(Repost from intro forum) Recent dx & having trouble getting #s down

Greetings! My 9-year-old kitty was diagnosed with diabetes in January after an emergency room visit due to lack of appetite. Initially, we were dealing with a fatty liver diagnosis as well and had to resort to a feeding tube for three weeks. Fortunately, that issue has resolved, although he will only eat dry and refuses every offering of diabetic friendly wet foods. His dry food is Young Again Mature Zero, which is very low carb.

Though Neo is eating fine now, we are having a heck of a time getting his consistently high numbers down. There have been occasional days that made me feel like we were finally on the right track and then, poof, no more. Initially, he was super responsive to a .5 dose of Lantus and my vet (who has been great - very supportive and seems knowledgeable about kitty diabetes) thought that very promising. However, he's settled into a routine of high readings no matter what we do. I figured it was time to run his story by the folks on this group to see if any other Lantus users have had a similar experience and have some advice. FYI, when you look at Neo's chart you'll see a couple lower or no dose days when he had surprisingly low (comparatively) #s. I am still uncertain how to correctly dose when that happens and have been fearful of hypo overnight. I suspect that's part of the reason we're having trouble but could use some input/suggestions from others with more experience.

Additional details:
He's currently on a Lantus dose of 3.0. Following SLGS.
Neo seems happy and healthy though energy goes up and down.
Free fed - amount he's eating seems to be spot-on for the recommended daily amount.
No hiding, seeks my company and enjoys play time.
Drinking plenty of water and urinating accordingly
Never tested positive for ketones so far
Never experienced hypo so far


Thanks in advance!

Daniela

 

Hello and welcome Daniela. There is lots of information in this forum. I would start with the Sticky Notes at the top of the forum. I hope we'll be able to help you help Neo. Keep asking questions, we all remember what it was like to be new and love to help.

First thing, you have been increasing without seeing how low the dose is taking Neo. As per the SLGS sticky note, you need to do a curve to get some mid cycle tests before increasing the dose. We figure out how to dose the kitty based on how low a dose is taking him. The low points are typically somewhere mid cycle and you need tests then to figure out what is happening. It's entirely possible for a kitty to start out in the reds, dive down to green and bounce back up at the end of the cycle. My Neko earned her first reduction using Tight Regulation (green below 50) starting the day at 430.

With SLGS, we only change dose by 0.25 units at a time. Kitties are incredibly sensitive to small dose changes and by changing a 0.5 unit amount you can bypass a good dose. And one other thing, is it possible for you to get some tests in the night time cycle? A good one is usually a test just before bed. Many kitties go a lot lower at night. Again an example from my girl, who would dive and go low at night then bounce high during the day. If I wasn't testing at the night time, it would look like she needed an increase, when if fact she needed to go down in dose. Spot checks mid cycle really help fill in the picture.

To answer another of your questions, yes it is possible for a kitty to respond initially to a dose, then not so much.

 

Wendy&Niko, I thank you. I'm working up to doing more spot testing with the current dose & will try to get some readings at night if I can to help fill in the blanks. Will do a full curve after 7 days. Hopefully, those efforts combined will paint a better picture of where we're at. FYI, I came across this site and settled on SLGS only recently and am still trying to make sense of it all. Head is spinning!

 

Yes, there is a ton to learn to start, but is does get easier and we are here to help you help Neo.

Those spot tests and curve will help us figure out where to go next. If you see a number below 90 though, that does mean he earns a 0.25 unit reduction in dose.