4/24 Jetta's Labs= Pancreatitis PMPS 577 +2.75 311

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Jacspets

Jacspets

Member Since 2011
Yesterday Jetta 4/23

Hi All,

Today's #s
AMPS 295
+2.5 264
+9 308

I heard back from the vet on Jetta's blood tests. Her pancreatitis test came in at 10.5, and under 5 is normal. So that explains why she quit eating last week. Odd thing is, what that kind of result, she should still be "acting" sick now and isn't. Yesterday and today she's been eating fne, playing, etc. Other than that, her results were mostly good. Liver and kidney enzymes all WNL, her glucose was 207 on their test. She did have +2 glucose in her urine as well. The much frought over Fructosamine came in at 395. Good regulation for a diabetic cat is 350-400, so she was high normal. But that also includes her hypo event (21) and the 24+ hours she spent in unually low numbers (low for her). The vet firmly agreed that if I want to try Lev, we're a go. I got her prescription filled and I plan to start Lev Wednesday morning. I'm still debating (and collecting advice on) her starting Lev dose...

Also - This is our first time using pens of any kind. I watched Julie's video (so helpful! and I love the meowing in the background) but are there any other tidbits we should kow about pens before I go and mess something up tomorrow?

I hope all kitties and beans are having a great Tuesday. Vines and comforting thoughts go out to all who need them.
 
Re: 4/24 Jetta's Lab results = Pancreatitis

sorry the little girl is sick! good that she's not feeling terrible and good that you know what's up - i hope she's perking back up soon. my vet said that many diabetic cats have a low-grade pancreatitis (because i said "no thanks" on the test) so maybe this has been lingering for a while.

here's a link on people-switching from one insulin to another: http://www.albany.edu/sph/coned/sta/attachment_7.pdf they advise 1-1, so with Jetta's dose at 1unit, you could go 1unit of lev. most people drop by a little bit and work back up as needed. so you could drop to .75 or .5u, knowing there's the possibility they might not be enough and you'll have to work up if needed.
 
Re: 4/24 Jetta's Lab results = Pancreatitis

Sorry to hear Jetta has pancreatitis! Many kitties have had it lately- Hope it clears up real soon!!
I love the lantus pens, they are easy to use & store, and other than the bubbles, they are great..Hope you have good success with the lev--Hugs from us!
 
Re: 4/24 Jetta's Lab results = Pancreatitis PMPS 577 (!!!!

I'm so very sorry to hear Jetta has pancreatitis. Ndid they give you fluids and some pain meds like bupe?
 
Re: 4/24 Jetta's Lab results = Pancreatitis PMPS 577 (!!!!

So sorry about the pancreatitis. Hopefully they gave you some pain meds and anti nausea meds. Good luck with the Lev! We just switched to pens from vials. Bubbles are what I am fighting now. Thinking of you!!
 
Re: 4/24 Jetta's Lab results = Pancreatitis PMPS 577 (!!!!

Pancreatitis is painful, and the range for negative is 0 to 3.5; from 3.6 to 5.0 is more of a grey area... like flying under the radar.

The result you have would likely be causing a fair amount of pain; if you did not get any pain meds, buprenex or something, I would suggest you get some. Humans with pancreatitis say that it's very painful, and cats are pros at hiding pain. Also you can give pepcid AC 5mg total per day. Get regular strength, cut pills in quarters and give BID as it will help to get Jetta to eat a bit. Finally, subQ fluids will help - until you get the fluids, you can soup the food to get some fluids into Jetta.

Treating pancreatitis - pain meds, fluids, and pepcid. Once the flare/attack clears, you will see the BG numbers drop and the dose needs also decrease.

Both of my cats had pancreatitis issues: Oliver was always under 5.0, flying under the radar, but Shadoe's attacks were frequent and much higher. She needed the pain meds and fluids to flush it out, and without the pepcid, no way she would eat a thing.
 
Re: 4/24 Jetta's Lab results = Pancreatitis PMPS 577 (!!!!

