? New member 4/23 Bozo

[Despoina Passa]

Hello! My 12-year old male cat was diagnosed with diabetes on the 11th of April. In December 2013 it was the first time where bozo was tested with high glucose levels (about 230). Back then we treated it only with diet food, my vet told me to use diabetic Royal Canin (dry and wet food) and it worked. After 3 months of eating this food he returned to normal glucose levels (70). Unfortunately, after one year the symptoms of diabetes came back more aggressively this time. He was tested 3 weeks ago with 414 and ever since then I try to regulate it but it keeps coming back. Bozo was prescribed w/d Hills and dialosa 1mg pill, we did for 10 days but glucose levels kept rising. Last Friday he was taken to a vet clinic with 515 glucose levels and we started injecting insulin every since then. I am new to all this, I thought at the beginning that with insulin he would come back to normal levels, I don’t even know how insulin works with humans, but I doesn’t seem that way. Right now we inject 2u twice a day since Sunday, glargine Lantus, he seems to drop his levels buh then the next day diabetes comes back to the same pre-insulin levels (about 430). For 1 day, the first one, we started with 1.5 u but since glucose remained high the vet said to increase the units to 2. Generally, I trust science, I think vets do a great job, but experience plays an important role, as well. So, I am turning to you, since you have experience with diabetic cats, with the question: how long does it take to regulate this thing? Is it with humans the same? I mean, since we use the same human medicine and tracking devises, I am using mostly freestyle libre but needles as well, do we humans have to wait so long with high glucose levels to regulate it? How long should I wait for my cat? It is almost been a week now with insulin, but I don’t seem that way much progress. We changed dry food to wet food, mostly m/d Hills or Proplan d/m. Thank you very much.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hi and welcome to the forum.
Did you mean to write 2023 not 2013?
The Dialosa pill (glimepiride) makes the pancreas work harder and does not support it while it heals. Not suitable for cats.
Regarding the food. You do not need prescription wet food for diabetic cats. I will give you a link below for suitable foods. Look for foods that are 10% carbs or less.
You have a good insulin in Lantus but you will not get results in a week. It will take a lot longer. It is a marathon not a race.
Are you hometesting the BGs? What type of glucose meter do you have?
We can help you if you are willing to setup a spreadsheet and add BG data.
The main things you need to be doing are:
Hometesting the BGs
Setting up a spreadsheet and add and adding data
Feeding a low carb wet food.
Test before every dose to make sure it is safe to give the dose and then test during the cycles as well.
keep asking questions

HELP US HELP YOU information re spreadsheet and signature and hypo kit

FOOD CHART

 

[Despoina Passa]

Hi and welcome to the forum.
Did you mean to write 2023 not 2013?
The Dialosa pill (glimepiride) makes the pancreas work harder and does not support it while it heals. Not suitable for cats.
Regarding the food. You do not need prescription wet food for diabetic cats. I will give you a link below for suitable foods. Look for foods that are 10% carbs or less.
You have a good insulin in Lantus but you will not get results in a week. It will take a lot longer. It is a marathon not a race.
Are you hometesting the BGs? What type of glucose meter do you have?
We can help you if you are willing to setup a spreadsheet and add BG data.
The main things you need to be doing are:
Hometesting the BGs
Setting up a spreadsheet and add and adding data
Feeding a low carb wet food.
Test before every dose to make sure it is safe to give the dose and then test during the cycles as well.
keep asking questions

HELP US HELP YOU information re spreadsheet and signature and hypo kit

FOOD CHART

Yes, I meant 2023. I am hometesting glucose levels. I use mainly freestyle libre but I try to test with needles as well. It is though not always possible. I have to as and I am writing it since yesterday. I will post it later. Thanks.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Great you are hometesting.
If you can get the spreadsheet set up and add some data, we will be able to help you get your kitty sorted. Looking forward to hearing from you

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

I use mainly freestyle libre but I try to test with needles as well. It

Welcome Debbie and Bozo
You couldn't have found a better group to join
I followed the advice I was given here from the members here and got my cat into remission for over 3 years , unfortunately he passed away from cancer. I do believe he would still be in remission today if he didn't pass. When you say you try to test with needles ,do you mean a human glucose meter ?
Most of us use the Relion Premier Classic from Walmart
Relion Premier Classic Meter at Walmart for 9 dollars
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Premier-CLASSIC-Blood-Glucose-Monitoring-System/552134103

