Newly diagnosed

Neiko, is my wonderful 12 year old black/white little boy who, today I learned, as diabetes. Besides being completely overwhelmed, I am totally committed to whatever is necessary. I was told his blood sugar was 1,000, which seems really bad. I bought special food, needles and insulin (Lantus) and gave him his 1st shot roughly 6 hours ago. How do I know that it is working??? Obviously, it will work but I am concerned that I may not know if he needs more??? I am to give him a shot BID, 2 units....go to check weight and blood work 1x wk for the next couple weeks. She has me giving him 2/3 cup a day...which for a cat that has always been free fed --- seems like he will starve! Does anyone have any words of wisdom???? nailbite_smile

 

I am new too, but I was told alot by people here to make me understand how Lantus works.

It will take about a week before the insulin storage shed is filled and used by the cat with this kind of insulin.
You can read more about that at the STICKY'S at the top of the Lantus page.
So dont stress if the BG numbers do not go down right away.
(I was at first)

Its really important to home test the BG levels so you know if they are steady throughout the day or going really low and way up high.

Really low and then high again is not good. It will make the cat feel terrible. (the other insulin I used did that)
So even if the numbers are high in the beginning, but pretty steady, the cat will feel better.

I can see now, it may take a few weeks before my cats BG levels are low and I get the right dosage.

I was told that if the numbers are still high, to increase after 5-7 days .25 units for each injection (2x a day)
You have to be patient. (its hard to do that)
Also, each injection must be 12 hours apart for this insulin. Not 11 or 11-1/2.

I am getting up every AM at 5 AM, because on Fridays Hubby and I go out at 5 PM ! lol (and I dont even work right now)
Go to the Lantus support forum for more help. And read the sticky's at the top of the page and the rules for posting in that forum.

Good luck and try not to panic.

 

Welcome!

First, Neiko should be eating low carb wet food. I recommend you review Janet & Binky's food chart here: http://www.felinediabetes.com/diabetic-cat-diets.htm As you will see, Neiko can be fed Friskies, Fancy Feast, and other canned food that are much more economical than the food sold at the vet's office. Generally speaking, the food sold at the vet's office is has a much higher carb count than is recommended for diabetic kitties.

Second, please consider home testing Neiko's BG levels. Here is a link to a thread with information on home testing: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=287 Home testing serves many valuable purposes - not only do you know Neiko's BG level before every shot, but will be able to see the impact of the insulin on his BG level, and when his nadir (the lowest point in a twelve-hour curve) is. Importantly, because you will know Neiko's BG level before every shot, hopefully hypo incidents can be avoided. Finally, once you learn to home test, you will be able to do BG curves on your own and provide the information to Neiko's vet - that is considerably less expensive than having to leave Neiko at the vet for an entire day.

Speaking of hypo incidents (when the BG drops too low), you need to be prepared for them, even though (knock on wood!) you never hope to have one. Please see this thread http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2354, which will tell you what you need to have on hand in the event of a hypo, and this thread http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=1122 which will tell you how to treat a hypo incident.

You mention that Neiko is using Lantus. Many of us here use Lantus, and there are a couple things you may want to consider: First, for the purpose of treating feline diabetes, Lantus remains viable for more than 28 days (the 28 day viability is for human users of Lantus). Second, many of us prefer to purchase Lantus SoloStar pens instead of vials. The reason for this is, even though it remains viable for more than 28 days, it is very difficult to use an entire vial before it needs to be replaced. SoloStar pens are sold five to a package and contain essentially smaller vials of Lantus in each pen. Many of us use an entire pen without having to throw any insulin away. You can still continue to use the syringes with the pen, and you certainly do NOT need to purchase the VERY expensive single-use needles that pharmacists sometimes try and sell.

Lastly, you can get what we call a Newbie Kit by following the instructions here: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=19528. If you would prefer to purchase you own glucomete, many people here buy Wal-Mart's brand. Also, you should purchase keostix (no script required), so you can test and may sure Neiko isn't throwing ketones (a dangerous and potentially life-threatening situation).

I'm sure you will have a million questions as you explore and read all the information on the board. Please post any questions you have, as we are here to help you help Neiko.

 

Welcome Diabetes is a very managable disease :thumbup It can be overwhelming at first but you have this board for support and help :smile:

I've never heard of a blood glucose level that high but it is a very very high level.

