Brianna & Xander
Very Active Member
Hi everyone,
My 11 year old boy Xander was diagnosed about a month ago, on December 11th. His drinking and urinating had increased to a shocking degree incredibly suddenly. I had never really given him any crunch treats before a couple of months ago, but had gotten a free bag of Friskies Party Mix and was giving him a few daily (half or less than the bag "recommended"). At first I thought maybe they'd just made him really thirsty, so I immediately stopped the treats but drinking/urinating stayed crazily high, so at that point I obviously got him to the vet. I would imagine this was going on long beforehand and that the treats just tipped the scale, and I'm sure that makes me look like an idiot.
I apologize for how lengthy this will probably end up being but as is often the case for me I feel like there are extra circumstances that make my situation weird/difficult.
For some background, I'm Brianna. I'm 33 and have had Xander since late 2013. He was probably about 4 months old when I adopted him and he had been feral. He's such a sweet boy, but has always been very sensitive and nervous. In many ways personality-wise he's almost literally just me as a cat. He loves my partner, but I'm definitely his chosen person. I'm disabled so I'm usually home, and we basically spend every second together. If I'm at my desk he's probably laying on it or in his designated chair next to me. If I get up to go to the bathroom or get a drink, he follows. Even so, 11 years down the line I've never been able to "hold" him. Don't get me wrong; he loves to be held, but only if he doesn't think that's what's happening.That usually means laying on my desk in front of me with my arms around him with his face all snuggled up into my chest. (Picture examples: One, two, three) lol Even with me, he gets very nervous if he thinks he's going to be trapped/held somewhere.
He's eaten Science Diet Sensitive Stomach & Skin basically his whole life. After diagnosis, our vet said she didn't want to change his diet and start insulin at the same time, so we were instructed to keep him on that food for now. She also didn't recommend we do any at-home BG testing because of the difference between pet and human trackers, etc. She prescribed 2 units of ProZinc every 12 hours.
When we went back to the vet 6 days after the first visit, to get a demo on how to do injections, he had lost about a pound just in that time (about 12.25 lb down to 11.25) and his BG was 480.
The first day we were supposed to start injections was the night of December 23rd. I had been reading everything I could (especially the resources here) since diagnosis so I knew the dangers of going too low and was very uncomfortable giving any insulin without knowing if it was safe... and then he also wouldn't eat. He's always been a grazer, but we'd also taken the food away several hours beforehand to make sure he'd eat before the injection. The vet had given us her number to text her over the holiday if we needed her so finally, mid-panic attack, we did. She suggested that we give him a little bit of wet food to entice him, let him continue to graze on the dry food and to just give 1 unit to be safe. We didn't have any wet food, so we skipped that dose and picked some up on Christmas Eve.
So now to ensure he eats something, I give him half of a 3oz can of Fancy Feast Classic Pate before each injection, alongside his dry food (which I let him graze on, but I do measure it out). The next problem was that he's terrified and untrusting of the simplest things, so even going to tent the skin he'd freak out and run. The first several I had to have my partner hold him down for which only made him more afraid. Calling his name or even putting food out for him, he wouldn't come. He's smart and picks up on routine so fast.
He had really liked the Churu treat from the vet, so I started trying to distract him with those while I did it, putting it on a plate for him to lick off. That worked great for a couple of days, he didn't even seem to notice the needle! And then he started jumping away the instant I went for his skin again.
This getting better/getting worse cycle repeated for a while. Having the vet shave some spots on his hips (he can't stand me going for his scruff area, I can only do the flank) helped a lot to be able to see. It's finally going a little better but I have to be so quick about it that I don't have time to do any of the "pull back to see blood" etc, I just have to get it in and inject before he runs. He does flinch and pull away but as soon as the needle is out he goes back to his treat. Afterward he gets unlimited loves and praises until he decides he's done. Even though it's going better now it's so stressful every time and even my hands shake for a good hour afterward. Seems to be more traumatic for me than for him!
