Kitty just Diagnosed.

Hello all!

My name is Dana and my almost 12 year old at was diagnosed diabetic on Friday. I'm devastated. I am hoping treatment goes well, but I know he is on borrowed time. As my friend says, "aren't we all". We made it thru our first weekend. Had lows and hi and I feel so bad for his little ears, But I have to know what he is running. I am to give him 2 insulin shots a day. Started at 4 units but Saturday we had a low of 23 and my vet said to drop it to 3 units twice a day. My vet also said not to worry about changing his diet at this point. I think that is a bit weird because as humans when we get diabetes we change to a low carb diet. I have been doing some research and it sounds like Fancy Feast would be a good option, and that sometimes with the diet change insulin shots are no longer needed. Hoping I can get advice and tips to make him feel comfortable.

 

Welcome! Diabetes is very manageable and hopefully we can help to ease some of your anxiety

It sounds like you are already home testing which is awesome! Which insulin are you using? I will say that 4 units is a VERY high starting dose, especially with that reading of 23! I think it would be a good idea to post in the group for the insulin you’re using to get advice about the dose so you can keep your kitty safe. And you’re absolutely right about the diet as well. Diabetics do best on low carb diet, but with him being on such a high dose, I think it would probably be dangerous to switch his food right now without probably lowering the dose first.

Please ask any and all questions you may have, either on the Main Forum or on the forum for the insulin you’re using. And welcome again!

 

His blood sugar at time of DX was 476. The put us on Vetsulin insulin. Yes I have been testing his glucose at home since finding out. I decided after the 23 I would test right before he eats. Yesterday was better, Lowest he got was 240. Vet wants him between 100 and 200. I will look and see if there is a Vetsulin group. Thank you!

 

Here is the Vetsulin page.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/caninsulin-vetsulin-and-n-nph.19/

Starting at 4 units is far too high. The starting dose is usually 1 unit.
I am going to tag @MrWorfMen's Mom as she is familiar with vetsulin.
Please keep
Posting as we can help you.

 

I agree the 4 units for a starting dose is extremely high and dangerous. 4 units is a high dose for most longer term diabetics. The low reading of 23 is far too low and particularly so if you are using a pet meter.

I would suggest you reduce the dose to 1u, make sure you are getting pre-shot tests to ensure it is safe to give insulin, and some mid cycle tests to see how low the dose is dropping BG.

While a diet change can make a significant difference in BG and insulin required, DO NOT make any food changes until you determine a safe dose of insulin for your cat. Diet changes with insulin in the picture need to be done very carefully.

Please come join us in the Vetsulin forum where we can help you get your cat on the road to regulation safely.

 

Ok, the vet did adjust his dose from 4 to 3. His BS pre meal and Pre shot this morning was 425 and yesterday morning it was 441. I am just so confused. I wish there was a "Feline Diabetes book for Dummies." Sigh.

 

Having a high BG first thing in the morning before the shot doesn't tell you anything other than it's safe to give insulin. It is NOT indicative of whether the dose of insulin is appropriate or not and in this case, I can't help but wonder if those readings aren't so high because the dose is too high. Even 3 units twice a day is a hefty dose for a newly diagnosed kitty.

If BG is dropping to lower range later in the cycle, kitty will bounce back up to high numbers due to their defence system panicking. Too high a dose of insulin can cause higher numbers at the ends of cycles and carrying on into the next cycles. Diabetics get used to higher BGs and when BG drops to levels they are no longer accustomed to, it sets off bouncing giving the impression that kitty needs more insulin if the only tests done are pre-shot tests.

Diabetes is complicated but totally manageable and we can help you get your kitty sorted out but right now for safety sake, I strongly recommend you reduce the dose to 1u twice daily and start getting some mid cycle tests to see how low BG is going. Too much insulin will eventually cause a hypoglycemic episode and that is far more dangerous than high BGs. Better to start dose low and work up slowly than to overdose which could have catastrophic consequences.

Please join us on the Vetsulin forum and let us help you get your kitty on a path to better BG control.

 

UGH. Ok. Why would the vet say 3 units? He has been our vet for over 15 years so I do trust him. This is all so confusing. I did visit the Vetsulin forum. I wish I just had a list of what to do!! I work during the day so I can't check BS mid day. Unfortunately I have bills to pay. LOL. I can't be the only person who works during the day. Like I said I just wish I a schedule to follow, "Do this at this time, If this happens do this, feed this and feed like this at these time, Check sugars at this time, IF this happens do this." I so feel like I'm flying blindly by the seat of my pants.

 

This is from what you posted in Chris P's thread:

Welcome to FDMB.

You are correct -- there is an overwhelming amount of information here and it's easy to get a migraine from trying to absorb it all. That's the bad news. The good news is that there are very experienced members who are here to help you get acclimated. It may take a couple of weeks but this will become very routine.

First, your research is correct. Diet is very important. A cat (any cat) should be on a low carbohydrate canned food diet. Cat's are carnivores and their bodies don't process grains, fruits, or veggies. A diabetic cat decidedly needs a low carb diet. We consider less than 10% as low carb and most people here feed around 5% carb. There is a link at the top of the board to Dr. Lisa's food chart. (Dr. Lisa is Lisa Pierson, DVM who has made it a mission to educate cat caregivers about feline nutrition.)

If you are planning on switching your cat to a low carb diet, you need be very careful given the high dose of insulin. A cat's insulin needs can change dramatically if you change their food. As others have noted, your cat is on a whopping dose of insulin. I would encourage you to drop the dose to no more than 1.0u twice a day. Frankly, Vetsulin is not the insulin that is generally recommended for feline diabetes. The American Animal Hospital Association recommends either Prozinc or Lantus.

There is absolutely no reason to stop free feeding. You just want to pick up food 2 hours prior to shot time. so food doesn't influence your pre-shot test information.

And we are happy to be your "FD for Dummies" resource. I'm currently at work and have to run to a meeting. We can help you figure out the logistics.

 

If you starts a thread in the Vetsulin forum, we can certainly help you with more advice! The welcome forum is more for just introducing you and your kitty to everyone and some people prefer giving more advice in the appropriate forum because they tend to get more traffic than this one. You can start a new thread and copy and paste the info from your first post, or simply just paste the link to this thread.

If you haven’t read this yet, here is a link to the beginners guide to Vetsulin. There is a lot of info, so definitely feel free to read it at your own pace or revisit it a few times!

www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/beginners-guide-to-caninsulin-vetsulin.186099/