Hi Everyone,
I used to be an active member here a few years back.... then life got crazy. Luckily cats were good for a looooong time. But now my poor boy cello has been diagnosed with diabetes and I have this complication to add to my life. I have decided to treat him and am hoping to attempt tight regulation (for those of you who are dealing with diabetes).
I am signed up on Feline Diabetes forum as well as the tight regulation forum.
This is my current situation and plan and I'm looking for any feedback with people with experience in this, since my vet isn't overly willing to work with me re: home testing and tight regulation.
My cat Cello (13 yo siamese, neutered male) was diagnosed with FD about a month ago. I was unable to treat him at the time because I was leaving for a month. His only symptom was excessive drinking and urination and urinating outside the litter box. His BG was 28, and the vet told me she didn't think I had the lifestyle to treat him because I am often gone for >12 hours of the day and travel a lot and that he would probably be fine for a while and then get sick and I'd have to make a choice, she did say diet could help and gave me purina DM to give him. I switched his food while I was away (he was getting dry food then as well) and he still peed a lot but stopped urinating outside of the box. I did a lot of reading when I got home and that brought me here. I immediately switched him to what now is a mix of only Fancy Feast and the DM (my other cat is now 100% off of dry as well). In the past 72 hours of doing this he is drinking and urinating *almost* normally and his BG dropped to 20. I took him to the vet to learn how to get the shot, talk about home testing and TR and try to get the right insulin. This did not go well. The vets around here don't endorse home testing and she would only give me caninsulin, IF (or from my reading more like... when) this doesn't work they will offer me Lantus. I have some acquaintances who are vets and I'm currently trying to get my hands on PZI insulin. The vet reccomended that I give him 1 U a day for a week then bring him in for a curve. This seems pointless.
I am picking up a glucometer on Sunday and am going to try to start TR myself.
So this is my plan.
Saturday all the local vets are open, so I was thinking of giving him 1 U in the morning and observing him throughout the day, just to make sure he doesn't have a reaction, and if he does at least the vets will be open. (sunday-monday are holidays here this week, which means monday is a perfect day for me to do a curve). Sunday I get the glucometer so I'll figure out how that works (I've watched the videos...think I can do it). Then monday morning, do a reading, give 1 U and do a curve every 2 hours to see how he responds and go from there.
Now notably my life is really busy, I do work a LOT of long hour days and I know this is going to be a bit of a problem, but I'll do the best I can with TR evenings (will get up in the middle of the night) and weekends. Any day I can come home in the afternoon I will as well. I have also found a local lady who was a nurse who has offered to give shots when I absolutely can't get home for a small fee, and hopefully when I'm away (I travel for work a lot as well).
So that's my start of plan. Anyone see anything I can/should be doing differently?!
I used to be an active member here a few years back.... then life got crazy. Luckily cats were good for a looooong time. But now my poor boy cello has been diagnosed with diabetes and I have this complication to add to my life. I have decided to treat him and am hoping to attempt tight regulation (for those of you who are dealing with diabetes).
I am signed up on Feline Diabetes forum as well as the tight regulation forum.
This is my current situation and plan and I'm looking for any feedback with people with experience in this, since my vet isn't overly willing to work with me re: home testing and tight regulation.
My cat Cello (13 yo siamese, neutered male) was diagnosed with FD about a month ago. I was unable to treat him at the time because I was leaving for a month. His only symptom was excessive drinking and urination and urinating outside the litter box. His BG was 28, and the vet told me she didn't think I had the lifestyle to treat him because I am often gone for >12 hours of the day and travel a lot and that he would probably be fine for a while and then get sick and I'd have to make a choice, she did say diet could help and gave me purina DM to give him. I switched his food while I was away (he was getting dry food then as well) and he still peed a lot but stopped urinating outside of the box. I did a lot of reading when I got home and that brought me here. I immediately switched him to what now is a mix of only Fancy Feast and the DM (my other cat is now 100% off of dry as well). In the past 72 hours of doing this he is drinking and urinating *almost* normally and his BG dropped to 20. I took him to the vet to learn how to get the shot, talk about home testing and TR and try to get the right insulin. This did not go well. The vets around here don't endorse home testing and she would only give me caninsulin, IF (or from my reading more like... when) this doesn't work they will offer me Lantus. I have some acquaintances who are vets and I'm currently trying to get my hands on PZI insulin. The vet reccomended that I give him 1 U a day for a week then bring him in for a curve. This seems pointless.
I am picking up a glucometer on Sunday and am going to try to start TR myself.
So this is my plan.
Saturday all the local vets are open, so I was thinking of giving him 1 U in the morning and observing him throughout the day, just to make sure he doesn't have a reaction, and if he does at least the vets will be open. (sunday-monday are holidays here this week, which means monday is a perfect day for me to do a curve). Sunday I get the glucometer so I'll figure out how that works (I've watched the videos...think I can do it). Then monday morning, do a reading, give 1 U and do a curve every 2 hours to see how he responds and go from there.
Now notably my life is really busy, I do work a LOT of long hour days and I know this is going to be a bit of a problem, but I'll do the best I can with TR evenings (will get up in the middle of the night) and weekends. Any day I can come home in the afternoon I will as well. I have also found a local lady who was a nurse who has offered to give shots when I absolutely can't get home for a small fee, and hopefully when I'm away (I travel for work a lot as well).
So that's my start of plan. Anyone see anything I can/should be doing differently?!