Pancreatitis is painful, and the range for negative is 0 to 3.5; from 3.6 to 5.0 is more of a grey area... like flying under the radar.

The result you have would likely be causing a fair amount of pain; if you did not get any pain meds, buprenex or something, I would suggest you get some. Humans with pancreatitis say that it's very painful, and cats are pros at hiding pain. Also you can give pepcid AC 5mg total per day. Get regular strength, cut pills in quarters and give BID as it will help to get Jetta to eat a bit. Finally, subQ fluids will help - until you get the fluids, you can soup the food to get some fluids into Jetta.

Treating pancreatitis - pain meds, fluids, and pepcid. Once the flare/attack clears, you will see the BG numbers drop and the dose needs also decrease.

Both of my cats had pancreatitis issues: Oliver was always under 5.0, flying under the radar, but Shadoe's attacks were frequent and much higher. She needed the pain meds and fluids to flush it out, and without the pepcid, no way she would eat a thing.
 
Re: 4/24 Jetta's Lab results = Pancreatitis PMPS 577 (!!!!

Thanks for all the well-wishes and input. We think Jetta has chronic low grade pancreatitis pretty much all the time. It was repeated pancreatitis that landed us in FD land as best as me and the vets can determine. I'm really shocked by the high results now since she seems fine! She is eating great (has consumed ~5 oz wellness chicken in 12 hours today-that's A LOT for her!) and drinking fine. The vet saw no need for fluids since she's prefectly well hydrated. I do have bupe in my kitty medical box, so I can use it if I think she's painful. I am with Jetta every waking hour when I'm not travelling, so I know when she's even slightly off- and she isn't at all off right now. This is just very bizarre. I did start her metronidazole today so that should help since it has both antibotic and anti-inflammatory properties.

So in light of her test result, and that she's acting totally fine, should I wait to start the Lev, or can I start it tomorrow? I understand I should wait if she's ill, but I have a hard time saying she's ill when she's eating drinking playing and acting fine. Thoughts? And, I'm still bobbling back and forth mentally about a starting dose. I don't think I'm comfortable changing 1 for 1 and starting at 1U, and I can't decide if .75 or .5 makes the most sense.

Where's the "this beans' losing her mind" emo when you need it? :lol:
 
Re: 4/24 Jetta's Lab results = Pancreatitis PMPS 577 (!!!!

Poor Jetta...but I'm glad you've got an answer and can move forward with helping her! Feel better, Jetta!!!
 
Re: 4/24 Jetta's Lab results = Pancreatitis PMPS 577 (!!!!

Poor Jetta, I hope she starts feeling better soon (even if she seems fine now). Leo just switched to lev 2 weeks ago and i too was chicken to switch him to exactly the same dose, he was at 6.75u on lantus and i switched him to 6.0u of lev, we are now at 6.5u and he seems to like this dose. I'm glad we didn't go any lower but i do wish i would have been brave enough to switch to what he was at on lantus.

Jetta please come down from up there!

Good luck with the switch Jaclyn.
 
Re: 4/24 Jetta's Lab results = Pancreatitis PMPS 577 (!!!!

Oh my, we are so sorry the ugly P has reared its head! Lots of healing energy to Jetta and strength to her mamabean for the insulin switch.
 
Re: 4/24 Jetta's Lab results = Pancreatitis PMPS 577 (!!!!

Hi all - sorry about the pancreatitis. I hope she is better soon. I am glad that you have bupe on had in case she needs it. Sorry too for that pmps. wow - hope that clears soon. Good luck!

Be well Jetta!
 
If you are having frequent pancreatitis problems, talk to your vet about starting B12 shots for Jetta.
My Shadoe was having flares often, and the vet had me give her weekly B12 shots. After a few weeks of shots, she had no more problems and with maint shots of B12, every few weeks, she had only one minor issue in several months.
 
