3 Days Post OTJ Party

Well, well, well.......where do I begin.  Webber is doing just great.  Playful, adorable and his BG's are still good.  I am having a bit of a hard time weaning myself off the testing.  I just can't stand being here in the evening and not knowing if he is ok.  Poor thing, he is having to suffer at the hands of his crazy mommy.  But really....he is not suffering.  The ear testing does not bother him at all.  Plus he knows that he gets treats afterwards as well as his ear being massaged.  Who wouldn't like an ear massage? lol

He has always suffered from constipation.  I used to give Lactulose, but that is like sugar, so no more of that since the diabetes diagnosis!  I have been giving all the babies Miralax spinkled on their wet food.  Apparently Webber got a little more than what he needed because this evening he had a little liquipooh.  Oops, another one of mommy's faults.  Of course I don't expect it to last.  It never lasts.  He actually chews on my fake plants, like they are real grass leaves, when he is constipated. Funny!  So after I saw him do this for the last couple of mornings I naturally assumed that he was constipated and needed some extra Miralax.

Along the lines of the LB--I am seriously thinking of getting a third HUGE box.  Now that they are all on wet food and I add so much extra water, the pee has increased daily.  I think that one more box would be just right.

Well, let's see how long I can go without testing and losing my mind.  Otherwise, we are really enjoying our time at the falls.

The Baby is Officially in Remission!!!!!

I almost can't believe it myself.  Webber is officially considered in remission.  We had a party in FDMB today and I was in tears most of the day as I read all the wonderful messages and congrats from everyone there.  Carolyn said that today was bittersweet for me because it was Webber's last daily condo and she was correct on so many levels.  I will miss posting Webber's WCR (whole cat report) every morning and getting to have a daily condo to post all of what is going on with him.  Discovering the FDMB was one of the best things that had happened to me and my babies.  I never thought that I could find other people that felt the same way as I do about their cats.  Most all of the beans (human mom's) on the Lantus Land Insulin Support Group are so dedicated to the health and well-being of their cats---it warms my heart to the core.  I also thing that only those on LL could really and truely share in the joy of having your cat get off the insulin.  When I told others on my facebook page or co-workers they just looked at me "yeah and.....?"  Oh well, you can't expect everyone to understand how you feel about animals.

Part of me thinks that these last couple of months dealing with Webber's disease has triggered my generalized anxiety disorder again.  Now that he is no longer getting insulin shots I find myself still anxious and emotional for no apparent reason.  I could not help myself this evening and tested him (just to see where his BG was).  I don't know how I am going to wean myself off of testing him all the time.  One of the users whose cat's has been off the insulin for one month told me that we can start off testing once a week for one month and then go to testing once a month.  I will have to rely on how he acts to see if the diseased is coming back.  Well jeez, I guess that means I will spend the next several month being overy paranoid.  Might as well get my xanax refilled, LOL.

His hair coat has gotten so much softer and shinier.  It can only get better from here with the new diets they have been on for about 1 1/2 months now.  My raw food was part of the recall so I need to go get a new package to replace the one I had to throw out.  Webber seemed to be the only one that liked the raw diet, and supposedly it is very good for them.  So even if he is the only one to eat it....that is worth it all.

Here is the link to Webber's OTJ Party: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuF3CH-j7Qk

After Webber's Dinner Party - he was licking his chops.  Yummy fuds mommy!

Til next time....

Two days and I didn't go home for lunch!

So I was running low on testing strips and I decided there was no use going home for lunch if I can't test him.  So yesterday DH and I went out for lunch and it was the first day I did not rush home in over a month to test and check on Webber and the other kids.  I call all the kitties "kids"....I am sure other animal people do that too.  At least I hope so; hope I am not the only loonie tune out there.

Today I decided to stay here and pick up lunch with some co-workers.  It was nice, because for the last month and a half I have been keeping to myself.  When I am stressed I tend to get quiet and stay away from people.

Last night Webber's PMBG was 90.  I admit I got pretty nervous.  I went ahead and fed everyone deciding that I would test again in a few hours to see if the BG went down.  Well....an hour later Webber was running around the house and playing and that usually means that his BG is ~60-70.  I tested at +1 and it was down to 60.  Whew!!!  His little pancreas IS working.  YAY!!  I really thing that this is a litle miracle.  What other animals can go into remission from diabetes.  I always knew cats were special!

We need to plan something nice for him.  His dandruff is still showing, and I know that a bath for his party is NOT something he will enjoy. :-(   Maybe I will get him a special toy?  Hmmm, I need to think about this.

We are half-way there!

So tonight I am home alone and thinking about what DH keeps wondering out loud.  He is wondering if Webber's multiple surgeries (anesthesia) could have been the cause of Webber's diabetes.  I did not think that Webber had ever gotten any steroids, so I decided to get out his medical file and record everything since the beginning of time (for him at least, lol).  The verdict is YES he had gotten steroids and other stuff.  I used to be so good at keeping up with everything when it came to the babies.  But I admit I did get lax in filing alot of Webber's paperwork.  I DO always keep the empty pill bottles, baggies etc so that I have it on record what they have taken and when.

My poor baby has been through alot the past few years.  He also had repeated UTI's which I would hope the vet would have looked for sugar in the urine back then.  I would hate to think that he was beginning to show signs of diabetes a year ago and we neglected to see it.  But such is life.  There is nothing we can do about it now.  At least we caught it when we did and treated it aggressively.

Today marks the 7th day of Webber's OTJ 14 day Trial period.  He is doing very well, althought I still hold my breath every time I test him.  Matter of fact, today was the first time I took off my necklace since he went OTJ.  I am superstitious and had to actually talk myself into taking off the necklace.  Haha  Call me crazy cuz I know it is crazy.

