New person/Podo/Vetsulin

I wish I had found this site 3 months ago, but it seems I've been doing the right thing anyway.

Back in March, Podo started acting lethargic, got very skinny, and had liquid coming out both ends if you get what I mean. I took her to the vet to get her checked out thinking she probably just had a virus of some kind, and her BG was around 350 and she was severly dehydrated. Her weight at the time was ~6.5 lbs. They kept her at the vets for 4 days trying to get her rehydrated and to figure out what insulin dosage she needed. Brought her home giving her injections of 2 units in the morning and 3 at night, and also came home with some "special" Royal Canin Diabetes dry cat food. After about a week she started getting better and started eating a ton of the diabetes food.
Then all her symptoms started coming back even worse. This time when I brought her back in, they were worried she would die. She was down to 5.5lbs and her blood sugar was too high to measure (over 500). They gave her 2 bags of sub fluids, and sent her home with me. My vet told me later that he expected her to die that night, and wanted her to be at home with me when it happened. But I nursed my kitty back to health with the help of good food from Nutro and Blue Buffalo, and not feeding her any of the Royal Canin.
For a week she was very lethargic and she lost another fang (leaving her just 2 left). I was forcing fluids into her by using a syrenge with a very wide "needle" (its blunt ended), that I used to use to inject sauce into food. She seemed to like drinking the water from the shooting stream. It was messy, but I ust put a towel under her before I started. From what a friend of mine told me, the Royal Canin food it great for overweight cats, but underweight cats will eat too much and get too many carbs.
So, the 2 months or so since, I've been feeding her 1 can Nutro Chicken Casserole, 1 small can of Nutro food chunks (smushed up), and 1 can of Nutro Senior, plus overnight leaving her about 1/4 cup of hydrated Blue Buffalo Wilderness Low card dry food. According to the food it is enough to feed an 18lb cat.
She is now up to around 10 lbs and her personality is back to normal, looking out the window at the birds and jumping up on the bed and pestering me in the mornings to feed her. Never thought I'd be so happy to get a paw in the face at 8am. I just went out today and got a blood glucose meter (Presto). Tried a couple times this afternoon to get a sample from her ear, but just couldn't get anything. This evening I just tried the rice in a sock trick, and it sorta worked. I got a very small amount of blood, but the meter gave me an error saying that it was too warm to test. I guess you need to take the sock off the ear after you get the blood and before you try to test. I will give it another shot in the morning before her next shot.

She has a checkup with the vet next week. I'm expecting good news.

 

Re: New person

Hi Brian, and welcome!

> They kept her at the vets for 4 days trying to get her rehydrated and to figure out what
> insulin dosage she needed. Brought her home giving her injections of 2 units in the morning
> and 3 at night

Just FYI, when cats are at the vet's office, they're often stressed and unhappy; this translates into higher-than-normal blood sugar readings. If you base your dose on blood sugar readings taken at the vet's, and the dose that 'worked' at the vet's, then you're probably giving too much insulin. Are you still giving 2u in the morning and 3u at night? And what insulin are you on? Finally, did your vet say anything about Podo having ketones or diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA)?

I gotta say that 5 units a day is kinda a high dose; most of the folks here get by on much less, so I'm a bit worried that Podo may be getting too much insulin. When you have a chance, you might use the 'Jump To' box in the lower right corner of the page to go to the Insulin Support Group for Podo's insulin and read the sticky posts at the top of that forum (if you're on ProZinc, that's in the PZI forum; NPH is in the Vetsulin/Caninsulin/Humulin N forum). The stickies will give you a better idea of how each insulin works and what a dose should be started at and raised by.


> 1 can Nutro Chicken Casserole, 1 small can of Nutro food chunks (smushed up), and 1 can
> of Nutro Senior, plus overnight leaving her about 1/4 cup of hydrated Blue Buffalo Wilderness
> Low card dry food. According to the food it is enough to feed an 18lb cat.

The Chicken Casserole is 13% carbs; I couldn't find the others on Janet and Binky's food charts. Could you look the other foods up and see what percentage carbs they are?

