? 5/13 Copernicus, AMPS 672

Is he conscious and aware? Is he able to stand? I’m not sure what you mean by not being able to pick up his head …Is his head drooping to his chest?

If in doubt, I’d go to the ER.
 
I ask about head drooping because it can be a sign of low potassium. My Charlie had critically low potassium and had to be on an IV drip with supplemental potassium at an ER clinic to get him back into a safe zone. Hanging his head was a sign. (I want to be careful to note that I’m not diagnosing, just sharing our experience).
 
Hey All. We are at ER. He was laying in the floor on his side and he wouldn't sit up or lift his head or eat. He is conscious. There is no IM so they want to keep him overnight and transfer him to IM tomorrow. He did perk up from the adrenaline of riding in the car, so maybe just felt so bad and weak. I can't keep taking him to the ER. Also, when does it make him worse because they refused to accept his own food and they want to give him Rx food. They mentioned hydrolyzed and now I'm worried bc those are high in sugar. For the future, what do you all do for numbers that stay that high for that long and keep rising? Another option is maybe his primary vet could have done some fast acting insulin?
 
CopernicusDM said:
Hey All. We are at ER. He was laying in the floor on his side and he wouldn't sit up or lift his head or eat. He is conscious. There is no IM so they want to keep him overnight and transfer him to IM tomorrow. He did perk up from the adrenaline of riding in the car, so maybe just felt so bad and weak. I can't keep taking him to the ER. Also, when does it make him worse because they refused to accept his own food and they want to give him Rx food. They mentioned hydrolyzed and now I'm worried bc those are high in sugar. For the future, what do you all do for numbers that stay that high for that long and keep rising? Another option is maybe his primary vet could have done some fast acting insulin?
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i'm not savvy in these subjects, I am learning myself but just came to check on how he was doing. let's wait for those who are more experienced to come and advise, but i'm on watch to see updates. stay strong Krista and lil copernicus! ✨☄️
 
CopernicusDM said:
Hey All. We are at ER. He was laying in the floor on his side and he wouldn't sit up or lift his head or eat. He is conscious. There is no IM so they want to keep him overnight and transfer him to IM tomorrow. He did perk up from the adrenaline of riding in the car, so maybe just felt so bad and weak. I can't keep taking him to the ER. Also, when does it make him worse because they refused to accept his own food and they want to give him Rx food. They mentioned hydrolyzed and now I'm worried bc those are high in sugar. For the future, what do you all do for numbers that stay that high for that long and keep rising? Another option is maybe his primary vet could have done some fast acting insulin?
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I’m glad he’s more alert. Been looking for your update and hoping he’s feeling better.
I wonder if @Wendy&Neko or @Bron and Sheba (GA) @Marje and Gracie
Have any thoughts

Sending you both many hugs and prayers Krista 🙏🙏🙏🫂🫂🫂
 
Sending healing vines for little Copernicus.:bighug::bighug: I hope the IM vet can figure this out.

Did the ER at least do blood work? Like JL I've seen low potassium in a cat and supplementation did wonders. It could be other things but they should have at least done basic blood work to rule that in/out.

As far as the food goes, you can always put him back on a diabetic friendly diet when he comes home. At this point, he just needs to eat. Was he eating well at home? I've never had an ER refuse the food I brought, so that is rather surprising. If he refuses what they offer, maybe they'll take what you brought. Cats often don't eat at the vet clinic, so he might need something he's used to. On the topic of familiar things, could you leave a used T-shirt or pajama top with him so he has your smell on it?
CopernicusDM said:
For the future, what do you all do for numbers that stay that high for that long and keep rising? Another option is maybe his primary vet could have done some fast acting insulin?
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Follow TR and keep raising doses as fast as is safe to do so. For every cat there will be a dose out there that brings better numbers. Some of us have also learned to use a fast acting insulin as well. Note for any readers, there is a learning curve to using a bolus insulin (typically R) and it requires an experienced person to help you learn.
 
I’m glad you got him to the vet. I think Wendy is spot on about food. He is your cat so if you want him to have a specific food he will eat and it does no harm for what is going on with him, they should feed what you want.

For insulin, they should give him 3.5u and a fast acting insulin. That’s because he hasn’t even built a good depot with 3.5 and we need to focus on that. If they want to give home more Lantus, that will not quickly bring his BG down. If they give R insulin, and they give it at the right time, they can bring down his pre shots so the Lantus then insets at a lower BG.
 
They really need to know the potassium level (along with other electrolytes). Agree with Wendy — I hope they did at least basic bloodwork. I’d ask for a copy of any bloodwork they did. It can be helpful to keep that in a file for reference (and in case you end up at another clinic or ER in the future).
 
Marje and Gracie said:
I’m glad you got him to the vet. I think Wendy is spot on about food. He is your cat so if you want him to have a specific food he will eat and it does no harm for what is going on with him, they should feed what you want.

For insulin, they should give him 3.5u and a fast acting insulin. That’s because he hasn’t even built a good depot with 3.5 and we need to focus on that. If they want to give home more Lantus, that will not quickly bring his BG down. If they give R insulin, and they give it at the right time, they can bring down his pre shots so the Lantus then insets at a lower BG.
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The hospital said they don’t use R.
They want to take him up to 4.5 units tonight.
What should she tell them?
 
It's a teaching vet school ER. They gave him 4.5. I'm beside myself. I am so worried about him. They said they consulted with faculty. They said they have done this before and they don't use H because they don't like to mix insulins and they like to use what they are on. The only reason I took him somewhere was bc I wanted him to get H while we adjusted him up and gave his Lantus time to work.
 
CopernicusDM said:
It's a teaching vet school ER. They gave him 4.5. I'm beside myself. I am so worried about him. They said they consulted with faculty. They said they have done this before and they don't use H because they don't like to mix insulins and they like to use what they are on. The only reason I took him somewhere was bc I wanted him to get H while we adjusted him up and gave his Lantus time to work.
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Sending big hugs Krista. I know how hard it’s been lately and how worried you are 🫂🥰

Hoping they can help get him to feel better and a more stable situation so you can manage him at home 💕💕🍀🍀🍀🍀🙏🙏🙏🙏💕💕💕
 
@CopernicusDM How was Copernicus when you left him? And as mentioned before, I am very curious about his bloodwork. I would ask for a copy of it if you haven’t. I would specifically ask about potassium level as well as other electrolytes and ketones.

I’m not sure if you have experience with University Vet schools, but if not, it’s pretty standard (from my experience) that a student or doctor will call you twice a day, usually morning and evening, with an update. It’s worth organizing any questions you might have and asking at those times. If the doc/student doesn’t know the answer, they’ll often find out and get back to you. Also, the month of May can be a bit hectic because that’s typically when Senior students (who spend their last year in doing clinical work) are graduating and the incoming Seniors are just starting their clinical rotations.
 
CopernicusDM said:
It's a teaching vet school ER. They gave him 4.5. I'm beside myself. I am so worried about him. They said they consulted with faculty. They said they have done this before and they don't use H because they don't like to mix insulins and they like to use what they are on. The only reason I took him somewhere was bc I wanted him to get H while we adjusted him up and gave his Lantus time to work.
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oysh Krista that sounds really rough. we are here for you guys. we know how distressing it is when you just want the best for your baby. sending tons of kitty love and air biscuits so that he pulls through and they can stabilize him. ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹
 
By "H", is that Humulin R? We call it R.

When Neko was at a university teaching school (twice) for radiation therapy, they were pretty good at testing regularly. I had a student contact who gave me her cell phone number and said I could call with any concerns. Universities may vary in practice.
 
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