2/12 Fortune AMPS 360 +2 460 +4 476 +6 511 +6.5 562 +8 441 PMPS 431 +2 520 +6 217

RachelG

RachelG

Member Since 2021
Yesterday

Of course he is up today after giving us a scare last night. :rolleyes::arghh:

Once we decided to go to bed, Fortune crawled into bed and slept in my arms most of the night (he got up twice for the bathroom and a drink of water). DH disassembled the bed frame so our mattress is low enough for him, and we put stairs next to it to minimize jumping.

He is still very snoozy, but alert for breakfast/food as usual. He did eat about 90% of his two cans. With him it’s always hard to tell if something is off because even when he is super nauseous he will eat.

He is down to 5 kg, was at 5.28, and his normal is 6+. I already called the hospital last night acting if this level of lethargy is normal - I mean he did have MAJOR surgery, but I don’t want to assume it’s normal and miss something.

Hoping he wakes up a bit later - he is on fentanyl which is strong stuff, so it is likely also contributing to drowsiness, but we are watching for signs.
 
I’m amazed when cats eat right away after surgery. My cats would never eat when they had to stay at the vet. I’ve never had one on a patch but I’m sure it must sedate them which is probably a good thing since you don’t want him too active while healing. Are the sutures all internal?
 
tiffmaxee said:
I’m amazed when cats eat right away after surgery. My cats would never eat when they had to stay at the vet. I’ve never had one on a patch but I’m sure it must sedate them which is probably a good thing since you don’t want him too active while healing. Are the sutures all internal?
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haha they all told me not eating is normal, but that isn’t Fortune’s normal so I guess that’s a good thing? Even the tech I spoke to at 2 am told me he remembered Fortune because whenever someone came into the ward, with food or not, he would start crying for food...he even ate the same night after his surgery.

He has a big incision on his tummy, now his little flappy pooch is two, with the stitches in the middle. Otherwise everything is internal.

DH fashioned him a little jacket from a t-shirt til the surgical suit comes to protect his incision, but Fortune doesn’t seem interested so far.
 
You can get a baby shirt or sweater that buttons or zips and just put it on him so the closing runs down the back.

I had a survey shirt for Tux, he didn't mind it, he also didn't think he could walk in it. It velcroed down the back. It kept him away from his sutures. He had the pain patch also, don't think it made him groggy though. It was a devil to get off him.

Wish I could POST PHOTO of him in his shirt.
 
Fortune is still nauseous- gulping, lip smacking - and sleepy, but I gave him a lick of some of his scraps leftover from this morning to get him to come for his BG test and he gave my finger a thorough cleaning! Now he is napping on my chest, after some head butts and soft purrs.

I called the surgeon about the continuing nausea, expect to hear back later since he is operating today.

Olive & Paula said:
You can get a baby shirt or sweater that buttons or zips and just put it on him so the closing runs down the back.
He had the pain patch also, don't think it made him groggy though. It was a devil to get off him.

Wish I could POST PHOTO of him in his shirt.
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Yeah I’m not sure if it’s the fentanyl patch (though it’s pretty strong and despite being fierce, he is sensitive) or the nausea that is making him so sleepy.

We found a pattern for a little jacket post surgery to last until the surgery suit arrives, it isn’t prettt but it’s working! I don’t know if that is because Fortune is a bit out of it or what. I’ll try to paste this picture and hope it works.

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Suzanne & Darcy said:
Thanks for the update! He sounds good so far! Funny about what the vet tech said!
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Lol Fortune surprised everyone with his healthy and voracious appetite considering he is also presenting nausea. And of course post surgery he still ate heartily. He holds depths :)

thank you for the well wishes, everyone! We are keeping out paws crossed that the biopsy reports show good news, but we won’t know til next week.
 