I am still feeding them Sophisticat and Fancy Feast.  I need to spend some time researching my other options.  Petsmart does not carry Wellness and some of the other food that I see alot of people feed their kitties.  I think I can try Friskies because Petsmart certainly has that handy.  I am still having to buy alot of litter.  I add alot of water the all of their canned food so that must be the reason they all still pee so much.  At least there are no huge pancake pee's to speak of in the litterbox....that is GOOD news.  I am still on high alert for any changes in Webber's behavior or habits.  The one thing that we have noticed (and I am not too happy about) is him getting rough/aggressive with Lacey.  Everyone seems to pick on Lacey and I hate to hear it and see it.  She knows how to stick up for herself, but I just hate to hear all the growling and hissing.  Who even knows what goes on when I am not here.

Til next time....

OTJ Trial Day 4

Today is day #4 of Webber's 14 day trial off the insulin.  His AMBG was in the 60's and I am pretty sure that his Lantus shed is now empty and this is all him.  After talking to family and FDMB friends I have convinced myself to relax and enjoy this moment in time.  Sure Webber may not go into remission, or if he does he may go back on the insulin, but it is not the end of the world.  I have learned so much about the disease and was able to regulate him on the insulin, so it CAN be done.

I am laying here on the couch enjoying a special time with Webber.  He still loves to lay on my belly and knead while sucking on a blanket or something.    Right now he is grooming Shelby which doesn't happen that often.  So I try to enjoy their time getting along while I can as well.  Webber and Shelby are the two males of the household and are often butting heads.  Well....Webber butts heads and Shelby could care less, lol.

I have started reading other outside sources of information on Feline Diabetes.  I am still wanting to learn as much as I can about FD for my own knowledge.  And I am now going to focus on making sure that the canned food I feed all the babies has all the nutrients that they need.  Webber still has  dandruff, although it has gotten better.  I would like to see it go away, so I need to make sure that he is getting a balanced diet.  I have some raw food in the freezer that I need to try feeding again. 

I guess I don't have much to say right now.  I am thankful for where we are today with Webber and his disease.  He is doing very very well and currently off the insulin with BG levels within the normal range.  His BG has been in the normal range for the last 14 days.  Some say that every minute that the cat can stay in the normal range is time for the pancreas to heal.  I say "Heal baby heal!!"  I am still very emotional about the whole thing and find myself just hugging my little Webber and telling him how much I love him.

His birthday is next month and he will be 5 years old.

PARANOID MOMMY

I haven't blogged in a while.  My thoughts have been racing around in my head so often lately it has been hard to just sit still and write.  I know that if I just get all these tought down on paper (ha, this isn't paper!) I will feel much better.

Webber's last insulin shot was 6am 02/09/10.  Today is Webber's 2nd day of his OTJ (off the juice) 14 day trial. I can't believe we already here.  It was just a little over a month that he was on insulin.  I feel like this is too good to be true.  Why can't I just be elated and enjoy this time?  Instead I am totally paranoid that his numbers are going to start creeping up.  And what if they do???  Well, we will just get him back on the insulin and start over again.  I can tell myself this over and over again in my head yet it won't stick!!

Somehow I also feel a little guilty when I post on the message board.  There are so many other mommy's on there with sick kitties and/or kitties that have been on the insulin for so long just waiting for the moment that I am not enjoying.  It doesn't seem right.......I just need to snap out of it.

Tough Choices

I have not posted in  while.  I have been so engrossed in Webber and how he is doing.  His numbers have dropped significantly and have stayed that way for several days.  It becomes harder to shoot at these low numbers because you don't want to put him in danger, but you also don't want to back off and then have his numbers start to climb.  There have been several times lately that I just bit the bullet.  I am here at night to monitor for as long as I need to.  Up until this point he doesn't drop really really low.  Last night was his lowest for me to see yet (41).  He was just laying there like he was going to go to sleep.  I wanted him to get up and eat!!!  He had always in the past gone to snack when he numbers were dropping so I started to worry about when I am not here.  What if I am at work and he doesn't get up and it just keeps dropping.  I am scared to death that every evening when I come home from work I am going to find him in a coma.  I know that is extreme but that was it always in the back of our minds.  What if.....

I come home every day from work during my lunch hour to test.  Today when I got home I did not expect his numbers to be low because he started off in the 80's.  He surprised me and was only at 50.  I waited til after I ate lunch and tested again before I left.  He had dropped only one point and was at 49.  However, we have been told that when a newbie kitty drops below 50 it is time to decrease the dose.  He has had his dose decreased twice since Monday.  So when tonights shot time came around I really didn't know what to do.  Part of me wanted to decrease his dose again like I was told to.  But another part of me was saying that he has only been at 0.75U for three cycles.  Not even a whole 48 hours.  He could still be dropping from what is left in his shed from the higher doses.  I sure don't want to decrease and have his BG start to rise.

Ugh!  This is not a perfect science and I am sure there are going to be plenty of times that we are going to yo-yo his doses until we get it just right.  I guess in my mind I wanted this to go so smoothly.  Just drop the doses until he didn't need it any more.  But isn't that what everyone wants?  Of course!!!

There were not the usual angels on the board today that are so experienced in giving dosage advice.  So I just went with my gut this evening.  I'm just about in tears and writing in Webber's blog to just get all of this out of my system has seemed to help alot.  I do not want to put Webber in danger at all.  And I have all my tools that I may need should he drop too low.  Maybe no one being there to guide me was a sign from god that it my turn to take complete control and make this decision for Webber on my own tonight.

We shall see how the night goes......