Ideally, unless Podo has other health issues, you'll want to feed food that's less than 10% carbs. But!! do *not* change to a low carb food without also reducing the amount of insulin you're giving *and* home-testing BG levels. If you change from a higher-carb food to a low-carb food without also reducing insulin, you risk both rebound and hypoglycemia.


From your post on the other thread:
> My cat seemed to go through a similar (if not shorter) 4 night experience. When I got her
> home, she had lost a lot of muscles and couldn't jump up on the bed. You might want to
> get a couple small stable boxes and build some "stairs" for her to get up and down off the bed.

Was this something that occured and then cleared up a little while later, or is this an ongoing problem? I don't have a real clear visual image of what happened. Possibilities that occured to me as I read your post:
* If it was something that occured and then cleared up, it might've been a hypo;
* if it was something that occured recently and hasn't cleared up, I'd suggest checking for ketones;
* if it's something that's been slowly developing since the time of diagnosis, it might be diabetic neuropathy.


> just went out today and got a blood glucose meter (Presto). Tried a couple times this afternoon to get
> a sample from her ear, but just couldn't get anything. This evening I just tried the rice in a sock trick,
> and it sorta worked. I got a very small amount of blood, but the meter gave me an error saying that it
> was too warm to test. I guess you need to take the sock off the ear after you get the blood and before
> you try to test. I will give it another shot in the morning before her next shot.

Congratulations on home-testing! That's the best thing you can do to help Podo with her diabetes! It sounds like the rice sock may have been too hot; you don't want it hot, just warm.

I personally was never very successful with the rice sock; I usually just gave Gwyn's ear a nice thorough massage to get the ear warmed up and the blood flowing, and I used a cotton ball behind where I was going to prick, to make it easier to prick the ear and to *not* prick myself. I'd also sometimes 'milk' the ear after pricking, to get enough blood.

If, for whatever reason, you need to wait a moment after pricking the ear and before testing, you might try scraping the blood onto your fingernail; that way you won't lose the blood if Podo moves her head.

Other folks will be by with more information (and it's pretty late where I am); I just wanted to welcome you to the board and give you some feedback. And again, welcome to you and to Podo --

Jean and her Gwyn

 

Re: New person

She did have something with her kidneys, they were very hard back when she was skinny and I could feel them. As she started putting on weight and getting healthier, they got softer. Now that she has put on so much weight I can't really feel her kidneys any more, but the last time I was able too they felt kinda like jello with a small part that was harder.

I'm actually doing 3 in the morning and 3 at night now, using Vetsulin. Just got a test in today before her morning shot and her BG was 405, and I gave her 3 units like normal. So, I'll test again after 2 hours and see what I see.

I'm guessing that a lot of those carbs are coming from the whole pieces of potato and peas in the food. She can't eat the potatos they are too large of chunks, and she usually leaves the peas behind too.

It is something I noticed after I got her back from the vet. Feeling her arms they were basically just bone and connective tissue. No muscles to be found. It went away as she gained weight. Basically, she would get a little gut on her, then that fat would move to the rest of her body, then the extra weight made her grow more muscles and burn some of that fat off. Rinse and repeat for the last 2 months. She probably could have jumped up on the bed, but when she was weak, the "steps" made her more inclined to climb up on the bed to sleep. Which gave me a bit more piece of mind. Her weight has been improving about 0.5 lb a week.

I was able to get it today. Didn't think there was enough blood there for a test, but I gave it the old college try. I guess it really doesn't need a lot.

She is really acting happy and healthy, so I don't want to change too much right now. The plan is to get some before and after insulin BG tests this weekend, then take the numbers to my vet and we can decide where to go from here. So many encouraging signs lately. I was worried that the patches of shaved fur from the IV in her arm weren't coming back, but in the last week it has grown in enough that I can't really see her skin any more. Her eyes are brighter. She is managing her litter box better. Her purr has gone from high pitched chirping, to her normal low gutteral purr. Her temp is back up. Honestly if I didn't know better, I would say she is 100%.

