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Diabetic Cat Care

Glossary of Terms
and Abbreviations

Many folks have shared when they first arrived at DCC, it's almost like they had to learn a new language. That's been the case for most of us, and we hope you'll forgive us when we start using acronyms and other words that don't seem to make much sense at times! The following is a list of terms and abbreviations which are frequently used on DCC (in alpha order). We hope you find the glossary helpful. If there's something posted you don't understand, please don't be shy to ask!

+ or plus numbers (eg: +10)	Number of hours that have passed since last shot, the + hour count starts over with each shot.
ABX	Antibiotic
AM	Advanced Member - experienced with FD, TR and dosing principles, someone you can trust
ARVO	Afternoon
BEAN	Human being
BG	Blood Glucose (usually refers to a test result)
BID	Twice a day
Booster	An amount of insulin added to shots when dealing with long durations to help get the BG back to normal range faster, is unique to each cat
BSS	Basic Sliding Scale; initial dosing scale used for Dr. H's PZI protocol - dosing scales are now different for each insulin type
BTW	By the way
BWG	Big wide grin
CBC	Complete Blood Count - part of a blood test (usually includes biochemistry and hematology)
CHF	Congestive Heart Failure
Civvy or Civvies	Non-diabetic cats
Clinical Hypo	A symptomatic hypo (low BG with symptoms)such as seizures, coma or worse. Not at all a typical occurrence in otherwise healthy cats on TR because of the required low carb diet.
CRD/CRF	Chronic Renal Disease/Chronic Renal Failure
Curve	A specified testing of BG before shot, then every two to three hours until the next shot time; confirms or denies how well or not a scale is working
DH, DW, DD, DS	Dear husband, dear wife, daughter, son, etc.
DI	Diabetes Insipidus, a rare form of diabetes caused by a deficiency of the pituitary hormone vasopressin, which regulates kidney function.
DKA	Diabetic Ketoacidosis, a preventable diabetic emergency caused by dangerous levels of ketones being produced due to persistent hyperglycemia (high numbers).
DM	Diabetes Mellitus - the most common form of diabetes in cats and humans
Doc or Dr. H	Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins, DVM esq. We believe she's the world’s leading expert on FD. Created the TR protocol and Purina DM Wet Food
DX	Diagnosis
ECID	Every Cat Is Different
Endogenous	Naturally produced, for example civvies produce their own insulin, an endogenous hormone.
ETA	Edited to add (you will see this in posts that are edited by the original poster)
Euglycemia	Normal level of glucose in the blood, not too high and not too low
Exogenous	Unnatural, from outside - injected insulin is an exogenous product.
Expert	Dr. H is the expert when it comes to FD and TR
Fat	An amount of 0.125u MORE on insulin shots (either added to scales or booster strategies), skinnies are 0.125u LESS
FD	Feline Diabetes, or Feline Diabetic
FF	Fancy Feast Classic Pates (the only FF low enough in dry matter carbs for TR)
FWIW	For what it's worth
GA	Gone ahead, gone above, guardian angel, a cat that's passed away
Guru	A highly knowledgeable or experienced person
HC	High carb food
HL	Hepatic Lipidosis (aka fatty liver disease), occurs when cats stop eating for longer than 24 hours
HT	Hyperthyroidism (or Hypothyroidism), disease of the thyroid
HX	History
Hyperglycemic	High blood sugar, persistently high numbers causing damage to internal organs
Hypo	Hypoglycemic episode (BG below 40) , either with (asymptomatic) or without symptoms
IBD	Inflammatory Bowel Disease
IMHO - IMVHO	In my humble opinion, in my very humble opinion
Itwm	If it was me
JMO-JMVHO	Just my opinion, just my very humble opinion
Nadir (aka Peak)	Lowest BG on the shot, when the insulin is most powerful
NPO	No food to be given, fasting - usually required prior to lab work or surgery
Onset	When the insulin starts to work by lowering the BG, depending on insulin type between +2 and +6 hours after shot.
OT	Off topic
OTJ	Off the juice (aka "you know" so as not to jinx), when insulin is no longer necessary and remission has occurred
PD	Polydipsia (excessive thirst) often used with P/U as PU/PD, meaning excessive drinking/peeing
PU	Polyuria (excessive urination) see above
Peak (aka Nadir)	Lowest BG on the shot, when the insulin is most powerful
PM	Personal Message through DCC's email system
PO	Given by mouth (pills are an example)
Post-prandial	After a meal
Protocol	A method of doing things, we practice the TR protocol
PZI	Protamine Zinc Insulin - PZ is added to insulin to extend method of action. Bovine or bovine/porcine PZI is the closest to a cat's own insulin, only one amino acid away. ProZinc which is also a PZI insulin is salmon based insulin, is not the same as bovine origin PZI.
QID	Four times a day
Renal Threshold	The dangerous point at which the kidneys start to excrete glucose into and produce ketones in the urine, usually at a BG over 225-250/12.4-13.9, but can be lower for some cats, ECID.
Rung	Individual lines on dosing scales, for example, 151-170/8.3-9.4 is referred to as the first "rung".
RX	Prescription, or "script"
SID	Once a day
Skinny	A titch LESS insulin given on a shot (0.125u) -skinnies are decreases to the amount of insulin, where fats are increases
SLGS	Start low, go slow; an outdated method to treat FD, requires waiting weeks or months before adjusting doses, still used by many vets unfortunately
Spec fL1	Blood test for pancreatitis, indicates the level of disease unlike the SNAP version which only confirms or denies disease is present
SS	Starting Scale, the adjustable scales for various insulin types used for TR, based on BG numbers - not on weight
Sub-Q	Subcutaneous, usually refers to fluids given just under the skin via injection or needle
T3, T-4, Free T-4, TSH	Blood tests which measure Thyroid hormone production used to diagnose Hyperthyroidism or Hypothyroidism
TBQH	To be quite honest
TID	Three times a day
TR	Tight Regulation, the protocol we practice at DCC to get and keep the BG below 7.3/130 for as much and as long as possible
U, or IU	Unit or International Unit - such as insulin
UA	Urinalysis; can be a Culture & Sensitivity to check for bacteria or crystals, or a USG (urine specific gravity) to check for kidney function
URI	Upper respiratory infection
USG	Urine Specific Gravity, required to determine exact level of kidney function
UTI	Urinary tract infection, or inflammation
VBG	Very big grin