7/4 Gretchen's Trinka: Rest In Peace sweet Trinka

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HWright

HWright

Member Since 2016
Hello,
Am posting here to help new member, Gretchen who is new on fdmb, to get started. She posted on a fb feline diabetes group this morning (that I was tagged in), stated that she's having trouble doing first thread in fdmb, and then described symptoms that might be low numbers/hypo.

This new member's name is Gretchen, her cat Trinka is 13yo and they are in NJ USA. Trinka was diagnosed in early May, is on novalin ( 2 units twice daily) with labs in May also showing low potassium (has been on supplement since dx) and isn't home testing yet.

During the post, Gretchen mentioned that her cat suddenly became "wobbly and squinty eyed", improved a little after food but isn't eating much.

So, am starting this condo to make it easier and I hope faster for her to connect with folks here and who can help them get started, determine cause of symptoms etc and help through this crisis.

Thanks all, and wishing all a gentle Memorial Day weekend❤
Sina

@Trinkasmommy is Gretchen
 
Thank you!!!! He isn't eating as much as I would like him to but seems OK chilling in the office with his brother
 
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Welcome Gretchen and Trinka! Glad you had some help from the facebook group and hope he is feeling better. Do you plan on learning how to home test? It's our best tool in our FD kitty tool belts and can help you "catch" these events and steer him out of hypo territory.
I'm going to just post some instructions here that I do for new members, including the spreadsheet template, so everything is in one place for you.

Spreadsheet: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
Signature: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/editing-your-signature-profile-and-preferences.130340/
Hypo instructions: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-treat-hypos-they-can-kill-print-this-out.15887/
Hypo Tool kit: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/jojo-and-bunnys-hypo-tool-box.2354/

How long ago did Trinka's symptoms start? Setup your Signature information with a lot of what HWright listed in your honorary post :) and might want to try to start a thread (Lantus users refer to them as Condo) on the Main Health forum. Weekends are usually slower in general but holiday weekends can be even slower. We will try to help you out as much as we can. This is a support group for Trinka and YOU! :bighug:
 
Gretchen, it sounds like Trinka was acting funny? Chilling with his brother doesn't mean he couldn't be experiencing low BG. Do you home test BG? If so when did you last test and what was that reading? If Trinka is acting funny, I would NOT leave him alone. As Sharon says, put some honey on his gums or get him to lick it off your fingers, feed him and monitor him. If you absolutely MUST leave him, make sure to leave lots of food available and preferably something high in carbs.
 
Hi, thank you all for being here. I have no experience with novolin, am on way to work but am also concerned that Trinka's numbers are very low and that he is not out of the woods yet.

@Trinkasmommy Gretchen, you and Trinka are in good hands and the suggestions they've given are essential and given by these experienced members who can help get you and Trinka get through this safely.

Hypos are very serious, can be life threatening especially if he's left alone, isn't eating and his blood sugar continues to drop or doesnt come back to safe range. Please stay with him and keep in contact here with us ok?

I agree with Sharon and mrworfmansmom and their suggestions that I know first hand, having been through some low numbers and hypo episodes. But thanks to the folks here and these suggestions, we made it through and safely. That's our goal today to get you and Trinka through this safely ok?
❤
Sina
 
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We are all in different time zones around here. How many hours ago was the insulin given?

ETA I see you are in New Jersey so about 7 hours post shot. Trinka should be on the upswing of the cycle now but if you are home testing, I'd test before you leave him for any length of time. Without data to look at it's difficult to say if he's totally past any danger point or not.
 
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@MrWorfMen's Mom (Linda). From Gretchen's fb post this morning, she indicated that home testing hasn't been in equation since the dx earlier that was earlier this month; is on novolin 2u twice daily. Food m/d canned and potassium supplement bc of low potassium.

