It's been 20 days since I started her on an "all protein" diet, and 18 days since I started insulin....and guess what?
I think she is in remission!!
A Miracle!
Kitty relaxing, but keeping one eye out for the lancet....!
If you were witness to what I went through with my other diabetic cat... you would understand what a relief this is.
By the end of the first week, I was giving 2 units of glargine insulin twice daily to my present diabetic Kitty.
After a couple days of 2 units, her blood glucose was dropping a little lower than what I liked, so I dropped the dosage gradually to 1.5 units, then 1.0 units of insulin.
By the end of the second week, I had reduced the dosage down to 0.5 units of insulin.
When even that small of an amount dropped her afternoon 2 hour pre-lunch glucose to 1.9 mmol/L - I stopped it entirely - yesterday afternoon.
She has not had any insulin for 24 hours!
It isn't just for MY convenience that I am relieved....but also for my cat's comfort and quality of life - although it will be a lot cheaper when we go on vacation not having to find a sitter that can do blood glucose levels and the administration of insulin!
Yay!
My Kitty has gained weight (YAY!) and I can't feel her spine as much...her coat is definitely healthier-looking and she is playful and full of energy - perhaps even more than when she was eating dry food.
So, let this be a lesson to everyone out there with cats:
HIGH PROTEIN DIET!!!! Don't give the dry catfood - it's KILLING your cats!
Check the label of what you feed your cat.
As with HUMANS: PREVENTION is better than a CURE!!!
I am going to start giving raw food next week.....it is available at our local pet store (mom and pop store - NOT the big box store!) and it is cheaper than canned food by a mile.
A local (Vancouver) company prepares it...it comes frozen. I might have to incorporate it gradually, but it will be a lot healthier than the canned foods.
Let's keep our fingers crossed!
I have a Veterinarian appointment for a week and a half from now and hopefully I will have the evidence of complete remission!
Gung Hay Fat Choy! "May Prosperity Be With You" - the popular saying during the Lunar New Year!
The Year of the Dragon!
Most of the world celebrates this Chinese New Year Holiday.
A local B.C. artist has an amazing piece of sculpture that is now on display at the River Rock Casino in Richmond, B.C. where there is a large Asian population.
This same artwork was on display throughout the Pacific National Exhibition in Vancouver this past summer.
He has also been commissioned to build an eagle sculpture for Dollywood. Take a peek (by clicking on the links in this blog) at what he is doing! It is nothing short of incredible!
It's one thing to look at photos, but my husband and I had the pleasure of seeing these up close and personal....and even got to talk to the artist himself....Kevin Stone.
Looking from the tail, through the coil to the head
It's no surprise that B.C. residents are the top supporters of legalization at 73%. Quebec was the lowest at 61%.
It just makes good health and economic sense - and in addition, it takes the money and power out of the hands of the criminals.
It is estimated that $400 million is spent annually for police, courts, and prisons to enforce the current laws.
Wouldn't that money be better spent elsewhere - say nursing care or education.....?
The taxes gleaned from governmental controls and distribution (similar to alcohol) would be enough to take a chunk out of the deficit and also remove the criminal element so those wanting the pleasure of medicinal (or otherwise) use of the Herb can do so without fear of a criminal record or the possibility of ingesting/inhaling a product that isn't safe.
The Liberals are on board, voting 77% in favor of legalization. The Senate special committee (chaired by a Conservative) had also given the recommendation to FREE THE WEED - 10 years ago! I had published some of the findings and recommendations in a previous blog post that somehow got taken down.
Certainly The Herb is not as damaging as alcohol, cigarettes or Tylenol .......
The age group most in favor of it's liberation? My age group and older - age 55-64. If people could get over the stigma and smear campaign that has been waging in the media and political field.... and if politicians can look at and act on actual statistics that show Legalization is the best route to take - perhaps they can make the changes - before I retire - so that I can look forward to a *comfortable* retirement.
I happen to not like the taste of alcohol. I like wine but it makes me turn a beet red. I don't like the side effects. I need pain medication for various aches and pains ( some admittedly of my own doing - skiing and occupational injuries) but don't want the damage that tylenol/NSAIDS/cortisone injections can do. I happen to like my liver.
