Hello, I’m Back!

Hello, it has been 15 years since I lost my diabetic boy Smokey. I am back because I just discovered my 8 year old Ralphie who has been on prednisolone for a stomatitis flare is diabetic. He goes to the vet Monday but I tested him last night and he was 715! I got some lantus from a friend and gave him a unit and he was 102 this am at shot time so I didn’t give him any. He is up to 420 at pm shot so I gave him half a unit. I am so out of the loop and practice with this. I have a house full of special needs kitties but wasn’t expecting this. I am going to ask the vet about weaning off the prednisolone he has been on for 8 months and hope we can get him into remission! In the mean time I wanted to say hello and start browsing. Where is the best place to get affordable insulin? I used Levemir with Smokey but is that the best choice? I know Lantus is the one my vet usually uses. Any advice would be great!

 

I remember you both. Dosing at 1/2 unit and less is hard because of variations in syringes and even little air bubbles affect the actual dose.

 

Hi, Julie. Welcome back.

Just like when you were here previously, Lantus or Levemir are among the preferred insulins. Many people are buying their insulin from Mark's Marine Pharmacy in Vancouver, Canada. @Chris & China (GA) has information. Their prices are well below what your would pay in the US.

I would go very carefully with a starting dose. The inflammation from the stomatitis coupled with the steroid may be causing the high numbers. I'd also suggest picking up some Ketostix. If you're getting such high readings, Ralphie could be at risk for ketones developing. Most pharmacies carry urine test strips for ketones. The hard part is stalking your kitty to the litter box to get a sample.

Here's the link to the Lantus/Lev forum for your reading pleasure! This post also contains information on setting up your signature and Ralphie's spreadsheet.

 

Hello! I used to give Smokey a drop of Levemir. He was crazy sensitive. It was hard to manage that I was thinking .5 might be easier but maybe now. My eyes are older now too! I guess I will just go with 1 unit and see how he is again in the am.

 

Shooting 0.5u is not that difficult if you have syringes that are marked in half unit increments.

 

Thank you so much this is very helpful!! I am going to run and get some keto strips as well. It will be much harder with 12 kitties in the house vs 2 when I had my last diabetic but I can do it!

 

I ordered some with half unit markings but what I have now is not so probably going to do 1 unit

 

If you shoot 1.0u, please get a +2 or +3 test especially if your pre-shot number is running a bit lower. If either of those tests are lower than your pre-shot, you will need to keep an eye on the numbers. I'm being overly cautious since you don't have an initial fructosamine to know if that 700+ was a fluke or if your cat has been in higher numbers for some time.

Also, there are blood ketone meters. The strips are pricey but you're not testing as often as you would be for BG. Precision Xtra and NovaMax are the old reliable ketone meters. With the Keto Diet being so popular, there are all sorts of ketone meters around. Even Amazon has them.

 

I will do that thank you!!

 

I never had to deal with ketones with my old diabetic kitty. What do you do if they do have them?

 

If a cat has ketones, the operative issue is the numbers. If the ketones are large (high numbers), it's an emergency. You get your cat to the vet or the ER. Chances are, you'll also notice that your cat is lethargic -- something seems "off" or there's the possibility your cat's breath smells like acetone (nail polish remover). If they are present at a small amount, adding water to your cat's diet, insuring that your cat is eating and you're giving insulin are all ways to combat ketones.