Newly Diagnosed-Starting to Home Test

Hello-
Sadie is a 6-7 year old that had been just diagnosed with diabetes. She then developed gastritis and was in the hospital over Christmas for 6 days. She was finally stable and is currently on PZI 3 units twice a day. She just had her fructosimine test and the vet said all her values were really good but there still was a high level of glucose in her urine. She suggested we home test her. I know to test her before her meal but how long do you wait after she has her meal and her shot? Thanks for any advice -this whole experience has been very stressful.

Kacie and Sadie

 

Welcome.

With PZI you can free feed [as long as they do not over eat and gain a whole bunch of weight]. No need to do timed feedings.

Cats are supposed to eat many small meals throughout the day.

You should test AT LEAST before every shot. Since you are starting out you will also want to do some curves and figure out were your kitty's nadir is at and also see of your kitty may be experiencing any rebound.

Also you will probably want to start a spreadsheet. Instructions for that can be found here:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/view ... p?f=6&t=16

There is a sticky in the PZI group with more info on PZI and here are some testing links:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/bg-test.htm
http://www.felinediabetes.com/bg-home-test.htm

Fell free to post in the PZI group too.

 

Welcome to our FDMB family and be patient with yourself. You sound like you really love your cats, so you have come to the perfect place. Get some chocolate, sit back and get ready to read. Also, remember Every Cat Is Different. (ECID) Also, remember opinions may vary sometimes on this board, so you may get different views. Unfortunately, that is human nature.
Sorry this is very long, but there is a lot to say! Also, remember we were ALL newbies once and are feeling just like you are right now! OK……..breathe………. :RAHCAT

You do not need any type of prescription food or “special” diabetic food. Use Janet & Binky’s chart at http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html. . Low carb is best for diabetics. I try to stay around 10% or under. I feed Whiskas, 9-Lives and mostly Friskies. Diabetes is very treatable and does not cost as much as you would think. If you are giving a high dose of insulin and feeding dry, be careful with switching to canned food. You MUST reduce the insulin at the same time you switch to canned food.

Please create a profile if you have not already done so. It will help us to help you. We need to know what kind of insulin you are on, what needles you are using (U-40 or U-100), what are you feeding, how much insulin you are giving and when, BG test results, etc. There are many people on this board from all over the world, so it will be helpful to know what area and time zone you are in.

Remember that your cat is YOUR cat, and YOU are paying your VET to help you take care of him; diabetes was probably a day or two worth of notes when the vet was in college; it is probably NOT a day-to-day existence with his own cat trying to maintain a quality of life. Sorry to say, but I would have overdosed my guys on insulin if I followed my vet's advice. Vets, unfortunately are not as knowledgeable as they should be on diabetes.

Sometimes, as I did, you have to take a leap of faith and trust these people on this board who deal with diabetes day in and day out. Trust me. You will not be disappointed. OK………..breathe again……….get some chocolate…….. cat_pet_icon

Also, please realize that it takes insulin about a week to settle. START LOW AND GO SLOW!! The usual starting dose from our experiences is 1u twice a day for at least a week. Insulin in cats is NOT and I repeat NOT based on weight. This is a misconception that a lot of us have gotten from our vets here. pc_work

You have to be patient, as I also had to learn!! Do not adjust the dose upwards based on one test. Don’t freak out based on one test result. As long as the levels stay on the high side, keep the same dose twice a day for at least the initial week period and you should see improvements. When you have some time (hee hee), read my profile doc at http://docs.google.com/View?id=dfqss8sg_1cpgwhbd9 .

If you are not hometesting already, you really need to start!! Hometesting is VERY important. Most of us here us any human meter. Think of it as a human diabetic does. *If it were you or a child of yours, you'd be testing blood glucose levels at home prior to each shot; you'd be working with your doctor to determine a proper dose based on those shot results, correct?* Some vets do not agree with hometesting and I cannot for the life of me understand why. Most vets, sadly are not knowledgeable enough in feline diabetes. Insulin is a VERY powerful drug and you NEED to hometest before giving a shot. This is very important. The vet would rather have you bring the cat to them, stress it out more, which may spike the levels anyway and then they can charge you $$. Hometesting saved me a lot of money and it is VERY important for you personally to know the cat’s levels and how it is reacting to the insulin before you shoot so you do not pass up your ideal dosage.

Thanks to everyone's help here I learned to home test 2 cats and they both got off insulin within 3 weeks with diet change…but of course, they reacting both DIFFERENTLY with the process. If I can do it with 2 cats twice a day (and more on curve days), ANYONE can do it. It does NOT hurt them as much as you think it does. It just stings for a moment and then it is gone, you can try it on yourself. Also, put pressure on the ear after poking and it should minimize the nub. They won't mind it once they start feeling better. I use the True Track meter (CVS or Walgreens brand) which I love. And, the strips are also reasonable. Also, remember to give them a treat after the test. Here is a link to a member videos on hometesting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zE12-4fVn8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ6iXetR398

I would not feed DRY food if at all possible. Of course, it is better than nothing – you MUST get them to eat if you are giving insulin, but if there is any chance, get them off the dry. I took my guys off dry and within a month they were off insulin. Again, remember that switching from dry to wet can cause a drop in blood sugars, so you MUST reduce insulin at the same time to make sure you are not giving too much insulin. I truly believe also that I saved some of my many others from developing diabetes. I also saved so, so much money changing them all to regular canned cat food.
When Blackie and Jackie got diagnosed, I was afraid to start shots. The people on this board made me realize it was no big deal. (They went on PZI insulin around 3-25-06 and went off on 4-18-06! Please also realize that diet plays a BIG, BIG part in insulin needs. I switched my cats off dry food to all wet and I was never so happy. It was a challenge to try to regulate 2 cats at once.