Normal cat blood glucose levels are around 60 mg/dl to 150 mg/dl or so.

You don't need the special food. It's basically a bunch of useless very poor quality ingredients at an insane price:-Q Vets push the food because they don't know much about proper nutrition.

Diet is important for your cat, just like it is for Human diabetics. Humans go on a low carb/low sugar diet. The equivalent for cat is low carb canned food and/or RAW. Many brands of commerical canned foods are good for your diabetic cat to have: Fancy Feast, Friskies, Wellness, Innova EVO, Merrick, etc. Dry food is not recommended at all. http://www.catinfo.org has info about proper nutrition.

There is a great foood chart to use for selecting low carb foods: http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html You just look at the carb column and choose foods that have a number 10 or less. These are low carb foods ideal for most diabetic cats.

Here is a list of low carb health treats: viewtopic.php?f=14&t=9172 Many big name commerical brands are too high in carbs for a diabetic cat to have.

Great that you are using Lantus :thumbup There's a Lantus support group here if you want to browse around there and see how the insulin is working for other cats. There are a couple stickies at the top of the group that tells you how Lantus works for cats and how to handle Lantus because it is very fragile: viewforum.php?f=9

The best insulin syringes to use with Lantus (and other insulins) are U100 with half unit markings. The half unit markings makes it easy to measure half unit doses and even smaller doses which some cats need. If you don't have half unit markings, no big deal :smile: When you need to buy more, get the ones with half unit markings.There are several brands you can buy. This handy reference chart shows what insulin syringes are avaiable: http://www.diabeteshealth.com/media/pdf ... h_2010.pdf BD, Monoject, GNP, and Relion are a few brands with half unit marked insulin syringes avaiable.

How do you know if the dose is working? The only way to know is by testing your cat's blood glucose levels daily, no different from how Human diabetics test their blood glucose levels. A Human diabetic blood glucose meter works well. You do not need a pet blood glucose meter (iPet or AlphaTrack which are expensive to buy).

2 units twice a day of any insulin can be too much for a cat to handle. Drop the dose to just 1 unit twice a day and just tell the vet you feel more comfortable with a lower dose and then gradually increase as needed.

Ugh... dry food, especially the prescription junk :-Q As mentioned above, you do not need the prescription food, dry or canned. You can return the bag to the vet for a refund. Just say your cat won't eat it.

Unregulated cats are always starving because their bodies aren't able to properly use the food nutrients. Free feed your cat until the blood glucose levels are better regulated. Canned food can be free fed. Many people use a timed feeder to allow their cats to eat several small meals throughout the day.

 

Hi and welcome. You're already getting great advice, I can't add to that other than stress that hometesting and food are so important.

What symptoms was Neiko showing before you took him to the vet? Drinking or peeing more? Weigt loss, hunger? Did the vet check Neiko's teeth? Is there anything else with Neiko's health going on?

 

Morning!

Scary place you're at right now, isn't it? We've all been there, and we totally "get it." The good news is that on this board, you can learn to manage the illness and a good, long, healthy life of your Neiko is possible! YAY.

The diagnosis of diabetes means: a lot of learning in a relatively short amount of time. Kinda like a launch from Cape Canavarel...and you and the kitty are being shot into outer space. So...remember you will be learning a lot, and not necessarily 'get it' all right away. That's fine. Learn something every day, and build on it, and soon, the sugar dance steps will be clear.

First thing to deal with is diet. Cats, in the wild, don't eat much/any carbs. Problem is, lots of commerical stuff has a lot of carbs in it. Some cats can handle it, but obviously, sugar cats can't. So change the diet to a wet food off Janet and Binky's list (linked above), eliminate the dry, and there will be a change almost automatically. The change may be a hard one to make, but it's a very big, important piece of the puzzle to get into place early. (I use Wellness and Evo nearly exclusively.)

And the other very important thing to do first is to learn to home test. Insulin can be a dangerous drug to give anyone, and knowing what the sugar level is before giving the insulin, and testing during the 'cycle' (the time the insulin is active in the body), will give you a good idea of what's happening in Neiko's body. Home testing can be a challenge, but it's totally doable...with some coaching from the board, in short order you will be an expert at hometesting. I personally don't like to give any insulin to my kitties without knowing the starting point, you know? A bit too much like dancing with the devil for my taste.

