skipping a shot?

What a great feline model you have !!

 

Hi, Kristin - Just checking in on you & Scout. Was looking @ his SS - how's he feeling today?

 

he's good! the same as every other day, which is frustrating because his numbers are still high. I've been feeding only twice a day, no snacks. still confused as to why .5 unit is not enough but 1 is too much. I know I need to look into the other type of syringe that measures differently, but it's a bummer seeing how I just spent $90 on this box of syringes not too long ago. this cat is robbing me blind

 

Oh, I know (re: robbing you blind) ... I think I'd faint dead away if I added up all the costs of treatment/supplies since Bat-Bat went back on the juice in February. But that said, you might just go to your local pharmacy and try a single package (of 10) of the 100U syringes (make sure they give you the ones that are marked on the half-unit). Must say that using them with the conversion table has really helped when I've had to make small adjustments in doses. (Just hated how hard it was to do with those U40 syringes!)

Before I forget: Are you testing for ketones? (If you've already mentioned somewhere that you do, forgive me - I have a lousy memory!)

 

usually just at our vet checkups every couple weeks. I meant to ask here- I found some test strips at the drug store, are the human ones okay to use to check on cats?

 

Yes, you can use the urine ketone strips from the drugstore. Is that what you have?

 

yes that's what I have. but I haven't used them yet because I wasn't sure if I could use the human ones

 

Yes. Called KetoStix, I think. (I personally haven't had to use ... yet.)

 

The brand is KetoStix, or KetoDiaStix (test both glucose and ketones). There are generic versions out ther.

 

the ones I have are CVS brand. I just walked in the door to catch Scout in the litter box. got a sample that came back negative but I'm not sure if I got enough on the test strip. I'll have to try again tomorrow

 

I've been a little nervous recently because scouts breath hasn't smelt BAD. it doesn't smell fruity or like acetone but I want it to be more kitty stink just to put me at ease haha

 

Has he had a dental exam?

 

no. last checkup the vet said he has a mild case of gingivitis that we need to take care of but I'm more worried about getting his diabetes regulated for now

 

You may not be able to get him regulated so long as he has some ongoing dental infection.

 

I agree!!! Get that "mild" gingivitis taken care of asap, rather than later; getting that problem resolved actually will help.
(Apparently your vet either didn't know that as relates to FD, or just didn't have the thinking-cap in place on that visit...)

 

alright I just scheduled his dental cleaning for next week. does one cleaning usually take care of it or am I going to be taking him in multiple times for this?

 

I am just guessing here, but ... As your vet had said it was "mild gingivitis" (which is gum inflammation), I'd imagine Scout's teeth/gum line will be cleaned, and if there's a compromised tooth it could be extracted (that's a maybe; his teeth may be fine, just needing cleaned of plaque) & is likely he'll be put on an antibiotic for a bit.

 

You may get a picture of the before and after shot of the gums and teeth. I really like that so you may ask to see if your vet does that. They look so white, clean and shiny after they have a cleaning done. There are a couple of medications that you will want to make sure that your vet does not use. I am awful with names but one is for anesthesia and the other is for pain. One starts with a "c" and the other starts with I think a "m." Hopefully, someone will chime in with the names. I had them put in my cats file "in red" not to use. Can someone help me with the names?

 

Convenia and Metacam. Convenia is a long acting antibiotic. They give a shot and the problem is that some cats have had adverse reactions...and if they do, there's no way to get it back out.

Metacam is a painkiller. I don't know much about it, but I know it has a black box warning. I also know that my vet told me she would never use it for my cat, because she knew it could cause kidney failure.

 

Thanks Rachel!

 

@Rachel - Yes, indeed, THANKS so much! I'm going to put a red warning sticky on my computer's desktop as a reminder, to make sure my vet doesn't dispense either of those when I take Bat-Bat in for her dental cleaning.

 

Good to know.

 

Good morning, Kristin - Just wanted to say I'm so glad that you've scheduled Scout for that dental!

