Diabetes Question

[Morpheus1967]

My nearly 15 year old cat was diagnosed with diabetes in June of 2022. He has been on insulin since, starting with one unit, then increasing to two units, before finally settling in at 2-1/2 units, where he has been for about the last 9 months.

Last Friday, he went in for his bi-annual glucose screening. He was also having a gastro-intestinal panel done, in which he needed to fast, (because of vomiting issues) so it worked out well, as he can't eat when he is getting his screening.

I get a call about half way through his screening. They needed to feed him because his glucose levels dropped below 80 (this was about 7 hours after his injection). The highest he registered the 8 hours he was there was 144 and that was at 4:30pm when I was picking him up. (For comparison, when he was diagnosed, his levels were immeasurable, as the test they used only measured to 500, and he topped that out.)

So my question. For those who have had a diabetic cat go into remission, does it sound like this could be what is happening? The vet didn't want to call it for sure yet, but she did decrease his insulin down to 1.5 units, and he goes back for another screening in 2 months (usually every 6 months due to his age.)

Also, could too much insulin be causing his vomiting issues? he will go a week and be just fine, then vomit for a day pretty much non stop. Then he's fine again for 10 days, then is sick again.

Thanks for any insight!

 

[fionasmom]

I have had two diabetic cats, and neither went into remission. That is certainly not to say that your cat might not have reached that point.

As for the vomiting, I have heard to opposing theories. One is that it does not happen as any side effect to insulin, and the other is that it can, if insulin is administered under certain conditions, such as an empty stomach.

Feline Diabetes —Diabetes in Cats — Treatment and Diabetic Cat Info — FDMB

Original online guide for treatment of diabetes in cats. Cat diabetes discussion board, diet information, and diabetic cat treatment info.

felinediabetes.com

Feline Diabetes Message Boards

This is probably the most helpful site for diabetes, specific questions in a cat. I don’t know if you have joined, but many of us have when we’ve had diabetic cats.

 

[Morpheus1967]

Just wanted to follow up on this. He has been prescribed B12 injections and Cerenia for the vomiting. So far so good. After 3 days on the Cerenia the vomiting has completely stopped and hopefully the B12 shots will prevent it in the future (diagnosed with IBS).

 

[silent meowlook]

Hi. I have seen many cats go into remission. That could be happening with your cat. You definitely need to get set up by your vet to test at home if you aren’t already doing so.