Hello from a newbie...

Hi all,

I'm so glad to have found you! My Melek, a 14-year-old kitty, was just diagnosed with Diabetes a few weeks ago. Right now we're treating with Science Diet m/d and amaryl, but probably will move on to insulin soon. I have been pretty stressed out, I've had Melek since he was 3 weeks old, and have 2 civilian cats as well.

Has anyone else here had experience with Amaryl? Melek was taking it for about a week, and on the 8th day had a violent reaction just after his dose and meal (lots of front-end output is my euphemism). I re-introduced amaryl today with no problems, fingers crossed.

He has lost 2 pounds in just under 4 weeks, but my vet is still hopeful (Melek was a bit tubby). I'm still worried, but trying not to freak out Melek... we lost his big 'brother' 6 months ago at age 16 to renal failure, so I'm a little paranoid.

Nice to meet you!

-Melek's Mommy

 

hello m's mommy. welcome. we were all pretty freaked out when we first got here. it is no where near as bad as it seems right now.
i am unfamiliar with what you are giving you cat now, along with the science diet.
i will say we definetly need more information so we can help.
if you can tell us what this 'med' is and what it is supposed to be doing to help diabetes, that would be helpful.
do you know what bg's your kitty was dx'd with? was he tested for ketones?
i'd say one of the first things you could do is to learn how to home test you cat. this is something we ALL do. we can even set you up with hometesting equipment.
it empowers you to know what the blood glucose is for you cat rather than going to the vet all the time.
also you are going to want to change his diet. the science diet...not so good. diabetic cats need to eat low carb food, this comes in the form of certain canned foods. i will add a link in the next post for you to see the best food for kitty. this is incredibly important as all dry kibble is very high in carbs, yes, even the one your vet gave. you.
so off i go to get that list. give us all the info you can ok.
lori and tom

 

http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodOld.html

ok this list will contain the carb count for nearly every canned food on the market. look for 7-10 carbs or less.
this dramatically lowers your cats blood glucose.

 

hi 'mommy' i just google the ameryl and apparently it is a generic glipizide. this is a drug we do not reccomend to treat diabetes. it overworks the pancreas instead of giving it a rest the way insulin would.
the insulins best uses are lantus, pzi pro zinc, levimer. i will say that unless you have a schedule that will allow strict 12 hour insulin shooting times the pzi is the way to go.
the lantus, while an excellent choice requires more daily testing for the first couple of weeks and the pzi is more forgiving of strict shooting schedules...altho you do want to try to be somewhat consistant.
ok, have i give you enough to get started?
oh, and breath, everything will be ok.
lori and tom

 

In all my years on this board I cannot ever remember a cat being given Amaryl. There have been cats started on Glipizide though which can be damaging to the liver. I would strongly suggest you start Melek on insulin instead and please be aware that a cat can also hypo on Amaryl so please consider learning how to hometest.

 

Hi Melek's mom,
And welcome to FDMB. My name is Taline, and I've been a member here for 36 days now, ever since my cat Bibo 12 yrs old was diagnosed with diabetes. My vet prescribed Bibo Glipizide, which is the same as your med, and I tried it for 2 weeks, and didn't help at all. That's when I met so many people in here, telling me to stop the Glipizide and ask the vet for a good long lasting insulin. And thank God I did!! Bibo, was on insulin for a very short timeof 2 weeks, and he seems to be doing fine without it now. You can check Bibo's spreadsheet in the bottom of my post.
My advice to you is to stop the med and start him on insulin. Of course, before you do that, you need to learn how to home test so you can better monitor and determine Melek's dosage. There are so many links on this site, teaching you how to home test, which is essential for diabetic cats' treatment.
There is a great hope out there for feline diabetes. don't despair, and things are gonna work out for Melek. Keep on posting and asking questions, so you can get plenty of info and support. Best of Luck.
Taline

 

Thanks, everyone! I'm ordering the testing kit, and we'll start Melek on insulin and keep him on the low carb canned food.

Feeding time around here is complicated, keeping the 2 civilian kitties away from Melek's food, but we're working it out.

 

Fantastic that you are going to hometest! While you are waiting for the meter, you can get Melek ready. Put him in the place where you think you will be testing. Start messing with his ears and then giving him a treat. You can make up your rice sack and warm his ears up to get him used to that sensation. (thinnish sock filled with regular rice warmed in the microwave until very warm but not hot) If you put a flashlight behind his ear, you will be able to find the sweet spot: you are aiming for the capillaries that run off the vein which runs down the ear. You want the capillaries that go off that vein toward the edge of the ear.