The Weed is a useful herb that can be affordable if grown in one's own house.
I am all for it and even though politically I am more on the Conservative side (by the way - for the record - "Conservative" in Canada is definitely not equal to "Republican"! We are too far left)
Stats show that legalizing MJ actually helps control it's use. Look at how education - as opposed to prohibition has led to the decrease in smoking and drinking in recent years.
If all those kids at the Stanley Cup Vancouver Riot had been puffing instead of drinking....perhaps there wouldn't have been a riot at all!
Definitely the surrounding stores would have benefited from the extra demand for munchies.
The Ladies' Home Journal article from 1901 gathered predictions from the best and brightest scientists and learned a century ago - of what it would be like living in the year 2001.
It's incredible how close they came with their forcasts.
Read it and compare with life today. (Click on the above link to read)
How can you have a blood glucose of 1.9 mmol/L* - and not be convulsing???
Just took Kitty's blood glucose and after giving only 1.5 units - she is very LOW. Now, I have seen numbers that low on neonates....but not on adults - not any that were coherent - and not any that were able to eat.
Yet Kitty was able to scarf down 15gms of chicken.
I am wondering if she is already going into remission?
That would be great!
Meanwhile, these low blood glucose readings cause problems with work. How do you do a glucose level and treat a hypoglycemic reaction if one is not at home?
Lucky for me, this week I work at home and then I have vacation time coming up. I was hoping to run off to somewhere sunny, especially since the weather is getting slightly chilly here.... minus 10C and we are pretty much snowed in.
Oh well!
Today, I will be at home for the afternoon.....doing q2h blood glucoses!
I suppose I could get my groceries later.
This am - very early
so much snow! Long awaited!!!
*UPDATE #1: After eating 15gms of chicken, one hour later, her blood glucose is 3.1 - still too low. I gave her the remaining 15 gms of chicken, so hopefully her 2 hr post lunch glucose will be a little more than that. Still not out of the woods!
*UPDATE #2: 2 1/2 hrs after the initial low blood glucose - it is now 5.1 mmol/L. Not optimum, since her next dose of insulin is due in a couple hours. I think I will go back to 1 unit bid.
This morning my Kitty's glucose reading was 5.8......normal. As per online information, I did give her the usual morning dose of insulin anyway - 2 units of glargine.
Just before her "lunch" - I tested her blood glucose again, since I had my blood draw technique a little more refined - and I wanted to make sure 2 units wasn't too much for her.
My Diabetic Kitty relaxing in front of the fireplace
It's lower than what I would like at 2.7mmol/L.
She didn't have any symptoms of hypoglycemia, however.
I gave her usual 35 grams of chicken and at one hour post lunch, repeated her glucose level - 4.1mmol/L. Two hours post lunch, her blood sugar was back to 5.8, better but slightly lower than what I like to see for a cat on insulin.
I may have to reduce her insulin to 1.5 units bid (twice daily).
Apparently, according to research done, it doesn't work to go to a sliding scale, since the best insulin to use is long acting and best given as a bid dosage - 12 hours apart.
Human grade chicken, free range and
hormone and antibiotics free
I use the 100% chicken breast-
no veggies added
I had used sliding scale on my last diabetic cat and found first hand that it didn't work - and that was using a short acting insulin. Mind you, I believe the diet I was giving my poor cat at that time was not conducive to stable blood sugars.
Back then, only 15 years ago, a diabetic feline diet didn't mean giving a high protein diet, as researchers now recommend.
It also is advised not to withhold insulin dosage due to low blood sugars. This makes sense, since with the long acting insulin - if you withhold it - you would end up with a high blood glucose hours later after a meal or two.
The object is to keep the blood glucose at an even level throughout the day in a normal as range possible - and this is accomplished by giving bid insulin at a level just right for the cat.
Finding that stable dosage is what may take a little tweaking.
