01/16 - Toofy - AMPS 59 +4 44 +7 34 +9 47

Last update (06/05) here. Low numbers today, but I'm not overly concerned. She's been normal low/little too low for a while now, so the immediate fear of those numbers has worn off at least, heh. I've been doing her reductions once every 24 hour cycle, but I'm considering reducing her evening amount tonight, rather than waiting until morning.

Her spreadsheet is a simple way to quickly see what the last year has been like. Had trouble staying low, then in the middle of November she stopped eating for two days, and was very lethargic. I thought that was probably the end of things, but she never stopped drinking water, she was being treated by our homeopath, which did perk her up a little, and then on the third day she slowly started eating again.

Since then, it's been no trouble at all to keep her numbers lower and lower and flatter and flatter. Very much like the switch turning on that I've seen people mention, along with the insulin doses reducing quickly once they started going down, which has been happening since the beginning of the year. The only food adjustment I made after her Nov. spell was the take out the whole mouse or chick she was getting once a day, and replaced those with extra chicken in the evening instead. Otherwise she eats raw only, freeze-dried meat for testing treats, and only gets carbs in crunchy cat treats or a little bread when she's really low.

I added in some B12 in Dec, as she was having more trouble keeping her back legs underneath her. She still walks a little stiffly, but doesn't fall down or wipe out from jumps as much now. However, she has developed a very round, firm belly. It sticks out when you look at her from above. Definitely came on slowly, but by the end of December I couldn't pretend I was imagining it. She doesn't show any discomfort when I massage it, and she's eating very well, but not as desperately as when this all first started. She seems to be in a good mood in general, rests more now where it's warm (very cold here in ND these days) and spends much less time in the kitchen begging for extra food. Pretty sure it's not related to the B12, because it had started slowly before that. I'm also not sure if her belly is making it harder to groom herself, or if it's something else that's making her coat a little oilier and ungroomed looking, especially on her back half, where I know it's harder for her to reach now.

Her belly doesn't feel like extra weight, but I realized I was feeding her the same larger amounts that I started with when her numbers were still pretty high. So I figured I should at least try to get her to an amount closer to what I would have fed her in the past, given her small size (she weighs too much right now with the big belly) and how she's not terribly active these days since she still risks losing her footing if she gets too rambunctious. Once I started reducing her meal amount, her insulin needs fell quickly, even after the amount of food stopped changing, but I'm not seeing a change in her belly yet.

So I have two questions. We've scheduled a vet appt for the 20th to have her belly looked at and some blood work done. One, does this overall picture she's presenting sound familiar to anyone? Doesn't sound like, from what I could find in the archives, that there's a common explanation for the potbellies I saw mentioned. I will say that as good as her numbers have been, she still drinks a lot, imo, and has pretty big pees, so I'm not sure how regulated I'd consider her symptoms. Her stools are larger in diameter these days than pre-DX, but she doesn't seem to work overly hard to pass them. Maybe a little harder than she used to. They've been like that for several months.

Second question, any thoughts on reducing her shot amounts every 12 hours, or should I wait 24? She keeps staying low, even though I'm dropping her dose .25u every 24hrs at this point.

Thanks for any insight anyone might have--I'm still so appreciative this forum exists.

 

Anything in the 30s is an automatic reduction. Take it tonight.
Cats can go from low numbers with no symptoms to seizing in an instant.

 

Please reduce tonight as any bg under 40 calls for a reduction.Her new dose is 2.25.

 

She’s begging for food because most cats get very hungry if their bg is too low.

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dont-panic-or-how-to-handle-low-numbers.210109/

 

Thank you both, good to know that's possible. I wasn't sure with the longer Lantus effects.

 

Fwiw, she's not begging at the moment. But she's happy to follow me to the kitchen if I call for her. When her numbers were high, she'd spend a lot of time waiting in the kitchen to yell at me, heh. Now she just gets excited if a human starts making human food noises (that she can't have anymore--she used to love a little carb treat here and there pre-DX), or if it's one of her set mealtimes, then she's very adamant about eating. So far she's fallen into the category of not showing any changes when her numbers go low. Not more hungry than normal, not less. But always happy to come get an extra treat if I call her.

 

They get extra hungry when high sometimes as well.

 

You might want to review the TR guidelines.
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/thr...-low-go-slow-slgs-tight-regulation-tr.210110/

 

Been looking them over back and forth today, but thank you for the reminder. I didn't recall them specifying not to reduce after just one cycle, but I think I sort of had that in my head from the increasing doses suggestions, so I wanted to get some other opinions first.

 

Hi Christina, I would ask for an ultrasound when Toofy sees the vet. I don't want to make guesses as to what is causing the potbelly, but I'm really hoping that it's just that she's gaining weight because of her healthy appetite.

 

Yes, that was on my mind. I have no idea if they'll be able to offer it or not. She's very agreeable with strangers and enjoys any chance to meet new people, but I don't know if they'll try to do anything like that on an initial check-up visit. (It's the same vet that diagnosed her, but this will be the first time they see her about the tummy).

I wish I believed it was weight gain, but it's just very firm compared to when my other cats pack on a little extra. It feels likely to be organ related, but she's been acting so normal otherwise that I'm still holding out some hope it's not a new serious complication/condition. :\

 

If they can't offer the ultrasound that day then I am sure they would be able to schedule one within a week of your visit or refer you to somewhere you can go to do it. I love that she "enjoys any chance to meet new people." How positively un-cat like!

 

I'm hoping! It feels like it'll be necessary to really rule anything out. And yes, she's ridiculous, lol. It made it so much easier to leave her at the ER alone in March, because I knew the second she felt any better, she'd love all the stranger-attention.