I skipped past 7 cycles. Do I shoot 0.25? prior to finding this site a week ago I was shooting 2u, twice daily until I had a hypo scare (i think?) and found this site. Here is the link to my first thread. The very first message I posted tells my story in case it’s relevant. https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB...lding-insulin-am-i-wrong.252626/#post-2850672
Yes, please go ahead and shoot 0.25U. Get a test at +2 (2 hours after the shot). It's possible she may need a lower dose, but it's trial and error. @tiffmaxee please confirm?
Make sure to get some tests through the day. Start at +2. Its half past midnight for me, so I won't be around. Elise (@tiffmaxee) is on the West Coast and Katherine (@PerfumedCatMom) is on the East Coast.
I’M FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW!!! I withdrew 1u and stood over the sink like I always do to squeeze out what I don’t want and get the right dose. I injected him but now I don’t remember squeezing any out. I had to of but why don’t I remember doing it? I have to be the first person in the world to do something this stupid. I don’t know if I gave him 0.25 or 1? How can I not know???? I feel sooo dumb! I have a lot of new info on my mind but it’s no excuse. I’m so embarrassed to even admit this to you guys. How soon does insulin start working because the second I realized this my stomach dropped and I’m so scared. Please help!! What is wrong with me???!!!!
Anywhere between +1 to +3 - differs from cat to cat. Please test him every hour. More often if he drops low. Normal range for blood sugar is 50-100. Do you have high carb food and/or honey if he drops too low? Enough test strips?
Plenty of test strips. Like 75. What’s considered high carb food? What percentage? I have one that’s 17%. Should I feed it now just in case? I don’t have honey. Should I go buy some? I’m afraid to leave him now.
I know you are going to sleep soon. Do you know if there’s anyone else who can help me today? I’m so scared. I’m literally in tears. Who does something like this??? No one besides me could be this dumb
Yes. 17% is high carb. No, do not feed him anything but his usual food now. See where he is at +1. Should be. Or karo is also fine.
What number is one that I have to worry about? Trying to prepare myself but I don’t know how to interpret the numbers.you have been replying really fast but when you’re not here and I get a number I need to know what to do so I don’t have to wait for a response. Can n you give me a basic guideline please?
I don’t know what karo is. Will I know for sure at +1 if I gave too much? Or is this going to be an all day potential emergency?
50-100 is the normal range. Below 50 means she is dropping lower and you need to feed HC. Karo is corn syrup. You should know by +1 or +2.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with you! There are so many members here who have made mistakes with insulin because we're human, and that's what we do. Besides, there's so much on everyone's mind and so much to learn and it's all so new. He's going to be fine. At least you caught your mistake and you're going to be there in case anything should happen. I've read of members here who shot the wrong cat! And others who gave a shot of insulin after their cat had already been shot by another family member. Believe me, you are not the only one. I haven't read all of this thread, so this may have been mentioned. But do you have temptation treats or some dry cat food?
I’m almost positive now I gave him 1. My sink doesn’t smell like bandaids. I’m the worst cat mom ever. If I was reading this from someone else I would be angry at them and have a really hard time believing someone could make this kind of mistake. It seems so ridiculous. I have no words. It’s like I spaced and I’ve never ever done something like that before. Especially now that it’s so important. There’s literally nothing I can say that would make this OK or explain how it could have happened.
First of all, take a deep breath! As long as you're able to test and have the supplies you need (high carb food and honey are fine), you are in control of his blood glucose. Get a +1 and let's go from there.
Thank you for saying that! It’s still feels like an unacceptable and inexcusable mistake to make. Bailey doesn’t like cat treats. Not even the ones with high carbs. I do have dry cat food from when I was feeding it to him before diagnosis. I don’t know the carb content. Should I feed him some of that now?
Breathe please. You have honey. You have hc. Do you have plenty of test strips? Test in one hour. I will help. Post all test results and give me time to respond. Don’t give dry food unless it’s needed later. He will be ok.
Calm down!! You are NOT the first person to do this and you won't be the last. We had one person who was giving 25 units when she thought she was giving 2.5. It happens....we're only human. Keep your spreadsheet updated and keep the subject line in this thread updated with the latest test results as you get them.