The tests strips are 17.88 for 100
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Premier-Blood-Glucose-Test-Strips-100-Count/575088197
At least if you need more test strips you can run into Walmart and pick them up or if you're running low you can just order them from Walmart on line.
I agree with Bron , no need for prescription food .
Most feed Fancy Feast Classic Pates or the Friskies.
I would read all the yellow stickys about Lantus , especially the 2 dosing methods. Each one will let you know when an increase or decrease is needed. If you are not sure about anything just post and ask.
When you do decide on a dosing method you should add that to your signature and spreadsheet up top where it asks you .
Are you using the U-100 syringes with the half unit markings? We adjust the dose by 0.25 units at a time. We adjust the dose by the nadir, not how high the Pre Shots are.

Learn how YOUR kitty is responding to insulin:

• Onset - the length of time before insulin reaches the bloodstream & begins lowering blood glucose
• Peak/Nadir - the lowest point in the cycle
• Duration - the length of time insulin continues to lower blood glucose
• How to do a Curve - a simple explanation

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/lantus-levemir-biosimilars.9/

On your spreadsheet where you have
152 8.5. on April 22nd You need to color code that manually. It would be blue

@Despoina Passa

 

[Yanna]

Hi Debbie and welcome! Maybe you should add Greece in your signature

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

If you want to do some background reading about how Lantus (glargine) works, I'd encourage you to read over the sticky notes at the top of the Lantus board. That will help to get your started. There is a great deal of information in the posts and in the included links. Don't be alarmed if you feel overwhelmed. It's a lot to digest I the beginning but it really does become easier.

One common error that new caregivers make is that they expect insulin to have an immediate effect of lowering blood glucose numbers and that the numbers will stay that way. It helps to remember that insulin is a hormone and it is not always absorbed the same way every day. Insulin also has peaks. Numbers are higher at the beginning/end of a cycle and at their lowest (the nadir) around the middle of the cycle. However, the nadir can and does move around. In addition, when your cat's numbers start to show a response to insulin, there are times when the liver and pancreas panic. They excrete a stored form of glucose along with counterregulatory hormones that cause the numbers to spike upward. They may stay elevated for several 12-hour cycles. We refer to this as a "bounce." It's what you saw on the 22nd -- numbers dropped during the AM cycle and then bounced upward during the PM cycle. Until Bozo is better regulated, there's a good chance this will happen. It's annoying but it's normal.

I'm glad you eliminated the dry food. It was high in carbohydrates. You want to have Bozo on a food that is less than 10% carbohydrate. This information is generally not on the can or on the manufacturer's website. You can use a web-based cat food carbohydrate calculator which will give you an approximate value.

 

[Despoina Passa]

Welcome Debbie and Bozo
You couldn't have found a better group to join
I followed the advice I was given here from the members here and got my cat into remission for over 3 years , unfortunately he passed away from cancer. I do believe he would still be in remission today if he didn't pass. When you say you try to test with needles ,do you mean a human glucose meter ?
Most of us use the Relion Premier Classic from Walmart
Relion Premier Classic Meter at Walmart for 9 dollars
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Premier-CLASSIC-Blood-Glucose-Monitoring-System/552134103

The tests strips are 17.88 for 100
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Premier-Blood-Glucose-Test-Strips-100-Count/575088197
At least if you need more test strips you can run into Walmart and pick them up or if you're running low you can just order them from Walmart on line.
I agree with Bron , no need for prescription food .
Most feed Fancy Feast Classic Pates or the Friskies.
I would read all the yellow stickys about Lantus , especially the 2 dosing methods. Each one will let you know when an increase or decrease is needed. If you are not sure about anything just post and ask.
When you do decide on a dosing method you should add that to your signature and spreadsheet up top where it asks you .
Are you using the U-100 syringes with the half unit markings? We adjust the dose by 0.25 units at a time. We adjust the dose by the nadir, not how high the Pre Shots are.

Learn how YOUR kitty is responding to insulin:

• Onset - the length of time before insulin reaches the bloodstream & begins lowering blood glucose
• Peak/Nadir - the lowest point in the cycle
• Duration - the length of time insulin continues to lower blood glucose
• How to do a Curve - a simple explanation

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/lantus-levemir-biosimilars.9/

On your spreadsheet where you have
152 8.5. on April 22nd You need to color code that manually. It would be blue

@Despoina Passa

When you say you try to test with needles ,do you mean a human glucose meter ?

Yes, I mean a human glucose meter.