Newbie here, though I've been dealing with a diabetes regimen for 5 months.
I will appreciate any thoughts/support you might have.
I'll try to make this as brief as possible.
End of June last year, I adopted Seely, from the local SPCA. He came with a small weepy pore on the bridge of his nose but a clean bill of health from the SPCA. Seely is of unknown age and breed- though he looks/feels like a Russian Blue. Over 10 and a LARGE cat (leggy and long- and was underweight at the SPCA at 14 pounds. He's 17 now and healthy for his proportions.) He was being fed Friskies at the SPCA.
The pore on his nose turned into a nasty growth. My vet said "I don't think its cancer. Just get it removed when you can afford it." I was able to afford the surgery in February.
He made it out of surgery fine but they did blood before the surgery-- his pre-surgery BG was 300. This was on a 12 hour fast.
This was after a 2 hour car ride to the surgical center, so I chalk most of that up to stress. But the Vet diagnosed him as Diabetic with that blood reading.
As well, the bioposy came back on his growth removal as Large Cell Lymphoma. I am not financially able to pursue Chemo plus - even if I did want to, I'd need to get his BG under control FIRST before they'd start treatment. Surgery did not get clean margins. The cancer is in his sinuses.
All of the diabetes symptoms occurred AFTER his surgery. They are, I believe, a reaction to the anesthesia. Pre surgery: He would request play for 3 hours every day, snuggle every night under the covers. Now he has NO energy to play at all - not even bat at a string, and he overheats to the point of sprawling on the hard-wood to cool his body. He cannot snuggle b/c he gets too hot.
Onto the diabetes...
We started RX food immediately and my vet prescribed Vetsulin for him. We started at 2 units 2x daily. March 1.
We tried all 3 Rx brands in my area for food, and he would ONLY eat the Purina Rx wet food. But he experienced GI upset on that food. Discomfort, constipation, bloating, etc. I finally started to give 1/2 Rx and 1/2 Friskies JUST to get him regular. He improved and finally started eating around the Rx and only eating the canned Friskies.
So I'm not wasting $$ on the Rx anymore. It hurts his belly and he won't eat it. We're back to Friskies.
I supplement his meals with chicken 2-3x a week to provide increased protein.
I have asked my vet about home-cooking meals with Balance it and she has repeatedly said no.
I have an Alphatrak 2 on loan from a friend and don't test daily anymore, b/c the readings don't really change! But I do test when he looks like he's abnormal and usually for a day or two after a 'bad day' just to watch it.
His readings currently average 430-450 at mealtime/shot-time and about 10-20 points lower about an hour later. About 3 hours after shot time, its only about another 10-20 points down. So there's NO real impact from his shot.
He is still on vetsulin at currently 6.5 units.
I have asked the vet repeatedly if there's a different brand we can try (on passing suggestion from several vet tech friends.) She will not change his Rx.
She said he will be declared IR at 10 units.
He was initially flooding the litter box post-surgery. When his insulin is over 500 (which happens.) he sucks down water and floods the box. When his insulin is low 400s, he urinates like his normal. We have tested for DKA 2x on over 500 BG - no DKA.
July 7th, he was in the kitchen waiting for me to put down his food, he turned around quickly and stumbled on his hind end. I've never seen him do this before. Scared the *** out of me. BG at 453
July 8th- he had his food and his shot and about 5 minutes later, he came out of the kitchen looking glassy eyed and lay on the floor near my chair. His right front arm was twitching just a bit. It was noticeable like he was twitching his skin to get something off (thin: fast-twitch muscle on a horse trying to get a fly off.)
I got on the floor with him. His respiration was quick and shallow but not scary. I started petting and he settled right down into normal resp. Arm stopped twitching. There was nothing visible to cause irritation.
I tested his BG = 472. Waited an hour. BG = 460. He seemed fine in all other ways.
This morning ,July 9, while walking on my bed to wake me up for food, his back leg stumbled again - I couldn't tell if he was lazy and drug the foot and it got hung up on the comforter- or if he is having balance problems.
He is eating, drinking, peeing, pooping just fine. I can SOMETIMES inspire him to try to play. He purrs for attention, loves to hold hands and just 'be' with me. He gets brushed 2x a day and thinks that's the best thing ever. He's usually active about walking around the house,etc,
but the last 48 hours he's been less 'walking around' and more 'lay on the floor and chill.'
He does NOT feel well. He has NOT felt well since the surgery when his diabetes came on. We're at the point where I can tell what his BG is by his behavior/attitude and how hot his ears and arm pits are.
I have an appointment tomorrow with a new vet who is open to a new insulin if she feels it appropriate.
I am financially strapped so... the cost of Lantus (etc) is scary to me. It is especially MORE Scary if I will spend $300 on insulin only for this 'stumbling' and 'twitching' to be seizures and he'll be gone in a week.
I don't want to euthanize at this point- that day is coming soon enough from the cancer. I don't want to speed it along b/c of the diabetes.
HOWEVER if I'm misreading the signs, I need some impartial parties to tell me that. (That's you guys.)
...
I ran home to check on him at lunch. His BG was 432- up from breakfast, of course. He's acting OK. Just a bit 'off' (like he's stoned or something.)
