Need advice on stopping diarrhea

[Norman and Mama]

Hi,

I'm very worried about my boy Norman. He's had diabetes for over 6 years and was well managed until recently. He has survived 2 bouts of ketoacidosis, and has lived a pretty healthy life since. He was diagnosed with gallstones and pancreatitis two months ago. He stopped eating and lost 3 pounds. He's been on antibiotics, sub q fluids, cerenia, and mirtazapine for 2 months. He was feeling better around Thanksgiving so we stopped the meds. He had a recurrence of pancreatitis a week later so he went back on everything. He's been having diarrhea for weeks and developed ketones over Christmas while boarded at the vet. The vet said since he was still eating, maintaining weight, and looking bright I could treat him at home. He's on 4 units of vetsulin 2x daily, but bgs are in the 500s prior to dosing. The ketones are in the low range now but has high BG readings and diarrhea continues despite being on fortiflora and pumpkin. I've tried everything under the sun, including more antibiotics to stop it. I'm so tired and at my wits end. I just want my boy back! I can't afford to hospitalize him. Please help! Any advice would be helpful!

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Hi and welcome.
I’m so sorry you are going through this.
Have you tried changing his diet to a different food.? When Sheba had chronic diarrhoea I was able to stop it by changing her diet to a different canned food then onto a homemade diet. Trial and error but she was allergic to the particular canned food.

Have you thought of swapping over to a longer acting insulin like Lantus or Prozinc? This won’t help the diarrhoea but might help by getting him into better numbers and helping with the ketones. Are you testing for ketones daily and ensuing he gets plenty of food and fluids?

Are you home testing the blood sugars?
We strongly suggest you do as it will keep Norman safe and help us see if he is on the correct dose of insulin which is very important if he is getting ketones.

If you could fill out your signature which is at the top right of this page under your user name and tell us his name and yours, date of diagnosis, type of insulin and dose, illnesses and meds, country you live in, whether you home test and the meter you use. This will appear at the bottom of all your posts and people who help you will read it to get info about you.
I’m sure there will be others who will chime in with ideas. Diarrhoea is a common problem around here.
Keep asking questions. We are very happy to help if we can.

 

[Lisa and Witn (GA)]

Canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling, will help with the diarrhea. Also probiotics, such as FortiFlora will also help.

I also agree that a longer acting insulin may help get better glucose readings. Most cats respond better to long acting insulins. Lantus and Levemir are human insulins you can get from your pharmacy. ProZinc and BCP PZI are pet insulins you will get from your vet. All of them work well in cats.

When you change insulins you also need to start back with a low dose. This is to help you find the optimal dose that works best for your cat. Any increase should be in small increments, 1/2 unit at a time with at least a week between dose changes. This gives your cat's body time to adjust to the new dose. We also recommend that you hometest. Then you will know how well the dose is working.

 

[Tina and Boozle]

I assume they have tested for parasites?

 

[AlysonE]

I lost my battle against pancreatitis, but my advice is LOW FAT.

Seriously low fat. Boiled chicken or gerber baby food meat low fat. I think the nutritionists are seriously incorrect about how much fat kitties can handle.

Diabetes is associate in humans with a high fat diet, as well as a high carb diet. The only thing that calmed my Smiths pancreatitis was low fat diet. Which is nearly impossible to feed with commercial foods. Good luck. Pancreatitis is the devil.

 

[Norman and Mama]

Hi and welcome.
I’m so sorry you are going through this.
Have you tried changing his diet to a different food.? When Sheba had chronic diarrhoea I was able to stop it by changing her diet to a different canned food then onto a homemade diet. Trial and error but she was allergic to the particular canned food.

Have you thought of swapping over to a longer acting insulin like Lantus or Prozinc? This won’t help the diarrhoea but might help by getting him into better numbers and helping with the ketones. Are you testing for ketones daily and ensuing he gets plenty of food and fluids?

Are you home testing the blood sugars?
We strongly suggest you do as it will keep Norman safe and help us see if he is on the correct dose of insulin which is very important if he is getting ketones.

If you could fill out your signature which is at the top right of this page under your user name and tell us his name and yours, date of diagnosis, type of insulin and dose, illnesses and meds, country you live in, whether you home test and the meter you use. This will appear at the bottom of all your posts and people who help you will read it to get info about you.
I’m sure there will be others who will chime in with ideas. Diarrhoea is a common problem around here.
Keep asking questions. We are very happy to help if we can.

Thanks, I went ahead and added the signature. No ketones this morning, but he doesn't feel like eating. I gave antinausea, appetite stimulant, and fluids this morning. I have a script for lantus pens. The vet doesn't want to switch until later this week as they are closed today.

 

[Norman and Mama]

Canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling, will help with the diarrhea. Also probiotics, such as FortiFlora will also help.

I also agree that a longer acting insulin may help get better glucose readings. Most cats respond better to long acting insulins. Lantus and Levemir are human insulins you can get from your pharmacy. ProZinc and BCP PZI are pet insulins you will get from your vet. All of them work well in cats.

When you change insulins you also need to start back with a low dose. This is to help you find the optimal dose that works best for your cat. Any increase should be in small increments, 1/2 unit at a time with at least a week between dose changes. This gives your cat's body time to adjust to the new dose. We also recommend that you hometest. Then you will know how well the dose is working.

Thanks, hoping to switch to lantus this week. So far BG is coming down, but he's nauseous this morning. Worried the pancreatitis is flaring up again. Thanks for the tips on pumpkin and fortiflora. If he starts eating I will try.

 

[Yvonne & Andy &BJ (GA)]

I have also used pumpkin but supposedly too much pumpkin can have the opposite effect. It is also used for constipation.