You SAVED my little Tashie!

A HUGE THANK YOU to all that helped me these past few days! I was beside myself when I posted for the first time around noon on Thursday - you gave me SUCH GREAT advise! I dissed the vet and listened to you ( and my mummy instinct) and ditched the needles for the Lantus pen and went with a syringe and did NOT increase the dose as my vet advised ***Nataschia is 15 years old, at her "fattest" was only 6# and Thursday had dropped to 4.15 - she had only been on the insulin a week, first 1U once a day, then 1U twice a day and then we were instructed to give 2U AM and 1U PM. This felt like too much to me and you all said NO! Don't do it! I now believe she started getting an ACCURATE dose via the syringe and this is the story:

Thur 5/16 = 325 glucose (1U per day)
Sat 5/18 = 416 (told to go to 1U x2)
Mon 5/20 = 288 (stay at 1Ux2)
Thur 2/23 = 468 (told to go 2U AM, 1U PM - ignored this and changed the delivery method to a syringe and stayed with the 1U x2)
TODAY = ***78*** AND she is up and ounce to exactly 5#!


I am watching her like a hawk - she just ate (again) is on a completely low carb diet with the addition of turkey breast & chicken breast - ***VET NOW SAYS 1U ONCE A DAY .......I also told her of your site and how I listened to your logic - of course, not until we got those numbers! Whoo Hoo! Any words of wisdom now? Can't thank you enough as I was at an all time LOW when I posted and you were all so kind to respond!

Forever grateful,
Bernadette

 

Insulin is rapidly metabolized in cats. It would be better to give 0.5 units twice a day to get more stable glucose levels.

Also, we suggest that you not give insulin if the pre-shot test is under 200 mg/dL, until you have data which shows it is safe to do.

 

Bernadette and Tashie! That is so fantastic that Tashie is doing so much better.

BJM suggested a decrease to 0.5U twice a day. I agree with that suggestion.

Now remember, you don't want to give any insulin yet if the BG is below 200. Keep testing, gather more data, and maybe we can keep on with the decreases, get Tash regulated and then off to OTJ land.

Would you be willing to create a spreadsheet so we can track the test numbers better and chime in with our advice when we see something? How to's are here: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=18207 If you need help with the setup, there are people here that do that.

What food are you feeding her? Maybe we can make some suggestions to help put some weight back on her but still keep the carb content low to keep the BG's in check.

 

Completely confused now! First, we are feeding the Fancy Feats Classics - the ones that were on the recommended list. She was always mostly a DRY FOOD eater - now she is getting none, only wet & turkey & chicken (fresh)

Vet told us to give 1U ONCE a day now - which would be tomorrow morning. I asked last week about "home testing" and she told me SHE would test and I didn't need to worry about it. Tash goes back for a check on Tuesday @ 11:15. What to do? Now I'm a wreck agaon and, of course, it's a holiday weekend!

 

So you got the "There, there, don't worry yourself with this stuff" routine? It happens. Up to you if you're OK with it. Of course, you pay the vet for those tests and office visits.

... BUT.
If you don't test before giving insulin, you could accidently kill your cat by giving insulin when it was unsafe to do so. If you see possible hypo symptoms, you can test to see if that is what is happening or not. And, if you want to know how well the insulin is working, you test around the nadir (lowest point between shots) to see how low it is taking him. That is why we advocate home testing.

Lantus, Levemir, and ProZinc all last about 12 hours. If you only give insulin once a day, there are 12 hours your cat is going without insulin.

 

You can add up to 20% of the calorie intake with extra protein from the turkey and chicken you are giving. This will help to boost the protein content in Tashie's diet. More protein will help to put some weight back on her.

This is from a post about boosting the protein for your cat, from vet Dr. Lisa Pierson.

There was a lot more discussion in this topic about 3 months ago. http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=89618

 

I posted in your other thread. To keep your kitty safe you need to home test.. shooting a cat without testing is like driving blind. Imagine you shot 2units without testing and he was 79? Could have a hypo!!!

And Lantus is best dosed twice daily. Here is a report to show your vet http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1098612X09001508

Wendy