Newbie here looking for reassurance

'afternoon!

So, I'm the slave of Rasmus, a 12-year-old, part-Burmese neutered male. Yes, he ticks ALL the boxes for likelihood of developing diabetes, which he was diagnosed with a couple of weeks ago.

I, of course, panicked which in turn led me to this group and reading all the information I could get my hands on. Thank goodness you exist - you've been pivotal in getting to grips with this illness. Husband is away on a business trip for a couple of weeks, so I'm having to deal with this new situation mostly on my own. He (husband) doesn't do well with needles or blood so apart from the emotional support, he's not dealing with it the same way I am. Before he left, he had to give Rasmus a couple of the injections and got very woozy and had to sit down. Took and hour before he recuperated.

Anyhow. Injecting Rasmus is fairly painless and fine. I've mostly got that down. However, I've started to do home testing and he does not like it at all, at all, at all. I don't blame him. Who wants their ears pricked all the time by an incompetent owner/slave. He panics because I haven't gotten the hang of the testing quite yet as it appears I've been piercing his ears - poor thing!!! Stupid lancet device. I've changed it down to the middle setting now (3) after doing some rather painful testing on myself. Setting 5 does *not* feel like a mosquito bite. I'm hoping the readings will go down as they seem a little high.

When he was first diagnosed and went for the (very expensive) blood glucose curve at the vet, he was boarded or a couple of days. He's on Prozinc. He was so stressed and his coat looked rubbish when we got him back. BUT, he was on 1u and we were told to up it to 1.5u when we took him home. I didn't have a glucometer to begin with, so I was shooting blind. He seemed very "flat" and a bit lethargic, not our bouncy cuddly cat at all. I phoned the vets several times over the next few days because something was not right and you have to trust your instincts. They agreed for me to lower it back to 1u for the weekend and take him in for another (very expensive) bg curve on the Monday morning. We'd agreed to stay on 1u until I do a bg curve at home in a week's time. He seems like a totally different cat, back to his normal self.

BUT, his numbers seem a bit odd and high, right? I am putting some of that down to him being particularly displeased with me for a couple of days when I took the bg readings. I mean, stabbing his ears like that. My heart still breaks thinking about it. What setting do you people use on the alphatrack2 lancet device so you don't pierce your cat's ears?

Another thing that I've realised is that he is on Felix "As good as it looks" food which apparently can raise bg. I am trying to get him off it but he does not want to eat the other food I bought him, the more expensive Simpsons Premium. I mean, even I think that new food smells good but he is not convinced. I will need to get him onto other pouchy foods.

He weighs 4 kgs and his weight hasn't gone down since we started on insulin (yes, I bought a set of baby scales for him). Hooray!

Yes, I've got aquarium gravel and keto-diastixs coming so I can check for ketones in case those numbers remain high. Just wasting for Amazon to deliver. I've got a hypo toolkit.

I *think* I'm doing OK and it will only get better from now on. But I would really like some reassurance. when can I expect for him to get more regulated and when will those readings drop? Maybe I need to up the dosage once I've done the bg curve. Is anyone around for some sound advise? I'd love to hear from you. Especially if you are offering reassurance

Best,
Kris

 

Welcome Kris and Rasmus! I'm sorry we didn't welcome you yesterday! I see you've posted on the Health forum also. We usually are better about posting fairly quickly but we sure fell down on the job. As said in your other post, not only are weekends and nights slower, there's horrible storms happening all over the US right now with a lot of people without power.

HUGS!

 

Thank you for the welcome and I hope those storms subside soon. Hope everyone's safe!

 

What size lancet are you using? I find starting out the 30g would not give me blood. Start with 28 or 26. I have 28 and still have to have the setting on 5 to get his ears to bleed. It probably does pierce his ears, but if you put pressure on them afterwards they don't bruise as much. They have less nerves in their ears than we do in our fingers so the pain isn't quite the same. He def feels it though as his ears twitch a bit after. Some mornings they won't bleed at all I think because they are cold but he is resistant to me warming them regardless of method. I have to test while he is stuffing his face. If I don't he will run away or bite me. Some cats will sit still for a test if they know a treat is coming. My cat gained once I got him somewhat regulated. He started at 14 lbs. and now 18.3 lbs. He is 36" long head to tail. Gonna ask the vet if he needs to lose or if that is appropriate for his size. He is not round looking unless he sits and he is long haired so very hard to tell. Best of luck on the testing, just have to find what works for you guys. I am still figuring it out too.

 

I'd skip the Lancet device all together. Many cats don't like it. Also is ok if you go through but try not to hit the vein. It hurts more and bleeds too much. I have a video in my signature showing how I test my cat CC at home.

 

Oh my, Kris, I am so sorry it took so long for a response. I honestly did not see your post yesterday or I would have responded.
Testing is a process of practice and patience. You will get there. I'm glad you went ahead and posted in the Main Health forum. This Intro forum is not as heavily monitored as the Main.
Best of luck, it sounds like you are doing rather well, there on your own.

 

Thanks Janet, that's a BRILLIANT video! I'll nail this eventually, I'm sure.

 

It's a 28, I've just checked. I'll keep at it, massaging and giving him lots of fuss and treats so he gets some good associations! Thanks for the advice

 

Thanks, Lou! The members here on FDMB are so helpful and kind. I'll keep at it and work on my patience

 

There's a lot of failed attempts in the beginning. You will get it