djett
Member Since 2024
Hello! My 14y boy Gucc was recently diagnosed with DKA. Please see his history and timeline of events to now. Unfortunately I am having alot of trouble keeping his blood sugar under control
History before DKA diagnosis
Here's a summary of major events to now. Please see detailed doc for more information with Freestyle libre 3 graphs and comments about feedings/dosage/readings. Keep in mind that Freestyle Libre 3 readings seem to run lower than actual readings about (20-50 maybe?), and even though it will readup to 400, the graphs
I was initially hoping this was a temporary issue caused by the Depo Medrol shot but unfortunately his BG is still not under control and is over 400 as we speak. As you can imagine i've spent enough to buy a brand new car, and still feel like I am back at square 1. I also have an Alphatrack 3, but unfortunately I can't seem to get enough blood from him. I've pricked him at least 6 times (poor guy) with no luck or such a tiny amount that I cant get a reading. So currently I only have Freestyle Libre 3 readings, which seem to run a little low.
I would love to hear more feedback, any help would be well appreciated! I have an appointment with internal medicine on Wednesday March 20th, but i'm desperate at this point. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this I really appreciate it!
Thanks,
Devin
History before DKA diagnosis
- 14 years, 11 months chocolate point Birman male neutered, 1 of 2 (also have a 7 y/o Birman male)
- history of CKD with creatine levels ranging from 1.6 - 2.7 (avg 2.2), BUN 26 - 46 (avg 36) over the last year or 2
- Had a full mouth extraction in 2017 for dental disease so only eats wet canned food and has been on a Hills K/D prescription kidney diet since August 2023. Free fed
- Has feline Asthma and always has upper respiratory infections with lots of sneezing, nasal discharge etc.
- Had a mass removed by his hip in October 2023 (turned out benign)
Here's a summary of major events to now. Please see detailed doc for more information with Freestyle libre 3 graphs and comments about feedings/dosage/readings. Keep in mind that Freestyle Libre 3 readings seem to run lower than actual readings about (20-50 maybe?), and even though it will readup to 400, the graphs
- Tuesday 2/6 - Took him to the vet 2/6/2024 for not producing any urine/stool after multiple attempts in litter box. Urine culture negative for bacteria. Also mentioned his chronic sneezing/discharge, in which they gave 20mg steroid shot of Depo Medrol, which is a glucocorticoid and has a side effect of inducing DM
- Friday 2/23 - started seeing him drink a lot more water, eat about 3x what he's used to eating, use the litter box more frequently, sticky urine, and a few days later wasn't really eating or drinking, became lethargic, wobbly gait, very sick looking
- Tuesday 2/27 - Diagnosed with DKA (serum ketones 5, potassium 2.5) with a prognosis of 1/5 chance of surviving. Very lethargic and could barely walk
- Saturday 3/2 - Discharged with ketones .2, potassium 3.3 and looked much better. Diet changed to 1/2 can of 5.5oz Hills m/d gluccosupport every 12hrs 8am/8pm and 1 unit of Glargine 15 min after each feeding. Also has a Freestyle Libre 3 sensor on him for continuous monitoring, BG was about 320 at discharge
- Monday 3/4 - He ate only half of his meal at 8pm, BG was around 220, then went up to about 280 at 10pm and dropped to 60 by 1am. Spread honey on his gums and rushed him into the hospital where it then bounced back up over 400 (highest the freestyle libre will read). Took him back home
- Wednesday 3/6 - Started to notice wobbly gait again and after talking to primary vet, they wanted to keep him there to monitor. That morning his BG had slowly gone down to 80 at time of feeding so I didn't give him insulin before dropping off to the vet. They free fed him and did a curve reading , gave him .5 insulin
- Thursday 3/7 - Gave him .5 unit of insulin and brought him back to the vet for curve/monitoring and brought my insulin. They free fed him again during the day, gave him 1 unit at 1pm, and another 1 unit at 6:30pm. When I picked him up at 7 his BG was 380 and dropping. It steeply dropped to 50 by 9:30pm so I rubbed honey on his gums at 100 and rushed him into the hospital for overnight care.
- Friday 3/8 - Potassium was down to 2.2 so I had him hospitalized for fluid treatment.
- Saturday 3/9 - Discharged with potassium at 3.1, sent home with potassium glucconate, 2mEq to be taken every 12hrs. A new insulin dosage was given at .5 units of glargine every 12hrs after meals.
- Thursday 3/14 - Brought him back to see how his potassium was holding and it was at 3.1 so they decided to continue the potassium glucconate supplements at 2mEq every 12hrs with food. Since BG has been over 400 almost the entire week, they increased the morning insulin dosage to 1 unit, while keeping the night dosage at .5 unit
I was initially hoping this was a temporary issue caused by the Depo Medrol shot but unfortunately his BG is still not under control and is over 400 as we speak. As you can imagine i've spent enough to buy a brand new car, and still feel like I am back at square 1. I also have an Alphatrack 3, but unfortunately I can't seem to get enough blood from him. I've pricked him at least 6 times (poor guy) with no luck or such a tiny amount that I cant get a reading. So currently I only have Freestyle Libre 3 readings, which seem to run a little low.
I would love to hear more feedback, any help would be well appreciated! I have an appointment with internal medicine on Wednesday March 20th, but i'm desperate at this point. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this I really appreciate it!
Thanks,
Devin
