Update On Carter's Diet Change/Discussion With Dr.

Hey guys,

Wanted to make a new thread so I didn't spam my old one with question after question...

*I'm creating my Spreadsheet as we speak I just wanted to go ahead and ask these questions first.*

I did a pre-shot fasted BG again this morning and he was at 580. His last BG he was mid 500s, and about 3 hours later, dropped to 350.

Update on food: he hate a half a can of Wellness Core - I am shocked! He didn't eat it terribly FAST, and I had to keep making it mushier and mushier, and sit in the room with him while he ate, but I am pleased! I think the Core went over better than the Instinct but I was still going to try the Fromm and Merrick to see if he preferred either of those. He did not have any dry this morning but he had a wet/dry combo last night.

So should I give him another BG in a few hours? Should I feed him another half a can before or after?

I also called my Dr. and left a messaged with the VOA to pass onto her as she was in surgery. I mentioned that his BG is very high and it really should be low if anything considering he hadn't eaten for several hours during the night. I mentioned that I knew several people (some in which had started out with Vetsulin) and switched to Lantus that saw a dramatic difference and urged me to ask about switching once this Vetsulin bottle runs out. The VOA said she knows the Dr. had has good success using the Vetsulin but of course that it could not be working the most effectively for Carter. Even upping to 4 units, I would have thought to see some sort of difference, even maybe in the 400s... I am waiting for her to call me back.

 

Also to add he is acting completely normal. Right now he is sleeping but he was running around chasing my other cat, drank, used the litterbox, etc.

 

Oh!! Also:

Can someone give me the EXACT name of the Relion meter + strips at Wal-Mart I should be looking for?

With that being said, I saw multiple people say they used the Freestyle Lite strips with the AT2 meter.

What is the better option overall?

 

Relion Confirm (comes in pink or blue) or Relion Micro ...they both take the tiniest sample size. I like the Confirm better because the display shows the test result, date, time, etc. on the same screen. With the Micro, it's smaller, so it only shows one thing at a time.

The Relion Confirm Plus strips work in both meters ($35.88 per 100)

 

I use the Relion Confirm, it uses just a tiny blood drop and the strips cost just under $36.00 for 100. There is also a Relion Prime, the strips cost a little less but I believe it requires a slightly larger drop of blood. I tried using the Freestyle strips in my AT, it just got to be too confusing for me since everything here is based on human meter numbers, and I never really felt secure that my readings with it were truly accurate.

 

Excellent, thank you!

 

Yes from what I've read the Confirm seems to be the most popular around here. I figured it will be better to stick with either pet or human and not mix and match all the parts.

 

If you can, I'd get a test today sometime between 5 and 7 hours after this morning's shot. There's no such thing as too much data, especially when you're first starting out

You can feed him if he's hungry!! The only time we really want the test to be done without the influence of food is the Pre-shot tests

 

Okie doke will do.

I'm just trying to decide how to manage their feeding schedule best. Carter was free fed crap food most of his life before we adopted him, but my other two boys who I've had since they were babies were never free-fed.

I've always had two feedings - AM and PM. But now I'm considering updating to 3 feedings a day because my work and school scheduled changes with my significant other so someone is pretty much home every day for a majority of the time. I just don't want that to highly affect Carter if for some reason my schedule changes again or I get a new job with new hours etc.

 

Most of us feed mini-meals, like every 3 hours .....it's easier on the pancreas to deal with frequent small meals than to deal with 2 big ones. We don't increase the amount they're fed, just break it up into smaller meals

 

I'd like to do like 4 but with my schedule I'm thinking right now 3 is more realistic. Not sure how everyone manages to due so many frequent meals because I'm not super informed of the general age group/work situation/home life of everyone in here but I am still trying to underwhelm myself from being so overwhelmed. Not due to the diabetes management but just being so accurate in recording and monitoring because I'm already a very organized detailed person but I have so much on my plate with work, school, immigration, trying to move back to Canada from the US and purchase a home and make the 2000 mile move with 4 pets. I'm only 24 haha I have a lot going on. I'm just afraid I will get up to my neck in numbers but the spreadsheet really does wonders.

 

Some people use auto feeders set to open over the day, and others use "food-sicles" by mixing water with canned, freezing it in ice cube trays and leaving it out

Most cats won't eat what's frozen, so as it thaws out during the day, it offers them a "fresh" meal....of course there's always the exceptions to the rule too....the cats that crunch right through the frozen pucks of food!....LOL

 

Only issue is with 3 cats, my oldest will devour all of the wet food in whatever setting it would be in. The other two, especially Carter, would have no chance. When I fed them dry they all ate their portion and left eachother alone but Simon, who's 12, treats canned food like it's catnip or something. He was pawing at the bedroom door while Carter was eating because he knew he had the canned.

Also this might change after he gets used to the new diet but he literally wouldn't eat the wet food unless I sat in the room with him. I think I added more water about 4 times each time it would get to dry and not mushy enough for him to want to eat. It probably took him like 20ish minutes to eat half a can of food.

 

My Squallie can take 45 minutes to eat a can of food, easily! AND I have to sit with him. Very frustrating at times! He eats very s-l-l-o-o-o-w-w-l-l-y.

 

With a harsh insulin like Vetsulin I would give at least half the food allowance for the cycle 20-30 minutes BEFORE the injection. It needs carbs pre-loaded for safety because it can drop BG hard and fast in the first couple of hours.


Mogs
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Yeah meanwhile my oldest eats his so fast that he probably forgets to take a breath. He is obsessed!

I get up pretty early in the morning anyway so I will be allowing myself extra time now to pre-test, eat then shoot a little while after.

 

Yes I've been holding off on the shot for at least 20 minutes after he eats, while I go ahead and get the other pets fed, litterbox cleaned, dog taken out etc.

I'm about to test again here in an hour (about 51/2 hours since his first BG) should I be testing an hour or two after I give the Vetsulin to see if it drops dramatically?
The first day I had tested about 3 hours after the insulin was given and he had gone from 550 to 350 which is still pretty high. That was on 3 units of Vetsulin though, not 4.