not newly diagnosed but overwhelmed

Just recently found this support site and I was having thoughts that my cat may not be able to get from me what he needs and after doing lots of great reading I am sure my schedule and lifestyle are not good for my cat, Skinny. My vet has not been great and discouraged me from monitoring when I inquired when he was first diagnosed. It's been almost a year and I feel like it's a new diagnosis with all the new information I've learned here. . . I don't really have a question.

Hi there,

My vet was not very supportive of me, either. He pushed high-carb, prescription dry food on us and then prescribed an insulin that I later found out was not the best for cats. For about three months, we followed his advice. After that, I finally started doing my own research and came across this site. We switched foods, found a vet who prescribed Lantus for us, and started home testing (which sounds worse than it is). It was tough at times, but the wonderful people here were able to help me get Jersey into remission just two months after we started Lantus. In fact, after we got our prescription for Lantus, we didn't go back to the vet. We found that the people here were much more knowledgeable about feline diabetes than either of our vets were.

I know it's overwhelming right now, but we can help you and Skinny if you'll stick with us. :YMHUG:

Shelly

hi and welcome
this is a wonderful group of people. if you need any help or have any questions just let us know. we test our kitty's and post their spreadsheets here. the more experienced people can give you dosing advice and all kinds of info. hope you are your kitty are ok.

My cat went into remission after 6 mo of lantus and fancy feast. Was in remission for about 3 month and has been back on lantus for about 5 mo. Is it possible for him to back into remission?

I've read/heard here that it can be harder to get kitties into remission a second time, but it absolutely can and does happen. Do you know why Skinny fell out of remission? A lot of times, something like an infection (e.g., tooth or bladder) or a return to high-carb foods can bring them out of remission.

Edited to add: Jill & Alex is just one example of a kitty here who has gone into remission twice.

I'm not 100% sure but if I had to guess why Skinny stopped being in remission, it was because my vet said it was OK to give Skinny some low carb dry food occasionally.

I was good about giving him and his brother, who is not diabetic, just a small amount now and then but either Skinny or Fatty was too smart and would often open the cabinet and get at the dry food. I am getting rid of the dry food completely after reading more here. The cats have adjusted just fine to twice daily fancy feast, except for the random raid on any bread they can find even when its on top of the frig!

My OTJ (off the juice, or in remission) kitty just had an infection that caused her blood glucose to spike to near 400's. As soon as we figured it out and got her on antibiotics, she is back down to normal, no insulin required, levels. She "looked" like a cat who had fallen out of remission, but she hadn't.

Hang in there.

Hi Toni,

I saw your post on the Main board about the broken Lantus - http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?t=124454. How frustrating! Have you resumed insulin yet? If you have, definitely make sure you watch Skinny's bg numbers closely. Once you take away the dry food, the need for insulin might decrease rapidly.

Which type of dry food were you feeding Skinny and Fatty? A lot of dry foods claim to be low-carb but are actually quite high in carbs. Also, just a thought....you might want to consider feeding your kitties several small meals a day rather than just a couple of larger meals. Smaller meals can be easier on the pancreas, and they might also help some of the bread raids. ;-)

Hi Shelly:

Thank you for your post . . . Sorry I just read it. I have a crazy work schedule. I wasn't really feeding them dry food on any regular basis since Skinny diagnosis last year. Just a handful now and then. EVO . . . I'm going to start monitoring at home and I was able to score from "black market" insulin . . . Craig's list at the suggestion of another member . . . $40 for a box of Lantus solostar.

Your most struck me as very emphatic and I appreciated it

Hey Toni

Really sorry I apparently I missed your first post, it's been a little hectic at my place. But why don't you think your schedule is good for your cat? Can you explain and maybe we can help you find a way around the snags. .

Mel and The Fur Gang

I work 10-12 hr days almost 6 days a week. . . I have 3 jobs LOL and I live alone and because my boyfriend works 3p-11pm on the weekends I often stay at his place. My son will come give the cats their food and give the shot but no matter how much I stress he has to do it by a specific time, there are times he forgets and the poor cat is fed 3-4 hrs later than I would want.

That's a great price for the Lantus.

Have you thought about getting a timed feeder? Lots of people here use them. I think the PetSafe 5-meal feeder is the one that is most often recommended - http://www.amazon.com/PetSafe-5-Meal-Automatic-Pet-Feeder/dp/B000GEWHNS?tag=felinediabetesfdmb-20. I think some of the pet stores carry them, too.

The feeder obviously won't help with the timing of the insulin shot and testing blood sugar, but it can definitely help with meals.

I can't help much - I'm no expert at feline diabetes, but I'm always happy to help when I can! :YMHUG:

Not a problem. Just checking.Levemir right not Lantus correct?

I think I can round someone up that is an absolute wiz at working around bizarre schedules because she was I believe a nurse. If she's not still on the board. Then we'll take a look at your schedule and see if we can get around the hurdles. Levemir because of its late onset and nadir is a little more forgiving than Lantus on a non traditional 12/12 shoot schedule.

Same times and days or do they vary? And how much wiggle room do you have between? On your schedule?

If I can manage two insulin dependent diabetics, and one OTJ with 13 civies, a large dog, a husband, a house and still have a life a couple kitties and a wacked schedule...no biggie we'll figure it out.

Mel and The Fur Gang