You can feed everyone the wet lo carb. See Dr. Lisa's website for info on why wet lo carb is better for all cats, not just diabetics. (http://www.catinfo.org) Feeding could become a much easier proposition for everyone.

 

Just to say hullo from across the pond. You seem to be doing all the right things.

Diabetes is not life shortening. Well treated the cats can live long and happy lives.
I think we have one cat on the board who has celebrated 10 years "on the juice"
In our case Jazz Cat was 15 when diagnosed and died from cancer at the age of 20
Katy went into remission after a few months of feeding only wet food, and died of age related organ failure (supposed to be 10 but possibly nearer 20)

Bushey Boy diagnosed at 10, died of chronic heart failure at 14

I dont think that diabetes shortened their lives

Mary(UK)

 

meleks mommie, did you order a kit? i did'nt get word of it if you ordered from newbie kits.
i'll recheck...maybe you ordered it else where? if you ordered last week pm me with your real name so i'll know that it went out k?

 

Thanks, all - I'm having trouble with the Paypal, my husband is working on it. In the meantime, we have Melek on lo-carb food and I will try the tip with the rice sock. He's purring when a rub his ears, which is a good sign (I think all the recent vet visits have given him a new perspective). He's had 2 steroid injections in the past 5-6 weeks, so we're waiting for the steroid to exit his system to make sure his blood sugar isn't being influenced by that. Should get an accurate read by next week.

Thanks, all, for the comforting experiences you've shared, I am much more hopeful that Melek still has some good years left.

The Youtube links are wonderful!

 

Lori, I got the Paypal up and running and just placed my order I'm the one in Bellevue, WA. Thank you so much!!!

 

meleks mom, looking forward to calling you by your name one day! your order will be shipped first thing in the morning and you should have it by fri., sat. at the very latest.
checking these posts to see if you need keto stix.
so happy you are going to be testing :mrgreen:

 

Thanks, Lori - I'll be on the lookout. My name is Jody

 

who's Judith?....are you the same person, in the northwest?

 

That's me - I go by Jody, except on official stuff. Thanks for double-checking, though!

 

Hi Jody and Melek and welcome!

 

jody your kit went out this morning. let us know when you make it into the VAMPIRE CLUB or if you need help getting there. (a term affectionalty used for the first blood draw) :mrgreen:
lori and tom

 

We'll keep you posted as soon as we get our fangs, Lori - thank you!

 

We're official vampires! Melek loves the rice sock, isn't as fond of the ear-prick, but hopefully he'll get more used to it. The good news is that his number has dropped by 150 since his last vet visit, about 10 days ago, though it's still way too high. He starts insulin this week. Thanks, Lori and Tom, for making this as easy as possible for us!

 

Welcome to the VAMPIRE'S CLUB!!!!
Your relationship with you cat will never be the same! :lol:
Now why does your kitty love the rice sock? that is for you...and the catnip toy is for him.
did i send you a how to use your rice sock paper?
I'm not surprised his numbers are down.. the stress at the vets and I think you've changed diet right?
Lori

 

I'm just glad he's still talking to me

I think he likes the sock because it was next to the catnip toy - Melek does get a little confused from time to time. He is on the Hill's m/d (prescription low-carb food), so I think that is helping, but I'm looking forward, actually, to getting him on insulin and seeing him feel better, too.

 

According to the food charts, Hills MD is 14% carbs. You can feed better quality food, for less and with fewer carbs: http://www.felinediabetes.com/diabetic-cat-diets.htm That might make a difference in his bg levels also.

 

yep, sue is right. aim for 10-7 carbs or less...you'll see a difference. plus it's cheaper and better quality. how often does THAT happen?

 

I was concerned about the ingredients in the Hill's, so I am interested in choosing one of the lower-carb foods (and saving money sounds great, Hills is expensive, and I have to go to the vet to get it!). We'll give that a shot - I feel like there is so much I don't know about taking care of Melek! I don't know what I would have done without all the help I've received on this board - thank you!

 

most of us love the fancy feast, the wellness, the slightly more expensive frozen raw rabbit. tom only gets that for 1 meal a day...his favorite.
you know all your cats would benefit from the exact same diet your giving melek.
you may avoid future health issues, urinary track infections etc. that come with the dry diet.
please let us know your bg# and how much your shooting right away. this would be very important for us to know....we like to start low, go slow. no more than 1 unit. which insulin are you getting?

 

As soon as we see our vet this Friday to get Melek's dosage, I'll come stragiht here to compare notes and develop his low/slow plan. I'm very eager to get started! This week I'll get some of the frozen raw at Mud Bay and some Fancy Feast to keep costs lower, an dI lok forward to tracking his test results as he moves to these foods. I hope he likes them!

