2/10 Choco ampb 150 HELP

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marleesan71

Member Since 2011
Choco just read at 150 and I don't know whether or not to shoot him. I normally shoot 2 units of Lantus twice a day. I have to go to work and I don't know what to do!! Please help.
 
I don't think you are data ready to shoot 150, Maria, but you also have the recent DKA to contend with. If it were me, I would shoot one-half his normal dose and expect a slightly higher preshot this evening.

You hold the syringe, you make the decision. I hope you get more input.
 
I am not sure if this has already been mentioned but is it possible for you to shoot a little earlier in the morning so you will have time to get a +1 or +2 before you need to leave? I am not sure how long you are gone all day so that may not work for the pm shot.

Since you don't have a lot of stalling time you may have to shoot less insulin like Venita suggested.
 
Okay, if you can leave late, and it's been about a half hour, can you test again, and post the number. We want to see if he's rising or dropping or staying the same. Have you fed him yet? If not, please don't feed him, because we don't want the BG number to be influenced by a food spike. I have to go to work myself, but others are here to help you. You will be okay.
Leave lots of food out when you do go to work. I'll check in on you this afternoon. :YMHUG:
 
Sending prayers Angels to watch over Choco and tons of healing green light.You are doing an awesome job. Hugsssssssss Kath
 
Okay, I just gave him 1 unit. I will stay here with him for an hour and test him again. I am gone for 11 1/2 hours a day so I don't think there is a way for me to shoot him +1 or +2 hours earlier. I leave out at 6:30am and get home right around 6pm. Dyana, I already fed him because I thought I wasn't supposed to shoot him without him eating first.

He is just NOT wanting to eat this Fancy Feast so once again, I had to help him by putting it in his mouth and making sure he ate. He was fine with it for the first couple of days. Even when I mixed in boiled chicken last night, he wouldn't touch it. He does have an appeite because he certainly wanted the boiled chicken by itself as well as my hamburger from my sphaghetti so I'm not concerned that he doesn't have an appetite. He just doesn't have an appetite for what he's supposed to be eating. ;O/
 
Maria,

Try something other than the Fancy Feast, or a different flavor of FF, that is low in carbs. Janet and Binky's lists are here. You need Choco to eat well.
 
When I leave the food out it looks like he's touched it but not nearly as much as he should. vgfbbbbbbbbbbbfrtttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt LOL, one of my cats just did that. :O) I bought about five different flavors of Fancy Feast and he's not liking any of them anymore. I will mix some more chicken in his ff again and see if that helps any throughout the day.
 
Maria,

All of the food that Robin recommends for the Kitten Associates fosters is perfect for Choco, it's all grain free, low carb and high protein. I'm sure she can send you the links on petfooddirect for them or if you have any left from Polly's family, you can use that for Choco.
 
maria, is there any chance of a friend looking after/monitoring choco while you're at work? a temporary arrangement... just long enough to get him over this hump. making sure he eats enough and administering adequate insulin is crucial right now.
 
I was thinking about trying Wellness. Unfortunately, I do not have anybody to help me. Any ideas on why his BG was so low this morning?
 
marleesan71 said:
I was thinking about trying Wellness. Unfortunately, I do not have anybody to help me. Any ideas on why his BG was so low this morning?
your schedule will make this tricky. in order to ward off ketones developing again, he has to eat and he has to receive enough insulin.
lantus has a cumulative effect, meaning one dose can effect up to the next three days. the cumulative effect of the insulin at work is what you're seeing... the reason why his ps number was lower this morning.
 
I am off every other Monday and then the opposite week, I tele work on wed. So basically, I am not able to be there with him for 4 days out of the week. The only person that I could possibly come and check on him sometime in the day would be my sister but she is supposed to be getting a job any week now. What exactly am I looking at here? I will be trying my hardest to catch him urinating every other day to check his keytones. Is he in danger because I am not able to be there with him during the day? I'm doing all I can possibly do for him but do not want him to suffer because I cannot do more. I'm going to go out and get a couple different foods and see if he'll take to any of them.
 