Whew. 311 is way better than 577 :roll:

Thanks for Jojo's post Sienne. I had seen it before but it's a good read. Jetta is on a few of the listed things but I think I'll try adding some denosyl too. I've tried FortiFlora and Jetta must be the only cat on the planet that turns her cute little nose up at it.

Hi Michele- she's coming down! Thanks for the well wishes!

Hi Anne- love that photo. I especially like that the bean is green- so appropriate :lol: :mrgreen: :lol:

Hi Tracy. Glad to hear Leo's Lev switch is going well. Seems like quite a few kitties have made the change recently.

Thanks Amy. That's what were hoping for--forward movement and hopefully on the right road!!!

Hi Gayle. Jetta is on B 12 injections. She gets them monthly and her last was April 8th. This episode started April 14th as best as I can tell.
 
Hi Jaclyn

Just a few things to think about with lev. First, it's a great insulin and it has really, really made a huge difference for Gracie. BUT there is no guarantee that it will keep a kitty from bouncing. There are bouncy cats on lev (JD, Putty--I think, Checkers, Tess, and yes Gracie did continue to bounce at first on lev and still does occasionally). Second, even though Jetta may really do well on lev, it can take weeks or months for you to see a difference so you have to be uber patient. Third, lev has a different onset and nadir and it varies by cat. Typically, you would see a +4 onset and a +8 to +12 nadir. BUT that doesn't mean that is what Jetta will do. Look at Gracie's SS....she nadirs anywhere from +12 to +16 and onset is +7 so we are almost always up two to three times at night. You've done a good job of getting before bed tests on Jetta but on lev, she will just be onsetting and so you'll have to get up and check her once you determine what her nadir is. I didn't switch Gracie until after I went part time because getting up at 3, 4, and 5 am every night would have been impossible even with all that Mike does. Conversely, Rusty has a really nice and considerate bean friendly lev cycle :lol: :-D

Lev is purported to have longer duration and overlap and that is what I love about it with Gracie and she has really flattened out....so it's got some great attributes if it does it with Jetta. If it doesn't, you can always switch back BUT you must give it time. It was a good four months before we really started seeing better patterns emerging and longer cycles of green/blue.

I know you want to start the lev tomorrow. Just remember that when you switch insulins, one shed is draining while the other is filling and so you have the possibility that she will be very high with little insulin for a couple of cycles. So I'm not sure if you want to switch her with an "active" pancreatitis condition. I understand it is chronic and mild but is there a time when her spec fPL numbers are a little more normal? It's your decision, obviously, and you are seeing the cat...we are just seeing the numbers. But I would be remiss in not mentioning that typically switching cats who are ill is not a good idea....it's better to wait until they are healthy.

Lastly, on dose.....IMHO, Jetta's 1u dose on lantus is just "kinda" getting her there. Yes, she has gotten into some lower numbers on it. I, like Tracy, was a little leery of starting Gracie at the same lantus dose. Boy I wish I had!! She was on .75u of lantus and has never done well on a lev dose of even 1u much less anything lower. I had to fast track her increases. So, IMHO, I would start Jetta on 1u of levemir. I did recommend to Barb that she start Checkers on the same dose lev as lantus and she did but she's had to increase his dose. Leo needed a dosecrease. You will need to be vigilant once the shed fills and if you feel you won't be able to, then start her on .75u. But if she were mine, I'd go with the 1u. No crystal ball here but I'm just basing it on whether the 1u of lantus is even enough for her.....and I'd say, it's doing "ok".

Please let me know if you have any questions. Remember, these are just my insights. Others may have other opinions and information to offer you.

Good luck!!!! I hope you will see lots of great flatness with it.
 
Hi Jaclyn,
Sorry to hear about Jetta's pancreatitis. (Rusty is recovering from it now, too). I wanted to wish you good luck with the Lev. We didn't switch Rusty (he was on Lev. already when we adopted him), but it does take some getting used to when you have been a Lantus user. I think Marje covered it all very well.

Have a good evening,

Ella & Rusty
 
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