 

Re: New person

Hi Brian,

Have you and your vet seen the warnings about Vetsulin? Vetsulin issues: http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/new ... 188752.htm It might be something to take a look at.

If you want to find some lower carb foods, check out this chart and pick something 8-10% carbs. http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html Janet and Binky’s chart In some cats, just a few percentage points for carbs makes a huge different.

It is wonderful that she is feeling and acting better. And fantastic that you are keeping on top of her bg levels.

Have you checked out anyone's spreadsheet? It's a great visual tool to help you see what is happening with the insulin: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=16

 

Re: New person

I was just reading about the vetsulin. I will discuss it with him this week on her visit. Her +2 BG test came up 316. Maybe the vetsulin I've been using is weak. Another good sign today, I gave her the catnip sock as a treat after her test. She was actually attacking it like she used to. trying to pull it apart between her teeth on one end and her hind leg claws on the other.

Going to go buy more food today. I'll grab some low carb FF along with her normal diet, and see if she will touch it.

 

Re: New person

Delighted you got a BG reading today The 405 is less good.

Would it be at all possible for you to grab a between-shot reading or three (or even a curve) this weekend? That'd give you a much better idea of how Podo is reacting to the insulin.

A curve would be most ideal; that's when you test pre-shot, then test again every two hours until it's time for the next shot. That will let you know how Podo is reacting to the insulin: how low she goes on it and an idea of when her nadir is. If a curve isn't possible, would it possible to get spot-checks at +4, +5 and +6 (four hours after the shot, five hours after, etc)? Or even a single test somewhere between +4 and +6?

(BTW, after you get the blood on the test strip, if you put pressure on the spot you pricked, that'll reduce the chances of bruising. Also, always remember to give Podo praise and cuddles before and during tests, and always give her a treat after the test, even if you weren't successful in getting a reading. Podo will soon associate testing with Good Things. We have cats who wake up and run in when they hear things being set up, and others who come remind their humans that it's time to be tested.)


Also, here's the Vetsulin user's guide that folks on the board put together for how to best use Vetsulin and preserve Podo's health. Please take a few minutes and read it all the way through; it has a *lot* of good information on using Vetsulin.

In Podo's case, the things I'm most concerned about are these four sections:
(1) *The starting dose...
(2) *Please read and print the following information on Hypoglycemia
(3) Tip #4, Understand Rebound
(4) Tip #3, Understand the role diet and diabetes play together.

I understand that Podo is doing a *lot* better than she was, I'm just concerned that (under the hood, as it were) she may be having reactions that you can't see.

 

Re: New person

5 hours after her shot, BG = 230.

 

Re: New person

I got Podo's spreadsheet up and running. Not a lot of data points (not from lack of trying).

I also ran out and got some Sophisticat wet food. It is hard to think that something that is 1/3 the cost of Nutro is better for her, but I will try mixing it in to her feeding schedule a little at a time. So far she has scarffed down the little 1/4 can I gave her to try tonight. Which is a good sign, she is a very very finicky eater.

I sent emails in to Blue Buffalo and Nutro for protein/fat/carb weights. We'll see if I get a response. The Blue Buffalo Wilderness food that I asked about is supposed to be low carb. Just looking at the numbers on the Blue buffalo dry food, I would guess it is no more than 6% carbs.

 

Re: New person

Oops -- looks like I missed your post at+5 last night; sorry!

Congratulations on getting your spreadsheet up, and also on getting more tests done. I'm pretty relieved to see the yellows at +5 and +7; while Podo's diabetes still isn't under control (and I'm still not happy with the dose), at least she's not having hypos *right now*. I still think rebound is a possibility, and hypos will remain a concern, at least until we can get Podo's diabetes under control.