There's a balancing act due to the recent DKA, especially since the ketones developed so unexpectedly. We're just suggesting being very cautious because of how serious this can be.

First, I would do what you can to check for ketones daily. As you saw, they can develop quickly. Anything you can do to intervene sooner rather than later will help to keep Choco from ever allowing ketones to be at more than a trace level. This is the best prevention you could possibly do.

There are three things that contribute to DKA: not enough insulin, infection/inflammation, and not eating. On Friday, it was the lack of insulin and lack of appetite coupled with his lethargy that caused me to suggest you test for ketones. You have control over the insulin and food. Given where Choco's AMPS was, I understand why you didn't give his full dose. Right now, it's a balancing act between all of the elements in Choco's care. If he doesn't eat when you're there, it's helpful to have someone who can stop by, make sure he eats, and maybe is able to grab a BG test. This would be temporary until you're sure Choco isn't at risk for DKA. If your sister would be willing to lend a hand, that would be fantastic.

I don't think anyone is suggesting you need to be there 24/7. I'm just cautious because I don't want either you or Choco to go through another episode of DKA.
 
I found that sprinkling parmesan cheese on my cats food from time to time gets them to eat flavors they are being picky about sometimes! Just a suggestion and it has 0% carbs!
 
Yes, I will be very cautious because I definitely do not want to end up in the ER again. ;O/ I'm going to go tonight and get a variety of different brands of food and some parmesian. This weekend is my three day weekend so I will keep a close eye on him. Does anybody else have a problem with their kitties fur looking very unkept and flakey? Poor Choco just looks a mess. Even after I brush him, he goes back to looking like I didn't do it at all. I was thinking of maybe trying to give him a lion cut. I've got animal clippers but don't know how well I would do.

Sorry if I'm being a worry wort. Since we're all women here, I know you all know how wacky pms can make us. It always seems to come at the wrong time and right now is definitely the WRONG TIME but, what's a girl gonna do. :O)
 
Maria,

Poor coat is a clinical symptom of unregulated diabetes. Don't worry about his coat. It will improve as he becomes regulated, and likely even be better than it ever has been because he is on a wet-food diet.

Breathe. Whenever you are feeling extremely stressed, stay in the moment for a couple of minutes. Focus on the pattern in a rug or couch. Do this talking to yourself in your mind. What are you seeing, what are the colors of the walls and ceiling, what is the weather outside. You cannot focus on the environment and stay with your stress at the same time. This will give you a timeout and a chance to get your shoulders down off your ears.

Parm cheese never worked for me, but it does for some. I will put some FortiFlora into the mail for you. It works wonders for my elderbeast.

V
 
Thanks Venita, I will definitely try that de-stressing technique. I really do hope his fur starts to look better. He is such a handsome boy and he just looks so sickly right now. Thank you for sending me the Fortiflora. I am willing to try anything at this point.
 
Most of our kitties look a bit raggedy and worse for wear when they are first diagnosed. Gabby looked awful. She had been hospitalized for DKA, pancreatitis, and hepatic lipidosis. As her numbers improved, so did her coat. Diabetes effects the way food is metabolized -- the end product of metabolism glucose, isn't going where it's supposed to. Rather than getting into the cells to provide nourishment, it's floating around in the blood stream. So, it makes sense that coat and skin might not be as they should.

In addition to FortiFlora and parmesan cheese, tuna water, chicken broth, or crumbling freeze dried chicken (or salmon or liver) over food may be enticing. Some cats like plain yogurt. Likewise, a bit of baby food (only types that are just meat and broth -- no onion or veggies) may get Choco more interested.
 
I tried some Blue Seafood Stew with some parmesian sprinkled on top and NO interest. He ate a couple pieces of the Wellness turkey/salmon jerky but got bored with that. I helped him eat a half can of his food and then brought out the boiled chicken. He had no problem eating the chicken. I bought a can of Wellness chicken and will try that tomorrow. Grrrrrrr.....
 
My feline kids like the Friskies chicken flavors - Special Diet Chicken/Beef, Special Diet Chicken/Liver are very low carb; Poultry Platter I believe is 7 or 8. If Choco likes chicken maybe he'll go for those.
 
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