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Also, why did he have to give me that false sense he was coming down. He is sky high today! :arghh:
 
Looks like Fortune could be bouncing from the lower numbers yesterday. You also shot a half dose last night, so that can impact numbers as well.
Sorry if I missed this but is there a reason why he isn't on meds for nausea, or is he but at too low a dose? I'm so glad he's eating well, though.
Butters had a fentanyl patch and it made her so sedated she barely moved for three days straight other than to use the LB or eat.
 
Pretty good report on Fortune today. :)

Did the clinic give Fortune insulin while he was there? Any information you know on dosing would be helpful to fill in on the spreadsheet. That might help us figure out what's happening. Though I expect it's a combination of bounce (been a while since he's seen low blues) and reduced dose last night.
 
Butters & Lyla said:
Looks like Fortune could be bouncing from the lower numbers yesterday. You also shot a half dose last night, so that can impact numbers as well.
Sorry if I missed this but is there a reason why he isn't on meds for nausea, or is he but at too low a dose?
Butters had a fentanyl patch and it made her so sedated she barely moved for three days straight other than to use the LB or eat.
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He is on Cerenia for nausea, but I have called the hospital to report that he is still very nauseous and gassy. He got ondansetron while he was there, too, but not to take home. I guess I had hoped that the surgery would help resolve the nausea. I also think the fact that he is still so food motivated/responsive despite the nausea deters them from doing more because they may think he can't be "that nauseous," if he is still eating. Just a thought, but not going to stop me from bothering them. That does give me some reassurance re: the Fentanyl patch and Butters. He is just not as curious or annoyed about being sequestered and it makes me a bit nervous. He will move from one of his beds to another or come onto the mattress and lay on me, use the LB and drink. But not a whole lot else. I wouldn't say he is super active, but not this inactive.

Wendy&Neko said:
Pretty good report on Fortune today. :)

Did the clinic give Fortune insulin while he was there? Any information you know on dosing would be helpful to fill in on the spreadsheet. That might help us figure out what's happening. Though I expect it's a combination of bounce (been a while since he's seen low blues) and reduced dose last night.
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They did! They kept him on 2 IU, and were doing spot checks because he was high. I don't have times for the BG checks (I guess pre-shot, but it's a guess...) but I know they were shooting at 8am and 8pm, which is close to when we normally shoot (8:30)

The numbers they sent:
2/9: 265, 398
2/10: 150, 491, 476
2/11: 140

He was admitted around 3pm 2/9, discharged in the pm on 2/11.
 
Butters isn't very active normally either but is very feisty all the time. She makes a huge scene if she is confined to an area but never said a peep about it when she was on fentanyl. THere was no feisty behaviour.
Her patch was good for 72 hours. Toward the end of that period she began to be a little more like her old self. Fentanyl is a strong drug. It's likely sedating Fortune like how it sedated butters.
I hope they give you ondansetron for him. If they were giving it to him when he was in the hospital, it was probably working to help him feel well enough to eat so normally in the hospital, combined with the pain meds.
 
Butters & Lyla said:
Butters isn't very active normally either but is very feisty all the time. She makes a huge scene if she is confined to an area but never said a peep about it when she was on fentanyl. THere was no feisty behaviour.
Her patch was good for 72 hours. Toward the end of that period she began to be a little more like her old self. Fentanyl is a strong drug. It's likely sedating Fortune like how it sedated butters.
I hope they give you ondansetron for him. If they were giving it to him when he was in the hospital, it was probably working to help him feel well enough to eat so normally in the hospital, combined with the pain meds.
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Oh that’s really helpful! He got it post surgery, so it’s been about 48 hours or so. I also realize he had a major surgery with an organ removed, so trying to leave space for him to just be tired, and that to be OK.

they kept telling me his appetite was excellent, but I don’t know what they were comparing it to. We try to feed him two cans morning and evening, so four cans total, because he’s lost weight. But I wonder if they were feeding him less, therefore it was easier for him to finish? When he’s feeling well, finishing two cans is no problem. And even now, when he’s clearly nauseous, he still finished 95% in one go, and polished the rest over the course of the morning.

