Hi all, I have been trying to manage my fur babies diabetes for a couple of months since diagnosis. Seen multiple vets and specialist. on Lantus His BG I can not get under control. Wether it’s to low dose (gone hypo multiple times) or too high. I try and keep at same dose for atleast 10 days. He is now on an aggressive plan to get his BG down as he has really severe neuropathy now. Sadly i was advised to keep him higher and now this is the result. If only i knew Currently he is on 4/3. He swings from “high” down to 6-7 from one shot. His currently had 4 units (8:30 am today) and now sitting at 6.9. Do I dose? How much do i dose? Yesterday was similar. I gave him 3 and he ended up going “high” 12 hours later for AM dose. He was on 3.5/3.5 for quite some time and that didn’t seem to pull him down enough. Lowest i got him at was 17. He does eat some dry food (glucose hills and royal canin) It’s about 16-18% carb which i know is not ideal. He is on low carb wet also eats that twice a day. I can’t get him off the dry as he won’t eat much and then result in hypo He has other complications with enlarged heart, fluid on lungs, and now high white cells and liver infection. On antibiotics. Ongoing meds benezapril & flusapex. Plus now Methyl b12 shots, tablets & folic. Oh and temvet for pain relief. This has some sugar in it too The poor man!! I think his meds have messed with his BG and did find some research that benezapril affects it. Vets have found him a complicated case and thinks part insulin resistant. Sorry for very long mail. I’m nearly at point to put him down if he can’t walk. It’s just devastating and doesn’t seem much of quality of life. But am taking a fair shot at this BG & b12 How quickly does lantus take effect. So if BG at 6 and i give shot, how long will it take to kick in? So worried i will put him in hypo. Thanks for any advice. Rachael
Hi and Welcome! I'm a new member too, so I can't offer any help, but I wanted to let you know that you're in the right place for assistance.
While you're waiting for a response from one of the more experienced members, take a look at this link: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-how-you-can-help-us-help-you.216696/ It will give you tips on setting up your signature and Spreadsheet so they can help you faster The spreadsheet also helps you track your baby's data in one glace. It made a huge difference for me and Mouse. I feel so much more in control with it than I did with the phone app I was using.
Hi Rachael! Welcome to the best place you never wanted to be. You have come to the right place to get help. I'm so sorry you are going through so much with your fur baby. What is his name? Is it fur baby? I looked at your screenshots. Are you using some kind of continuous monitor or just inputting the readings you get into a program? What monitor are you using? It is quiet here on Saturday mornings (evening for you!). Did you end up giving him insulin? If you did, you will want to monitor him closely throughout the night to make sure he doesn't go too low (2.7mmol). Do you see in this forum how all of our thread titles are the same, with the date, cat name and then BG numbers (we speak in US numbers on the board)? That way experienced people can quickly see any low numbers and offer help. If you did give insulin with the 6mmol reading, I would be testing one hour after insulin and if the number is the same or higher, I'd check again an hour after that. Do you have some higher carb food, syrup or honey you can give to fur baby if he goes lower? Read this link on how to handle low numbers. Okay, I just noticed you also started a thread in the main health forum: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-member-need-help.234656/ I think this may cause a bit of confusion but I also think you need help quick. If you need help with your spreadsheet setup or signature, just ask and someone will help you. You'll want to get fur baby's BG numbers into that spreadsheet as soon as possible so the experienced people can review it and offer help. You can find lots of other good info via this link, including how we post in this forum but also it explains how Lantus works and shows an example of a typical cycle. The best advice I can give you is to read, read, read everything in the forums. I am relatively new, too, and not able to offer dosing advice. I can just tell you the best way to get the advice you're looking for. Every time someone posts in your thread, it bumps your thread up to the top of the list in the forum, which helps get more eyes on it.
Welcome!! As other's have noted, it will be very helpful to us if you can convert some of your test data (2 weeks, at least) to our spreadsheet format. I honestly have no idea what to make of the information you attached to your signature. We're a bit wed to our format. (Sorry!) I'm assuming when you say your cat is "on 4/3" that you mean you're giving 4.0u and 3.0u at shot times. Lantus does best if the dose is the same at each shot time. Lantus is a depot-type of insulin which means that there is always a bit of insulin in "storage." If you change the dose, it takes several days for the depot to re-stabilize. If you are changing the dose at every shot time, the depot never stabilizes and you end up with wonky numbers. The dosing methods we use advise that. you hold doses a week. (This is for Start Low Go Slow which is what you would need to use for dosing given that you're feeding your kitty dry food.) If your cat has an infection, this is likely raising blood glucose numbers. What antibiotic are you using? Between an infection, dry food that is in the high carb range, and a pain med with sugar in it, it's not surprising that you're struggling with your cat's numbers. Can you get a pain med that is sugar free? We do have members in Australia who may be able to suggest some alternatives to what you're feeding your cat. Also, when you say "hypo," was your cat experiencing symptoms of hypoglycemia or are you referring to lower than usual numbers? A reading of 6.9 is still very safe. We intervene with food with the SLGS method if numbers drop below 5.0 (90 for those of us in the US).
Oh, a bouncy kitty. We can help. The 6.9 (124) is a safe number. ) Looking at the forum, you see numbers that seem out of sync with your numbers. US numbers are used here since most of the members are in the US. To make sense of your World numbers in US numbers, multiply x 18. We do have members from all over the world – Australia, Canada, the UK, India just to name a few. Sienne is right. Finding a dose that you can shoot for both doses would help your cat tremendously. And it would help us tremendously if you could set up our spreadsheet. If you need help doing so, just ask.
Hi there, Thanks for reply and yes talking in Aus numbers. lol. I get confused with the US ones. lol Babu he’s nearly 15, birman. I’ve been adding BG into an App and a spreadsheet of my own. But will look at transferring over to this one so people can see it clearly. I did give the shot. As i’m understanding it’s not at that point in time it’s for when lantus kicks in later. Monitored him and he dropped a bit low. Gave high carbs and he crept up well. He had no hypo symptoms. Long night. lol Will start reading. A lot of it i don’t understand the lingo. Lots to learn! Thanks so much and good luck with your fur baby x
Hello and welcome. There is a lot to learn initially, we will help you get there. We have some information put together by one of our Australian members that might help. Some kitties will take to air/freeze dried food which has low carb but the crunch they crave. Australia Information for Aussie Feline Diabetic Caregivers Low Carb Canned and Air/Freeze Dried Cat Food (updated 07/2019)
