Old member, new cat

Discussion in 'Feline Health - (Welcome & Main Forum)' started by Pandasmom, May 25, 2019.

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  1. Pandasmom

    Pandasmom Member

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2010
    Hi All,

    I was active on this board back in 2010, when dealing with diabetes for my cat Odie. My username back then was Odiesmom. Odie has since passed away. At the time, Odie was dealing with several health issues and his diabetes was difficult to manage. I became very accustomed to close monitoring and home testing.

    We now have 3 cats, and have just found out that Panda has diabetes.... so here we go again. I've changed my username to Pandasmom :)

    On May 15, Panda had double knee surgery to correct luxating patellas that were causing her significant discomfort. During blood work relating to surgery, they uncovered that she was diabetic. Panda has had IBD for many years now and has been on Prednisolone long-term to control it. Her last blood work in December was normal. We assume the diabetes has been triggered by the Prednisolone. We immediately started tapering her off of Prednisolone and will try switching her to Budesonide instead. She also gets Pepcid daily and had been on Gabapentin daily to help with pain from her knees. She gets Cerenia and Cyproheptadine as needed when her IBD flare ups, and B12 injections monthly.

    The first days post-surgery were pretty complicated and she was pretty groggy from pain meds, so we waited a few days before starting insulin treatment. In the meantime, I started home testing a couple of times a day to get an idea what we were dealing with. She hovered around a BG of 18, with no big swings in either direction.

    Today, we started her on 1 unit of Lantus twice per day. So far:
    Day 1: AMPS 16.7, +2 BG 12.8, +4 BG 11.1, +6 BG 8.9

    She was already eating Nulo Turkey + Chicken, and we have continued with that.
    She had been eating a bit of RC Satiety kibble (because her sibling eats it and she likes it), but we discontinued that as soon as we heard about her high BG.

    We're hoping for eventual remission, but we'll deal with whatever comes.

    You can see Panda in her pyjamas in my avatar. She absolutely freaked out with any kind of cone of shame or neck alternative post-knee surgery, and the surgical onesies didn't cover her legs, so I had to get creative. This is an infant onesie that I've modified to fit her. She seems relatively content wearing them and it keeps her legs/incisions covered. On the plus side, she also looks kind of adorable in them :)

    Pandasmom
     

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  2. Idjit's mom

    Idjit's mom Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Apr 3, 2018
    Oh my goodness, Panda does look absolutely adorable in her jammies! I am so sorry to hear that she has had to go through the surgeries and commend you highly for taking such good care of her. I am also sorry that you have had to return to FDMB because of the diabetes diagnosis, but you already know you are going to get the information and support you need here. I do welcome you back to this caring community as you help this dear sweet girl to better health and well being.
    Could you take a few minutes and get the signature and the spreadsheet set up, so that when you post we can see Panda's information? You probably remember the drill, just including the information in case you need it.

    Click on your name in the upper right corner of this page
    click on "signature" in the menu that drops down
    type the following in the box that opens: kitty's name/age/date of diabetes diagnosis/insulin you're using and dosage amount /glucose meter you're using/what (s)he eats/any other meds or health issues (s)he has. You can add your name, and a geographic location (sometimes the time zone matters) Be sure to SAVE when you are finished.

    http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
    http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/understanding-the-spreadsheet-grid.156606/

    Going forward, please post with general health questions or concerns on the Main Health forum, or post on the Lantus forum for more specific insulin related questions. You may want to refresh your knowledge of Lantus there, as some things may have been updated since you were last here.

    Wishing you and Panda the best and for her speedy surgical recovery. :cat:
     
  3. Pandasmom

    Pandasmom Member

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2010
    Thanks Idjit's mom.
    I've gotten her spreadsheet set up and my signature line updated.

    No questions so far, just getting organized and trying to get my husband up-to-date and comfortable with everything :)

    I imagine something will come up eventually. I'll be posting then. This board was so helpful last time around, I'm very grateful!
     
    Idjit's mom likes this.
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