Welcome to the Sugar Dance. flip_cat
Welcome to the Vampire Club.

If I can do it, ANYONE can!!!
It does get easier. Trust us.

You need to test BEFORE you shoot. It usually goes: Test, Feed, Shoot



There's a saying something like "better the sugar level is too high for a day than too low for a minute".

 

Hi Kacie, welcome to FDMB. Good for you for being willing to learn to hometest. The first step is to buy a glucometer. Pay close attention to the cost of the test strips and make sure you are able to afford 50-100 per month. I use the Walmart brand glucometer, called Relion and pay $42 for a little over a month of test strips. You'll use more when you are first learning.

The timing of your tests is generally before you give each shot. I assume you are shooting in the morning and again in the evening. Depending on how cooperative Sadie is, you can test, then feed, then shoot OR if she's not happy with that sequence, you can feed, test, shoot. Then when possible, especially at first, you want to get 1-2 tests in between shots so that you can figure out how she is responding to the insulin.

Here are some references to help you get started: viewtopic.php?f=14&t=287

 

Hi Kacie & welcome!!! It's good to get the test before each shot, like you said, and then after that it kind of varies, how's that for an answer?

When you are first starting out, you want to get an idea of 3 things:

- Onset, i.e. when the insulin kicks in - with PZI it's usually somewhere around the +2 mark (that's two hours post shot)
- Nadir, i.e. when the insulin action is at it's peak - with PZI usually around +5.5 to +7 if I recall, though some cats nadir at other times too
- Duration, i.e. how long the insulin is lasting - PZI often poops out sometime after +10

Sooooooo, if you can get in one spot test around any of those times (nadir is the most critical, as it will show you the approximate low your cat is getting in the shot cycle), that is perfect. Sometimes people do a curve, or a partial curve, which is when you check the BG every 2 or 3 hours following the shot, to see what is happening throughout the cycle. That's something someone might do on a weekend day (just once in a while), if it's hard to get in tests during the week.

If you don't have time to get many checks in (or are struggling with testing - it takes a while to get the hang of it for a lot of us!), I'd start with a +6 test. Then on another day you can try a +7. Another day a +3, etc., til you have some picture of what is going on.

For background, what kind of food is she on? Also, how did your vet arrive at the dose of 3u? We usually recommend people start at 1u and increase gradually - some people arrive here having done that, but often people's vets have started out at a higher dose, which sometimes is a problem. But, depends on carb content of food and other things.

That's great that your vet encouraged you to home-test - she gets points for that!!!

Yes, it is very stressful getting adjusted to all this! There are lots of great people here to help you out, and can answer whatever questions you have. Just post away, and we will help if we can! I am signing off soon for tonight, but it looks like there are others around, and there will be more in the morning.

I hope we are not overwhelming you with too much information - just focus on what is in front of you that you need to, and ask any questions you have. The rest will all sink in and start to make more sense as time goes on.

 

Really? I don't think Janet & Binky's list are at the top of the page any longer - at least not with the theme I use....

Anyway, Janet & Binky's food list can be found here:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/diabetic-cat-diets.htm

Wellness grain free wet food are another good choice.

We have just switched software here and the "profiles" in this board are limited. It is probably suggested you create one using Google Docs like the spreadsheet. Here are the instructions for that:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=531

 

Thank you thank you for your replies! While she was hospitalized for gastritis, they were trying to get her regulated so they started with 1 unit in am and 1 unit at night. They slowly upped it after her numbers were still in the 300-400 range. On the 6th day, the vet upped it to 3 units in morning and 3 at night and that brought it down to about 240. Since she was stable, we brought her home and she is very happy and active. Now, we are trying to learn to hometest so we can get a blood curve since the vet felt it would be better and less stressful for Sadie before making anymore changes to the amount ofinsulin or the type. I'm going to do that on my day off and test throughout the day. The vet recommended Hill's Prescription M/D for food. After reading a lot of the posts, it looks like it's bad! I had previously been feeding her fancy feast and the kinds that were actually on the list that were gluten free until the diagnosis happened.

Thank you again for the support. I had a really hard time (a lot of crying) until I pulled myself together to take care of her the best way I could.

Kacie and Sadie

 

Yep, if your kitty is having gastritis issues you may find some relief in using grain free foods. Your kitty's numbers should improve and will need less insulin if you can feed low carb [and hopefully grain free :smile: ] wet only.

The prescription diets are not needed. There are plenty of other and mostly better options out there.