? 3 questions about dose, fur shot and teeth. His BG is so high and I'm scared.

[Daddy Jack's Mommy (GA)]

Jack fell out of remission 8 days ago (2 years at the falls). The first time around, it was so different. His numbers instantly responded to insulin and he was in remission in less than 4 months. This time, his numbers are sky high and I'm really worried.

The first insulin shot that he got at the Vet ER (1.5 Humulin R) On Wednesday night brought his BG down to 150 the next morning. But it seems like the 1.6U prozinc is doing very little to change anything at all. I haven't gotten a curve yet (I will on Saturday), so I really don't know what's going on between doses.

Question #1 -Should I increase his dose before Saturday, or wait until I do a curve?

And to add insult to injury, I gave him a fur shot right now! Grr!!! So he'll have no insulin on board at all. So question #2 is - Should I give him a token shot, just to give him a little insulin?

I saw a new vet yesterday. I really liked her. When I had Jack to the ER (Wednesday night) they said "severe periodontal" may be responsible for him falling put of remission. However, the vet we saw yesterday believes it may be IBD (never confirmed) that made him fall out of remission. She agrees that he could use a tooth cleaning (his teeth were OK 9 months ago, according to my vet), but she feels like they're not bad enough to have caused his problems right now. She wants to wait until his BG is controlled before she does surgery on his teeth.

My 3rd question is - Will I be able to control his BG if his teeth need to be cleaned right now?

Jack is not acting sick right now. He's eating, purring, and loving all of the attention. No vomiting. No ketones (I test everyday, usually more than one time). I'm just so worried about him.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

Question 2 first - no, do not give a token additional shot if you do a fur shot. You never know how much really got in.

Question 3 - regulation will be much easier if his teeth are taken care of, especially if he has inflammation, infection, or any teeth that need to come out. And your vet is right, bad teeth are a very common reason for cats to fall out of remission. Getting it taken care of sooner will help your chances of getting him into remission again.

Question 1 - any chance of getting tests in the PM cycle after PMPS? There are a couple dosing methods for Prozinc, list in the Sticky Notes at the top of the Prozinc forum. Which one you go with might change how you change doses and what data you need before hand.

I hope this is a short return for you and Jack.

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

Fur shots happen to the best of us. I once saw a tech give a long haired dog a vaccine shot resulting in a stream that shot across the room. Whatever else you think never shoot until the next cycle, it happened here just once to a new member and thankfully the cat was okay.
Please don't be scared for Jack. Dental work and falling out of remission is just a part of life with cats. You'll both be okay.

 

[Daddy Jack's Mommy (GA)]

I once saw a tech give a long haired dog a vaccine shot resulting in a stream that shot across the room

This made me laugh out loud!

Whatever else you think never shoot until the next cycle,

I do know not to, but I felt so bad for him last night, and I couldn't even give him some relief with an insulin shot. The thought crossed my mind - maybe just a 1/4 of his dose maybe? But the reasonable part of my brain knew better.

Please don't be scared for Jack. Dental work and falling out of remission is just a part of life with cats. You'll both be okay

Thanks Dickson. For some reason, I'm having a really hard time with this. It's good to be reminded that it's all going to be okay.

 

[Daddy Jack's Mommy (GA)]

regulation will be much easier if his teeth are taken care of, especially if he has inflammation, infection, or any teeth that need to come out. And your vet is right, bad teeth are a very common reason for cats to fall out of remission.

I agree. I'm worried because his new vet doesn't agree and wants to see him peeing and drinking less before she'll do surgery. Otherwise, I really liked this new vet, and her quote on dental work is 1/2 of what my other vet charges. I have 3 senior kitties in need of dental work right now, including one with stomatitis who may have an absorbed tooth in his gums. (His teeth were extracted years ago.) Money is such a motivating factor for me. I really hope that I can bring down his numbers enough to satisfy her. But I'm afraid that without dental surgery, it may be a losing battle.

any chance of getting tests in the PM cycle after PMPS

I know it's good to have PM numbers too, but I go to bed exhausted and require a good amount of sleep. I always feel bad about this, but I've learned that I can't pour from an empty cup.

There are a couple dosing methods for Prozinc, list in the Sticky Notes at the top of the Prozinc forum. Which one you go with might change how you change doses and what data you need before hand.

I'm going with the SLGS, even though I did raise him to 1.6U quickly. His BG has been so high. But from here, I'll do it slower, with some data, and raise it by .25.

I hope this is a short return for you and Jack.

Thank you. I really do hope so.

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

I'm having a really hard time with this.

Don't worry, we all are. It's perfectly natural, they are our babies after all.
I'm currently medicating three of five, three need dental work and one more has what our vets says is "probably not cancerous but...."
Daniel peed on my toolbox, it's humid and raining and MIL doesn't like ceiling fans, apparently air that moves is not good. See, it's not just you.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

So many vets put you in that catch 22. Get regulated before dental, but regulation not possible without dental. There are special anaesthesia protocols for diabetics that might help. FWIW, Neko’s GP Vet did her first dental when her spreadsheet looked like a rainbow with red preshots common, and sometimes worse.

 

[Daddy Jack's Mommy (GA)]

So many vets put you in that catch 22. Get regulated before dental, but regulation not possible without dental. There are special anaesthesia protocols for diabetics that might help. FWIW, Neko’s GP Vet did her first dental when her spreadsheet looked like a rainbow with red preshots common, and sometimes worse.

I'm hoping that if I can get Jack's preshots in the red, and NOT in the black, that she'll be willing to do surgery. I f not, or if I can't get her to agree to take care of his teeth sooner than later, I'm afraid that I'll have no choice but to pay my other vet twice as much money to do it. Of course, that's only if they'd be agreeable to to it without better regulation first. This is so unbelievably frustrating.

I'm doing his first curve today. We shall see...

 

[Daddy Jack's Mommy (GA)]

I'm currently medicating three of five, three need dental work and one more has what our vets says is "probably not cancerous but...."

I completely understand this! I have 4 senior kitties, and 2 need dental work while another, with stomatitis and his teeth removed years ago, may have teeth that were sucked into his gums. So...another possible dental. And now I find that the stomatitis kitty had a fructosimine test of over 800. What????? So it appears that I may be doing this sugar dance with another, and this one is gonna be tough to test and shoot. I'm really hoping that the BG elevation is due to infection and inflammation, and NOT diabetes. And I can't forget to mention Celie, with hyperthyroidism. It does feel somewhat like a nursing home for senior cats in here. But I couldn't agree with you more. They really are our babies after all.

Daniel peed on my toolbox, it's humid and raining and MIL doesn't like ceiling fans, apparently air that moves is not good. See, it's not just you.

Cats are quite indiscriminate, aren't they? One of our cats once pooped in their own toy basket, and I had to throw the toys away. Really? Eww.