Calloway's glucose STILL high at 469 on Feb 13th :(

[jennielynn1970]

That's the insulin my friends in Knoxville used. It was WAY more expensive than what my vet prescribed. They had trouble getting their kitty regulated with it, but I know many vets prefer it. How often does Calloway go in to be tested? Morgan went every 2 weeks.

He goes in every two to three weeks. Every time he's been over 400!

I got home yesterday after work, and boy did he yell at me!!! I had only left out what was left of his morning serving to last through the rest of the day, which really wasn't more than 2 Tbsp. full. I left at 5:45am, got home at 4:45pm, and had one HUNGRY and unhappy camper, lol! He gave me the most annoyed sounding meow I've ever heard, and he looked totally ticked off. Ears to the side, little eye brows furrowed. He was really too cute, lol.

I'm hoping that maybe since I'm back to work, and he'll not be getting crunchies from me during the day (I thought he could have extra) maybe he'll be able to be regulated better??

I'll cut back on the Tempations, but I won't take them out all together. He's such a troooper with getting the shots and all, he really deserves SOME treats. Maybe that's just me projecting onto the cat how I'd feel, I dunno. I said Calloway and I are just meant to be, because we are both just very food oriented, lol.

[smokey the elder]

Every cat is different. PZI works for Moby; maybe it doesn't work for Calloway, or maybe not enough time has passed.

[funny felines]

ask the vet which is it? maybe tell them they keep telling you different things. probably they want the kitty to stay at a certain weight, not too thin but not overweight either, and I know that isn't easy. good luck . sending prayers for you kitty!!

[bowlkat]

FYI, the insulin our #1 diabetic cat used, and the one we SWITCHED our #2 diabetic cat TO, AFTER the inflammatory response that blinded him, is PZI. THAT is the GOOD one.......And YES, it is frightfully expensive, roughly 3-1/2 times the price of the bilge that blinded our guy...... and YES, the PZI, good as it is and expensive as it is, has also been DISCONTINUED-- we are working on existing stocks of manufactured PZI which expire in 2010, and praying that the company succeeds in getting FDA approval of their 'replacement' feline insulin BEFORE all existing PZI insulin expires. They've filed the NDA, now it's in FDA's hands. Meantime, we have a stable, happy, active, BLIND cat, whose diabetes is well-regulated and who's making the best of things.... it just took time.
So you all know: NO ONE we've dealt with in his situation has EVER seen this blindness reaction before--and we've dealt with a LOT of vets, generalist and specialist, in this guy's case-- so, it's NOT something anyone else should have to worry about or live in fear of. But getting your guy's diabetes regulated and stable is enough of a headache by itself.
Keep up the good work-- if he's bellowing for food and eating well, you're probably not TOO far from where you need to be-- next visit, double-check with the vet's and make sure your injection technique is OK, and injection-site0 location selection, and all that-- just keep taking any variables you can think of OUT of the picture, keep narrowing it down until his metabolism decides to be happy and regulated.....once it all falls into place, it's a wonderful thing. Even mostly to entirely blind, our guy is a VERY happy, healthy, good-living fellow now-- affectionate, playful, everything like it should be-- and since no one bothered to inform HIM that he's 'handicapped', the blindness doesn't seem to phase him much, he's adjusted, we just don't rearrange furniture much, is all (I'm not sorry for that excuse!). He's a happy guy and living a VERY good life, and telling us about it all the time-- which is the whole idea, right? HAPPY CAT, that's what we were after and that's what we've got!

Stay patient, stay informed, keep watching him, keep loving him-- and GOOD LUCK-- you'll get there- and both of you will love it when you arrive-

[Moesha]

How is Calloway doing?

[jennielynn1970]

He's being a grump and s*it about getting his injections now. He squirms, he cries, he basically makes me feel like crap about having to give him the injection. I switch shoulders so that it's not always the same one, and he gets treats while getting his meds, but it's not working like it was before.