Oh don't worry about feeding him anything higher carb unless his numbers drop down low. You're not even positive that you did shoot him one unit. So just hold on and when you test him, you'll know what to do. And you have people here who can help you. I'm at work, but I can certainly check in and I know there's others here too. He's going to be fine. He's in very good hands and you're a loving cat mom.
OK, thank you! Will a +1 be soon enough to tell me anything? I’ve been doing a lot of reading on here and I thought I read that Lantus doesn’t begin working until two hours after injection. Is that not true? i’m literally brand new to home testing. I put a link above to my first thread. It explains my current situation and what’s been going on. I didn’t even know about home testing until 5 days ago (even though I’ve been giving insulin for over a month). I found this site when I started seeing symptoms and possibly had a hypo scare. I just learned about hypo too. Anyway… My cat hates the tests and sometimes hides from me after or becomes very difficult. I don’t want to risk my chance of getting a +2 if that one is more important. If that makes sense? I know I can get one. Just worried that both might be difficult while we are still getting the hang of things. I will certainly try but thought I should mention it in case that changes anything and you think I should hold off until +2 to be safe..
Oh my gosh! 25 units! I hope things turned out ok. That’s so scary. I’m almost positive I shot 1 now. I’ve had my face in the sink and it doesn’t smell like bandaids. I probably sound like a weirdo but that’s what lantus smells like to me. I can always smell it after. I don’t have to put my face in the sink like I was just doing to smell it either. That’s a pretty good indicator that I messed up.
Should I wait and test at +2 instead of +1? I’m only asking because Bailey gets mad after ear tests and I’m horribly worried that it may be a problem to get them both. I don’t have anyone here to help me. I’m sure this will get easier but for now we’re still in that learning and adjusting phase. I can’t go from nothing to expert right away. I wish I could! Another sign that I likely gave him too much insulin is that he’s eating again. He doesn’t ever eat this soon after the last time he ate. He grazes throughout the day and doesn’t eat full meals. He’s eating a lot now though. This is one of the things I noticed the day I started worrying about him and did research and found this site. The day I think he was hypo. Huge appetite, lethargic, glossy eyes, and the hard to explain “he doesn’t look right”.
Sorry. I’m probably driving everyone crazy and posting too many messages. +1 would be now. I’ll wait and stop posting so much to see if someone thinks I should test now or if it’s OK to wait till +2 because that test is more important. Plus he just ate so that should help
Either a fancy feast pate or friskies pate. I put down one of each when I was trying to get him to eat before giving insulin. He sometimes has a preference and the preference changes all the time. So I put down 2 bowls. I can’t tell by looking at them which one is which. He’s laying next to me now. Sweet boy! I’ll test in an hour and post then. Thank you!
You're totally normal....first time I smelled it I said it smelled like band-aids too (heck, like a whole band-aid factory!) There's no missing that smell! Some people say it smells like Scotch, but I've never been a drinker, so wouldn't have any idea what it tasted or smelled like
I thought I was the only one. It doesn’t smell like any scotch I’ve ever smelled. I’m more of a vodka person myself though. Not a big drinker either but after all of this that’s been going on I might start. LOL
@Chris & China (GA) @tiffmaxee @Daddy Jack's Mommy The +2 is coming up soon. Thought I should ask how to interpret my numbers in case immediate action is required. I figure it’s better to know what to do then wait for a reply. Can anyone give me a guideline of what numbers are OK and what numbers mean I should feed either higher carb food versus honey numbers please?
Also, what do I put in my spreadsheet for the dosage? Will it make things confusing if I put 1 unit which is what I’m almost positive I did? Since no one will know it wasn’t intentional… or how do I handle that?
3 failed attempts. First time 1 didn’t get enough blood on the strip and got an error message. The other had enough blood but the strip got knocked out before the reading was displayed. I didn’t even know that could happen. Third time, he shook his head and I couldn’t get any blood. Bailey is furious at me. I’m going to give him 15-20 min and then try again. I know it’s crucial so I won’t stop until I get a reading. I think he can tell I’m nervous. More nervous than usual because I’m afraid of a low number. this day keeps getting worse… I’m so upset
You can scrape the blood drop onto a clean fingernail and test from there. That way you don't have to hold him any longer than necessary
I just went to pet him and he bit me!!! He’s never done that. I have to remember how to do a burrito wrap because that might be what I need to do here to get a test. Should I give him a little break or no? I’m going to look on YouTube for the burrito technique right now. I’ve done it before I just don’t remember how.