I probably should have increased the dosage by .5 unit instead of one whole unit - hindsight is 100%, but I had felt that since one unit overall decreased Kitty's glucose level by only (on average) 5 mmol/L - it wouldn't hurt to add on another whole unit.
I know better now. Since then I have found supporting evidence that recommends .5 increments.
Kitty with our other cat
Two good things I have noticed with the change of diet - her coat is much shinier and healthier looking, and her problem with dandruff has almost disappeared. It could be that the grains that are added to almost all cat food was causing an allergic reaction in her system.
I also believe she is vomiting less.
I wish I would have done research on cat food a lot sooner. Incredibly, very few cat foods are available out there that don't put grains and veggies or fruit in them.
If my Kitty weren't such a lazy cat, and got out there and caught some mice, she probably would be healthier!
As it is, she is afraid to step off the doorstep...... even when the door is open.
My hope is in the research that was done in Australia - that cats, when caught early, and had their diet changed and put on glargine insulin, tend to resolve their diabetes in four months:
"An important finding that changed management of diabetic cats world-wide is that treatment with insulin glargine results in remission rates close to 100% compared to 20% for lente insulin and 30% for protamine zinc insulin in newly diagnosed diabetic cats"*
The great thing about the study is that it includes tables of dosage and target blood glucose levels based on body weight.
First thing I had to do is buy insulin and a glucometer and strips.
Expensive! (it was hilarious that the pharmacy asked me for my Medical card even though it was my cat that was the patient!) - but totally worth it since my cat stresses out going to the vet and I am definitely up to doing blood glucose testing - again! I think it will turn out cheaper in the long run and will definitely be less stressful for my Kitty.
I downloaded a diabetic record, much like we keep in the hospital - but with more space for food details. (Weekly one for me, a monthly one for my Veterinarian.)
Testing a cat is no easy matter. The videos that shows how to do it makes it look easy, but with my kitty - not so much. Even with the application of heat, it's difficult to get enough of a sample to register..
I had a much easier time with my other cat - and I suspect it has less to do with my expertise as the type of lancet I used. The stick pen I use has a much finer point than the lancets I used for my last cat - the kind used for a baby's heels. (doesn't that make you wince!!! Poor babies!)
I started Kitty on one unit of insulin bid (twice daily) just to make sure I didn't overdose and cause a hypoglycemic seizure. It's best to aim for a gradual reduction in the glucose level.**
Her blood sugars started out at 29.7 ( I am using mmol/L measurement that we use in Canada since I am more familiar with it) and only went down to 19.2 by the end of the day.
The next morning it was 8.2 so I skipped the pm insulin. I shouldn't have, because cats have a faster metabolism and and require bid dosages to maintain a consistent glucose level. Sure enough, the next morning's glucose level was back up again - 18.3 mmol/L.
Lesson learned.
I decided it would be best to stay at one unit of insulin bid for a couple more days. I monitored her intake in grams and kept it consistent for insulin dosaging purposes. The Ozzie researchers had allowed their cats to free range eat for the first 2 weeks of the study and then put them on a restricted diet.
I fed her when she was hungry (four times per day, as it turned out) and kept track on her chart.
After a few more days - it was evident that her glucose levels had stabilized at 18 to 20 mmol/L.
Yesterday I started her on 2 units bid and this am her blood glucose level was 12.6......so we're getting there!
Apparently after being on insulin for two weeks, her pancreas could kick in and start creating it's own insulin. As I already quoted above, after four months, it could very well be that I can discontinue her insulin altogether.
I wish I had known about the importance of high protein diet back when my other cat had diabetes.....his blood glucose levels could have been better maintained and possibly could have recovered. The diet Veterinarians were advocating for feline diabetics back then wasn't at all what diabetic cats actually require.
As my present Veterinarian states - we should be giving our cats canned mice - and unfortunately, people won't do it because it's not esthetically pleasing to us.....so we ignore what cats actually need and give them what we think they need......creating the proliferation of feline diabetics!!!
** Meters calibrated for feline use may read higher or lower than the actual value, in
contrast to consistently lower readings for meters validated for human blood. Therefore, my target range for Kitty's blood glucose level is 4.4 - 7.2.
