Still working the R

Carry over thread from: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-r-experiment-tonight.189689/#post-2112729

Pig had a decent night. His lowest was @ 319, which is some improvement over the 411 starting point.

We will be doing another run tonight in hopes of more movement.

 

@MJW yes.. Let us hope. His labs were still within in range, but the did increase. It could be just the unregulated diabetes and that is what I am hoping. I have decreased his phosphorus intake by about half in hopes that that will help some. I do have a copy of Dr. Pierson's food chart and have been thumbing through it. What is an acceptable phosphorus number? I had him on FF and it is all just so high in phosphorus. I moved him to Sheba because it was about half the amount, but still within budget. I do give Tiki Cat as treats, but there is no way I can feed him that everyday. I could, but then I could not afford his medicine....

Thank you for all your help! I will do some searching to see what I can find. One issue is that we are incredibly isolated in a small town at the end of the earth. The closest acceptable vet is over 2hrs away with the only Petco even further. I order literally everything on the internet. lol. I had checked into raw feeding, but in order to have the meat shipped in it was insane on costs!! The grocery store meets just are not going to work... They let them sit out far to long.

 

@JeffJ You are entirely right. I am making a million Walmart orders for strips and the like. However, it seems to work out. I was getting REALLY concerned about the cost of insulin. As I mentioned above, we are incredibly isolated, so most of our local providers are insane on prices! I just paid over $30.00 for a case of syringes because I had to. I can get the same ones on ADW diabetes for a fraction of the cost. The Lantus Pens are over $80.00 for one pen at the local pharmacy!! I can't afford that at his current usage. However, I just received my first order from Marks Marine Pharmacy and that makes it entirely manageable! What a life saver!!

 

I do have a question for anyone who has used Gabapentin for their kitties. My vet prescribed him 50mg BID. However, I always start him very low on all medications because he reacts differently that what you expect on most meds. He has always been an odd guy. Lol. So, I gave him 25mg last night (his first dose) and he seemed very stoned almost immediately. He did seem to feel better as in he was more accepting to touch and the like, but all he did was droopy sleep. He did seem to come out of it after a while, but I am just curious if that drowsiness will lessen the more that he is one it? I only gave him 25mg again this morning as I want to monitor when he gets the full dose. I will say this, I can now touch his back feet without him getting upset and he seems far more relaxed. I think it is a good thing, I just want to be sure. He has been climbing things and jumping on things that he has not done in a while. I guess I just wonder if anyone else's cat seemed to be stoned off their butt after using Gaba.

 

I have to ask .. or it will just nag at me.. where do you live?

 

Somehow we found ourselves planted in Westville, Ok. We are actually directly centered on the Trail of Tears. A very cultural and interesting area, but incredibly isolated. We have a very small grocery, a small dollar store, and two gas stations. Cows. There are a LOT of cows.

 

My vet prescribed 25mg BID. I would occasionally do 30-35mg if he looked like he was not feeling good. buprenorphine (narcotic) is more commonly associated with the "stoned / lethargic " looking reaction. Every cat responds differently, mine on 25 did not show any signs of being out of it.

It is well tolerated in cats and that vet seemed pretty conservative so I assume the 25mg was more at the low end of the scale then a larger dose. I think I recall that with Gaba they can have a stronger initial reaction, I could be wrong though, too many meds to remember sometimes.

 

I use Radcat not because it is raw, but because it is low phosphorus, low carb, and Yum and the civvies will eat it. I have occasionally cooked it in the microwave when my vet makes me anxious about raw. There are instructions in some stickies about ordering additives to make complete raw foods from meats. Maybe some of those recipes would create cheap, low carb, low phosphorus meals that you could cook. Just an idea. FF classic was good for Yum's diabetes but very bad for her kidneys. I had a tough time weaning her and the civvies off of it. I forget my exact target for Phosphorus. I think it was less than 200mg phosphorus per 100 kcal.

 

Glad to see you optimizing the prices on your insulin supplies.
Syringes - yes, Walgreens has a box of 100 for $18. That's fine with me.
Mark's Pharmacy - good to hear you are using them.
Test strips - I get mine from Ebay because I'm using Alphatrak2 and Freestyle Lite strips.

 

Thank you! Yes, I think for now we will stick with the 25mg until I see that he is not so groggy after a dose. I'm sure a lot is to do with the higher numbers, but he was way too calm last night. Haha... It was nice as he was super lovey, but I am not here to make him stoned. I am here to make him healthy. Lol.

 

Wonderdul!! Thank you! I am sorry I missed your trial run with R! Yours started just as ours ended! How do you think Yums did? Will you be dosing again soon? Perhaps I can catch this one..

 

Yes. I think I currently have 3 different meters at home. I quickly got off the AlphaTrak because I couldn't afford the strips. I use a Relion Micro and I love it. I get 100 strips for about $36 dollars. Much nicer price point. I need to put everything I can back for his treatment. Sometimes I wish I was rich so I could afford the best of everything he needs and not even think twice..

 

So, I have been seeing about a 100 point drop from the R and that is about where I want him to be, correct? Do we ever increase the R and in what increments? By .25u every time? When do I know it is safe to dose before leaving the house? That way he can have more even results... I am not rushing. Just asking the necessary questions so that I can prepare.

 

Try eBay for the strips, can always get them over there cheaper than walmart.

 

Awesome! Thank you! I will check that out for sure!

 

@Wendy&Neko so, his pmps # was @ 331, but his amps was @ 340... Meaning he is on a downward move and I withhold the R at dose time, correct??

 

Those are almost the same numbers. I would be more worried if you had a red preshot followed by a yellow one or low pink.

Sorry for the late reply, I was out of town today and just got back.

 

One more note, whenever you are asking a dosing question, please make sure the spreadsheet is up to date. As you may have guessed, it's out main tool for d vision making.

No harm if you didn't give R tonight.

 

No worries! I am sorry, I know everyone has lives. I just do not want to make a mistake I cannot undo. Yes, I have been trying to keep the sheet up to date as much as possible. I typically key in all my numbers at night when I get home, but it is always after dosing. I need to change my routine. I can start trying to input them on my phone. That should help as I do not ever boot up the computer until I have fed and shot. That is the very first thing I do when I walk in the house, tend the kitties..

Okay, well I am always better off safe than sorry and I remember someone saying that if in doubt do not dose. I ended up staying the R tonight. Give his body a rest, perhaps. I just was worried that if he responded to the R tonight the same way that he had been doing that he would see a lower 200 number to quickly. I do not want to set off a bounce. I am no expert at this by any means, but I am trying to learn.

I apologize about the SS. I am trying very hard to keep everything inline.

 

No worries, cautious is always a good option when it comes to R. And WOOT! More yellow,today.

 

Oh my gosh I know! I was so excited to see those numbers, especially the pmps. I am excited and hopeful for more!

I do have a million (it seems like) questions that I am going to post on the general health forum. I would like your opinion on some, if you have the time. I am hoping to get that up tonight before I crash. I will tag you in it. Most I am sure are directly related to the unregulated glucose numbers, but some I feel are a mix of Acro and Manx syndrome... I have asked my vet and while she is a very good vet, I think some she may not have experience with, in particular the Acro symptoms. I like to ask around.

I hope to have it up tonight, but I think the sickness may be upon me... Ugh! Winter is simply awful!