7/12 Angie amps=119 +4=83 - vet visit

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GraceAndAngie

GraceAndAngie

Member Since 2013
Good evening LL,

The heart on my post is for FDMB and for my new vets. I love my new vets and I have FDMB to thank for helping so much with Angie but also for my own health. I wouldn't have figured out my hypoglycaemia issues without you guys! :YMHUG:

I gave Ang her insulin this morning after all. I had a bad night last night so I stayed home this morning. I should have tested myself last night - I'm sure I was hypoglycaemic but I didn't think of it at the time - sometimes I'm too vague to think about how to make it better. I had white pasta for dinner at a friend's house. I forgot to tell them about my new low GI diet. It was so yummy but clearly not worth breaking my diet in the end! I'm still not doing very well with getting all the tests that I should. I have alarms set for +3 and +4. Sometimes I sleep through or get vague. It seems to be getting better though as I'm getting better control of my blood glucose. When I get a job my doctor is going to refer me to a specialist. I'm still infinitely better now than I was in February prior to working it all out.

I took Angie to the vet this afternoon because she's still been drinking and peeing a lot. She's also spending all her time on my bed and not leaving the bedroom. I just wanted to make sure that this was just because of the new house and not something worrying underneath.

The vets at this clinic are so supportive of home testing and up-to-date with current diabetes research. The vet we saw today follows the research of the Queensland University group. :thumbup When he saw the dose Angie was on he said "researchers are finding that cats can sometimes need a minute dose for an extended period of time before their ready to have that support withdrawn and sometimes they may need a small dose indefinitely". That's infinitely better than my last vet who said that I should increase Angie from 0.1 unit to 1.0 units and hold that for a month prior to testing again. :shock: And moments before that he said how he didn't like how low she was going!!!

The vet took some urine with a needle through her tummy into her bladder. There were no crystals or bacteria. Because I'm a pensioner he didn't send it off for analysis but just did what he could in the clinic. He said that the doxycycline would have killed most UTI bacteria but there are some rare resistant ones and she could have a low grade UTI that would show up in culture but not on his tests.

He didn't repeat the blood work that Angie had in March because her kidney and liver function were good then. He said that change drinking and peeing usually happens dramatically when kidneys get to about 25-30% function and that it would be unlikely for them to go from normal to 25-30% in 4 months without seeing other symptoms. Her urine was only slightly less concentrated than normal but this was to be expected if she's been drinking lots. There was no sugar in her urine. She doesn't have any abdominal pain or lumps. Her kidneys felt fine and didn't hurt when he poked them. He said to keep an eye on her and if there are any new symptoms we will repeat the blood tests and maybe send a urine sample for culture. He said that sometimes diabetics can get in the habit of drinking more and keep it up when they no longer need to but this seems unlikely too as she wasn't left untreated for very long.

confused_cat

So I'm going to keep an eye on her and keep on keeping on.

(this is a long post - sorry!)

Grace
 
Hi Grace, it does sound like you've found a good Vet that is on top of things and also mentioned the Queensladnd protocol. I hope you can get a handle on your health issues, too. Sending lots of healing vines.
Thanks for your visit and Maggie vines.
 
I have a relative who is diabetic ( very insulin dependent) and I know it's difficult to do it alone. She sometimes gets too low and isn't aware of it.
I guess you have to learn to be more in tune to the tiniest changes so you catch it before you get to that "too low" moment.
Praying you will be able to get that fine tuning with yourself.

definitely sounds like a much better vet.
With Angie still peeing and drinking a lot, I wonder about thyroid issues. That might be something to ask about next vet visit.
 
I have heard that insulin pumps in humans may help keep the glucose levels more stable.
 
Hi guys,

Thanks for the visit and the encouraging words. :smile:

Hi BJM - I don't have diabetes, thankfully. I have some form of functional hypoglycaemia probably because of over sensitivity to the insulin. It's diet controlled (or not, if I break my diet!).

Hi Rhiannon - I think I can feel the symptoms but I'm just learning to associate the symptoms with hyperglycaemia. I'm sure I'll get better at it as time goes by.
 
I don't know that. Who knows what the turning point is for any of it?
There isn't any research I can find on Pre-diabetes or Pre- anything for felines.


I'm curious as to why she's still so thirsty and peeing.... Is it really hot and dry? I know she's stressed.

I'm always wanting to learn more so perhaps I can prevent something with an early intervention.
 
Here are 3 reasons that thirst and urination may be increased; there are more, I'm sure.

When the glucose is unregulated, and the level in the blood is higher than the renal threshold, the glucose is excreted into the urine. It takes a lot of water with it, so thirst and urination is increased. As you get her regulated, it should calm down some. The glucose levels you just posted int the subject line would tend to suggest this is not the cause, unless she has a lower renal threshold than some.

If there is hyperthyroidism, the accelerated blood flow pushes through the kidneys faster and urine output and thirst are increased.

If the kidneys are beginning to become less effective (early chronic kidney disease), the inefficiency at removing solute (toxins, wastes) requires more water to keep pushing the blood through the kidneys. More than usual water is excreted with less than usual solute in it.
 
Rhiannon - you just made me think of something. We have central heating in the two houses that we've been in over the last two months. It's gas heating so it does dry out the air. We've never had central heating before. We also just moved from Sydney which has high humidity. Maybe she feels drier? I've noticed my skin has been much drier than normal.
 
Hi BJM,

Thanks for your ideas. There was no sugar in her urine. The vet thought that if it were CKD or hyperthyroidism we would have seen some indicators in her blood from March. He said it was possible that it had happened in this time but thought it highly unlikely. Perhaps not though?
 
Hi Grace,

Sounds like you have a vet that is a keeper!! And a good vetty report on top of that. :-D

My Cleo had lab work on 4/5/13, the day of her FD diagnosis, and on that day her kidney readings were fine. When we went back on 7/5/13, her readings had gone from normal to early CKD. She was drinking a little more, but that was the only sign. Since then, she has been on a low phosphorus diet, and I have seen her water consumption decrease. We go back to vet on 7/24, and I hope to see a decrease in phosphorus levels. If not, I already have the binder to start adding to her food.

Just wanted to let you know how quickly our kidney values had changed.

Jane
 
Just wanted to stop by and say hi. Sounds like you both have your hands & paws full in different ways. Glad you got a good vetty report - that's always a relief. As far as hydration, are you adding any extra water to her food? I do that with Buster and I hardly ever see him at the water bowl. I do it because he once had struvite crystals, but maybe that could help her absorb water in a different way.

Keep an eye her and keep going on...sounds like a theme around here! Hugs and scritches from overseas!!
 
GraceAndAngie said:
Hi BJM,

Thanks for your ideas. There was no sugar in her urine. The vet thought that if it were CKD or hyperthyroidism we would have seen some indicators in her blood from March. He said it was possible that it had happened in this time but thought it highly unlikely. Perhaps not though?
Click to expand...

A reminder for the vet - the blood and urine indicators don't start showing problems until a significant portion of the kidney function is impaired. You may be catching it early because you are paying attention to the warning signs of compensation for decreased filtration effectiveness.
 
Hi Grace

I'm so glad you found this new vet and he is supportive of how you manage her FD. How relieved you must be!

I also wondered if he checked her thyroid. You can also see kidney levels be within the normal range but kitty still be in renal insufficiency. The first hint is usually a lower urine specific gravity.

I hope you find the answer to her drinking and peeing more.

Take care of you, Grace.
 
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