I don’t think that would work because I don’t really have fingernails. I’m planning on doing a burrito wrap but I don’t know if I should do it right away or give him a break. He’s really upset right now
Give him a couple teaspoons of his regular low carb food and let him cool down for 30 minutes or so And how bad was the bite? Did it break the skin?
@Chris & China (GA) I’m bleeding a little but not bad. I can’t believe he did that. In the 12 years I’ve had him he’s never bit me. He actually just went into a corner which gave me the perfect opportunity to trap him. He was hissing and trying to bite me the entire time but I used a towel and got it. 94 and he ate more than usual after insulin. I might be in trouble here, huh? He’s very mad now and is hiding somewhere.
No, that's a perfectly safe number. Give him a break and if you can, test again in an hour. Make sure you wash that bite out really well. Use some hydrogen peroxide if you have it. You also want to call your doctor and tell them you were bit. Cat bites are nothing to play with and often get infected quickly and can end up putting you in the hospital on IV antibiotics very fast.
One member here used to scoop up the blood on a little souvenir spoon. Do you have a little spoon or a tiny dessert spoon to scoop it up with? I don't know if you actually can get a drop of blood going, but if you do you can scoop it up and then sip the blood off of the spoon. That way if he shakes his head or runs away, it will be okay.
My vet hasn’t returned my call or responded to my emails in 3 days. I’m sure I made things worse by sending a very angry and strongly worded email telling them that they should be ashamed for not getting back to me on such an urgent and serious issue. I also may have threatened to file a complaint with the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation and told them I needed to find a vet that actually cared about the well being of my pet. Which clearly wasn’t them. Not one of my better moments but I’m so furious with them. No one ever gets back to me. I really am considering reporting him although I probably won’t because I was reading it typically doesn’t result in anything. Angry doesn’t even begin to describe it. My vet never told me about home testing. He never mentioned hypo or that there was a risk of something like that happening. I had to find out the hard way. I got incredibly lucky that I got a meter and tested when I did. Otherwise I would’ve given the usual two units when he was at 68 (the number I got close to when the next insulin injection was supposed to be). The chance that I happened to have a bad gut feeling something was wrong and was lucky enough to find this site that same day… (so I went out and got a meter). That’s too close of a potentially fatal mistake for my comfort. I called my vet last week (just before this hypo scare happened) since it had been a month on insulin and I thought a follow-up visit was needed. He said if my cat was doing fine but still peeing a lot (which I mentioned) that I should increase to 3 units twice a day. He told me to increase without having him come in for additional bloodwork or any other info besides he was peeing a lot still. No curve (which I just learned about). No blood test. Nothing. Hasn’t seen my cat since diagnosis. I feel like that has to be negligence, at best. I’m so lucky I didn’t listen to him because the two units alone could have killed him. I imagine some people would’ve listened to the vet and increased the dose. One thing that usually doesn’t work well in my favor is that I’m argumentative by nature. The conversation I had with him felt off. I decided not to listen. I planned on getting another opinion but then the next day I started seeing symptoms. When they lasted for a couple days I knew something was wrong and started researching. I think he was probably in dangerously low numbers for the 2 days prior to my first home test. Learning about hypo through a Google search is not how I should’ve found out that it was a possibility of insulin. What about the people that don’t find this site? Since I joined, I’ve heard people say you wouldn’t shoot your child without testing so why would it be any different with a cat. I didn’t know you were supposed to test people either. I’ve never known anyone with diabetes. Maybe it’s just me but I didn’t know that was common knowledge. I didn’t know in the beginning to question someone who is supposed to know better than anyone else and is trained specially for these types of things. Sorry for the long rant. I’m just upset about the entire situation and wish I could force accountability on my vet. Not for me, but for the next cat he does this to. I’m allowing him to get away with something that could potentially kill other cats in the future. I don’t know if there’s anything I can do though. I got a ticket the other day for not using my left turn signal in a left only turn lane. So basically I wasn’t stating the obvious. That is punishable. How is what my vet doing not a crime?