After everything we went through last week, and this week, I don’t want to risk making the assumption. So I’m just calling and updating them. I’m definitely going to emphasize the nausea too.

Hopefully I can get his blood sugar better under control, too. The old hospital from last week took him down from 2.5 IU to 2 IU and I just don’t think it’s enough, but I need him to have some stability I think before adjusting, especially with the reduced dose last night.
 
RachelG said:
The numbers they sent:
2/9: 265, 398
2/10: 150, 491, 476
2/11: 140
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When you call for the ondansetron, see if you can get the times for those. They should have logged that. In the meantime, you can put the 2 units in the units cells. Being out 1/2 hour in shot times wouldn't have made that big a difference.

I agree with your approach on dosing. Give him a couple days to get everything else sorted. And you need six cycles in a row on this dose to see what happens when the depot if full. Though I guess if the clinic gave him 2 units, then he did have 8 cycles at it, The data you do have shows it takes him to low blues. Pain/inflammation can also raise the numbers.
 
Did you ask for copies of his hospital records? When you call, ask them to send you copies of his records and labs if you haven't already. Get copies of everything. Maybe they recorded how much they fed & whether he ate. His records may also have timings of the BG tests. Butters' hospital records had lots of interesting information in it, including food eaten (or in her case, not eaten:rolleyes:), and timing of bg tests done.

You're doing a great job and good call just allowing him to recover at his own pace.
 
Why won't they give him Ondansetron! Or did I miss that they finally did give it to him. I've always had the best luck with Ondansetron for nausea... sometimes in combo with Cerenia. It's cheaper, too!
He's so beautiful ... even in the awful suit. Hope the other one comes soon because when he wants to get up and about more, I don't think he's going to like that suit! :-)
 
I heard from the surgeon! He is concerned the lethargy, nausea and frequent drinking may be signs of anemia or his left kidney giving issues :( He had me take of the fentanyl patch to see if Fortune perks up over the next 5-6 hours, and if he doesn't, we need to bring him back to the ER. I'm really really really desperately hoping he gets friskier. He always gets energized around food, so right now he was meowing his head off to get fed, lol. But we will have to see how he does the rest of the night.

Butters & Lyla said:
Did you ask for copies of his hospital records? When you call, ask them to send you copies of his records and labs if you haven't already. Get copies of everything. Maybe they recorded how much they fed & whether he ate. His records may also have timings of the BG tests. Butters' hospital records had lots of interesting information in it, including food eaten (or in her case, not eaten:rolleyes:), and timing of bg tests done.

You're doing a great job and good call just allowing him to recover at his own pace.
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I do have the records! :) There was also a paper chart and I had them email me the written BG numbers, but I didn't specifically ask for the times - oops. I found what they fed him! Purina EN 60g q12h (50% RER). Ooof, it's in grams, so I guess it was dry food. That's less that half of what he normally gets for one meal (he gets two 3 oz cans). They left it for him over the course of two hours, so it makes sense he ate it all and was still begging for more.

Suzanne & Darcy said:
Why won't they give him Ondansetron! Or did I miss that they finally did give it to him. I've always had the best luck with Ondansetron for nausea... sometimes in combo with Cerenia. It's cheaper, too!
He's so beautiful ... even in the awful suit. Hope the other one comes soon because when he wants to get up and about more, I don't think he's going to like that suit! :)
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Thanks for the sweet complement, obviously I'm very biased but I think he is super handsome! The suit DID arrive, but I ordered the wrong size! ARRGH. I hope that t-shirt lasts a few more days lol.

They didn't give me ondansetron - idk why, but when I spoke to the vet I forgot to request it because he suggested if the nausea didn't resolve without the fentanyl he needs to have his labs checked.

Paws crossed we don't have another ER trip, and if we do, it's all good news!!
 
Wendy&Neko said:
When you call for the ondansetron, see if you can get the times for those. They should have logged that. In the meantime, you can put the 2 units in the units cells. Being out 1/2 hour in shot times wouldn't have made that big a difference.

