Priss’s BG’s are getting lower. I am wary about providing insulin with her recent numbers although I feel like if I do it will help put her into remission. Last week I stopped feeding her 1/8 cup of dry food twice a day with her soft. She is so hungry that I started giving her a small snacks of the same food a few hours later. I spoke with my vet yesterday and he is thinking .1 unit once a day would suffice however I understand the Lantus ideally needs admin every 12 hours. Today is my last day off my work week, then I am on for one week with 12 hour shifts and and close to an hour on either side for commute time. So, her insulin administration routine suffers on that week - it’s more like 13 1/2 to 14 hours instead of 12 apart. I realize this causes a potentially unsafe overlap. Of course I need to err on the safe side, I can have someone come over to feed her, but checking BG and administering injections is not possible. I have been withholding insulin on those blue numbers checks because I’m watching her insulin needs decrease and I am concerned I won’t be here to catch a hypo episode. I can watch closely and check frequently on my week off, then it becomes a different ball game. -My concern is with numbers in the blue - am I sabotaging remission by withholding insulin? -Also, I am feeding her very high carbohydrate meals. Royal Canin digestive is 25%. I asked the vet about switching her food, but he is concerned about her Hx with IBD he and return of symptoms. She has been doing really well. Normal stools, no indication of discomfort. I am thinking that part of the IBD problem was her poor diet prior to coming to me, and that a good low carb diet will just benefit everything. Also trying not to make too many changes until she is more stable has been advice. I will attempt to make a link to my earlier post in the welcome board. She began this journey July 1 with 1 U bid. At that time she had been eating a much higher ratio of dry food, which changed right away. And I stopped free feeding. It might be confusing to see that I am just starting my day, but I work a swing shift and in Alaska I’m going to be in a four hours earlier time zone than any of you on the East Coast Any advice on how to proceed? I feel like we are at a crux and I don’t want to miss opportunities to help my kitty, but hands are tied with being available half of the time. Thank you!
I would look at the diet before worrying about withholding the insulin, the numbers are still ok. Not typical, but not terribly bad either. My cat has IBD long term and I've found it's triggered more by stress/situation changes than most anything else. I've had good luck with Wellness pate single protein flavors (turkey, chicken, etc..), Wellness Core (same thing), Dr. Elsey's Wet food, and the non-fish varieties of Weurva. Although, to be fair, even the cheap low carb foods (friskies & fancy feast pates) didn't set her off as much as I expected. If you have a dry food addidct, you could also consider some better dry food, there are 3 low carb varieties that are good quality ingredients, Young Again, Dr. Elsey's, and Wysong Epigen 90 (voted best by my house but they eat all of them). All will send you samples if you contact the company. If you're willing to go Raw, that has gotten the best long-term IBD control results for me, but we rotate among all of the above (picky eater). I suspect if you can find a low carb food that works, you might get a cat in remission in short order.
Lantus works on cats for 12 hours. Dosing once a day just doesn’t work. Since you are feeding some dry food lion T the SLGS method again although with those numbers I wonder if Priss could be diet controlled if you eliminate dry food and feed wet in small amounts several times a day. You can get a timed feeder if you aren’t home to feed. I’d try and see if you can shoot every 12 hours and set a timed feeder for when you can’t monitor.
Priss (and Civvie Embers) stopped eating dry food last week. And I think we might attribute the decrease in her insulin need to that. They both remain hungry with meals twice a day, so I think I will start feeding more frequently making sure that two hours prior to insulin administration Priss has nothing in her stomach. A feeder looks like a good solution. Maybe just a halfway point snack to start. I feel more comfortable about how Lantus works now. Thanks for the food recommendation tips Bridget. I am leaning going against the vets advice and possibly when I am off week next work will introduce lower carbohydrate IBD friendly diet. I just purchased a ReliOn meter today and plan to use both meters for a bit so that I can get an idea of how they differ. I see the value of having a back up certainly, but it looks like this website is more human meter friendly. I want to go all in. I will remember that when I start posting numbers with the new meter that I document that and change it on the signature. I’m wondering if I should just give her the tiniest dose I can measure so that she does not go cold turkey if she continues to stay in the blue. Although with this new meter she might be in the green? I will continue to post results in the SS. Thanks so much for your responses!
What you say about eliminating a lot of the dry food is correct and likely is bringing the bg down. Max was fed 4 mini meals each cycle. I think all cats do better eating more often and especially if they are diabetic or have pancreatitis. . How is their weight? You want to feed enough to keep them at their ideal weight.
Priss is my only diabetic, Embers is a young stray I snagged who is doing excellent now-weight good. Priss has gained most of her weight back in the last month (she had normal weight/on the lean side but lost a lot quickly just before she diagnosed.) A little lean still, but her weight is much improved. Her appetite is still a little over what her normal was, still some diabetic consequence maybe as well as not free feeding anymore. And she still drinks a little bit more water than normal.