Things I'd like to sugest:
1. Always get a BG reading before giving Podo her insulin.
2. Since she dropped 175 points on her current dose, if you get a pre-shot reading of 250 or less, please do *NOT* give insulin, at least for now. It *is* possible to give insulin at a lower pre-shot reading but, until there's some more information on how Podo's reacting to the insulin over time, it's not worth risking a hypo.
3. Continue to collect whatever data points you can, when you can. I'm not saying to go out and run curves every single day. I'm saying the more data there is, the better idea we have of exactly how Podo is reacting to the insulin and what might be do-able to help her respond better.
4. Please keep testing for ketones (at least until we can bring the diabetes under control).
5. If / when you switch food, please consider reducing the amount of insulin given, and keep a close eye on how she responds to the diet change.

The bad news is that I'm not a Vetsulin user so, while I've been around long enough to give lots of general advice, I don't have the detailed knowledge of Vetsulin's nuances that long-term usage brings. To get some Vetsulin-experienced eyes on your thread for dosing advice, I'd suggest changing the title of your first post in the thread to something like "Vetsulin 3u BID, SS up, need dosing advice", which will hopefully bring in some eyes that are more knowledgable about Vetsulin's nuances than I am.

Or you can start a new thread asking for Vetsulin dosing advice, but for your initial responses you'll probably get some of the same reactions and responses that you've already been through (ack -- high dose!; read the Vetsulin User Guide; Vetsulin's been discontinued; learn to home-test; any ketones; the benefits of low-carb food; etc, etc).


> I sent emails in to Blue Buffalo and Nutro for protein/fat/carb weights. We'll see if I get a response.

Some of the cat food companies won't share their information, no matter how much we pester them. That said, we do get breakthroughs (or someone on the other end slips up), so the list grows with whatever info we can get.

There are two types of nutrition information pet food companies have. The first is the "guaranteed" values, which is what they put on the label, saying there's a minimum of this amount of X and that amount of Y, etc. What we're actually interested in are the "as fed" values, which tells us exactly what's going on with the food. The companies are perfectly willing to share the guaranteed values (after all, it's on their label and on file with the FDA), but some of the companies are pretty close-mouthed about the "as fed" values. If you manage to get the "as fed" info from them, you can send it along to Janet, who will add it to the charts. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page here, there's a note on what type of info she's looking for.

Give some ear scritches to Podo from us!

-- Jean and her Gwyn

 

Re: New person

Hi Brain! So happy that you found this website! :mrgreen: Welcome!
That was the best thing you could have done....the people here know all about Feline diabetes and will share their experiences with you.
You SS is linked and set up beautifully.....that is an important tool for both you and the people here on the board.
Home testing! :thumbup A vital tool and you will now be able to test BGs at any time! GREAT!!!
Changing food...another great thing that you are doing!! Sometimes, kitties become better regulated on just the switch to a lower-carb food! Dry food is a NO-NO actually. Are you feeding any dry at all?

Please read over the Janet & Binky food chart....you will find the carb count for lots of brands. Wellness and Evo95% are quality food with no by-products. Many people here us the Fancy Feast flavors that are low-carb. We have a supply of high carb foods with gravy on hand to administer to out kitties if their BG numbers go low and that will raise them up to a safer number.It is another tool for us to use to manipulate their numbers ...it is important that you have some high carb foods on had and that you read about Hypos and become familiar with the procedure.
(Read this sticky for the Lantus board... viewtopic.php?f=9&t=157
and pay particular attention to the link on Hypoglycemia at the bottom! Important!!!)

Now...where to begin...sigh....I have 2 kitties that were diagnosed together last August and put on Vetsulin. My vet started me off with 4units twice a day for Shadow and 3 units twice a day for his sister Raja. I was told to give those doses to them and come back for a BG check in one week. On the 5th day, Raja began vomiting and I stopped giving her insulin. It was around then that I found this site and began to home test. Raja's numbers at home were lower than the ones the vet documented during their 3 day curve. she was not stressed at home and I found that 3 units was far too much for her. I began giving her .6u Vetsulin and her brother was restarted at 1unit twice a day.

I tested them often. I hope you will take a moment to look at both their SSs. Shadow was high into the reds. The Vetsulin would work for awhile, dropping him low and then it would expire in his system.....leaving him with a very high number at the end of the day once again. That is the way Vetsulin works. It is like a flash in the pan.