I don't blame you for your feelings about your vet (and I didn't say to call him...I said to call YOUR doctor and tell them you were bit...they should start you on oral antibiotics) The sad fact is that vets only get about 5 hours of education in school on diabetes and that covers all types of animals. Vet schools only have 4 years to teach a little bit about everything. They just can't spend 2 weeks on each disease, each different treatment for that disease and then the differences between treating a cat to a dog to a hamster. Once they go into practice, they usually work with an established vet who continues to teach them (but of course if they didn't take the time to learn more about feline diabetes, the stupidity just gets passed on to the new guy). Vets are required to have continuing education, but they usually get to choose which classes they want to learn more about. Since they see more diabetic dogs than cats, if they choose to learn more about diabetes at all, they're usually going to choose the dog updated education. Also, teaching about nutrition is almost unheard of (although it's getting a little better)....but the education they get on nutrition is supplemented by the prescription pet food manufacturers! The truth is that most people who find out their cat is diabetic choose to euthanize. Whether this is due to not caring, or having a vet that "scares them off" with horror stories of blindness and the routines that come along with caring for a sugarcat or a million other reasons somebody might choose to euthanize instead of treat is beyond our comprehension here because WE are fighting for our cat's lives! WE don't give up that easily. WE are willing to put in the work because we understand that when we took them into our home, it was for life....not just as long as they were healthy or "convenient" to have around. I finally settled on vet #5 who was more than an hour away just so I had somebody I could deal with (or at least ignore) and she would continue to see China. Since I'd gotten my Lantus from Canada, I didn't need a new script every year. If I took China in for her yearly checkup or for a dental or a nasty URI, I started the conversation with "She's on X units of Lantus and her blood glucose runs between Y and Z but today we're here for (fill in the blank)" and that was usually the end of the conversation about diabetes! If she did feel the need to say something anyway (usually about switching to a "prescription" food), I'd smile, nod my head and say "I'll think about that"....and come right back here.
He’s very mad at me right now. This morning I had 4 failed attempts before giving up. Delayed insulin and finally got AMPS. Then 3 failed attempts at +2. 10 min later trapped him and got a reading. I don’t blame him. I poked 9 times already today. He’s not used to this and doesn’t understand why I keep hurting him. Currently he’s under this shelving unit where I can’t reach him. It’s too heavy to move myself. I’m going to have to play the waiting game. I’ll test again as soon as he comes out. He naps here sometimes. Never thought it would be an issue that I can’t reach him to pull him out. I hope this doesn’t become a thing because I don’t want to have to block all the places in my house where he can do this. I’m having a very bad day
Thanks for the clarification. I didn’t realize you said my doctor. LOL. I’m not really worried about myself though. So if this is common for vets, do a lot of cats end up in the hospital or dead from poor vet advice, such as insulin overdose? They can just get away with that? Why does everyone allow this to be the “norm” and acceptable? I don’t understand. I should open a vet clinic of my own if you can treat without knowing anything about what you’re treating. There are so many animal lovers in this world. I find it very surprising no one does anything to change this. Maybe I should start. Not that I have any money or know how but that really bothers me. All of us saying, “this is normal for vets to give bad advice or wrong info”… Well doesn’t that make us part of the problem? That’s coming out wrong. You and all the wonderful people here are constantly taking time out of your day to help strangers. It is so incredible and you have probably saved so many lives. You guys are doing everything you can to make things better. I admire you for that. I’m just upset vets can do this because not everyone is fortunate enough to find this site. I almost didn’t find it in time. Only certain personality types seek out information and advice that conflicts with those given to them by a professional. It’s just sad in general. I wish I could do something. I was taught, bad things continue only because we allow them to. Change happens one step at a time… Maybe I can find a way to make at least a step. Easier said than done I’m sure. I’ll stop now. Sorry for wasting everyone’s time with my non-helpful complaining. It won’t happen again. Just needed to get it off my chest
Here's something I wrote up for others for testing...maybe it'll help you too! It can be really helpful to establish a routine with testing. Pick one spot that you want your "testing spot" to be (I like the kitchen counter because it's got good light and it's at a good height....it also already blocked 2 escape routes due to the wall and the backsplash) It can be anywhere though...a rug on the floor, a table, a particular spot on the couch...wherever is good for you. Take him there as many times a day as you can and just give his ears a quick rub and then he gets a yummy (low carb) treat. Most cats aren't objecting so much with the poking..it's the fooling with their ears they don't like, but once they're desensitized to it and learn to associate a certain place with the treats, they usually start to come when they're called! Or even when they hear us opening the test kit! You also have to remember...you're not poking him to hurt him...you're