I'm not sure where to go with it from here. I can't handle struggling with him every day. Mentally.. it's just draining on me. I know he needs it, but geez... I wish he'd make it easier.

We have a vet visit on Friday afternoon, so we'll have to see how bad his levels are again.


I'm wondering if there is a pill that I can give him (Jen L. mentioned one), but I don't know how well it regulates diabetes. I want him to be well. Not sickly and on death's door. He worries me all the time. He still drinks a ton of water. He still peees lakes in the litter box. His food is SOOOO controlled now... it shouldn't be like this.

UGH.


eta: my depression just makes this all the harder for me to do and so deal with, so if I seem to sound really down, that is one of the reasons.

[Medusa]

Oh Jenn, I'm sorry. Hopefully the vet will be able to ease your mind a bit. In the meantime, we'll send up some prayers that Calloway will be more cooperative. Keep the faythe.

[jennielynn1970]

Was back to the vet today to do a glucose check. Ugh. STILL high. 469. This is with strict food consumption and only minimal treats. We're going from 5 to 6 units of insulin twice a day. His weight stayed about the same (16lbs 15oz), so that is a good thing. Don't want him to be losing or gaining anything major.

Now just to get this glucose dealt with. The vet wants to see him more frequently and try to be a little more aggressive (once a week).

She did say I can give him baby food as a treat as well, so I can always try that the next time I go shopping this weekend.


I talked to a colleague at school who is diabetic, and he wears an insulin pump (I'm guessing his is pretty serious for him to have that at such a young age.. maybe 30). He said his glucose, at the worst, hit 1000 and he lost his vision for 2 weeks because of the drastic measures they took. They got his glucose down within one hour, but the dosage was so high it put his body into shock and his vision went. How scary is that?!! He said his glucose was up and down a lot. One day a piece of pizza was fine for him to eat, the next day it made his glucose go through the roof. It was like no rhyme or reason. He was surprised that a cat could be diabetic, but he was very sympathetic about it.


Send up some prayers please that we can get his glucose down.

[nepeta]

Has your vet run a glucose curve on him? It might help


See for example
http://www.caninsulin.com/monitoring...ose-curves.asp

or


http://www.peteducation.com/article....1+2130&aid=256

[Moesha]

I'm sorry to hear this about Calloway. Is it coming down? What was it the last time it had been checked? I can't remember if we checked Morgan's every week or every two weeks. Getting the right dosage is the hard part. I'm glad that they are going to check it more frequently.

[jennielynn1970]

It has been between 400 and 470 almost every time we go! It's never below 400. It's just really frustrating when you're doing all they tell you to do, and it still doesn't get any better.

He's sleeping now, like a sweetheart, and got a little bit of treats when we got home (had to wait almost 45 for the vet to get back from lunch to get the insulin and syringes and tell us what to increase the dosage to). I figured he earned them, lol, and she said some treats were ok.

[jennielynn1970]

Has your vet run a glucose curve on him? It might help


See for example
http://www.caninsulin.com/monitoring...ose-curves.asp

or


http://www.peteducation.com/article....1+2130&aid=256

They haven't suggested any kind of study on him since the first time we discovered he was diabetic, back in October.

[Medusa]

Add my name to the list of those who are praying for dear Calloway.

[jenluckenbach]

I am surprized they have not run an all day glucose curve (testing every couple of hours). That is what they did for my Y.Lee (the only experience I've had with diabetes).

[Moesha]

It has been between 400 and 470 almost every time we go! It's never below 400. It's just really frustrating when you're doing all they tell you to do, and it still doesn't get any better.

I know. The important thing is to keep doing exactly what you are doing. Keep that diet consistent then the only thing that will change it the amount of insulin. Hopefully eventually you'll see it coming down and hit the magic number that works for Calloway. Please remember we want to hear about how you and you sweet boy are doing. Keep us posted!

ETA: They did not do a curve on Morgan. I didn't even know anything about it until seeing it posted here.