His blood sugar is all spikes - the way I see it! Well, two spikes and a sharp dip.
Hence, "tends to". My main point is, I don't think three full meals a day instead of grazing would make things better.
Ah, I get what you're saying. Damn. Food would be an easy thing to tinker with.
So ... how's the patient doing today?
littlek wrote:I'm sort of journaling here.....
This cat grazes on his food, he doesn't eat meals all at once. I think this may be part of the problem with his regulation. Also, his food is a diet cat food, one that has a lot of fiber in it so that the body takes nutrients slowly, keeps the cat feeling full longer.
Yesterday after noon he was wicked low (see above posts). His levels came back up eventually, and I took away any sugar (syrup on food and dissolved in water). I gave him 1/2 a unit of insulin (has been getting upwards of 2 units every 12 hours).
Yesterday's numbers:
9:00 am _______________ 555 mg/dL
(insulin at 9am, <2 units)
10:20 am ______________ 532
12:40 pm ______________ 437
2:30 pm _______________ 255
4:20 pm _______________ 136
5:30 pm _______________ 91
7:40 pm _______________ 332
It's a extremely high start, with a precipitous drop to a decent low, and a sharp rise to follow. He's eaten most of his serving of food. This is way to wide a range for me to know what to do with. Will do the tracking again tomorrow. If we can get through the next 2.5 weeks, I can do it for more than two (weekend) days in a row to really fine-tune.
Should I consider a different insulin? A different kind of food?
Today's numbers..... Grrr.
8:30 am ______________ 376
(insulin given at 8:40, <2> Should I do 1 unit and hope for the slow take off like what happens every morning? Do I dare give him insulin now?
Uh, what just happened? Will repost numbers here - something happened when I went back to edit and I lost a bunch of info.
Today's numbers:
8:30 am _______________ 376
(8:40 am, < 2 units insulin)
11:30 am ______________ 351
4:20 pm _______________ 141
5:25 pm _______________ 85
6:45 pm _______________ 74
8:00 pm _______________ 64
(gave him a small crumbled piece of bread)
8:25 pm _______________ 72
In this low gluc state he is demanding food of me, wide-eyed and dialated-eye. But, he batted at the mouse-cord and is making eye-contact.
He's due for a shot now, should I do 1 unit and hope for the slow take off like what happens every morning? Do I dare give him insulin now?
I hope I am right about this..... just gave him a single unit of insulin (1/2 a dose). It usually takes quite some time to start acting. Will test his level again at 9:00.
9:00 pm _____71
It looks slightly better than it did yesterday. Not quite as crazy in the morning. A low in the evening that would be too low but not catastrophic in a human, and not the same crazy bounce-back as yesterday. The two of you might just be getting there.
littlek wrote:I hope I am right about this..... just gave him a single unit of insulin (1/2 a dose). It usually takes quite some time to start acting. Will test his level again at 9:00.
9:00 pm _____71
and
10:10 PM ____ 61
Gave him some bread and syrup. Looks like I may be up for a while.
10:50 pm ____ 58
During the week he had diarrhea. On Monday maybe, the glucometer read his blood gluc at less than 20 mg/dL. I did the test twice, gave him a few swipes of syrup and brought him to the vet. They did blood tests which showed mild enzym elevation (pancreatitits) and a slightly elevated kidney function level. She gave him IV fluids and a shot to calm his queasy stomach. We bumped his insulin way down and decided to serve him up some different foods. He is doing well now.
I need to remember to decline blood tests if this happens again and ask the vet to give him fluids and the anti-queasy meds.
What a rollercoaster! Crossing fingers that Screech stays well for a while now.
Looks like I might be in for this roller coaster every 6 months or so. Need to get better about handling it.
Maybe, but don't get too hard on yourself. Judging by this thread, you're already handling your cat's diabetes with greater care than most human diabetics handle theirs. Within the limits of what you can do about diabetes, you're doing well.
***
One more thought that may or may not be helpful: After discovering my diabetes, one of the first things my doctor did was test my urine for protein. The idea was to measure how much the diabetes had damaged my kidney. Kidney damage can cause all kinds of roller-coaster-ish trouble in your metabolism. They can be mitigated to some extent with the right food. In my case, that meant replacing animal protein with plant protein and complex carbohydrates -- not sure how this translates to cat food. Anyway, this urine test for protein may be worth considering for you. It shouldn't cost a fortune, and getting a feel for the overall condition of Screech's kidney may be worth it. Or maybe not. Just thought I'd throw the idea at you.
They did test his urine..... I think that's the kidney value I spoke of... maybe not. Hmm.
Thanks Thomas.
You're welcome. One question for your record: Did he refuse to eat this week? I just read through the thread looking for patterns, and it seems that whenever he has diarrhea, he usually refuses to eat, too. Was it different this time?
Sorry, didn't see you here, Thomas. The eating and the diarrhea do go together. It all has to do with pancreatic flare ups, I think.
No problem. I'm afraid I overlook people all the time. Very bad position to throw the first stone from.
So how are the patients? Can I assume no news about Screech is good news? Is your cold getting better?
I am more and more certain that while the cold is long gone, a sinus infection has settled in. Screech is.... hmmm.... odd. I think he needs to be topped off with some fluids (I'm making an appt to get him in for IV fluids.
Thanks for asking!
What do you feed your cat, lk?
Have you considered a ketogenic diet (high fat, moderate protein and very low carbohydrate percentages) for your cat?
I have a friend who has type I diabetes, and he controls it through a ketogenic diet. He rarely has to shoot up insulin.
High fat?! That would cause his pancreas to revolt. What they suggest for cats with diabetes is low fat, high fiber and high protein. Remember, cats have a different diet than we humans do. But, even so, I though human diabetics were supposed to eat low fat diets.