Hoping Gretchen will pop in again soon to update and hope that they're ok. If Trinka's morning dose of novolin was at 4:30am (USA eastern time), what would be safest re evening (dose? Don't dose? Reduce?) depending on how Trinka is when closer to pm dosing? Would that be 12hrs/12hrs dosing schedule? I know it's a "we'll know when we get there" kind of question and hard to determine right now. But it's also been on my mind.
Sina
 
Not knowing what BG levels have been or if Trinka was in fact low today makes it difficult to give any suggestions. 2u isn't a huge dose but could still be more than Trinka needs. There are so many questions that we don't have answers to like other health conditions, history of DKA, diet, recent diet changes etc. along with not eating well today that could be playing into the situation this morning. That said, with the concern that today's symptoms were caused by low BG I'd reduce the dose or perhaps even skip for tonight as long as there is no history of DKA. If there is a history of DKA, then a reduced dose (maybe 50%) for tonight but only IF Trinka will eat a decent meal before shot time. The problem is that if Trinka did go too low, he may be more sensitive to the insulin for a bit so erring on the cautious side especially when not home testing would be the way to go. I'd definitely encourage Gretchen to start home testing ASAP to keep Trinka safe. :)
 
Hi Gretchen. I notice from your Facebook post that you said that Trinka was diagnosed with CKD at the same time as the diabetes diagnosis and that's the reason for the potassium supplement. Another cause of wobbliness in cats can be a potassium imbalance - either the supplement he's getting may not be enough or it may be too much and his potassium may have gone high. Either, once it reaches the point of affecting his legs like that, is a situation that requires immediate treatment - unfortunately, potassium imbalances can become life-threatening if not addressed. It is still entirely possible that the issue today was a hypo event and not related to potassium at all, but when we don't have any numbers to work from we have to consider all possibilities.
 
Gretchen, I will also add that if you have or can get a copy of Trinka's blood work, I would be happy to look at it for you in regards to both the diabetes and the CKD as I've had more practice than I probably ever wanted at looking at both conditions for our own cats.
 
Checking in to see how Trinka is doing this morning. Like Janet & Sharon, I am wondering whether Trinka is eating better today, whether you continued with the same 2u dose of insulin this morning and when Trinka's potassium level was last checked given the information April provided yesterday in message # 16 in this condo. If potassium level has not been checked very recently, a vet visit would be advisable.
 
She looks to be on the thin side too. Are you monitoring her weight at home?
My boy got down to a very skinny 9 pounds. I am still feeding him extra but he's finally reached 12 pounds again.
I would see if you could get a vet appt for a weight check and BG test if you can't do it at home. It can be done by a vet tech so it is cheaper than a regular visit.
 
@Trinkasmommy

Hello Gretchen

I'm not sure if you are receiving alerts for untagged posts. so am tagging you. If you're not getting alerts or seeing all the replies, maybe we can tag you in our messages. When you get started doing threads ("condos") with your member name, you will get an alert for each post that's added. I hope you have had a chance to read through everyone's posts, suggestions and info. And hope this makes communication easier.

While at work today (and I apologize for the late hour in writing but it's been a very long day), i kept checking to see if you'd had a chance to update with more info since your morning post and picture.

I also looked at the photos of Trinka from Friday's fb post and the ones yesterday and this morning on the condo. Thank you for sending daily photos because it does help.

To me, he seems to look like he feels worse than on Friday...perhaps now with signs of pain/discomfort and possibly some dehydration as well. And, in echoing Steph's observation about the morning photo, imho, Trinka looks like he's lost some weight even since Friday's photo.

I know you said that you contacted your vet on Friday, they're closed for the long holiday weekend and that Trinka does have an appointment Tuesday. But he looks to me that sooner he can be seen the better. If he can seen by a vet before Tuesday, to evaluate his condition, check blood sugar, check potassium levels, kidney function and evaluate and treat dehydration with fluids if necessary.

Given that he has multiple conditions (diabetes, ckd and low potassium); has symptoms that seem either to not improve or may have worsened during the past few days; my personal approach is that it's better to be safe than sorry. I have/had senior cats with multiple health issues including ckd, hyper-t and diabetes; things can change very fast. Hence the worry here.