testing him to keep him safe and understand what's going on inside his body. There's just nothing better than truly understanding what's going on inside your kitty's body and with this disease, the more knowledge you have, the more power you have against it. The edges of the ears have very few pain receptors, so it really doesn't hurt them. Also, if you're nervous and tense, it's going to make your kitty nervous and tense too. As silly as it might seem, try singing! It forces you to use a different part of your brain! It's also important to make sure his ear is warm. A small sock filled with a little rice and microwaved or a small pill bottle filled with warm water (check temp against your wrist like you would a baby bottle) works well For new kitties, using a heavier gauge lancet is also really helpful. A 25-28 gauge lancet pokes a bigger "hole" than a 31-33 gauge lancet does, so look for "Alternate Site testing" lancets that are usually a lower number Finding the right "treat" will be a great help too! Freeze dried chicken, bonito flakes, little pieces of baked chicken...whatever low carb treat you can find that he really enjoys will help him to associate the testing with the treat! China's Achilles heel was baked chicken, so I'd bake a piece, chop it into bite sized pieces, put some in the refrigerator and freeze the rest to use as needed. It didn't take long for her to come any time I picked up the meter! There are more testing tips here: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/
Cat bites can be more dangerous than dog bites. So just watch for any signs of infection. Clean it twice a day with hydrogen peroxide. Call your doctor if it gets hot and red as then you might need an antibiotic. It will probably be fine. So sorry about your vet experience.
You need to be. I'm serious. Cat bites are serious and can very easily send you to the hospital where you may need to be admitted to get IV antibiotics. This can happen in less than 24 hours. Who's going to take care of Bailey if you're in the hospital? Is it possible that you'll be just fine? Yes...but it's a lot better to be pro-active and make sure you stay healthy. Hopefully your regular doctor knows how serious cat bites can be and will order you some oral antibiotics
It’s the same color green in the spreadsheet so maybe I’m worried for nothing. is this number good? Bad? I thought lower than 60 was hypo… is that not right?
Hypo is 38 on a human meter, and you don't need to pull out the higher carbs until he hits 50 and that's just to prevent it from going down lower. In and of itself, 50 is not dangerous.
Not to worry. . Lower than 50 is a low number but not necessarily hypo. Feed a little mc ir slightly higher carbs like 9-10% and test in 30 minutes. Normal on a human meter is 50-100.
I wish I knew for sure how much insulin I shot this morning. These numbers mean very different things depending on if it was 0.25 or 1 units, right?
Again 38 is a low number that calls for a reduction in dose even for long term diabetics. but not always a symptomatic hypo. Under 50 calls for either mc or hc depending on when in the cycle. Every cat is different. Max never had a symptomatic hypo yet did drop under 40 at times. Other cats have been symptomatic at that bg. The meter have a 20% variance but that can be high or low.
Don’t worry about that now. You just want to make sure he doesn’t go much lower. He might soon hit nadir, the lowest point in the cycle, and start heading back up.
For the future pick these up Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Beef Feast in Gravy 20% High Carbs Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Chicken Feast in Gravy. 15% Med Carbs Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Turkey Feast in Gravy. 15% Med Carbs Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Chicken and Beef Feast in Gravy 15% Med Carbs Good idea to mark the cans with magic marker how many carbs At least if you have these you can just get the can and squeeze out the gravy if he didn't want to eat that much of the food. Just wanted to make it easier for you Or any other med and high carb foods from the food link https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-chart.174147/
I guess what I don’t understand is why I’m giving insulin when his numbers have been around 120 without it. Aren’t those numbers ok? He doesn’t act like himself when we are at these lower numbers. He’s soooo lethargic. I don’t think he likes the way he feels at these numbers. Of course I don’t know that for sure. I can’t ask him. It just seems like it.
Also, I keep finding him in weird places. Like sitting facing the wall or sitting near the water fountain staring at it but not drinking. He’s been drinking so I’m not worried about that. At first I thought something was wrong with the water fountain even though I clean it 2-3 times a week. Anyway I decided to clean it again to see if that was it but it wasn’t. He just likes watching the running water today. It’s weird. One last random observation is a couple times today he was sticking his tongue out. Not for too long. Like 30 seconds but something else I’ve never seen him do in 12 years I’ve had him. I’m not sure what any of it means. Maybe nothing. The blood tests are stressing him out so that could maybe be causing the odd behavior. When I was ignorant to home testing and we started insulin, he was doing great. I didn’t notice any negative side effects until the beginning of this month when I started noticing the symptoms. Thats when I got the meter and determined he was very low (or at least I thought it was too low but now I’m not sure). Although I guess it’s possible I missed symptoms because I didn’t know there was a risk of anything bad happening on insulin so I wasn’t obsessively staring at him like I am now. Who knows. I’m probably overthinking things I wish I had numbers for the month prior to this but unfortunately I don’t.