 

You have come a long way, baby!!

You can take the Hills back to the vet and tell him Melek won't eat it. Hills will take back any of their food.

I hope we have also convinced you to start low and go slow. Please be emphatic with the vet that you want to start at a low dose (1/2 unit to 1 unit would be ideal.) Hope he will start you on a long lasting insulin. Humulin and Vetsulin are NOT good choices. I hope you have read through some of the other newbie posts that got those insulins and the troubles they have had. If he can't prescribe Lantus, Levemir or PZI, I would really consider finding another vet.

 

Kinda makes you wonder what they do with it - doesn't it? It reminds me of a commercial for an optical provider of some sort I've seen - the man who tried to use dog kibble to fuel his charcoal grill. :lol: However, knowing that is a good thing - I wonder if Royal Canin does the same. My sister will (hopefully) have a big bag of Urinary S/O to hock in the near future. They've been doing their research and are having success moving a STUBBORN dry food addict onto wet!

And, more importantly, I offer my belated congratulations to you on joining the Vampire's Club, Melek and his Mommy! (Or Jody, if I may). I joined up on the 3rd this month - my very first test was successful... followed by about seven duds, lol. Not enough blood, took too long getting blood (learned not to push the strip in all the way until I was ready), feisty kitty, etc.. Sounds like you're doin' fine now, though, so well done! I'm excited for you to get started with Melek's treatment; I'm sure you'll see some pretty incredible results.

I'll admit, I took up residence on the Lantus ISG board when I first began trying to manipulate Rufus' numbers. In the very beginning I felt like I was jumping at every shadow... now I'm only hiding from the Monster Under The Bed (you know - the Hypopotamus nailbite_smile).

I just wanted to say, "Great job" on being so proactive with Melek's health after getting what can be such a scary diagnosis. I only wish I'd been as motivated as you are. With your hard work (and Melek's!) you should be bypassing lots of aches (heart and head) in the care of such an important boy.

To preempt any potential discouragement, I want to say this. As a newbie, it can be overwhelming at times, but this story helps keep things in perspective for me: My father got stationed in Hawaii and our dog, who was very much a Mama's Boy would have to be subjected to months of quarantine in order to be able to make the move with them (I wasn't born yet). My father asked my mother if she was really up to that. Her reply was, "Do you want me to come or not?"... and, if I'm remembering correctly, she visited him every day. What I mean, of course, is: there are people who don't even try to treat their diabetic cats. They euthanize them or pawn them off on any so-called "shelter" that has room - if the cat is lucky, they find someone who is willing to treat them. That's not you, and it's not Melek (or any furbaby in your home). You're lucky because you're willing to meet Melek's diagnosis head-on. If you ever feel overwhelmed - this is a great place to vent. ;-)

(I've said it somewhere else, but I'll say it again here - when my medicine kicks in I become REALLY talkative. In fact, I can't shut up. You're only lucky in that I can't see very well to know what I'm typing, lol.) Running away, now! :mrgreen:

 

RuBee,

My understanding is that any of the big petfood companies will take back their food; you can just say your cat won't eat it! I have taken all kinds of different foods back to PetSmart and never been questioned.

 

That's great, because she typically bought it in the larger bags to avoid frequent after-work detours to the vet. I guess she could offer it to someone else if that doesn't work out, but that stuff is horrible - an average-built cat weighing 22lbs. It almost seems criminal to market a food in a veterinary clinic that will do that to a cat.

And, by all means, feel free to call me Bee if you like. :razz:

 

I brought my food back 3 years ago! they took it.
also you never mentioned what insulin your going to use.
as for dr. telling you the dosage PLEASE do not let vet shoot your cat based on proir #'s.
with his diet change and as you now see, vet stress #'s, vet's typically shoot to high and want you to do the same. it can set up a vicious cycle of rebound or worse.
That's not to say he will dose to high, but too often that is the case.
If you want to see some of our thoughts in general read the thread going on in health right now started by abbout vet products or something. it should be at the top of health and you'll notice a very high reply #.
will give you some courage before you hit the vets office.

 

I've been reading that thread closely, and I have a list of concerns to address to my vet when i go in. He's really a very good vet, so I am giving him the benefit of the doubt (plus, he has a diabetic kitty who has been kept well for years since his DX). I don't know the brand he'll recommend, but I think it sounds like there are some I should avoid completely. I'll take good notes before i go in, the appointment is Friday.

Today's blood reading went much better, he didn't even meow. :razz: