4/16 Brody AMBG 304, DKA, Newbie - Advice Please

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Michaellh33

Michaellh33

Member Since 2015
I just took he PMPS and it was 291 and he has not eaten the past 2 hours. Do I proceed with just 1.0 units?
 
Yes, you adjust the dose based upon how LOW it takes a cat, and the 1.0u is taking him at least to 150, maybe lower. I'd hold the 1.0u for a few more days unless you see low numbers (under 50) or unless he shows signs of ketones.

Are you able to test for them at home yet? Once or twice a day is essential so you can get aggressive if he begins showing traces.
 
It is going to be sort of difficult to test for the ketones as I am not here all day during the week. I will have to take a trip to walmart this weekend and try to get the test for them.
 
So the higher the blood glucose the more probability of him forming ketones? Currently I am feeding him food with 0 carbohydrates asdiue from a litte bit I mixed with his food in the mornings.
 
The alternative to urine testing for ketones is to get a meter. ADW stocks the NovaMax meter which will test for ketones. The disadvantage of testing for ketones in the blood is that the strips are expensive. On the other hand, you don't need to stalk your kitty to the litter box!

Actually, the "recipe" for ketones is not enough insulin + infection or inflammation + not enough calories. Ketones can show up even if numbers are not terribly high. In cats that are prone to developing ketones, testing for them is the best possible form of prevention.
 
On a positive note, I realized i was uing the strips wrong for the testing. I thought I had to get it on the middle and a lot of it. I barely got any on the very tip and capillary action did the rest.
 
Well they are on sale currently on their website but I am sure the shipping will take awhile to get here.
 
The biggest thing is that if you catch ketones at trace, you can become aggressive with the dose and can prevent the ketones from going to large. Once they pass trace we encourage people to get the vet involved. If they get to "large" then the vet's gotta put the cat on an IV glucose drip and use fast-acting insulin.

Ketones can move from trace to large in a matter of hours.

All of that is incredibly expensive, especially compared to testing at home with either the blood ketone meter or Ketostix.
 
When first diagnosed and until he gets a little better regulated, it's really not important how much you feed. Our diabetic kitties are actually starving because no matter how much they eat, without insulin, the glucose can't get into the cells. Think of insulin as the "key" that unlocks the door to the cells to let the glucose in. There's plenty of glucose in the bloodstream (as you can tell by measuring the blood glucose!) but it can't get into the cells without that "key".

The "general" starting formula for feeding is [13.6 X optimal lean body weight in pounds] + 70 calories but one of the best things you can do is weigh Brody weekly...If he needs to gain, he should gain steadily until he's at his "optimum weight" and then you back down on the calories to keep him there
 
No...that's basically the same number so hopefully he'll have a fairly "normal" cycle where he gradually goes down to nadir and then gradually goes up again to the next pre-shot
 
I took an almost +4 and it is 329. He has gone up since I gave him the injection. Should I be worried?

Edit: I may have accidentally squeezed the insulin out before the needle got in his skin please advise.
 
How much does Brody weigh? Cats need 20 to 30 calories per pound per day, depending on activity level.

Tess was recently DKA. The ER vet said that just as important as enough insulin is to keep her eating. How is Brody's appetite? If you have to give higher carb food to get him to it, so be it.
 
Sounds like he may have gotten a furshot....don't worry about it because we ALL do it occasionally!!

Just make a note of it in your spreadsheet and take a night off from poking and get some sleep!
 
Just saw your last post. There is no way to know if any of the insulin got in. We don't reshoot in the case of a furshot. You also just had an inrease and you could be seeing some New Dose Wonkiness. Numbers can actually rise for a few cycles after an increase until the shed gets rebalanced.
 
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