10/4 Bob AMPS=499 Acid Reflux? ProZinc?

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Lkldcatlady

Lkldcatlady

Member Since 2013
yesterday's condo

Good morning - Obviously I have no idea what this is because I haven't been testing Bob too often. It's very weird, but I never had a problem testing him before. Now his ears are ALWAYS cold and I have issues getting blood. Could be a bounce because he was at 249 yesterday AMPS and probably saw some blues, could be he doesn't feel well. I did not hear him coughing last night but when I woke up, he was doing the swallowing thing. Once that goes away, he bounces right back and eats and plays so I can't even begin to guess what is going on. Got a call into the doctor to find out about the endoscopy.

I hope everyone is having a good morning! Happy Friday!
 
Re: 10/4 Bob AMPS=499 Acid Reflux?

Does anyone know about acid reflux in cats? I was reading that it is very uncommon, but possible. Bob does not vomit a lot, but maybe that's what's wrong with his throat. Just seeing if anyone has experience with this.....
 
Re: 10/4 Bob AMPS=499 Acid Reflux?

I've never heard of acid reflux in cats but that doesn't mean much. :lol: Sending vines for Mr. Bob.
Liz
 
Looking at Bob's SS, I think you are missing low numbers and seeing bounces. Without more testing, regardless of what insulin you use, you won't know what's going on or how to explain the numbers you are seeing. The other issue is that when you increased Bob's dose from 1.5u to 2.0u, in all likelihood, the increase should have been to 1.75u. It also looks like Bob's numbers got worse once you stared using the Orijen dry food.

One of the major differences between Lantus and ProZinc is that Lantus dosing is based on the nadir. With ProZinc, you need to have an idea of what the nadir is (for safety) but the dosing is based on the nadir. Since ProZinc isn't a depot-type of insulin, you can adjust the dose each cycle -- a practice that is not indicated with Lantus. The trade off, though, is that Lantus has a longer duration than most other types of insulin, is gentler, and has a research-based protocol that you can follow.

Usually, the kind of swallowing you're describing is related to nausea. I would discuss this with your vet. Whether it's reflux or nausea, Pepsid may help.
 
When the weather starts getting colder, I have trouble getting blood from Furball's ear. Do you do anything to warm his ear before you test? You could try rubbing his ear or use a sock with rice in it and warm it in the microwave first, then hold it to his ear. I've never tried the rice sock, but other people use it.

I hope you can find out what is causing the swallowing.
 
Does the problem with the swallowing only happen in the early morning, or when he hasn't eaten for a few hours?

You just mentioned 4:30am and 5:00am the other day, or something like that, and this morning when you woke up.
Does he do it any other time?

I gave thought to switching to ProZinc once.
 
Thanks Liz & Carla for stopping by!! :YMHUG: I know I've been really needy since I've been on the board - I really appreciate the support from everyone.

Sienne and Gabby said:
Looking at Bob's SS, I think you are missing low numbers and seeing bounces. Without more testing, regardless of what insulin you use, you won't know what's going on or how to explain the numbers you are seeing. The other issue is that when you increased Bob's dose from 1.5u to 2.0u, in all likelihood, the increase should have been to 1.75u. It also looks like Bob's numbers got worse once you stared using the Orijen dry food.

One of the major differences between Lantus and ProZinc is that Lantus dosing is based on the nadir. With ProZinc, you need to have an idea of what the nadir is (for safety) but the dosing is based on the nadir. Since ProZinc isn't a depot-type of insulin, you can adjust the dose each cycle -- a practice that is not indicated with Lantus. The trade off, though, is that Lantus has a longer duration than most other types of insulin, is gentler, and has a research-based protocol that you can follow.

Usually, the kind of swallowing you're describing is related to nausea. I would discuss this with your vet. Whether it's reflux or nausea, Pepsid may help.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input Sienne! I don't believe I will ever be able to get Bob to eat only wet food so I'm going to have to get this to work somehow with the dry food. I'm fine with it - I know it's not the TR protocol, but I appreciate all the help I can get anyway. I've accepted Bob will probably never go in remission (unless it's a miracle!), but I just want to get him to stay most of the day below 240. I think that's all I can really hope for. Bob's eating the DM dry now although I don't think the fish in the Orijen really had anything to do with this. I'm going to finish off the bag and maybe switch back to the Orijen (I have 80 pounds of it!). He really prefers the DM dry, but it's so gross. What is the lesser evil?? The DM has 18% carbs compare to Orijen's 20%, but the Orijen has real muscle meat, no grains and "low glycemic" veggies and fruits. The DM has by-product meal, soy flour and corn.

Do you think it would help at all to give a little bit in the morning and a little at maybe +4 to keep his BG more level? Right now I put out 1/8 cup of DM dry into each of 3 bowls and I put down a full can of Wellness Turkey, split into two bowls with 1/2 cup water in each twice a day. Usually there is a couple of TBS of the wellness left in the bowl at the end of 12 hours (but all water is gone). Is this a good way to feed? Any suggestions?

Again, I apologize for my scattered thoughts - just trying to come up with the best practice for Bob and his idiosyncrasies. ohmygod_smile
 
Oh, and I meant to mention I've stopped testing Bob so much for a while because I think he's pretty much had it with all of this poking and prodding. I think I mentioned he flipped out at the vet twice and then once with the vet tech who came to my house to give him fluids. I have NEVER seen Bob hiss or be like that. I just want to leave him alone for a while. I know that may not help much when trying to figure out what his numbers are doing, I just want to see him relaxed again.

Dyana said:
Does the problem with the swallowing only happen in the early morning, or when he hasn't eaten for a few hours?

You just mentioned 4:30am and 5:00am the other day, or something like that, and this morning when you woke up.
Does he do it any other time?

I gave thought to switching to ProZinc once.
Click to expand...

Hey Dyana - It does seem to be mostly in the morning. I saw him do it once when I got home from work though. The vet says it's common for acid reflux to act like that because he's been lying down all night, but Bob's not real active anyway and lays down the majority of the time. When he does the coughing thing, he doesn't throw up. Just keeps swallowing and seems pretty upset about it.
 
Oh, and one more thing - the vet would like me to try Prilosec for 5 days - 1/4 tablet once a day. She prefers it to Pepcid. Any thoughts?
 
You sound like me. I often have 5 to 7 bowls of food out for 2 cats when I leave for work.
If he's eating some of the wet food, then I wouldn't give up hope that he can get to an all wet diet.
 
My point in mentioning the dry food was more that you factor that into the numbers. It may simply mean you need more insulin.

If the vet has recommended Prilosec, that's fine. It should help with the reflux. See how it's working. If Bob's having more issues at AMPS, it may mean that feeding several small meals throughout the day will help. Unfortunately, you're not going to be able to convince a cat to sleep with his head elevated so medication for reflux may be your best option.
 
I don't think Prozinc is a good idea as long as you have to feed him dry food.
My reason is because of the two different ways the insulins work. If for any reason Bob decides he isn't hungry, I think that the longer-lasting, more consistent action of Lantus is preferred.
If you give him 4 units of Prozinc, and then he says "nah, I'm not hungry" and won't eat breffis, then I think you have a bigger problem on your hands. In general, Prozinc isn't going to give you a nice flat surf, so you have Prozinc already in place, and it's going to peak in 5-6 hours, and there won't be any food in there to stop it unless you force feed him.

As long as he's eating dry, the dose will need to be higher than if he weren't, no matter the insulin type. The only advantage if eating is an issue with Prozinc is that if you skip a shot, you would see the results of a skip quickly. But you would need to see the "I'm not eating" prior to knowing you need to skip the shot.
 
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