How long do you give a change in diet to help lower BG?

7-5-18 my 12.5 year old cat, Cookie was diagnosed with diabetes, the vet called me that evening with her blood test results. Her BG was 537 at the vets. I stopped the dry food then and there. 7-7-18 started her on low carb/high protein wet food. Purchased a glucose meter today and checked her blood level an hour after her eating. Her BG was 439. I would like to know how long I should go before starting insulin. I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon with the vet to discuss his treatment plan. I am concerned as he of course suggested I put her on the Purina DM canned food from the get go. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

To get a true reading of where the blood sugar level (BSL) is, you need to take it BEFORE you feed and at least 2 hours after food so it is not good influenced.

It has been a couple of days on low carb food, right? You could give it up to a week to see what the BSL does but with a BSL of 439, the vet could well want to start insulin. I think leaving it 5 days is reasonable because it would be best to do the changeover to low carb food BEFORE starting insulin.
Ask the vet if you can use Lantus insulin. It is the best for kitty, long lasting and gentle.
Always test before EVERY insulin dose and try and get tests about 5 or 6 hours
later to see how low the insulin is taking kitty.

With the food you do not need prescription food. Low carb canned food from the supermarket is just as good and much cheaper. Just say my cat won’t eat the Purina. He can’t argue with that.

Remember you are the cats advocate and you are paying the bills. The vet can’t make you buy the Purina.
Ask lots of questions. It is a steep learning curve in the beginning.
Good luck at the vet. Keep us posted.

 

I'm not sure if it is same for every cat but it was at least a few weeks after switching my cat to canned food before his BG went down. He actually went into remission after that and has stayed there so far. I made the mistake of having a curve done at the vet before his diet change had any effect and he was put on a higher dose of insulin which later caused him to have a minor hypo. Had I known this could happen I would have waited at least a few weeks after switching foods to re test and do a curve.

 

Thank you for the advice. I checked her BG 2.25 hours after I fed her this morning and it was down to 375. I will mention the Lantus insulin if he does not. I was thinking of giving her this week on the new food before starting the insulin. As all the posts state checking the BG is very easy. Cookie doesn't mind the ear prick at all! The picture I posted of her is a few years old when she was heavier, over 10 lbs, she is now down to 7#'s and 13 oz. But she is still her loving self and has started exploring again. We made a cross country move 2 years ago and the life of my 2 cats has never been the same. I am thinking the stress of all the change may have started this diabetes?? We down sized by more than half and they do not have the roaming space as before. I will do the testing every 5 to 6 hours as you have suggested. I will keep you posted and thank you so very much!!

 

Thank you, I am glad your kitty is in remission! I think I will give her this week on the new food and go from there. Already her BG was down to 375 this morning!! I am happy that it is not over 500 as it was when tested at the vets on Thursday!!

 

Well done.
Yes do the change over fully to wet before starting insulin. Much safer. And ask for the Lantus.

 

Met with the vet this afternoon and he agreed that we need to give the diet change some time before starting any treatment. So between now and the 18th I will check her BG twice a day, before feeding and send him the numbers. If it is still up over 250 we will then start the insulin. And yes, he did say that the Lantus is the best out there for kitties!! She seems more like her old self today, coming out of the bedroom and spending time with me on the couch as well as on my desk!!

 

Sounds like a good vet visit.
Normal cat glucose levels are 50 -120 so anything much above that probably needs insulin. 250 is too high to be leaving the cat without insulin in my opinion. Let us know how she is going in the next week.

Testing a couple of hours after eating is also helpful as a healthy pancreas will lower the blood glucose a couple of hours after food.

 

Houston has been off insulin 3 wks this Fri. I check his # 3x daily & have noticed when he gets his little paws into dry food (he tears the bags apart while I'm sleeping) his # shoots up & it takes about 36 hrs for his # to get to a reasonable place. The 1st time it happened I panicked but I now know as long as I keep him away from the carbs he is good & doesn't need insulin. Good luck.