This site provides us with much reading material. I realized that this insulin was not going to work for us because of it's action. I read about the longer duration insulins. These insulins stay in the system for 12+. There is an overlap of about 2 hours so the kitty ends up with much lower dips...it is a gradual wave if you were to chart the BG numbers throughout the day. It is more gentle to their system cause it is always present and working in their bodies!

Please read about Lantus for Cats
and also the information about Levemir (which is the insulin I switched to) Levemir for Cats

My vet was not familiar with Levemir for cats but she did write the prescription for me and I ordered it from Canada.
It is available locally as well but the prices from Canada are better. I use the flex pen which has a rubber membrane at the end of the pen and I use the 3/10m; 29 gauge 12.7mm syringes. Both Lantus and Levemir at U100 insulins so you must use different syringes ...different from the ones you use with the Vetsulin. VERY important!!!! We can talk about that later if/when you decide to switch insulins.

As you will see by her SS, Raja went OTJ in Dec after switching to Levemir. Shadow is still a work in progress. :mrgreen: I had been feeding them the Hills Science diet for 13 years (the first vet said it helped to keep their teeth clean! BAD advice!!!) I had switched them to all canned food the Feb before diagnosis so they we used to the new food.
BTW, I add warm water to the canned food .... always. Shadow had been drinking a LOT of water before dx and his appetite was insatiable. That has changed --pretty quickly after getting the insulin....he now has a normal appetite.
(we have to remember that when they are in the throes of diabetes, their body is literally starving since they cannot utilize the food properly. Thus, weight loss occurs. Shadow has put on a lot of weight and his fur is not longer dull and filled with dandruff. The Levemir has made his fur so silky and luxurious. He looks like a different cat now! ) :razz:

I apologize for this being so long...but then again, there is nothing quick or short about this Feline Diabetes. It is a process. It takes time. sigh. There is much to learn but with the help of people here, it is very manageable. I would encourage you to read up n the longer acting insulins and try to imagine using one of them. Talk to your vet about it and tell him about this website. Once you choose a different insulin, there is another forum here called
LANTUS (GLARGINE) where we hang out along with others who are using both Lantus and Lev. We receive help there each day and it's like a big family there. You will be welcomed with open arms! :mrgreen:

I hope your vet will be open to your ideas. It is sometimes difficult to find a vet who is as experienced in Feline Diabetes as the people here. There are hundreds of kitties who have gone Off The Juice by being here and utilizing the experience of the people here. Our vets have to deal with many different species and many different problems, but they are not zeroed in on the diabetes as well as the people here. it is a concentrated effort here...with giving people who are very willing to give support to those in need. And we are all in need because we want the best for our kitties!

I hope that after reading the material linked above, you will think about the value of switching insulins. What do you think? It seems to me that you are willing to do what it takes to help your Podo. And BEING here is such a great step for you...welcome again Brain & Podo!! Please post any questions you might have too after all this reading! It is a steep learning curve in the beginning...but it does get better....it really does! :mrgreen: I thought my eyes would fail me after all the reading I did at the beginning....we are always learning. And you are off to a great start! :mrgreen:

 

Re: New person

I just got the Vetsulin refilled a couple weeks ago, so I'm going to first work on her food. I don't want to change her food and her insulin at the same time. Hopefully, around the time for the next insulin refill, she will be on a lower dose and on all lower carb food.

 

Re: New person

Has she been tested for ketones, infection and pancreatitis?

 

Re: New person

That sounds doable, I guess. You run the risk of the Vetsulin not impacting the bg levels well, if it is one of the bad batches. If I were you, I would think about taking the Vetsulin back to the vet with the information on the recall and asking for your money back. The recall was issued several months ago, and your vet should have been aware of it.

Hopefully, the wet lo carb will make a difference and the Vetsulin will be effective.

 

Re: New person

Well from my testing it appears that this bottle of Vetsulin is having an impact. The first day I tried a curve, she dropped 175 points.

