3/26 Oldtimer Brownie AMPS 379 Insulin Resist?

[Patricia&Brownie]

Hello to everyone in LL. We are oldtimers here and don't post much anymore because Brownie has been stable for a few years. He is 19.5 years old and has been having a rough go the past few months. His BGs started climbing in mid-January and I thought that it was due to my DH missing 2 doses twice while I was out of town. However, he did give a 1/2 dose right after and checked him often. He didn't seem to recover well and he seemed to resist his aspirin (in fact, he bit right through my thumb, which is NOT like Brownie!). He was dx with a bad gingivitis infection and put on clindamycin. After that cleared, Brownie had a dental in mid-February and came through it great. They did xrays and saw no disease, they cleaned all the tartar and put him back on clindamycin for another 10 days. Sadly, his BGs still didn't come down. I took him back yesterday and they found that his labs were ok (only the liver protein ALT, formerly SGPT, was low at <10), but his temp was a disturbingly low 95 degrees. :shock: I will say that he has spent all day on his heated pet bed for about 3 years. Perhaps his ability to maintain his body temp has altered? The vet was really surprised that his labs looked so good - he was expecting "catastrophic" labs... He found that Brownie's teeth looked great, there was no abdominal tenderness and no reason to suspect pancreatitis, infection, etc. He surmised that Brownie may have developed insulin resistance. I have started moving his injection sites around more and have increased his dose from 0.75 in January up to 1.5 units now. His bgs have not changed much. I have read a little about insulin resistance here, but I'm not finding out enough. Should I switch him to LEV? Or keep increasing his dose? Or do any further lab tests? Lastly, I have already switched to a new vial last month, I have stored it correctly, I have not fed him any HC food. He did drop to LO in January and spent the morning being fed HC gravy and surfing in the 20's. But, we're old pros, so we didn't panic. I wonder if that drop caused a bounce that we're still seeing? Doubtful, but I'm out of answers. Any help, especially from someone who has dealt with insulin resistance, would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, and Happy Caturday!

 

[julie & punkin (ga)]

just tipping my hat to you for your success in managing Brownie's health issues - 19.5 years is awesome!

 

[Barbara and tuffy]

Hi Patricia and Brownie: So good to see you and on Oldtimer's Caturday. What a tribute to you Brownie and his age and health are. He is a lucky boy. On IAA, I don't know much about that but am sending white light, healing vines and positive vines to you and Brownie. Hope all is well with you and your family (extended included). Please keep us updated on Brownie's status. How is Simpkin? Again, great to see you.

 

[mybuddybinks]

wow...sending healing energy Brownie's way...and a bow to your for your amazing care of him!

celi & binks

 

[Libby and Lucy]

Hi Patricia, good to see you! It's great that Brownie came through his dental so well.

Any chance you can get some mid-cycle tests soon? It's hard to tell what is going on between the shots. Probably he is just staying high, but before changing dose too much it's best to be sure.

Your SS says his BUN/CREA are elevated this time, and they weren't in Feb. How elevated are they? Also, how is his T4?

 

[Nina and KB]

Hugs to you and Brownie. I'm sorry he's running high for you, that is not like him. I don't have any words of wisdom, other than to think out loud that maybe he just needs more the way some cats come out of remission after a time. So glad you're on top of things, I hope you see some improvement soon.

 

[Linda and Bear Man]

It's good to see you, Patricia. Brownie is an amazing kitty at 19.5 years old! Do you warm the squids before you give them? Has a urine culture been done lately to rule out another UTI?

 

[Patricia&Brownie]

Any chance you can get some mid-cycle tests soon? It's hard to tell what is going on between the shots. Probably he is just staying high, but before changing dose too much it's best to be sure.

Your SS says his BUN/CREA are elevated this time, and they weren't in Feb. How elevated are they? Also, how is his T4?

Libby, you can click on "Brownie's labs" right below his spreadsheet to see his BUN/CREAT history. Yesterday, his BUN was 41 and his CREAT was 3 - pretty stable for him. They were actually normal before his dental (they haven't been normal in about 5 years), probably because we were pushing squids so much prior to the procedure... Unfortunately, squids every other day gave him major liquipoo, so I eased back to every 3rd day. Perhaps I'll try a little less every other day... As for the mid-cycle tests, I'll get some more. I did a few and there was no major plummeting going on. T4 was tested in January of this year and was normal (<2). He had I-131 therapy about 6 years ago for hyperthyroidism and was actually hypothyroid afterwards for several years. Thanks for the input and I'll get some more numbers for you...

 

[Patricia&Brownie]

It's good to see you, Patricia. Brownie is an amazing kitty at 19.5 years old! Do you warm the squids before you give them? Has a urine culture been done lately to rule out another UTI?

Hi LInda! You brought up some great points. I will definitely start warming up his squids - getting all that cold fluid must make it really difficult for him to maintain his core temperature. Also, he had a urine culture in January and it was negative, but he hasn't had one since then... He hasn't displayed any strange peeing behavior, but at his age, you never know. I'll get a sample on Monday and run it to the vet - thanks for the good ideas. Thanks again for checking in on us!

 

[Linda and Bear Man]

Also, he had a urine culture in January and it was negative, but he hasn't had one since then... He hasn't displayed any strange peeing behavior, but at his age, you never know. I'll get a sample on Monday and run it to the vet - thanks for the good ideas. Thanks again for checking in on us!

Hi Patricia,
For a culture and sensitivity, you need to have a sterile urine sample taken by cystocentesis (a needle in the bladder). A free catch sample may be contaminated and give you invalid results.

 

[Patricia&Brownie]

Thanks for the info regarding the cystocentesis, Linda - I'm sure you're right - I probably should get him back to the vet for the urine sample. Especially since he's not exhibiting any overt signs of a bladder infection, I would think we would need as sterile a sample as possible to get a good dx. And thanks for checking back with us tonight - it always makes me feel so good posting here - there's always someone who is willing to help out, give some good advice, or just listen. I love LL!! Ni-Ni!