If he’s going to go off insulin he needs to be mostly between 50-100. It’s very possible he will go into remission but we need to see how he does and monitor. It would have been best to try a diet change first, before starting insulin. That’s why we want to first take him down to .25. If he stays under 100 for 7 days or drops under 50 we will decrease again. He very well could be off insulin in days to weeks or need a small amount of support for awhile. When my cat was diagnosed I didn’t test initially. I was afraid he would hide all the time. I went for a nadir check a couple times a week. He then thought he was in remission and stopped insulin for three weeks. He wasn’t in remission and had to start again. By then I had read a lot and started testing.
I wish I didn’t have to do so many tests. It’s really upsetting him. I’m sure it’ll get easier with time but it just seems like a lot all at once. Do I have to do so many because of my possible mistake with the dose today? I’m still not sure what I gave him.
Next time, when I know the amount of insulin I gave him was right can I just test AMPS and +6 and then PMPS and +2 or something like that?
It’s funny you ask that. No his breathing is normal. I actually counted because when I googled the tongue thing, the only info I found related to breathing. I can’t remember what it was though. The number of breaths he’s taking per minute is in the “normal range”. I never counted before so I have nothing to compare to. However, when I observe him it doesn’t seem like he’s breathing any different than normal. Doesn’t seem like he’s having any difficulty or struggling
What do you think it means? The only other time I’ve seen something like that is when he’s grooming and he’ll have a small part of his tongue out if he gets interrupted. I’ll put my finger there and he immediately puts it back in. But when I put my finger there this time he kept it out. That’s why I thought it was especially odd. After a minute or 2 though he wasn’t doing it anymore.
We just need to keep him safe. I’d test amps, pmps and +2 both cycles. If either +2 is lower you may need a test sooner. If not +5-6 would be good. Since he got a larger dose and he dropped lower than normal you needed to test more today. You will shoot .25 tonight if he’s even high enough to shoot.
I’m not sure. To check the respiration rate you count while he’s sleeping. It’s good he’s not breathing fast or struggling. That’s what I was worried about too.
Thanks! Just in case I don’t get a response right away later… what numbers would be high enough to shoot versus skip? Or would I give less insulin instead of skipping? It’s all so confusing
He was diagnosed8/5? . How many hours until shot time? Either Bhooma or I will check on you then. Being so new and with a bigger dose than we wanted today I don’t think you should shoot if under 120.
I cannot get a break today! LOL. I had left out a vanilla ice cream cup because I’m weird and I like to eat it when it’s kinda melted. I left the room for five minutes to do laundry and when I come back I see him eating it. I hope he doesn’t get sick! I know I probably shouldn’t be laughing but it was so cute! He had ice cream on his whiskers Is that a big deal? I just checked and it only has 4% carbs for the entire cup and he certainly didn’t eat that much. I heard people say that cats are allergic to dairy but I didn’t know that and I have given fat free skim milk and cheese many times in the past. I only give a little (like 2 teaspoons or a small corner of a cheese slice that’s also from skim milk). He’s never once been sick after. So is that allowed? I feel like he was eating the ice cream because melted it reminded him of milk which I haven’t been giving him since he was diagnosed. Poor guy has lost a lot of his favorite things and he doesn’t understand why
Yes that’s the scary part. He was diagnosed a month ago and I was shooting two units, twice a day until September 3rd. September 1st PM is when I started noticing symptoms. When I was seeing symptoms still on September 3 AM, I did research and found this site and got the meter that day. My first test ever that night scared me. I knew something was wrong those couple of days and when I read about home testing, I literally went and got my meter that same hour. we are still quite a way from PMPS. 4 hours to be exact. Unless you think I can do 30 minutes early tonight as I slowly get back to a better schedule? Maybe I shouldn’t tonight though since I could’ve given him more insulin than I intended
I’m still not sure if I gave a bigger dose. I literally keep going back-and-forth. I can’t see myself being that dumb but at the time I really couldn’t remember and I still can’t. So there’s no way to know what I gave him. For safety purposes, I was just going to assume I gave the larger amount. It certainly makes understanding his numbers more difficult when I’m not sure what I gave him. I’m having a horrible day! That’s an understatement
If I had to guess one way or the other, it would definitely be towards the higher dose because I didn’t smell anything in the sink like usual. It’s just not like me so I’m still questioning it though
Not all cats are lactose intolerant. If he's had a little sip of fat free milk in the past and it didn't cause him any problems, there's no reason you can't let him have a little sip again (or little bite of cheese). There is a little bit of sugar in milk (lactose is literally "milk sugar") so just as a special treat now and then.
