02/13 AMPS 12.2 +6 13.7 new member

Hi! This is my first time posting and second day administering insulin (Lantus). Yesterday seemed to go well but today based on his number I think maybe I got a fur shot? Checked his urine for ketones and we're in the clear. Hoping to get a hang of this injecting. I've practiced the tenting so hoping the PM shot sticks! What should I expect with his numbers this week? We ahve started with 0.5 units.

Thanks!

 

Hello and welcome from snowy BC. I've moved your post to the Feline Heath forum, which is where we ask first time folks to post first.

Congrats on getting started, getting those ketones test in and good luck on the testing. We have a lot of test tips that might help you here: Hometesting Links and Tips

Can you tell me a bit more about how you discovered Benson was diabetic? Any other issues discovered at the same time? What was he eating before hand and what is he eating now?

Benson is showing a good initial response to the insulin. Good thing you didn't start on a higher dose. He may not be used to the lower numbers, and may be doing what we call bouncing:
Bouncing is simply a natural reaction to what the cat's system perceives as a BG value that is "too low". "Too low" is relative. If a cat is used to BGs in the 200's, 300's, or higher for a long time, then even a BG that drops to 150 can trigger a "bounce". Bouncing can also be triggered if the blood glucose drops too low and/or too fast.The pancreas, then the liver, release glucogon, glycogen and counter-regulatory hormones. The end result is a dumping of "sugar" into the bloodstream to save the cat from going hypoglycemic from a perceived low. The action is often referred to as "liver panic" or "panicky liver". *Usually*, a bounce will clear kitty's system within 3 days (6 cycles).

Speaking of numbers, the majority of folks here are in the US and used to mg/dL numbers, so we usually speak that instead of the mmol/L used in the rest of the world. Fortunately the spreadsheet does the work of translating for us. Multiply by 18 essentially.

 

Thank you for moving my question to the correct category, Benson showed symptoms during Christmas holiday, he was drinking excessively, urinating more frequently and loosing weight. He started peeing on our couch as well. He was on the prescription Hills urinary dry food because his brother Jax had crystals this summer so I switched them both. He also got Weruva Cats in the kitchen wet food. The vet did blood and urine testing and diagnosed Benson on January 4 with a BG of 19.3 and sent us the Prescription hills DM wet and dry for two weeks then we would reassess his numbers. On January 15 we had him checked by the vet again, he had dropped half a pound and BG read 19.1. The vet said increase his food for one more week then we would discuss insulin. He was thinking caninsulin 1 unit once/day...

That was when I joined the facebook group and with their advice switched Benson to FF pate (3-4 cans/day) and ditched the prescription food on Jan 17. I also purchased the freestye lite meter.
Heres some of his numbers I got:
Jan 24 PMBG 12.5
Jan 26 AMBG 13.5 PMBG 10.4
Jan 30 AMBG 11.3
Jan 31 AMBG 10.4
Feb 1 PMBG 9.5
Feb 2 PMBG 20.0 (at vet office) 11.0 at home 1 hour later....

The last vet appointment we discussed insulin again and I had a bit more info and wanted to start with Lantus. He said he would only ever give lantus once/day since its so potent but has heard some cats have gone into remission on it. He's not very experienced with feline diabetes I've realized... He said I could go one more week because with the numbers I was getting at home he wouldn't even start insulin but because of his weight loss it seems his body needs it. The office was also very dissaproving of me changing him to FF saying it's "like giving him McDonalds"

I tried one more week to see if Benson could put on weight, gave him kitten FF for a week with no luck so now here I am on day two of Lantus.

Hope that helps

 

Weruva has some good cat foods, though some of the Cats in the Kitchen are a little higher carb than you want. You want under 10% carbs for low carb food. This cat food list was created in the US, but the majority of products are still available in Canada. Glad you got rid of the DM, especially the dry.

Once a day Lantus is for people, cats have faster metabolisms.

 

How is the testing going today? Benson us looking pretty good so far.

By the way, if you can, you might want to mix up your test times a bit. Although +6 is the typical nadir times, many cats (like mine) weren't typical. When you get a chance, and are confident on the testing, try doing a curve or testing every couple hours for a cycle. That's give you an idea when Benson likes to onset and nadir, and will help you be more strategic about when to test.

Learn how YOUR kitty is responding to insulin:

• Onset - the length of time before insulin reaches the bloodstream & begins lowering blood glucose
• Peak/Nadir - the lowest point in the cycle
• Duration - the length of time insulin continues to lower blood glucose
• How to do a Curve - a simple explanation

 

Thanks for checking in! I am actually extremely frustrated with my freestyle lite meter. It kept giving me error messages last night and today and I had to poke his poor ear so much to get a proper reading! I planned on giving the insulin a week before doing a curve. I’m back to work Tuesday but will do it next Saturday.

 

Welcome! Great job on the testing and shooting!! I use the Freestyle Lite as well and am in Canada. If you don't get enough blood on the strip within I think 30 sec. it will give you an error message. Same thing if you use both 'straws' on the sides of the strip - you will get an error message.

Once I poke, I scoop up the blood droplet on the top of my thumbnail and then release kitty's ear. Then I don't have to worry about a squirmy cat because I've 'captured' the blood droplet on my nail (you can also use a credit card to scoop the blood droplet). Sometimes, you might have to do 2 quick pokes really close together to get a large enough blood droplet. There is a pile more information on a 'sticky' about home testing you can find here: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

 

Thank you so much! This will help me tons, I wasted a good five strips yesterday and his poor ear is looking sad. Anything non vet prescribed I can try to help relieve his ears? I’ll ask for something from the vet on his next visit but anything in the meantime?