Newly Diagnosed....and stressed.

Discussion in 'Feline Health - (Welcome & Main Forum)' started by Chey Bear's Mom, Apr 27, 2017.

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  1. Chey Bear's Mom

    Chey Bear's Mom Member

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2017
    My nine year old cat, Cheyanne Marie, was diagnosed last week with type two diabetes. I am honestly feeling so lost, unorganized, frustrated, and exhausted.

    After the vet gave me her diagnoses we were then told about what Cheyanne needed. Insulin, testing, diet change, etc. I began calling every pharmacy I could think of to get a price estimate for the insulin glargine. Everyone I called had it for $300.00 a bottle. There was no doubt in my mind that I could help Cheyanne, but the cost of everything sure put a damper on things as we just don't have that kind of money. Cheyanne also had a UTI, so we started her on medicine for that.

    About a year ago our other cat (Mavis) was diagnosed with kidney failure. We had just adopted her two months before and she was only a year, I couldn't just let her die. We ended up spending a large chunk to save her and during this time my husband lost his job. We are trying so hard to stay a float as is. With all of this we just didn't have the funds for Cheyanne.

    My mom stepped in and helped us with the starting costs. We placed Cheyanne on ProZinc, 1 unit twice a day to start and moved it up to 2 units twice a day because her levels have been too high. The vet prescribed Royal Canin Glycobalance wet and dry. Cheyanne refuses to eat the wet and is OK with the dry. She also likes to graze. The vet told us to let her eat however much she wanted because she lost so much weight. Tonight I spoke with the vet and she is now only wanting me to feed her twice a day, before the insulin doses. She also told me to start giving Cheyanne the Fancy Feast wet food, classic.

    I am also home testing with the Relion Prime instead of testing her at the vet. I test three times a day, before the morning dose, before the night dose, and late at night before bed. Her levels have been pretty high. The vet wants me to use Lantus, but the ProZinc was cheaper. As soon as we can afford it we will move to the Lantus.

    Cheyanne has been good about testing and the shot and will sometimes purr while I do everything so that helps a little.
     
    Yong & Maury GA likes this.
  2. Larry and Kitties

    Larry and Kitties Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    Welcome.
    Many of us get our Lantus for Canada, specifically here:
    https://rxcanada4less.com/
    You still need a prescription. It is better to get the 5 pack of 3 ml pens vice a 10 ml vial since one can use up a 3 ml pen before it loses effectiveness which is usually not the case for the 10 ml vial.
    It is good that you are home testing.
    Most of us record our reading and other info in a spreadsheet. See:
    http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

    What are you feeding? A low-carb canned is best. No reason for a prescription food.
     
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  3. Tracey&Jones (GA)

    Tracey&Jones (GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2016
    Hi Amanda,

    I know all about what you are feeling.

    I have a CKD kitty - she was diagnosed at the age of 6 stage 1 and she has slowly moved onto stage 2 kidney disease this year. So we are amping up her support. The good news is that there a plenty of members that have dealt with CKD kitties that are both diabetic or not. So you can get tons help in that regard. And then there is Jonesy - he was 12 years old and just starting losing weight, throwing up, diarrhea. It took many tests to find out he had IBD and pancreatitis which lead to a steroid medication that caused him to be diabetic! In in the midst of that, we lost my father in-law and my husband was in a major car accident (has spent the last 8 months off work) plus I had to say good bye to my old drooler heart dog.

    So...take a deep breath! So I am going to ask is CKD kitty Mavis is stable?

    Another breath.

    For Chey's Bear. Larry gave you some good information to check out. And congrats on the home testing. That is a huge step and one of the best tools you have to keeping Chey's safe. Huge high five!

    I see you have a spreadsheet is up and running - fanstastic - another high five. Have you had a chance to read the two different protocols we use here? Tight Regular or Start Low Go Slow? I ask because that is quite a jump in dosage. 1 whole unit. I followed my vets advice to start with too and was not testing like I should of. Things improved greatly when I started here.

    As for food - I started Jones on the prescription food as well. Several beans here use Fancy Feast pate. It is cheap, lower in carbs (it is recommended carbs at 10% or less) and is not the worst out there. You will find more information and a food chart with the protein, carb, fat, phosphorus (which is an important factor for your CKD kittie) content. Just click on the blue lettering to start the link. Jones flips between FF and Wellness.