Not to worry. I turned my back while my two were eating and my girl with allergies might have eaten what she shouldn’t. At least I hope that happened and not that I have to change her food again because her EGC is causing her to reject another food. Things happen.
+10 is 79. I really don’t think I will be giving insulin tonight. If that’s going to be the case, I don’t want to do a PMPS. He’s been through quite the ordeal with testing today. What do you think? Can I skip it all? I know these numbers are considered good. However, it seems like Bailey doesn’t feel good when he’s below 100. He was doing so much better the past few days without insulin. Today, not so much… It’s hard to explain. It’s not just that he’s lethargic, but he’s “off” in general. His personality disappears and I no longer see the cat I love. This is exactly how he was acting when this all started on September 1. That’s the reason I did a Google search and found this site (and got my meter). You know the story by now. So I guess my question is, is this normal? I’m assuming I’m giving insulin because if his numbers are not below 100, then the hyperglycemia can easily come back, right? So I don’t have a choice? Because if it’s possible he can maintain numbers in the low or mid 100s without insulin and not be so blah… wouldn’t that be better? I don’t know. I just feel bad for him. From an observation standpoint, it looks like I’m hurting him more than helping lately with insulin. What do you think? Do your cats act this way with insulin?
Are numbers in the 100 - 200 range harmful like hyperglycemia? Or in general? just out of curiosity… I’m asking only to understand why certain numbers are so important. The only assumption I can make is that if they are in the 100-200 range they tend to go hyperglycemic again without insulin.
Normal bg is 50-100 on a human meter. If Bailey needs insulin his numbers will rise without it so here’s my suggestion although others might disagree. Don’t give insulin tonight. Feed him dinner and test 3-4 hours later. See if the bg comes down. Then test in the morning. If around 100 or less do the same thing. Perhaps it will turn out that the diet change alone will work. If his numbers go up above 120 you might need to try a tiny dose. It won’t hurt to try this and see.if you want a stron remission you will continue with insulin if over 100: BG OF 200 is not normal. If that continues e entually he will be even higher and his insulin needs will go up more than his current needs.
If you are giving insulin tonight it will have to be 12 hours after the AM dose and you would have to stay up getting tests. Alternatively, skip and shoot at a reasonable hour in the morning. Keira, I have explained a lot of stuff several times in the previous post. You have been through an ordeal today and I suspect most of what we are saying is not registering. Maybe tomorrow you can read the whole of your previous thread again?
Ok thanks. I got these new urine test strips in the mail today because the ones I have for ketones are almost gone. I didn’t realize it tested for 10 things total. No just ketones. I don’t even know what these things mean. But there’s a line that has a cat with a smiley face. Those are the results you want. Then there’s readings with a cat that has a sad face and I have a couple with a sad face. Now I’m stressed about something I don’t even understand what. I sound crazy, I know. I don’t even have a vet anymore. I guess I’ll try another vet. The problem is I don’t want to keep wasting my money to find no one‘s capable of helping me as well as you guys can. So can I ask about a couple things on these strips to see if maybe it’s related to diabetes? Because I don’t know. If not, I’ll drop it since it’s off top and I think I read we shouldn’t discuss things unrelated to diabetes. Makes sense. I just don’t have any one else to ask
@Bandit's Mom I apologize if I missed something or am repeating myself. I don’t know what you guys are referring to. I’ll admit, I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed so maybe it’s not all absorbing but I didn’t think I was ignoring information that was already given to me. And my first thread yesterday I spent a lot of time writing my first messages but then everyone kept asking me questions I already answered. So I’m kind of feeling the same way. Some questions I still didn’t get an answer to. Not anyone’s fault. It’s my own for jumping all over the place. I bet it’s impossible to follow and I don’t blame the nice people trying to help me. My thoughts are racing, that’s all. So I’ll just stop posting for tonight as least until I figure it out. Because I was a little surprised to read that. Very sorry! You guys have been great. I will look for my mistakes and then keep you posted. Have a good night or day or whatever it is wherever you are! You’ve been a big help so far!