 

thank you everyone! I'm nervous having to leave him there for the whole day, but hopefully this gets things settled. I'll be sure to bring those meds up to the vet (she's the same one that diagnosed Scout's diabetes) so hopefully she knows which are best for him.

I've been having to tie the cabinets in the kitchen closed at night now! I'll wake up in the morning and they're open- I'm assuming scout is trying to find some midnight snacks. lucky for me there was nothing in there that he wasn't supposed to eat. crazy cat!

 

Kristin, a couple of things - ADW has a great selection syringes and very good prices. $90 seems pretty steep!

Regarding the dental work, it's really important that they do x-rays. There can be a lot going on below the gum line that can't be seen without x-rays and might be missed.

 

thank you! i'll check it out. and i'll be sure to confirm they're doing X-rays.

can anyone take a lot at Scout's SS? numbers have been gradually going down, but bounced like crazy today. 151 to 510 in four hours? could it be because i just tested him while he was sleeping (might've been dreaming)? i tested again about 30 seconds later and it was 493. not sure what to make of it. should i not test while he's asleep?

 

Hi, Kristin. Was just looking at Scout's SS ... Regarding this morning's AMPS - I take it you didn't try waiting for a bit & retesting to see if Scou'ts Bg # would wise (so that you could shoot 1.0)? So did you shoot the 0.5 dose only because your AMPS was @ 150?

 

his AMPS went from 144 to 150 in 30 min so i didn't think it was rising fast enough to give him a full unit- and i had to leave for a few hours so i didn't want to do 1u and him go too low while i was gone

 

Was just reading back through your recent posts after looking at Scout's SS, and it's looking like perhaps 1.00 is too much and 0.5 is too little (Sue had mentioned this earlier...) You might want to think about getting those U100 syringes with the conversion table if you don't want to eyeball 0.75 on the U40 type. And I'd try holding that dose for 5-6 cycles if at all possible. Scout may just be the type of kitty whose body reacts more intensely to a half-unit dose change; it's hard to say.

 

Of course, you hold the syringe - so is up to you if you want to try going for the middle at 0.75 ...

 

Yes, when you can't be around to test & you're unsure how he'd handle a dose, is always better to err on the side of caution. You did the right thing there, Kristin!

 

ok i will ask about the U100 needles when i take scout in for his dental. ugh, this is frustrating!

 

Kristen, I got my U100 syringes at Walmart Relion brand, 100 syringes were under 13 bucks. Hope that helps.

 

You can always try a fat or a skinny dose. So pull up one unit and let out 2 drops. Or pull up a little more than 0.5 and shoot that. Or eyeball .75, marking a sample syringe. My thinking is that your vet may freak at the U100s. They don't seem to get that the conversion is pretty easy and that you are smart enough to remember to do it.....

It is frustrated that you are between two doses and such tiny differences. But remember, he is doing well on a tiny dose of insulin. You'll get it.

 

Oh, I know; it can be very frustrating sometimes! It WILL get easier; his numbers will start settling down. But I know how hard it is to be patient, too. (Makes you want to tear your hair out sometimes, doesn't it?)

Maybe this isn't the best time to bring this up, but I must say I was pretty impressed with Scout's cleverness when you'd written earlier: I've been having to tie the cabinets in the kitchen closed at night now! I'll wake up in the morning and they're open- I'm assuming scout is trying to find some midnight snacks. lucky for me there was nothing in there that he wasn't supposed to eat. crazy cat!

He is one very smart cat!!! Not to mention one adorable model! Hang in there, Kristin.

 

Yeah, you might want to print off that conversion table and take with you to the vet when you talk to him about it.

I was a little nervous about switching, too (I'm lousy at math), but it was really super-easy with that conversion table! When I started with the U100s, I kept a 10-pack bag of them in one of those rectangular plastic "Gladware"-type containers with a red lid. With a fat black permanent marker, I wrote on the lid: SEE TABLE TO USE WITH PROZINC. (Just so I always remembered ...)

