Frankie, Newly Diagnosed

They did not have a mother.... well... me and my sister's doberman would carry them around in her mouth and lick their "area" to get the to pee :shock:

 

Henry caught on too fast and now races to Michelangelo's test spot, knowing he also gets a treat (or three if he can steal them fast enough from Mikey).

You carried them around in your mouth? ;-) Talk about dedication! :lol:

 

You can get the large bags of the Pure Bites treats at any of the Pet Club stores here in AZ. I have several cats who like them so I get the dog sized bags and they all share.

 

:shock: If you can do this, you are capable of anything. :shock: Incredible. :shock:

 

Al right, all right... I did not carry them in my month and lick them to pee The Doberman Did....Sammy, rest her soul, was recently lost to cancer. But Yeah I was their Mommy... they were dropper fed (I can't remember if it was baby formula, or something that I had to get at the pet store) I did have to wipe their "area" with warm wet towels to teach them to pee... (this is because the mother will lick them to teach them) I then conveniently put them in the litter box, so they are very well litter trained.

Anyways, Good morning!! Frankie Tested at 238 this morning and is eating right now. I haven't figured out the chart yet but her BGs are trending down already since switching to the wet food and I am wondering if this could be entirely diet controlled.

Testing is sooo much easier using the towel wrap and then I'm giving er some love and a treat afterward. I am picking up the insulin and supplies today and will be testing her around 9 to possibly do her 1st injection. I am going to need some pros around for that because it's my 1st time and I want to make sure it's done right. I am thinking that I need to start at .5 unit. I am picking up some Karo Syrup to have on had before I do anything, but I am not thinking this is going to be too hair, but want to be prepared... I will be home all day working, so this is an ideal time to be able to monitor her.

 

Glad the testing is working out!

When you get the kayo, get some high carb food, like Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers, 2-3 cans. Its better to bring them up with food than syrup, if at all possible. I learned this from watching others deal with low numbers, it's not my turn yet. :lol: But I have my hypo kit ready for when I do need it.

You are doing such a great job, but anyone that hand reared babies won't have a problem. I did that myself for 2 kittens a few days old, it's an amazing thing!

 

238 is a good number - we suggest new members not shoot under 200. I wonder if the diet change may bring her into normal numbers without insulin. (some cats take a week or more to react fully to the change)

If you start insulin, please get some input from Lantus users here on a starting dose. Remember, her number can be much higher at the vet than at home (stress raises bg levels). Doses based on those numbers can be too high once she gets home and relaxes.

Great job testing and changing the diet! She is looking good.

 

I have supplies and insulin, but I am thinking we may want to wait a couple days before we do anything. I will get a test going in about 45 minutes and see where she is at.

 

Right now I am really mad at the vet... I am soo happy that Frankie is showing good signs without insulin, but the vets diagnosis was dead wrong..... and so dead wrong that I would have a dead kitty if I had not found this board. God has blessed me with finding this board and I am going to be sure to make it known in my community that the vet is not always right and can be dead wrong... I am so glad that I am one to research everything before making snap decisions!! So I will test Frankie in a few minutes and post the results and we can see where we are going to go from there...It looks like we will be waiting a few days before we decide to inject. Her BGs are looking good and they may still be elevated a bit from the UTI that she was initially brought in for. The Covenina Shot (antibiotics) was supposed to be a long lasting antibiotic, so we may want to wait even longer, but I'm not sure... Don't get me wrong I am elated about her turn around... but disgusted at the vet :evil:

 

For future reference, you may want to research that Convenia. My Lucian got it too, before I found out it's not only iffy, but is designed for skin issues, not uti. I'm sure someone here has a link for that. But it's something I will no longer allow to be given to any of my cats.

You have done such a great job! I'd love to see her be diet controlled and you may just be that lucky! Personally, I'd wait a day or 2 and see if the diet can take care of it, but that's just my opinion and lord knows, I've only been at this 8 weeks today! :lol: Some kitties with numbers that close to normal have been diet controlled after just a diet change and a very short course of insulin. Some as short as a couple days worth. Keeping my fingers crossed for you and Frankie.

Keep up the good work, Frankie is so lucky to have you! :thumbup

 

Many of us on here are/were in exactly the same positions with our vets too. Had I followed my Vet's advice, my kitty would probably be dead too. Learn from these most excellent people on this board, collect some data from Frankie, improve her health & then go back to your vet & show them.
I didn't expect my vet to react positively at all, but she was elated when she saw Milo's spreadsheet.

Turn the anger & frustration into something positive - a Vet who has more up-to-date info and knows how to deal with FD & knows how to improve the lives of other kitties & their hoomins. You've done astoundingly well in a very short space of time, and your patience with your cats & family can be used on a vet too! :thumbup

 

BG at 344... Not sure where to go from here... awaiting advice

 

Dan

Do you have Lantus on board to shoot if needed? You might want try to post over in the Relaxed Lantus forum. Mel (Momma of Muse) is very helpful and can help you with dosing Frankie.

Terri

 

Yes I have lantus in the fridge and 1/2 ml increment syringes. I'll head over there.

 

First off I try to not be too hard on vets since they have to know a lot of stuff about a lot of different species of animals and all the things that can and do go wrong with all those different critters. Even GP human doctors only have to know humans, but vets have to know everything from snakes to cows and everything inbetween and well they are still humans. So keeping up with all of the most modern treatments for all those critters is humanly impossible, especially since they probably don't see that many cases of feline diabetes to begin with and even less of owners willing to go the extra mile to treat it.

My vets are wonderful, kind and caring but with my first diabetic kitty they were way off, unfortunately I didn't find the board in time to save her, but through this board I adopted Maxwell and Autumn and over the last couple of years have taught my vets what I learned here, and now their new FD patients benefit from that knowledge. Just the other day I was in picking up Autumn after her dental and they were talking to a new momma of a cute little kitten about how to protect her from every getting sick, and they handed her a copy of Binky's list that I had given them years ago...and the last words off my vet's lips were "remember...no dry food ever!" so she learned well by seeing how far Maxwell and Autumn as well as my civies have come.

Okay now on to the immediate concern...Frankie and her numbers...how soon after she ate did you get the 344?

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang

 

I put food down right after her 238 test at 7 am. She went right to it.

 

Dan

Go back over to the Relaxed Forum, Mel has answered your question, you will also get more help over there.

Terri

 

Thanks, I will

 

Does this forum make a beeping noise for some reason?? I can't find anything else it would be...

 

The Lantus forums have sticky posts at the top about how to use Lantus properly and how dosing may be estimated.

For the conservative person, starting low at 0.5 units (0.25 if you can eyeball it), is a good level.

Its always advisable to be there for the 12 hours following the first shot, and taking the occasional test, because you just don't know how the cat will respond. (There's an unusual one here who'll drop from 750 to below 50 on an Alphatrak after 0.5 units!)