I have a suggestion and I don't know if others will agree. Why not take a couple of days (or more) just getting into the routine with Bailey of taking up food 2 hours before AMPS/PMPS and getting some tests without insulin? Once you get comfortable with these aspects, you can add insulin into the mix and you may find it less stressful? I am sharing the spreadsheets of some cats who started on a higher dose and high carb food like Bailey did and suddenly saw lower numbers after a diet change. They stayed on insulin for a short time till their numbers were in the normal range and they could go off insulin and have a strong remission. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...gGKn36vuDpJ8XWL-iT_Sa0peM8/edit#gid=361360320 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1IxtQMNTAGefIAx4SSsT91PYExkdgC1SCPUutSrpyaKk/edit#gid=0 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...1lSmSbh5ZbZLmMhk63Uzh__aaL2G3XMWMZilf/pubhtml As you can see, that involved shooting lower and lower doses and testing to see which one was good for them. You cannot give insulin and not test - as you yourself know now. We have very little data on Bailey and our best guess, based on the information we do have, is that he needs insulin for some more time to get his numbers into the normal range and to be considered in remission. We can start with 0.25U or 0.1U or a drop (without data, we are as good as throwing darts) but to give insulin we will need for you to: (a) Shoot 12 hours apart (more or less) (b) Take food away 2 hours before the shot (c) Get tests - preshots & mid-cycle tests - in both cycles. Without this it is not possible for us to assess how much insulin he needs.
Diane, dumb question here - how do you bookmark a post? I know I've appeared from no where to ask this question but I read this and thought it was a fantastic idea - I just don't see a bookmark button? You'll probably explain and the answer is right in front of me, but I don't see it. Laura PS Kiera, we've all been where you were yesterday - I once drove home from work mid-morning to check on my old cat because I was convinced I'd overdosed him in my morning rush out the door. He was fine... looked at me as much to say "What the hell are you doing home?" Don't be hard on yourself... this is a lot to wrap your head around.
@Laurasboyz Hi I use a tablet and all the up top where you see the pic of the cat and the little bottle above that is where Kiera has her thread there is a little star I tap the star and it turns gray , it will go into my bookmarks https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/9-9-bailey-amps-117-5-62.252712/#post-2851323 This is what I'm talking about
Ahhh... I get it, I think - you bookmark it with your browser, like you can/would for any page you want to keep. I was looking within the message board itself, thinking there was a place for bookmarked pages, like how the board keeps all your content accessible. Thanks for letting me know - it's a great idea, I just never thought outside the box, so to speak.
Kiera – this is a peer-reviewed forum and we cannot give advice in a personal message so I'm posting your PM (personal message) and my response in your thread. Here is the post I believe you were referring to: Since you were so far off schedule, I thought it would be a good idea to skip and take the day to do the experiment mentioned above. The experiment, if enough tests are done, can possibly tell us if the pancreas is working (just possibly not enough as it should).
@Kiera The experiment I mentioned above does not necessarily mean that Bailey does not need or should not have insulin. It is designed to give us a bigger picture of the situation. It could can that Bailey can be diet controlled. It could be that Bailey's pancreas needs a bit of help from insulin. The more data we have, the better we can help you.
This was very helpful! I appreciate you offering a way for me to ease into things, which I thought sounded like a good idea. However, after looking through the spreadsheets you shared with me, I felt more comfortable with shooting the low numbers. So that’s what I did today. This message helped more than you know. Thank you for once again taking the time to provide such detailed information! I know I upset you yesterday by asking things you had already answered. I hope you don’t think I’m taking anything you’re saying for granted. Since it’s all so new, I’ll admit that some of the information goes in one ear and out the other, but it’s not intentional. I didn’t realize I was doing that. Bailey is my heart and when I get worried about him… it’s hard to think clearly. I will continue to re-read your messages until everything sticks. Just wanted to thank you again and hope you aren’t mad at me.