A week and a half ago he started to seem particularly lethargic, not interested in food, vomiting some of the time. I was worried about DKA or any number of things, so the vet took him in for the day to give him fluids and keep an eye on him. When he'd been diagnosed his liver "showed signs of inflammation" but she thought it was likely secondary to the diabetes, and after this visit she confirmed that his liver numbers had returned to normal even after a short time on insulin, and that his tests showed that pancreatitis was unlikely. Essentially she said that everything was looking okay but if we wanted to keep investigating we could do an abdominal ultrasound. He seemed to just start to feel better shortly after this so we didn't end up doing that.
A week ago we got a FreeStyle Libre 2 placed. I didn't think there was a chance in hell he'd let it stay on for more than an hour, but especially since he's so hard to even give injections to, I don't feel like we'd have much luck pricking him twice a day and I can't really risk making it impossible to even do the injections because he's learned not to come to me anymore.
As you can probably see from his spreadsheet, his reactions to the insulin are ridiculously inconsistent. At first he'd drop (comparatively) super low, then climb right back up really quickly. I showed this to the vet way earlier than the 72 hours she requested for the curve, asking if maybe it was bouncing or rebound (or whatever) and she said that this wasn't the case because the drop wasn't happening within an hour of injection, and that this just looked like it was a short action insulin for him. She said she'd also talk to a specialist and see what they thought, and that he might just need a different insulin. Since then he's alternated between literally no discernible reaction in BG numbers to one night dropping as low as 98. Nothing between any of these doses has changed in regards to food, treats, dosage, etc. It's like if he reacts to one dose, his body ignores the next one or two. I have no idea what to make of it.
I sent the vet the full 72 hours' worth on Friday afternoon so naturally we haven't heard anything back yet but I'm just so tired of wondering so I was hoping you experienced, wonderful people might have some thoughts.
I know that everyone here says that home testing is vital. I also know that my cat is so sensitive and nervous that capturing him to prick his ear will be insanely difficult and possibly make it impossible to give injections anymore. (On that note, even the vet tech had difficulty getting his ear to bleed.) The Libre just died today (day 7) and is starting to fall off a little. It often had errors and was annoying, but it still seemed at least more doable than manual. I feel like bringing him to the vet to get it placed is more stressful for him than having it on is, but I'm also absolutely not comfortable trying to place it myself. The vet finally answered my question of which pet monitor she'd recommend if I had to use one and she said Alpha Trak, but from what I understand those are crazily more expensive over time than the human ones and also often have errors, which will obviously also add to the cost.
I guess my questions are:
• What on earth do you think is going on with his reactions to injections? Why does he sometimes react so strongly and other times literally not at all? I know a lot of people immediately switch to low-carb wet food but our vet didn't want us to do that. Could that be the whole problem as opposed to needing a different insulin?
• What should we do about testing? I wish the Libre lasted longer because it'd be a no-brainer. I'd also at least like to have the option to test him manually if I need to, but I just don't know what to do. I know that human meters are much cheaper than pet ones, but which one would you recommend as least jarring/possibly painful for a very scared, sensitive cat? Needs less blood, maybe?
• The sensor itself on the Libre has come mostly detached from the adhesive pad, but the pad is still stuck. I'm not sure if I should leave it and let it fall the rest of the way off (the edges are lifted) or ask the vet to take it off. I'm afraid to hurt him (or make him afraid of me).
I'm so stressed nonstop that I feel like I'm going to crack open. I'm crying every day and it's all I think about. I'm chronically ill and it's hard enough to take care of myself, but now I'm taking care of my chronically ill best friend too and there's just nothing left of me for anything else. He is absolutely worth it and I'll do everything I can to make my best buddy healthy and happy again, but I'm just as afraid and sensitive a beast as he is and I feel all alone in this. In one way it's amazing that my vet is willing to text me after hours if I have questions, but in another way I feel thrown out without a life vest and keep feeling like what I'm told is at odds with what I read here, so I'm just... terrified. All the time.
One of the things that has been so hard with this is that he's not a typical cat. Maybe it's because he was feral, but he is so sensitive and suspicious that 99% of the suggestions I've found through all this nonstop reading haven't been things that work for him, aside from distraction with the Churu. I guess I'm hoping to find some people who might not only have experience with FD but with a really specific temperament of kitty too.
Thank you so much if you took the time to read this far. I can't express how much I appreciate it. My entire life for the past month has literally been nothing but researching this and taking care of him, but I'm sorry if any of this sounds stupid/uninformed. I've been writing this for so long that now I'm about to go to bed but I'll be here first thing in the morning and will answer any and all questions you might have.