I will appreciate any thoughts/support you might have.
I'll try to make this as brief as possible.
End of June last year, I adopted Seely, from the local SPCA. He came with a small weepy pore on the bridge of his nose but a clean bill of health from the SPCA. Seely is of unknown age and breed- though he looks/feels like a Russian Blue. Over 10 and a LARGE cat (leggy and long- and was underweight at the SPCA at 14 pounds. He's 17 now and healthy for his proportions.) He was being fed Friskies at the SPCA.
The pore on his nose turned into a nasty growth. My vet said "I don't think its cancer. Just get it removed when you can afford it." I was able to afford the surgery in February.
He made it out of surgery fine but they did blood before the surgery-- his pre-surgery BG was 300. This was on a 12 hour fast.
This was after a 2 hour car ride to the surgical center, so I chalk most of that up to stress. But the Vet diagnosed him as Diabetic with that blood reading.
As well, the bioposy came back on his growth removal as Large Cell Lymphoma. I am not financially able to pursue Chemo plus - even if I did want to, I'd need to get his BG under control FIRST before they'd start treatment. Surgery did not get clean margins. The cancer is in his sinuses.
All of the diabetes symptoms occurred AFTER his surgery. They are, I believe, a reaction to the anesthesia. Pre surgery: He would request play for 3 hours every day, snuggle every night under the covers. Now he has NO energy to play at all - not even bat at a string, and he overheats to the point of sprawling on the hard-wood to cool his body. He cannot snuggle b/c he gets too hot.
Onto the diabetes...
We started RX food immediately and my vet prescribed Vetsulin for him. We started at 2 units 2x daily. March 1.
We tried all 3 Rx brands in my area for food, and he would ONLY eat the Purina Rx wet food. But he experienced GI upset on that food. Discomfort, constipation, bloating, etc. I finally started to give 1/2 Rx and 1/2 Friskies JUST to get him regular. He improved and finally started eating around the Rx and only eating the canned Friskies.
So I'm not wasting $$ on the Rx anymore. It hurts his belly and he won't eat it. We're back to Friskies.
I supplement his meals with chicken 2-3x a week to provide increased protein.
I have asked my vet about home-cooking meals with Balance it and she has repeatedly said no.
I have an Alphatrak 2 on loan from a friend and don't test daily anymore, b/c the readings don't really change! But I do test when he looks like he's abnormal and usually for a day or two after a 'bad day' just to watch it.
His readings currently average 430-450 at mealtime/shot-time and about 10-20 points lower about an hour later. About 3 hours after shot time, its only about another 10-20 points down. So there's NO real impact from his shot.
He is still on vetsulin at currently 6.5 units.
I have asked the vet repeatedly if there's a different brand we can try (on passing suggestion from several vet tech friends.) She will not change his Rx.
She said he will be declared IR at 10 units.
He was initially flooding the litter box post-surgery. When his insulin is over 500 (which happens.) he sucks down water and floods the box. When his insulin is low 400s, he urinates like his normal. We have tested for DKA 2x on over 500 BG - no DKA.
July 7th, he was in the kitchen waiting for me to put down his food, he turned around quickly and stumbled on his hind end. I've never seen him do this before. Scared the *** out of me. BG at 453
July 8th- he had his food and his shot and about 5 minutes later, he came out of the kitchen looking glassy eyed and lay on the floor near my chair. His right front arm was twitching just a bit. It was noticeable like he was twitching his skin to get something off (thin: fast-twitch muscle on a horse trying to get a fly off.)
I got on the floor with him. His respiration was quick and shallow but not scary. I started petting and he settled right down into normal resp. Arm stopped twitching. There was nothing visible to cause irritation.
I tested his BG = 472. Waited an hour. BG = 460. He seemed fine in all other ways.
This morning ,July 9, while walking on my bed to wake me up for food, his back leg stumbled again - I couldn't tell if he was lazy and drug the foot and it got hung up on the comforter- or if he is having balance problems.
He is eating, drinking, peeing, pooping just fine. I can SOMETIMES inspire him to try to play. He purrs for attention, loves to hold hands and just 'be' with me. He gets brushed 2x a day and thinks that's the best thing ever. He's usually active about walking around the house,etc,
but the last 48 hours he's been less 'walking around' and more 'lay on the floor and chill.'
He does NOT feel well. He has NOT felt well since the surgery when his diabetes came on. We're at the point where I can tell what his BG is by his behavior/attitude and how hot his ears and arm pits are.
I have an appointment tomorrow with a new vet who is open to a new insulin if she feels it appropriate.
I am financially strapped so... the cost of Lantus (etc) is scary to me. It is especially MORE Scary if I will spend $300 on insulin only for this 'stumbling' and 'twitching' to be seizures and he'll be gone in a week.
I don't want to euthanize at this point- that day is coming soon enough from the cancer. I don't want to speed it along b/c of the diabetes.
HOWEVER if I'm misreading the signs, I need some impartial parties to tell me that. (That's you guys.)
...
I ran home to check on him at lunch. His BG was 432- up from breakfast, of course. He's acting OK. Just a bit 'off' (like he's stoned or something.)
