? 12/14 Chester in remission?? BG 67, Ten+ days otj

Hello everyone!

First of all I would like to apologize for leaving everyone on kind of a cliff hanger. This last- almost two weeks has been a whirlwind! But we’ve come out on the other side. We thank you all so much for being there for us in our time of need❤️

Chester hasn’t had any insulin for over 10 days. I was extremely scared initially taking him off of insulin but soon became very shocked by his response. Which was hardly any at all! It’s 8:30pm as I am typing this, and his blood glucose is currently 67. Our shot time use to be around 10:30.

With my inexperienced eyes I would think he was in remission. But of course I would like to get the opinions of all of you. As well as give you a ton of credit for saving my baby! We couldn’t have done it without you all❤️ Chester is also standing taller and taller on his toes everyday! His neuropathy sure seems to be healing. Overall he seems happier he’s gained some weight too so he’s getting a calorie reduction to compensate

Ps: I also finally updated his online chart

https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/12-1-chester-vet-forcing-otj-trial.239401/#post-2690959

 

The numbers you’ve got look fabulous The usual thing with an OTJ trial is to keep testing at what would have been shot times everyday for 14 days before declaring them OTJ, if all the numbers are okay. Then test once a week for a month and then monthly after that for the rest of their lives. Though I never dropped back to monthly - weekly is easier to remember and keeps everyone in practice

 

As Serryn says, I think we'd still consider Chester to be in the OTJ trial stage for a few more days, but he's looking pretty good so far. Just for the record, here are the OTJ trial instructions:

• Start the trial on the next green pre shot.

• If he/she is green at your normal test times, no need to test further until the next "PS" time; just feed small meals and go about your day. If he/she is blue at your normal "PS", feed a small meal and test again after about 3 or 4 hours. If his/her number is lower 3-4 hours after a meal, then the pancreas is working!

• Post every day so we can monitor your progress and see if any tweaks are needed. He/she may have a sporadic blue number. Don't panic but post before you decide whether to shoot so we can have a discussion.

• After 14 days of no insulin, we have a party!!

Sometimes the trial doesn't work the first time and we have to give a little more support in the form of resuming insulin. It's not the end of the world if that happens; we just give him/her the support needed. Our goal is a strong remission and it's better to take our time to get that than to rush into remission just to have it fail later on.

Once he/she is through the trial successfully, you enter a new phase. Your cat is still diabetic but has now become diet-controlled. Continue feeding low carb food in the manner successful for your kitty. If you decide to change his/her feeding schedule, let your meter be your guide to the best times to feed. Avoid medications with sugar in them and steroid medications unless they are medically essential. Continue testing blood glucose weekly for the first month and then monthly forever. It's a good idea to weigh him/her monthly. Weight should remain stable. If he/she seems "off" or sick, or is showing signs of diabetes (excessive drinking, eating, urinating, weight loss), test his/her blood glucose right away. Keep the teeth and gums clean and healthy; dental issues can bring a cat out of remission. If you see rising blood glucose numbers, it's time for a visit to the vet!

Good luck with the trial!!!