Really, it turned out to be SO much easier than trying to eyeball a dose somewhere between units on a U40!

 

I finally just caught Scout in the litterbox and was able to get a sample to test for ketones... the strip came back slightly between negative and trace? does that seem okay? I'm not sure if it's just the weird coloring chart that's printed on the side of the strip bottle- it seems a little funky because it doesn't match to either color really

 

Sometimes the test does come back in between two colors on the key; sounds like he only has a trace at this time. (Which is way better than if he were at the other end of the scale.) But you will want to keep testing every day when the #s are high, as that could potentially change. Not trying to worry you; just want to make sure you stay on top of that, ok?

I will also be interested to see what you find out when Scout's had his dental. You never know - that may be one of the missing "puzzle pieces" to the higher #s you've been seeing. (And something like gingivitis is easily treatable, too!)

 

I'll keep you posted. his appointment is on the 19th (earliest she had open unfortunately). I'm kinda freaking out about the ketones though. it's normal for a diabetic kitty to have trace amounts? what exactly does this mean? as in what is wrong with him or what is he lacking?

 

Ketones form as a byproduct of fat breakdown. If there is insufficient insulin to use glucose, fat will be broken down, either from diet, or from body stores. Finding ketones in the urine means there are ketones in the blood, and too many may indicate diabetic ketoacidosis, a potentially fatal, expensive to treat, complication of diabetes.

 

When I took my spreadsheet to the vet and explained the U100 conversion table to my vet, he was very interested and never heard of it. In fact, he remembered that in one of his vet classes, they discussed the different syringes and my vet remembered that they discouraged using different syringes that didn't match up to the doses i.e. U40 insulin and U100 syringes. So he called a pharmacist friend and his friend told him that he has indeed heard of the U100 conversion table and that it was from some feline diabetes online group. I thought that comment was funny since I knew that he was referring to us. His friend confirmed what he was taught in class that you should not mix them up too but he said that it works. Anyway, all was good with my vet and thought it was a great idea especially since it was working. I too was kind of scared of switching from U40 to U100 syringes but it turned out great.

Also, do not buy from the vet (U100). They probably don't have them anyway, but their supplies are so expensive compared to Walmart or any other pharmacy.

Oh and one more thing. Merlin had high numbers too plus he was diagnosed with kidney disease. I was told early on to use distilled or RO (reverse osmosis) water in his food and for his drinking water. It is easier on the kidneys and it does a better job of flushing things out. I put quite a bit of water in their food so he gets plenty of good water.

 

@Merlin - That's a great tip, Cindi! After Bat-Bat's 2nd UTI, I made certain all of her drinking water (just like our own) has been filtered & purified. Where we live there's a high concentration of calcites in addition to arsenic - both of which come with the territory when you live in the Southwest. When the vet dx'd her UTI, said she had "crystals" in her urine. Can't help wondering if drinking those calcites wasn't part of the problem?

 

Distilled water has no added minerals, so there is no extra workload for the kidneys to process, just the water to do it.

 

I've only ever given scout arrowhead water because I'm kinda a water snob haha do I need to make sure to get distilled arrowhead? or should the 100% natural spring water be okay?

and I didn't realize there was a conversion table for the needles. I will take a look in the morning. I'm planning on calling the vet just to give her an update on scouts numbers and everything so I'll be sure to bring it up because 1 unit is definitely too much but .5 isn't enough

 

Here is the conversion table for the U100 syringes: Conversion chart

Yes, I would suggest the distilled water as the spring water has all the minerals in it and it is much harder for the kidneys to filter.

 

How about getting another ketone test today, Kirstin, to set your mind at ease?

Would you start a new thread? Once it gets two pages long, it is hard for people to read through and find your last post.

 

I will switch him to distilled drinking water and will try for another test today when I get home from my nanny job. his AMPS was 337. last night was really high so I'm glad it dropped. will start a new thread when I get another ketone sample! thanks guys!