Tonight I'm skipping her evening injection, since her numbers are at 236 tonight. And I'm feeding her the low carb food again tonight, so I don't want her to hypo while I'm sleeping. I thought about giving her just 1U, but rather not risk it. If it was the morning and I could watch her, then maybe.

She did have keytones and hard kidneys before. I plan on getting a test stick from the vet on the next visit to see if the keytones are gone now. She is certainly peeing more normally now. I can scoop her litter box once or twice a day rather than every couple hours.

She got 2 rounds of anti-biotics on her first diagnosis just to be safe, so if there was an infection it was killed a while ago.

I don't know how the vet tests for pancreatitis, but her first blood test was sent out for a full set of tests and blood sugar was the only thing on it that was bad.

 

Brian,

You can, and should, be testing for ketones at home. They can hit hard and fast, particularly if Podo has had them before. You can buy ketone strips at the pharmacy. They are the same kind human diabetics use and inexpensive. Then the trick is to get a reading! We put aquarium gravel in Oliver's litterbox, put him in the room with it and waited a while. It is easy to dip the strip into the gravel as it doesn't stick. Other people put saran wrap over a part of the litter - apparently cats like the idea of peeing on it! Other, braver than me, people get a ladle and stick it under the kitty during the act. Whatever, get a reading at least once a day to add to your data.

I hope you get some feedback from people who used Vetsulin. (There are some people who used it once, but we have very few posters who use it presently.) You need to have a no shoot number (usually 200). Then the practice is to wait 30 minutes, test again and shoot if high enough. If you skip a shot completely, it will usually mean a very high preshot number the next cycle. But this method is complicated by Podo's possible ketones.

 

I agree completely.....do get the ketone test strips from the pharmacy. I put Shadow in the bathroom alone until he went in the litter box. I had covered the litter with saran wrap and then left some tuna water for him to drink. That did the trick. Later on, I got fast enough to catch the stream when he went in the Litter box but for starters, the saran wrapped LB works. It is so very important for you to test for ketones each and every day!!!

Here is a link that discusses this important issue: http://www.felinediabetes.com/ketones.htm

How is it going with the low-carb food? What are you giving now?

 

363 this morning after, no shot last night. So not giving her a shot was probably for the best.

 

Please take a look at this link for pancreatitis info

http://www.felinediabetes.com/phorum5/r ... 722,876722

 

Podo has never been in pain. She is not a pain hiding kitty. And we have not had any dehydration problems since she got on her current insulin dose and got her rehydrated 2 months ago. And for the month she was skinny enough to check her kidneys, she didn't complain about me poking around at her insides. But, I'll ask my vet if her ran the tests.

 

First test in the blue. I'm really starting to think, if I can get her transitioned over to the sophisticat low carb food, then I can ween her off the insulin. I know its a little early to say, but she has been a tough fighter this whole time.

 

Brian...we all wish it was that easy for all our kitties to just change the food.

It is an important FIRST step!

Are you comfortable shooting the lowered dose for now? If you give Podo 1 unit twice a day would that be comfortable for you?
That will give her the needed insulin and give you time to evaluate her numbers and look into a different insulin.
PLEASE read the link that Sue posted regarding Vetsulin, ok? Here it is again:
http://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/new ... 188752.htm
Maybe print it out for your vet and make an appt soon to consult about which insulin you can switch to.
I suggest Lantus or Levemir. You can tell your vet about this site and maybe print out the links on those insulins I gave you in previous posts.

Podo's pancreas has gone to sleep. Her food is not being utilized properly in her system
She is diabetic. She needs insulin to help her along for awhile....
Now, with the right insulin, low-carb food and monitoring and shooting on your part, she stands a very good chance of going off insulin completely. Is that something that you can work towards? I would think so! :mrgreen: I hope she is liking her food nowadays....good job switching to low-carb! :thumbup

We want to use the BEST insulin for our kitties. Vetsulin is not that insulin IMHO.

We are here to help you transition into a working relationship with Podo....to help you help her! If you want to avail yourself of the experience of the people here, you will be amazed at how much you will be in tune with what is involved with this diagnosis. We have all been right where YOU are today! I know that I myself was in denial and wishing that this would all go away....two kitties with feline diabetes!!! But spending time in denial is wasting time....it serves no purpose. Learn about the way to deal with this and start doing what is suggested!