Trinka is your beloved kitty, you know him best. I can only suggest. He is a wonderful cat and being.

Also April (manxcat419) offered to look at Trinka's labs.

If there is absolutely no way that you can physically get him checked today (and that happened to me once during a blizzard when state and town roads were shut down just when my super senior Maine coon, who had many medical problems including ckd and heart problems, got very sick very fast but I couldn't get him to er until road travel ban cleared.) please keep watching him and if he will accept assist feeding, whether by finger feeding, spoon feeding or by syringe. This will help to supplement his own food and moisture intake. Also have you stayed with the 2 unit insulin dose or changed it (ref esrlier posts above)?

Hope this helps, look forward to your updates and any questions you may have to any and all here in fdmb. Sending vines for Trinka to be feeling better soon.
Sina
 
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He seems OK just ate a little bit more today but still concerned. Instead of jumping in my lap and choking me he is joining us in living room and laying in pet bed sleeping
 

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He scarfs down his food. Between the 3 cats they finish 2 cans m/d and 3 cans fancy feast. I start spoon feeding him and give him insulin after he finishes eating about half his bowl. Also I wait until he is finished to give him potassium because he doesn't eat for a while after I give him that. I offer him mid morning snack around 10 am also
 
At vets now. He has been sneezing so I hope he doesn't have upper respitory infection. Ate well plus had good lunch. Sleeping a lot and not jumping into my lap
 
Antibiotic shot for upper respitory. He is maintaining weight which is good news. Upped insulin to 2 1/2 units 2x bg was high. Going back next week
 
Trinkasmommy said:
Antibiotic shot for upper respitory. He is maintaining weight which is good news. Upped insulin to 2 1/2 units 2x bg was high. Going back next week
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glad he got the antibiotic. just be aware that as the infection clears, the bg numbers will drop and you may need to reduce the insulin... so just be vigilant about testing.
 
JanetNJ said:
glad he got the antibiotic. just be aware that as the infection clears, the bg numbers will drop and you may need to reduce the insulin... so just be vigilant about testing.
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So true, absolutely.

@Trinkasmommy
And Gretchen, whst Janet has described, along with vet stress that can raise bg much higher than it would be at home, are among many reasons why home testing is crucial to keep your cat safe.

To better understand what's happening, Am adding some questions here too for you, Gretchen.
1. What was today's bg, at what time was the test and how many hours after food and morning insulin? What was his bg the previous time he was tested? When?
2. Did you have lab work done today including potassium level? If so what are the results?
3. What did your vet say about Trinka's symptons during the past several days, other than diagnosing uri?
4. What antibiotic was Trinka put on?
5. Are you ready to learn and start home testing and keeping spreadsheet?
6. Do you have any questions for any/all of us here or help getting started with home testing and doing a spreadsheet?

Thanks and looking forward to your reply.
 
He got his insulin at 4.30 bg was 390 at 5.30. He did gain 4 Oz in a week so they are cutting his potassium to once a day continuing with 2 1/2 units 2x and keeping him on fancy feast. Check up in one month
 
Was the reduction in potassium dose based on blood work? Potassium and weight gain aren't directly linked, so the weight gain itself would not be a reason for reducing his potassium dose.
 
He got blood work done in house over mothers day weekend and it showed low potassium and kidney levels we're good. Got more fluids yesterday
 
Yes, but why is his potassium being reduced if his potassium level hasn't been re-checked? Reducing his potassium simply because his weight increased, without checking his actual potassium level on blood work makes no sense. His weight increase could be down to any number of things - and potassium generally isn't one of those.
 
If the reduction in potassium dose is on vet advice without re-checking his level then you NEED to find a new vet NOW.
 
Just got home from petsitting since Friday and Trinka is favoring right back leg. Wiped his feet in case he got Kitty litter caught in them. Can't afford vet until Friday
 
Taken this morning. Can't get good blood sample for glucose test. Should get more test strips today. He fights me poking and not getting enough blood
 
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