Remission!

[cjsmith]

I just got a REALLY good birthday present. It appears that Duchess is now in diabetic remission.

Details:
- She hasn't had her insulin shot today
- Her blood glucose has been around 100 all day
- The food she's on, and the insulin chosen for her, often have this effect if they are both started immediately
- I'll get her fructosamine blood work back Tuesday or Wednesday
- I am now to discontinue insulin until I get that phone call
- I am to monitor her for signs of diabetes return (increased thirst/urination, weight loss, listlessness)
- If it still appears she's in remission, we'll check her blood in a few weeks, then taper off until we're checking every six months or so

This happens in cats way, way more often than in humans. It's (nearly?) unheard-of in humans, but many kitties go into remission. I had no idea, even if we would be so lucky, that it could happen this fast.

Wow.

Comments

[nosrednayduj]

Mottle had several remissions/restarts in her diabetic life. I started testing her at home so I could catch the remission before she had hypoglycemic episodes, which was usually how she told me she was in remission. Because she sometimes didn't pee where she was supposed to, I used urine sticks to check for glucose in the urine. Mostly her bad litterbox behavior was a pain, but in this case it was quite convenient :-)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Hypoglycemic episodes scare me. I haven't had to deal with one of those (yet) so there's the fear of the unknown alongside the sane fear of a medical problem.

Gah, I can imagine that her bad litterbox behavior was annoying AND at times useful! I'm glad you were able to check. That's very handy.

How did you catch the restarts? Routine vet visits? Testing urine glucose during remissions?

[nosrednayduj]

Mostly the urine tests, but I also did blood glucose testing (with the Glucometer Elite, which requires less blood than other meters at that time). Ear pricks to get the blood. It wasn't too hard, but Mottle was the best cat on the planet for that kind of thing. During a remission I'd test one way or the other once a week. While she was needing insulin, I checked bG with the meter 2-3 times a week, sometimes several times in one day to check dosage. I basically ignored my vet and managed my own dosage based on how she was doing. She fluctuated a LOT.