I wanted to add a few images but don't want them to make the post massive since I can't resize them, so here are some links lol
This is what our version of "being held" is: One, two, three
And here are just a couple cute ones: One, two
Edit 1 (1/14 1:27 PM): The vet just emailed me about his curve and said that she spoke with an internist who agreed that the ProZinc is working but has too short a duration for him and that he needs to switch. She's prescribing 2 units of glargine now instead, said that there's no need for a washout; to just switch at the next dose. I also asked her if it would be wise to start the full switch to low carb wet food but haven't gotten a response yet.
Edit 2 (1/14 10:14 PM): Every step forward comes with two steps back, it seems. Tonight he turned around and bit me with the injection. Not hard, no blood drawn, it didn't even hurt. But I know just from knowing him that this will continue. I'm utterly defeated and am stressed to the point of it manifesting physically. In no way do I plan to stop treatment, but I'm struggling with just trying to exist in any capacity aside from this and I'm trying so hard but this just isn't working as is.
My partner and I decided that we'd like to pause insulin (stop ProZinc but not start Lantus yet) just long enough to switch his diet over entirely to the low carb wet food. It shouldn't be a problem because he loves it! But I know it's harder and dangerous to do while also on insulin so we thought it would make sense to do that before starting the new one instead. We plan to get another Libre placed so we can watch his trend with the food change. If we're ridiculously lucky maybe it will be enough to make a difference, and if not at least there will be less to fight against when starting insulin again. I did email my vet tonight to ask if there's anything we should know first, like how long after his last injection it's safe to start this, and if there's any specific way to go about it, but I'd also like to hear what you all think. Since his action time for the ProZinc was so short (hence switching to Lantus), it doesn't seem like it should take long before it was safe. Maybe a day? Two? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
My 11 year old boy Xander was diagnosed about a month ago, on December 11th. His drinking and urinating had increased to a shocking degree incredibly suddenly. I had never really given him any crunch treats before a couple of months ago, but had gotten a free bag of Friskies Party Mix and was giving him a few daily (half or less than the bag "recommended"). At first I thought maybe they'd just made him really thirsty, so I immediately stopped the treats but drinking/urinating stayed crazily high, so at that point I obviously got him to the vet. I would imagine this was going on long beforehand and that the treats just tipped the scale, and I'm sure that makes me look like an idiot.
I apologize for how lengthy this will probably end up being but as is often the case for me I feel like there are extra circumstances that make my situation weird/difficult.
For some background, I'm Brianna. I'm 33 and have had Xander since late 2013. He was probably about 4 months old when I adopted him and he had been feral. He's such a sweet boy, but has always been very sensitive and nervous. In many ways personality-wise he's almost literally just me as a cat. He loves my partner, but I'm definitely his chosen person. I'm disabled so I'm usually home, and we basically spend every second together. If I'm at my desk he's probably laying on it or in his designated chair next to me. If I get up to go to the bathroom or get a drink, he follows. Even so, 11 years down the line I've never been able to "hold" him. Don't get me wrong; he loves to be held, but only if he doesn't think that's what's happening.That usually means laying on my desk in front of me with my arms around him with his face all snuggled up into my chest. (Picture examples: One, two, three) lol Even with me, he gets very nervous if he thinks he's going to be trapped/held somewhere.
He's eaten Science Diet Sensitive Stomach & Skin basically his whole life. After diagnosis, our vet said she didn't want to change his diet and start insulin at the same time, so we were instructed to keep him on that food for now. She also didn't recommend we do any at-home BG testing because of the difference between pet and human trackers, etc. She prescribed 2 units of ProZinc every 12 hours.
When we went back to the vet 6 days after the first visit, to get a demo on how to do injections, he had lost about a pound just in that time (about 12.25 lb down to 11.25) and his BG was 480.
