time (my wife is still baffled by this: "You felt it go in, right?" Ummmm... well, I don't know :? )

From what I've read, 206 at +4 seems to be out of hypo range (although not as low as he should be) so I think I'll call it a night and hit the bed.

Thanks again for the support.

Eric

 

Great job with the testing tonight! You don't need to use alcohol before you inject, but some people wet the cat's fur with a little water so they can actually see the skin - especially if kitty has long hair. (What is kitty's name?) And don't worry if you did a fur shot, happens to everyone :smile:

Normal BG range for a non-diabetic cat is 50-120ish. Your non-diabetic kitty tested at the low end of this range, but you don't need to worry because his liver and pancreas will work together to self-regulate him. A 56 from an insulin-using kitty would bear watching, because the insulin can cause him to keep dropping... does that make sense?

Lots of people get addicted to testing! I know I was really nervous and would get so stressed at first, trying to get blood, worrying about hurting Bailey, etc. But now it is pretty routine, and I feel so much better knowing what her numbers are. My spreadsheet is also in my signature and it works (as far as I know!) so feel free to take a look.

Welcome to FDMB!

 

+10 (before feeding): 173. He's not scheduled for another shot for another 2 hours, so I'll retest then and see what happens.

 

Hurray for you!!! I had to hit the sack last nite, could not wait to get up this am and see where the # went...... you should be able to see the spreadsheet now...let me know if you cannot...
Watch testing after he has eaten...dont want to shoot off a # that is false from foood....
What is kittys name??

 

Kitty's name is Melville. Can you explain what you mean when you say that I "don't want to shoot off a # that is false from food?"

Thanks!

 

WELLLLLL - HELLLLO MELVILLE!
your pappabean is doing a great job with you and what a gooood boy!

When you feed, the numbers will increase. You should wait for about 2 hrs after feeding - no food - before you test to make sure the # is a good number to shoot from. You could feed and test say, 1 hr later and the # could be higher than at 2 hrs later, does that help>>

I would say with your # last nite, you did not 'fur shot'.

What size needles are you using? the info is at the bottom of the bag of syringes. I was using u100, and got the shorter needle, but I think Prozinc uses u40 with a needle size of 1/2"?? Is Melville a furry sort or short hair? As you can see from my pix, Bean is short hair.

I will 2nd that you do not need alcohol and Melville might not like that smell.

How did he do with the additional testing?

Did my spreadsheet work?

 

you always want to test before they eat becsuse food will make their number go up and you wouldn't want to base the amount of insulin u give of that number. The normal routine is test-eat-shoot. Always want to make sure they are eating before you give the shot or else the bg could go down to low. I know there is so much to learn but keep at it before long it will all be old hat ( is that the right saying? haha)

Sharon

 

Did my spreadsheet work?[/quote]

Still not working - it says you need permission to access

 

You might need to make the spreadsheet available to the public.

Open your spreadsheet, click on "Share," click on "Change" next to Private, and select "anyone who has a link." That should do it!

 

Eric, ty - I know that was the way I had it, but who knows. But ty for letting me know! lol

 

Hi Eric!

Any update on Melville?

 

Yes, thanks for checking in! We had a checkup at the vet's today. Melville's numbers look good as long as we keep him off the dry food -- usually 150-200. We're going to keep him on 2 units twice a day and feed exclusively wet food. His next appointment is in two weeks (although I might ask my vet if I can just call in the numbers instead of making a visit. We don't own a car, so it's a huge pain to get to the vet). I will keep him on Purina DM for another week or so, and then try switching him to something of similar nutritional composition.

 

Something that might help you is what I have done with Musette and Maxwell. I set them both up a google doc spreadsheet and then emailed the link to both to my vet, that way he can look in on their numbers anytime he wants or needs to. Saves a lot of vet visits and phone calls on hold, since my vet is a very small clinic and very busy as they are also tied to a local no kill shelter.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang

 

I'm happy to hear about his progress!
Hope the vet lets you call in those #'s. Is he supportive of home testing?