I agree with your approach on dosing. Give him a couple days to get everything else sorted. And you need six cycles in a row on this dose to see what happens when the depot if full. Though I guess if the clinic gave him 2 units, then he did have 8 cycles at it, The data you do have shows it takes him to low blues. Pain/inflammation can also raise the numbers.
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I added it all in. I can follow up with them on the times, they also owe me the insulin pen back and also charged me for the units. It's just lower priority right now when I have been calling that I keep forgetting! Feels like it hasn't stopped for Fortune, I hope he can have a relaxing weekend and we can focus on the BG and not have another crisis. I feel so guilty for dragging him all over.

I do have a feeling we will need to go up. He was at 2.75 when we had to fast him and shot him with half and he dropped to 44. We reduced, but perhaps in hindsight we should have skipped that shot? He had just started grazing the high blues when that happened, which was why I was so nervous at seeing the 113 last night!

Forgot to add - his medical records had this gem in it: Temperament: FRACTIOUS when away from owner, SWEET when owner present

HA! I got a kick out of that. I suppose they updated it after the visit when he was all lovies at seeing us.
 
So far, if you are following TR, it looks like an increase to 2.25 units will be in your future. Unless Fortune proves us wrong. :cat: Let's see what the data tells us.

Whenever I had to fast Neko, I was fine with a 1/2 dose, except one time when she was dancing towards a reduction and going in for a dental. I gave her a token dose and she ended up 72 on the AT at the clinic. Mighty close.
 
Very worried about the high numbers today, and this evening. We are going to test for ketones, but Im worried even moreso because the last time Fortune was very high was when he collapsed.

Keeping an eye but I think it will be another late night. I hope he comes down and I can breathe a little easier, but will take him back to the ER if needed...
 
It doesn't need to be a late night, he's not going anywhere dangerous. :bighug: Bounce plus reduced dose = higher numbers. As long as he's otherwise acting OK, don't worry. This from someone whose cat was unfortunately too familiar with higher numbers. :rolleyes: And whose cat had worse bounce numbers the start of the third cycle after the low.
 
Oh Rachel, I'm praying after taking the patch off will make him perk up.
He has been thru enough, I hope his numbers start to come down.
Sending positive vibes for him ♥:bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
:bighug:
Wendy&Neko said:
It doesn't need to be a late night, he's not going anywhere dangerous. :bighug: Bounce plus reduced dose = higher numbers. As long as he's otherwise acting OK, don't worry. This from someone whose cat was unfortunately too familiar with higher numbers. :rolleyes: And whose cat had worse bounce numbers the start of the third cycle after the low.
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Thank you, I appreciate the reassurance. Do you think I should check for ketones, or are we still in a safe zone?

I'm just so on edge because he is not acting like he is feeling well - very sleepy, drinking and peeing a lot - it could just be the fentanyl wearing off, it could be the diabetes...or it could be his kidney or anemia again. This poor bunny.

Diane Tyler's Mom said:
Oh Rachel, I'm praying after taking the patch off will make him perk up.
He has been thru enough, I hope his numbers start to come down.
Sending positive vibes for him ♥:bighug::bighug::bighug:
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Thank you!! We need them! :bighug:
 
If you get a chance, testing for ketones is always a good idea. He's probably peeing lots because of these numbers.
 
We woke up to catch the pee - small level of ketones, BG 217, and some blood in his urine.

Called the ER - he is alert and sitting on my lap. Very clear he is showing me he is doing alright. They aren't concerned, and told us to just keep watching him and if symptoms change to call.

Crawling back into bed with Fortune (and DH lol).
 
So glad to hear his numbers are coming down. I wonder if blood in urine is to be expected given the type of surgery he had.
 
Yeah that's what we were told. Just hoping he is stable, his left kidney is working well and that the anemia is gone and this is just a blip!
 
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