The first day we were supposed to start injections was the night of December 23rd. I had been reading everything I could (especially the resources here) since diagnosis so I knew the dangers of going too low and was very uncomfortable giving any insulin without knowing if it was safe... and then he also wouldn't eat. He's always been a grazer, but we'd also taken the food away several hours beforehand to make sure he'd eat before the injection. The vet had given us her number to text her over the holiday if we needed her so finally, mid-panic attack, we did. She suggested that we give him a little bit of wet food to entice him, let him continue to graze on the dry food and to just give 1 unit to be safe. We didn't have any wet food, so we skipped that dose and picked some up on Christmas Eve.So now to ensure he eats something, I give him half of a 3oz can of Fancy Feast Classic Pate before each injection, alongside his dry food (which I let him graze on, but I do measure it out). The next problem was that he's terrified and untrusting of the simplest things, so even going to tent the skin he'd freak out and run. The first several I had to have my partner hold him down for which only made him more afraid. Calling his name or even putting food out for him, he wouldn't come. He's smart and picks up on routine so fast.
He had really liked the Churu treat from the vet, so I started trying to distract him with those while I did it, putting it on a plate for him to lick off. That worked great for a couple of days, he didn't even seem to notice the needle! And then he started jumping away the instant I went for his skin again.
This getting better/getting worse cycle repeated for a while. Having the vet shave some spots on his hips (he can't stand me going for his scruff area, I can only do the flank) helped a lot to be able to see. It's finally going a little better but I have to be so quick about it that I don't have time to do any of the "pull back to see blood" etc, I just have to get it in and inject before he runs. He does flinch and pull away but as soon as the needle is out he goes back to his treat. Afterward he gets unlimited loves and praises until he decides he's done. Even though it's going better now it's so stressful every time and even my hands shake for a good hour afterward. Seems to be more traumatic for me than for him!
A week and a half ago he started to seem particularly lethargic, not interested in food, vomiting some of the time. I was worried about DKA or any number of things, so the vet took him in for the day to give him fluids and keep an eye on him. When he'd been diagnosed his liver "showed signs of inflammation" but she thought it was likely secondary to the diabetes, and after this visit she confirmed that his liver numbers had returned to normal even after a short time on insulin, and that his tests showed that pancreatitis was unlikely. Essentially she said that everything was looking okay but if we wanted to keep investigating we could do an abdominal ultrasound. He seemed to just start to feel better shortly after this so we didn't end up doing that.
A week ago we got a FreeStyle Libre 2 placed. I didn't think there was a chance in hell he'd let it stay on for more than an hour, but especially since he's so hard to even give injections to, I don't feel like we'd have much luck pricking him twice a day and I can't really risk making it impossible to even do the injections because he's learned not to come to me anymore.
As you can probably see from his spreadsheet, his reactions to the insulin are ridiculously inconsistent. At first he'd drop (comparatively) super low, then climb right back up really quickly. I showed this to the vet way earlier than the 72 hours she requested for the curve, asking if maybe it was bouncing or rebound (or whatever) and she said that this wasn't the case because the drop wasn't happening within an hour of injection, and that this just looked like it was a short action insulin for him. She said she'd also talk to a specialist and see what they thought, and that he might just need a different insulin. Since then he's alternated between literally no discernible reaction in BG numbers to one night dropping as low as 98. Nothing between any of these doses has changed in regards to food, treats, dosage, etc. It's like if he reacts to one dose, his body ignores the next one or two. I have no idea what to make of it.
I sent the vet the full 72 hours' worth on Friday afternoon so naturally we haven't heard anything back yet but I'm just so tired of wondering so I was hoping you experienced, wonderful people might have some thoughts.
I know that everyone here says that home testing is vital. I also know that my cat is so sensitive and nervous that capturing him to prick his ear will be insanely difficult and possibly make it impossible to give injections anymore. (On that note, even the vet tech had difficulty getting his ear to bleed.) The Libre just died today (day 7) and is starting to fall off a little. It often had errors and was annoying, but it still seemed at least more doable than manual. I feel like bringing him to the vet to get it placed is more stressful for him than having it on is, but I'm also absolutely not comfortable trying to place it myself. The vet finally answered my question of which pet monitor she'd recommend if I had to use one and she said Alpha Trak, but from what I understand those are crazily more expensive over time than the human ones and also often have errors, which will obviously also add to the cost.
