New Member, Hitch diagnosed 3 Nov

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Sarah Harris

Sarah Harris

Member Since 2020
Good morning,
My cat Hitch is 15 and he was recently diagnosed with diabetes (3 Nov). We went to the vet for general weakness and weight loss, his BG was 617 at the vet. Vet prescribed 5 units of Novalin twice per day, we have since learned thats too high, and have requested a switch to Prozinc, which he is agreeing to do. We are doing BG testing at home, and I saw a forum that a spreadsheet is helpful, so I will go try to figure that out.
He was on a dry food prescription kidney diet prior to diagnosis, yesterday, we switched him to Weruva canned.
 
Sarah Harris said:
Vet prescribed 5 units of Novalin twice per day
Click to expand...

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

So glad you were able to do some research on your own!!!! :nailbiting:

Sarah Harris said:
He was on a dry food prescription kidney diet prior to diagnosis, yesterday, we switched him to Weruva canned.
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Please do NOT switch the food before you are certain that you are monitoring BG very reliably with your home testing, certainly not if you are giving any Novalin shots at any dose.

Weruva canned is a great choice for him, I think, it's just a matter of doing the transition safely. Switching to low-carb from what he's been eating will likely drop insulin needs dramatically, so if you are giving insulin now (not clear from your post) he needs to be monitored very closely during the transition.

It's also usually a good idea to do the transitions somewhat gradually, starting by mixing old and new foods and changing the proportions day by day. Just because a rapid change can upset the digestion, which may lead to a food aversion on an otherwise perfectly fine food.

Sarah Harris said:
We are doing BG testing at home, and I saw a forum that a spreadsheet is helpful, so I will go try to figure that out.
Click to expand...

Fantastic!!!! To help get you started: FDMB SPREADSHEET INSTRUCTIONS

Welcome to the group! You're off to a running start here after doing a ton of your own research and work, Hitch is in very good hands!
 
Here ya go!:
FDMB SPREADSHEET INSTRUCTIONS

WELCOME TO FDMB Boy I'm glad you figured out that was a massive dose of insulin on a newly DX'd kitty. Unless Hitch was developing ketones . It literally "could" have killed him. Also glad you are switching to a better insulin for cats.

We are dedicated to helping anyone who finds these pages. Theres a ton of information here with good people to help you navigate it all.
WELCOME TO OUR FAMILY:bighug:

You have landed in a safe place for Hitch and we look forward to getting to know you both.
This IS the bast darn site on this planet to learn everything you need to know about feline diabetes.

jeanne
 
Also: I don't know what dose of Prozinc your vet is recommending, but I'd highly encourage looking at our dosing methods sticky, PROZINC DOSING METHODS before embarking on that insulin. 5U of Novalin is an extremely worrying initial run at the problem (not necessarily your vet's fault; they don't tend to get a lot of training in diabetes, and then most of the experience in their practice might be diabetic dogs.)
 
While you're at it you might as well develop your signature. Your signature will appear at the bottom of every one of your posts. It will give all your helpers the critical information about Hitch. This way you wont have to be answering the same question over and over.
Questions like, "What insulin are you using? What food do you feed Hitch?...ETC

  • under Settings, Click on Signature. This is where you will put information that helps us give you feedback.
    • There is a limit of two lines which may include two links; you may separate pieces with commas, dashes, | etc. This is where you paste the link for your spreadsheet, once it is set up.
    • Add any other text, such as
    • Caregiver & kitty's name (optional)
    • DX: Date
    • Name of Insulin
    • Name of your meter
    • Diet: "LC wet" or "dry food" or "combo"
    • Dosing: TR or SLGS or Custom (if applicable)
    • DKA or other recent health issue (if applicable)
    • Acro, IAA, or Cushings (if applicable)
    • Spreadsheet link. Please put the signature link on the bottom line of your signature information, on its own, so it is easy to find.
    • Please do not put any information about your location in the signature for security reasons. If you wish to add your country location, please add it to your profile.
Be sure to click the 'Save Changes' button at the bottom. If you need help urgently it is important we know these things at a glance. We don’t want to waste valuable time finding out information.

I admit its a LOT but trust me it will only SERVE you in the future!
j.
 
jt and trouble (GA) said:
While you're at it you might as well develop your signature. Your signature will appear at the bottom of every one of your posts. It will give all your helpers the critical information about Hitch. This way you wont have to be answering the same question over and over.
Questions like, "What insulin are you using? What food do you feed Hitch?...ETC

  • under Settings, Click on Signature. This is where you will put information that helps us give you feedback.
    • There is a limit of two lines which may include two links; you may separate pieces with commas, dashes, | etc. This is where you paste the link for your spreadsheet, once it is set up.
    • Add any other text, such as
    • Caregiver & kitty's name (optional)
    • DX: Date
    • Name of Insulin
    • Name of your meter
    • Diet: "LC wet" or "dry food" or "combo"
    • Dosing: TR or SLGS or Custom (if applicable)
    • DKA or other recent health issue (if applicable)
    • Acro, IAA, or Cushings (if applicable)
    • Spreadsheet link. Please put the signature link on the bottom line of your signature information, on its own, so it is easy to find.
    • Please do not put any information about your location in the signature for security reasons. If you wish to add your country location, please add it to your profile.
Be sure to click the 'Save Changes' button at the bottom. If you need help urgently it is important we know these things at a glance. We don’t want to waste valuable time finding out information.

I admit its a LOT but trust me it will only SERVE you in the future!
j.
Click to expand...
it keeps telling me there is a format error when I try to put my link in the signature. Idk what I am doing wrong
 
jt and trouble (GA) said:
Here ya go!:
FDMB SPREADSHEET INSTRUCTIONS

WELCOME TO FDMB Boy I'm glad you figured out that was a massive dose of insulin on a newly DX'd kitty. Unless Hitch was developing ketones . It literally "could" have killed him. Also glad you are switching to a better insulin for cats.

We are dedicated to helping anyone who finds these pages. Theres a ton of information here with good people to help you navigate it all.
WELCOME TO OUR FAMILY:bighug:

You have landed in a safe place for Hitch and we look forward to getting to know you both.
This IS the bast darn site on this planet to learn everything you need to know about feline diabetes.

jeanne
Click to expand...

I joined the Feline Diabetes FB group first, they sent me here. But we didn't know about testing, and had already given 3 doses of the 5 units before we figured out we needed a test. He almost hypo'd from what I am understanding from the more experienced members in the FB group. Took his readings every hour for a while there, and then we decided on some wet food with some gravy. His readings were high last night, and still show high today, but I am hoping with the food change, it will bring that down. Only pushing 1 unit twice a day now, IF he is over 200.
 
while the spreadsheet is doing its thing
617-vets office, 5 units - 3 nov
5 units am and then 5 units pm 4 nov. started testing 4hrs after pm dose, ranges were between 169 and 109, gave high carb at the 109
5 nov am- 164, no insulin given, 2hrs later 150, 6 hours 258, pm 465, 1 unit. tested 4hrs later 408
6 nov am 459 pushed 1 unit, tested 2 hrs later 355
 
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