10/14 Max is home and doing well so far post SRT

Just wanted to drop a quick note to let you all know that Max is home from having his SRT. We just got home. They said he did very well. So far he is doing fine here at home. They want him to get a freestyle libre so they can manage his glucose curves. Is that what most people do? Is that expensive as well? Anyway we are home and doing fine, just tired. I’m getting me some Max snuggles now.

 

That is great news. Sending prayers for him to feel better.

 

I'm happy to hear Max is home and doing well, he's got the sweetest face.
Sending prayers for your sweet boy to feel better

 

Yeah, glad to hear it's done and Max's good so far.

You home test, so not required. But it would give you a better picture of what is happening at night while you sleep. Until a couple years ago the Libre didn't even exist so it wasn't used. To tell you the truth, I haven't seen a single SRT kitty here with a Libre on it. The Libre is supposed to last 14 days, but depends on kitty. I've heard of some cats taking them off within a day. That makes it more costly if you have to replace it frequently. And you should double check lows with a human meter. So, pros and cons to it. Most important question, do you want them "managing his glucose curves"? We can help you with that too.

 

I’d rather get help here but every time I go there I feel like they own my cat!!!! They are requiring me to send the curves in if they prescribe his insulin. They kind of scared me talking about the somogyi effect with cats and wanted me to get the libre. I know you guys have helped me more than anyone else so I’m fine with that myself.

 

I humoured my vet the first couple weeks too.

 

Wonderful news!!

 

Oh I just found this. Glad to hear you're home and doing well. As for the vet... well, what Wendy said.

 

Really glad Max seems to be doing ok! Have you ever thought of sharing your spreadsheet with your vet? Anytime I have done that with Ruby’s many doctors, I explain how I keep track and how I adjust dosing and once they realize I have a protocol I follow they leave the whole thing up to me.

There are two different Libres on the market, the 14 day original version and a newer Libre 2 that also is supposed to work for 14 days. The newer one is supposed to be more accurate with lower numbers. Where I get it, the original version is $35 and the Libre 2 is $75, not including the vet fee to apply it but you can also do it yourself. There are some threads in Think Tank about the Libre and applying it to your cat.

Pros: I love seeing 24 hour data. I worry that when I sleep I’m missing low numbers and might be missing an opportunity to lower a dose. It’s great not to have to poke for blood and to simply scan the sensor. Way less stressful for everyone.

Cons: it’s expensive. Some cats hate them and like to scratch them off so they don’t last the whole 14 days. The sensors will also die for no reason before their time is up.

 

I’m so glad he’s doing well! I’m with Wendy….you are testing and I don’t see the need for the Libre unless they force you especially if he doesn’t like it.

Here is some info regarding Somogyi.

 

Thanks for the info! Oh yes, I’ve shared his spreadsheet with every vet I’ve taken him to so far. I’m trying to get established with a new vet here locally that seems promising. My old vet and the vets at NC State don’t seem to be interested in me doing my own thing with help from FDMB. It makes it really difficult when they write the prescription.

 

Are they willing to prescribe the Levemir?

 

Yes they did but they want to start at 4 units and we were getting ready to get SRT when she prescribed it, so I have not switched him yet.

 

Wendy's the expert here, but I believe we usually recommend the starting Lev dose be 70% of the Lantus dose. I really liked Lev at the higher doses. I don't know that I would go all the way down to 4U...

 

Yep. 70 percent of the Lantus dose is the usual starting dose for safety. And it can be increased quickly if the cat does not have a strong reaction to Levemir.