I guess my questions are:
• What on earth do you think is going on with his reactions to injections? Why does he sometimes react so strongly and other times literally not at all? I know a lot of people immediately switch to low-carb wet food but our vet didn't want us to do that. Could that be the whole problem as opposed to needing a different insulin?
• What should we do about testing? I wish the Libre lasted longer because it'd be a no-brainer. I'd also at least like to have the option to test him manually if I need to, but I just don't know what to do. I know that human meters are much cheaper than pet ones, but which one would you recommend as least jarring/possibly painful for a very scared, sensitive cat? Needs less blood, maybe?
• The sensor itself on the Libre has come mostly detached from the adhesive pad, but the pad is still stuck. I'm not sure if I should leave it and let it fall the rest of the way off (the edges are lifted) or ask the vet to take it off. I'm afraid to hurt him (or make him afraid of me).
I'm so stressed nonstop that I feel like I'm going to crack open. I'm crying every day and it's all I think about. I'm chronically ill and it's hard enough to take care of myself, but now I'm taking care of my chronically ill best friend too and there's just nothing left of me for anything else. He is absolutely worth it and I'll do everything I can to make my best buddy healthy and happy again, but I'm just as afraid and sensitive a beast as he is and I feel all alone in this. In one way it's amazing that my vet is willing to text me after hours if I have questions, but in another way I feel thrown out without a life vest and keep feeling like what I'm told is at odds with what I read here, so I'm just... terrified. All the time.
One of the things that has been so hard with this is that he's not a typical cat. Maybe it's because he was feral, but he is so sensitive and suspicious that 99% of the suggestions I've found through all this nonstop reading haven't been things that work for him, aside from distraction with the Churu. I guess I'm hoping to find some people who might not only have experience with FD but with a really specific temperament of kitty too.
Thank you so much if you took the time to read this far. I can't express how much I appreciate it. My entire life for the past month has literally been nothing but researching this and taking care of him, but I'm sorry if any of this sounds stupid/uninformed. I've been writing this for so long that now I'm about to go to bed but I'll be here first thing in the morning and will answer any and all questions you might have.
I wanted to add a few images but don't want them to make the post massive since I can't resize them, so here are some links lol
This is what our version of "being held" is: One, two, three
And here are just a couple cute ones: One, two
Edit 1 (1/14 1:27 PM): The vet just emailed me about his curve and said that she spoke with an internist who agreed that the ProZinc is working but has too short a duration for him and that he needs to switch. She's prescribing 2 units of glargine now instead, said that there's no need for a washout; to just switch at the next dose. I also asked her if it would be wise to start the full switch to low carb wet food but haven't gotten a response yet.
Edit 2 (1/14 10:14 PM): Every step forward comes with two steps back, it seems. Tonight he turned around and bit me with the injection. Not hard, no blood drawn, it didn't even hurt. But I know just from knowing him that this will continue. I'm utterly defeated and am stressed to the point of it manifesting physically. In no way do I plan to stop treatment, but I'm struggling with just trying to exist in any capacity aside from this and I'm trying so hard but this just isn't working as is.
My partner and I decided that we'd like to pause insulin (stop ProZinc but not start Lantus yet) just long enough to switch his diet over entirely to the low carb wet food. It shouldn't be a problem because he loves it! But I know it's harder and dangerous to do while also on insulin so we thought it would make sense to do that before starting the new one instead. We plan to get another Libre placed so we can watch his trend with the food change. If we're ridiculously lucky maybe it will be enough to make a difference, and if not at least there will be less to fight against when starting insulin again. I did email my vet tonight to ask if there's anything we should know first, like how long after his last injection it's safe to start this, and if there's any specific way to go about it, but I'd also like to hear what you all think. Since his action time for the ProZinc was so short (hence switching to Lantus), it doesn't seem like it should take long before it was safe. Maybe a day? Two? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
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She doesn't believe in getting rewards afterwards. I respect that and so we manage. Since she had an allergic reaction to the skin protection barrier I used to apply the libre, I didn't apply her libre anymore to give her skin a break. To my surprise she cooperates well with the pokes, if I don't do it too much. 
Before you realize it Xanders BG numbers will start to go down the same day you remove all the carbs, but you need to test often when you decide to do so, to be on the safe site, he's BG might lower but as high as he has it you have time to take control and we are here for you!!