Matchka

my cat Matchka was diagnosed in early January with diabetes. A bit of history - I lost my husband suddenly in August and my other cat late November. Matchka super sensitive and these losses way stressed him. He had a rash on his back and lost all the fur and then the diabetes. The most he was ever on was 2 units lantus. After having the diabetic panel in April , cut down to 1 unit bid. In May his glucose was 62 right before time for insulin, cut to .5 bid. Last week glucose was 54, we stopped insulin. He had been crying a lot at night, that stopped when insulin stopped. So he’s been off insulin 7 days and past 2 days drinking a lot. I’m so frustrated!

 

Hi and welcome to FDMB
My deepest condolences on the loss of your husband and then your other kitty. That must have been a very difficult and sad time for you. I can imagine Matchka was very affected by it all as well

Are you home testing the blood sugar levels(BSLs)?
It sounds like he has responded to the insulin well, but may not be ready to come off insulin yet. So really the best thing you could do is start to home test the BSL. It is not hard and that way you can see what the BSLs are doing on a daily basis.
If he is drinking a lot again, it sounds like he needs some insulin again.
We go up and down by 0.25 (1/4) unit increments as it is much safer for the cat that way and testing will keep him safe.
Then as the cat is responding to the insulin we go back down the scale to 0.25 unit and then down to a drop ( we can help you how to do this) and then when we think the kitty is ready to come off insulin we have an off the juice trial (OTJ) for 14 days where we test a few times every day to see he is managing to stay in normal numbers. The reason we keep the kitty on insulin longer then when they first go into normal numbers is because the pancreas needs support while it heals.
Here is the link to how to test. If you have trouble at first please post and we will help you.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

If you live in the US you can buy the following at Walmart for the testing of the BSL. If you live in another country we can help you with meters as well.
Relion confirm or micro meter
Box of 26 or 28 gauge lancets
Box of cotton cosmetic balls to hold behind the ear when you test
Box of extra test strips

If I were you I would go out and buy these things and start home testing. Please post when you have some numbers and we can help you with the dose to start back on.
You may find your vet is not happy with you home testing....a lot of vets do not like it......but it is the safest way for your kitty and more and more people are home testing and learning to dose the insulin themselves.

Also, as this is only an introduction page, I would start posting over on the Lantus page where everyone uses Lantus or levemir and they have loads of experience and will help you every step of the way. You will be most welcome there. This is the best way forward for your kitty at this stage. Here is the link to the Lantus page
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/lantus-basaglar-glargine-and-levemir-detemir.9/

See you over on the Lantus page

 

Welcome

 

Welcome! I am sorry for your losses. What a terrible year it was for you and Matchka. If you start home glucose testing, you will be able to see what is going on with his glucose levels and determine what needs to be done. He may still need a little insulin. If there are issues when he is on Lantus, there are other options. You can get a lot of advice and support here from people who live this disease day in and day out.