    I can't comment on the Prozinc as Jones is on Lantus. I think there is pros and cons to both.

    If you have specific questions on dosage etc - we will be happy to help. Just post into the Prozinc forum.
     
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  4. Chey Bear's Mom

    Chey Bear's Mom Member

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2017
    Thank you both for your help!

    I am going to look into buying the Lantus from Canada, the vet thinks it would be a good idea to too. Cheyanne's numbers have been so high! The vet is the one who actually told me to bump it up to 2 units twice a day because of Cheyanne's numbers. I did finally see Cheyanne act like her "normal" self last night. But this morning she wasn;t feeling so good again. We are going to the vet tonight to see what numbers they come up with and I am also going to use my monitor to see what I come up with and see if it is off any.

    I am so sorry to hear about your kitty and everything going on. I feel like our family has been this way too, just hit after hit. Thankfully Mavis is stable. Her levels have been good. I want to get an ultrasound done to know for sure if it is congenital but those are outrageous!

    After doing my own research I could not beleive how many carbs were in the dry food for cats, even the MD! I am going to look into getting Mavis on wet too. She is just so dang picky with her food. Cheyanne will eat ANYTHING! She has always been an eater and will eat whatever she can get her paws on. One time we left the room and came back to her eating enchiladas...

    Again, thank you so much for the support and time you have taken, I really appreciate it!
     
    Tracey&Jones (GA) likes this.
  5. JanetNJ

    JanetNJ Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 8, 2016
    The meter you have is going to read lower than a pet meter. The higher the levels the further apart they are. ProZinc is a good insulin.... You might as well use the vial up before switching to lantus. Why spend more money?

    There are a few dry foods that are diabetic friendly... Young Again Zero carb (my favorite) and Evo Cat and Kitten in the purple bag are two of them.
     
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  6. Chey Bear's Mom

    Chey Bear's Mom Member

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2017
    I did take Cheyanne to the vet and we tested together. Mine were 30 points lower. I am gong to add 30 points to each reading. I am for sure going to use up the insulin, we can't afford anything else right now anyways!
     
  7. Sharon14

    Sharon14 Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 16, 2015
    Human meters read lower than pet meters, but all meters have a 20% variance so you can not reliably add 30 points. If you take two readings from the same drop of blood with the same meter you may get two different numbers. Just record whatever number you get on your SS. Prozinc is a good insulin, but if in the future you want to switch to Lantus, we can help you find it at an affordable price.
     
  8. Chey Bear's Mom

    Chey Bear's Mom Member

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2017
    Ok, I will just record the regular numbers.

    When it gets closer I will for sure look into getting the Lantus. I did get alot of information on the Canada pharmacy so I am going to look into that as well.
     
  9. JanetNJ

    JanetNJ Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 8, 2016
    It might be 30 points lower on a low reading but 100 points lower on a high reading. It doesn't stay a set amount apart. The gap is greater the higher the reading so just record what you see to track trends and know that "Normal" on a human meter is 50 to 120. Below 50 the cat is in danger.
     
  10. Cherish Gallagher

    Cherish Gallagher Member

    Joined:
    Mar 27, 2017
    Welcome! We are 2 months in and I promise it will get better and less stressful! You're in good hands here. :)
     
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  11. Chey Bear's Mom

    Chey Bear's Mom Member

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    Apr 26, 2017
    Thank you! I did fix my spreadsheet just to go off the Relion meter that I have. I did hear if it gets too low to use Karo syrup? Is that right?
     
  12. Yong & Maury GA

    Yong & Maury GA Well-Known Member

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    Jan 11, 2017
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  13. Chey Bear's Mom

    Chey Bear's Mom Member

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    Apr 26, 2017
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  14. Sharon14

    Sharon14 Well-Known Member

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    Aug 16, 2015
    Read the hypo thread Yong posted, and if you get a low number, you can start a thread on the Health Forum for additional help as well as moral support!
     
  15. JanetNJ

    JanetNJ Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 8, 2016
    Honey will work too.
     
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