The other thing to do as soon as possible is to set up a spreadsheet. That will really help you, as well as others on the board, to give you a good long-view picture of how this whole thing is going.

So. There are the first things to get accomplished in treating FD. There are a lot of other things to learn, but like I said, this is a learning curve, and these are the first building blocks.

And remember. There will be frustration, anxiety, and stress for you in the beginning. That will pass...like any other change, it's hard...but it's doable. We have all been there, done that, felt the way you feel now and will feel in the future...but it's doable.

Matter of fact, it's so doable, that I adopted a second FD cat...knowing he was diabetic. Esse and Eeyore are doing well now, but it took some time...and that is the essential ingredient in all of this. Time, and learning curve.

Best-
Michele
Esse and Eeyore, the FDs
and the rest of the herd...all 8 of them

 

hi and welcome. It is great to see you so committed to helping Neiko. You will be able to help him have a happy, active life. While things are so overwhelming now, soon things will settle down. You've gotten a lot of good advice but I'll distill it down:

1. low carb wet food is critical

2. hometesting is critical

3. learn hypo symptoms and set up hypo kit

4. test pee for ketones since ketoacidosis is dangerous (and expensive)

5. read, read, and re-read

6. never hesitate to ask questions


best wishes,
laur

 

Thank everyone for the replies. I knew something was wrong because he felt "dirty" so I knew he was dehydrated. Dakota was my other cat who was diagnosed w/renal failure at 8 yrs old and then passed at 9 yrs (hard to believe it has been 4 yrs ago) so I was very familiar with the excessive drinking and other symptoms. So I was completely ready for that diagnoses.....not so much for the diabetes. He also felt lighter to me...he was a little over 12 lbs...and I could feel his spine easier...the biggest hint was that he was ALWAYS drinking. I could probably count on one hand the number of times I have caught him drinking over the years. So anyway, I have a feral cat outside that I feed - he will only eat 9 lives ground food (not the shredded) so perhaps I will see if Neiko will eat that food. The vet gave me the dry to use while we try and transition him to the wet food and she had given me Binkys page to review. I am a little nervous about the home testing, I did just order a newbie kit however. How do people manage this with work and obligations for kids sports???? My husband works nights and I am a little worried about how to be consistent with his shots. I did set my alarm this morning at 7am to feed him and give him a shot because that is what it will be through the week with getting the kids up for school and out the door to work. It does seem so overwhelming and now that I know something is wrong - I hate knowing that he feels bad. I will work on figuring out the spreadsheet, makes perfect sense to me.....that will provide me with huge peace of mind and confidence that what our game plan is actually works. Thank you again for your replies and support. I can do this!!!!!!

 

Welcome !! I like your attitude.....it will go a long way to managing this disease!

You have all the best advice already so I really can't add much except we have all been overwhelmed and scared at first but it gets easier.

Hometesting is the key...it will take a lot of the anxiety out of this process.

Ask lots of questions and look over the material....we are here to help!

 

is your name susan

 

i think you may just have ordered a newbie kit, i want to specialize it for your cats needs. i am leaving for work.. will you be on tonight about 5 california time...if not would you pm me your phone #...i think i may have a few extra things you might want.

 

It's great your vet had Janet & Binky's information for you! We all struggled with home testing at first, but you (and Neiko) will become pros at it in no time. If testing using Neiko's ear really becomes impossible, you can test using a paw pad.

Most of us have kids, jobs, etc., and the truth is you just need to do the best you can. All of us here would love to tell you we've hit the 12-hour mark every day, but the truth is we haven't. If you miss the 12-hour mark, just let us know and we can give you some suggestions as to how to proceed. Also, very soon this will all become second nature to you and take only a very few minutes in the AM and PM.

Hopefully Neiko will take to the low carb canned food...the BG levels will drop noticeably just with a change of diet, and Neiko will start to feel better.

 

Hi there and welcome!

You've gotten some great suggestions already. Do pay attention to the suggestions to test for ketones. With high numbers, that's really important.

We all arrived here, overwhelmed and afraid we couldn't manage this. As said above, you just do the best you can and you will work things out to suit your schedule in the best way possible. All of the things suggested will become second nature to you, as you begin to do them. There's a learning curve and things to read to get yourself familiar with the process and familiar with your insulin. The overwhelming feeling with start to subside. There is light at the end of the tunnel!