2/24 H - LRS question

[Gator & H (GA)]

Joanna kind of spurred me when she asked if H was doing OK.

So the new news is that it seems if I go any more than about every other day on the LRS his appetite falls off - this is a new thing and I'm not sure what to make of it. This has just been within the last couple weeks maybe and I really do not have much "proof" of this - just more a casual observation of 2-3 times. And there are so many other things that we fight that impact his appetite so it's always so hard to pinpoint anything. As they say, "Correlation does not mean causation." I just had blood work a few months ago and his BUN was slightly elevated [not too much to worry about especially since he is on a high protein diet] but not by much and his creatinine was within normal but on the higher side. I can post the result if needed. He seems to be feeling fine.

Any ideas? Is this typical of anything besides CKD/CRF? I don't mind giving him fluids but I'm just trying to think through the other things that I may want to pursue.

On the DM side of things - I'm much more confident with the ProZinc these days. And I'm keeping him in the blue the vast majority of the time. It almost like it took him a little while to adjust to the new insulin and how I dose. Which is an interesting question of do cats get used to one style of dosing?

 

[Sarah and Buzz]

Hi Gator! Glad to hear H has been in blues.

I have to admit I don't know what LRS is and therefore am of no help. I have wondered about the dosing question, though. In my own case, I wondered how much of the rough beginning was getting used to the new insulin itself vs. how it was dosed. I didn't spend much time pondering it, though, as I was too busy tearing out my hair and punching pillows. But in your case, with PZIR being relatively close to PZI, it seems like the idea that it's the way you dose which he's getting used to seems much more likely.

Hope you and H have a wonderful Thursday (no questions to answer today, lucky you!).

 

[Nancy and Cody]

G,
I'm struggling trying to explain what you describe and I don't have any really great ideas. A couple things pop to mind:

-there is LRS with sugar added (dextrose or glucose I don't know) and I'm sure you are too savvy to have missed that, but...

-could being or not being thirsty (hydrated) affect appetite?- probably

-if his bg is usually in the blue, (below the renal threshold) and his renal numbers aren't bad (his kidneys are able to concentrate urine, and return to the body things he needs), then there shouldn't be a lot of reason for him to get dehydrated (that my feeble brain can figure).

How much do you give him? Does he vomit or have diarrhea, or get constipated? Any idea how much water he gets /day in his food?
Cody weighs around 11 lbs and the vet said his requirement is 330ml /day, but I'm only suppose to give around 150ml because he gets a lot in his food, and occasionally he drinks. Early on she had me give fluids a couple times /week.
Sorry, G that's all I've got. ;-)

 

[Gator & H (GA)]

-there is LRS with sugar added (dextrose or glucose I don't know) and I'm sure you are too savvy to have missed that, but...

call me stupid but I didn't know this. I've been using Hospira and haven't noticed anything that sugar would typically cause.

-could being or not being thirsty (hydrated) affect appetite?- probably

I add water to his wet and he pees good and doesn't drink much if any water. This makes me wonder about hydration being an issue.

-if his bg is usually in the blue, (below the renal threshold) and his renal numbers aren't bad (his kidneys are able to concentrate urine, and return to the body things he needs), then there shouldn't be a lot of reason for him to get dehydrated (that my feeble brain can figure).

me feeble brain trying to comprehend too.

How much do you give him? Does he vomit or have diarrhea, or get constipated? Any idea how much water he gets /day in his food?

≈125ml. Yes he vomits as per his pancreatitis, IBD and GI lymphoma. Sometimes more than others but approx 1 time a week more or less. So hard to tell what end is up when it comes to his GI issues. He is continually constipated and currently gets about 1.25ml BID lactulose. I don't know how much water he gets honestly. He gets approximately 120g food BID [50-50 Wellness and home cooked]. Plus whatever amount of water I add to his wet at delivery. As you may have observed I'm quite detailed and I could give you a pretty amazingly exact amount of water he consumes but that would take me a little calculating and I'm not sure the end result?

Thanks for the brain waves :smile:

He is such an amazingly good cat. So easy to deal with and put up with all this so well. I heart him so much.

 

[Terry and Puttz]

Gator...You have a beautiful SugarKitty! He is lucky to have you! cat_pet_icon

 

[Nancy and Cody]

The LRS 'with sugar' is pretty clearly specified on the bag in the title description (lactated ringers soln with 5%dextrose, or whatever) and i think you would have noticed it. If you check those websites for iv solutions Im sure you can find it. I'm not really sure of the wording. So I doubt that's it, but check your bag.

If he's constipated the fluids have helped us immensely, thats why cody gets them.
Maybe try 75ml every day? I think the consistansy of everyday helped us.

When cody used lactulose, we went up to 3ml 2x/day mixed into food.(I know you dont add it to food)
If he's constipated maybe you could increase what you give. Would he notice miralax in the food?

How come you havent posted a spreadsheet?

As for vomit 1x/week I wouldn't think twice about that. Happens around here almost every day. TF drinks a bunch of water, then pukes it with a little hair for good measure, then eats breakfast. :roll: I suspect he may have kidney issues, but wasn't told that after his last senior blood test.

As for the cancer, I have no experience at all... sorry

He is a handsome boy!

 

[Gator & H (GA)]

How come you havent posted a spreadsheet?

Because H has so many things going on with him that I do not consider his numbers normal nor how I dose to be a good example of how others should dose. H has only 1/2 a liver now and so I'm probably more cautious than I need to be about dosing thinking that his ability to rebound and protect himself is less efficient than other kitties. Our SS just has a lot of caveats is the thing since H has so much going on. I'm happy to share it though as long as I've told my sob story first :smile: :

https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key ... XYwVFJ4M0E

I think most of the folks here in PZI land know the story, but in Health for instance I lack the patience to make sure everyone there knows the whole story.

Also, I think most folks, if they didn't know the story, would think I was insane feeding dry every now and then like we do. So...

And, I've never asked for dosing help here so up until this ProZinc experience I've lacked the reasons to post it. I do think since ProZinc is a new insulin that others be able to see what I'm doing is important. There seem to be a fair share of people having difficulties with the new insulin and at least my SS may be able to provide some solace that this insulin is not totally whack.

 

[Ele & Blackie (GA)]

Gator, you do an awesome job of taking care of H. There is no doubt in my mind that you love him very much. He is very lucky to have you.

I always like to see other kitty's spreadsheets, so I'm glad you post it now and then. And of course I can see almost everyone's spreadsheet now on Google.

I hope H continues to do well and that you get many more quality years.

 

[Gator & H (GA)]

Gator, you do an awesome job of taking care of H. There is no doubt in my mind that you love him very much. He is very lucky to have you.

I always like to see other kitty's spreadsheets, so I'm glad you post it now and then. And of course I can see almost everyone's spreadsheet now on Google.

I hope H continues to do well and that you get many more quality years.

Thanks Ele :YMHUG: I think for the folks who understand, it is quite an amazing story that we have gotten this far. Between my care, the awesome folks here at FDMB and H being such a great kitty we've managed to pull this off for a surprising amount of time.