You can DO this Brian....how about those ketone test strips? You will be testing for ketones with all high numbers....this is all for Podo and her health. The little box of ketone test strips are well worth the money you lay out for your knowledge of her well-being. High numbers are destructive to our kitties' health!

We are here for you Brian...hope you will seriously THINK about what everyone has said here and read the links...come back and ask questions of us if you have any....all the suggestions are important and it's not just one thing that solves our kitties' diabetes....know what I mean? It's a series of steps that you take and it is a proven method of dealing with FD....hundreds of kitties are on this forum...and soooo many have gone off the juice because these methods WORK!

Some of us have even changed vets because the ones we had were in the dark ages about FD and its treatment. We searched around for a vet who is aware of the latest news. Our vets have to know a lot about a lot of conditions...somw do not study FD as thoroughly as we would hope. My own vet only used Vetsulin way back last August. Now, they are not prescribing that anymore....like the other good vets who know of its dangers. I asked for a prescription for Levemir after doing my homework and the vet did write a script for me.
We have to find a vet who is up on the latest news about FD.....and get a prescription for a longer duration insulin like Lantus or Levemir. If we use the right tools, we get the right results...
I hope you will seriously think about what we have all said to you Brian...and read, read, READ and ask as many questions as you have....we are here to help you! (and Podo of course!) :mrgreen:

 

I got some keytone test strips today. Pretty easy to test podo, she will pee on command. Just pick her up and put her in the litter box and 9 times out of 10 she will pee for me. The test showed probably a trace of keytones. The light end is really hard to tell. Is there any conversion needed for the human test strips? Or do they work just fine like the BG strips.

Going in to the vet tomorrow afternoon, and printed out my chart. We'll talk about getting her switched to Lantus, the keytone tests, if she is at a good weight to maintain (she is up to 11lbs now). Unless she can keep her numbers in the blue until tomorrow, which I doubt, I will be moving over to Lantus as soon as he can get some.

I've noticed many on Lantus talk about giving .25U or .5U. The needles I'm using don't show that kind of detail (only 1U marks), are there better needles that have smaller dosage lines? If so, can anyone suggest where to get some? I've got a math degree, so converting a U-100 needle to my U-40 insulin is no problem. I've had to use u-100 needles a couple times already while waiting for my box of needles to show up.

 

Peeing on demand?! Lucky you... most cats will not do *anything* on demand just out of principle

Not sure where you are, but in Canada you can just get Lantus from the regular pharmacy. In the US, it seems that many need a prescription, but again they pick it up at a regular pharmacy.

There are U-100 needles with half-unit markings. We find ours at Walmart (again, in Canada, no prescription needed, but some US folks need a prescription). Lantus is U-100, so you shouldn't need to do any conversion if you move to Lantus.

Good luck with the vet visit tomorrow,
Odiesmom

ps - okay, just re-read your username... my guess is now that you are in Seattle

 

Brain...you might want to print this out for your vet:
http://www.uq.edu.au/ccah/docs/diabetesinfo/link4.pdf
The University of Queensland's study on the use of the longer acting insulins.
Glad you are going to the vet today....good luck!
Regardless of Podo's numbers, I believe switching insulins is the right thing to do.

I buy my syringes at the Walmart pharmacy. I use the Reli-On 3/10ml 29Gauge 12.7mm (1/2")
and have found them to be perfect and not too expensive. They show the half unit markings. I also use very high strength reading glasses to measure out the smaller doses. You will "get it" once you start.

There is a visual included in this important sticky on the Lantus forum: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopi ... =9&t=18139
The entire sticky is important and loaded with good information....

Let us know how you do today...I hope your vet will give you the prescription with no problems....you can have it filled at Cosco I believe or a local pharmacy. I order mine from Canada.
Ask about the ketones too....no conversion needed on the test strips. Wishing you well today!!! :thumbup