? 9/19/20 Squeaky AMPS 329 +8 335 PMPS 306

Jan D & Squeaky

Jan D & Squeaky

Member Since 2020
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/9-19-20-squeaky-amps-273-7-335-pmps-375.235580/

Hi Friends, Thanks so much for all the input. I'm aiming for TR and I still need today to decompress from all the emotional turmoil and stress so we'll start tomorrow if all seems in order. I still need to get the "hypo" equipment assembled in one place.

Couple of questions.

1. How important is it to have an appetite stimulant on hand? I'm thinking expense..... geez not cheap and expires. The last tube, we used ONCE and now it is expired. Is there a lot of agreement that the mirtazapine ointment is good? The plus side of that is no pilling, Squeaky hates pilling.

2. If I need to give him something with honey, what's the best way? A drop on a treat? If he's hypo, will he be interested in eating at all?

3. Is a feeding syringe something I need to have on hand?

4. Is there ever a chance that I can give Squeaky (and me) a break one day sometime, and only do the PS BG and not the mid-cycle ones? You know, a person (cat) just needs a break sometimes, from the stress.

5. I'm wanting to change from 2.5 prednisilone in the a.m. to 1.25 in the morning and 1.25 in the afternoon. Part of me is reluctant because he hates being pilled and that's two pills. However his eating habits are inconsistent (chunks by hand) and I never know what he's going to want to eat, he changes all the time. Anyway, what is the way to make the change? Give him 2.5 in the morning, then 1.25 evening, then 1.25 the next morning? He would get a little extra at one time then receive the desired dose.

The other option would be 2.5 one day, 1.25 the next morning, 1.25 the next evening. That might create a bit of a dip because his body is used to getting the 2.5 in the morning.

So a little extra, or a little less? That is the question.

Thanks a bunch!!!!!
 
I experimented with my young one Whois hard to pill. I put a tiny piece in her mouth with the pills in a ball and it worked 3 times I tried. Anti-jinx. It doesn’t help at all to divide prednisolone into two does. Works better all at once.
 
1. appetite stimulant depends on the cat. Most of the time I was dealing with a nauseous cat so anti-nausea medication was more important. You don't want to give an appy stim to a cat that is nauseous, or you'll get food aversion.
2. I gave syrup on regular low carb food. If all he'll eat is a treat, do that. Some people rub honey on the gums.
3. It doesn't hurt to have a feeding syringe on hand, though I didn't need it until years after Neko's diagnosis.
4. There may be times you can skip tests in the middle, once you know Squeaky's patterns well enough to know he'll be safe. Occasionally I had to be away all day so couldn't test. Sometimes I temporarily lowered the dose, sometimes not, but the autofeeder was my friend to keep her safe.
5. How you dose prednisolone should be a discussion with your vet. Cats also react differently to it so it'll help to know how pred is impacting Squeaky's sugars. I've seen people give it all in the AM so kitty would be higher BG while she was at work, others at night to help sleep. Most recommendations I've seen for pred is just to give it once a day. I do it at night, no particular reason.
 
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Wendy&Neko said:
1. appetite stimulant depends on the cat. Most of the time I was dealing with a nauseous cat so anti-nausea medication was more important. You don't want to give an appy stim to a cat that is nauseous, or you'll get food aversion.
2. I gave syrup on regular low carb food. If all he'll eat is a treat, do that. Some people rub honey on the gums.
3. It doesn't hurt to have a feeding syringe on hand, though I didn't need it until years after Neko's diagnosis.
4. There may be times you can skip tests in the middle, once you know Squeaky's patterns well enough to know he'll be safe. Occasionally I had to be away all day so couldn't test. Sometimes I temporarily lowered the dose, sometimes not, but the autofeeder was my friend to keep her safe.
5. How you dose predisolone should be a discussion with your vet. Cats also react differently to it so it'll help to know how pred is impacting Squeaky's sugars. I've seen people give it all in the AM so kitty would be higher BG while she was at work, others at night to help sleep. Most recommendations I've seen for pred is just to give it once a day. I do it at night, no particular reason.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for your reply Wendy. I can take that to my vet. I need to write her a long email and I'm not sure how well this is going to go. They (her and her assistant) think this board is amazing, and then she is trying to set the doses for the insulin. First she changed from 1 to 2. Group says, way too much and Squeaky didn't react well. Now she wants me to change from 1 to 1.5. Seems to me (and others in the group) that it's also too much. But she doesn't have the response capability of this board, so I'm inclined to follow the advice of the board instead of her advice.

Even if I ask her about how to dose the prednisilone, it'll likely take 4 days to a week to get an answer. And sometimes I get an answer, and it's so off base or everything has changed by then, it's useless. I'm pretty frustrated with vets.

However, she's my best bet for a vet because she's a housecall vet. Otherwise, I would have to take Squeaky to some place and drop him off. This is not a good option for us.

Your thoughts on this matter? Thank you so much Wendy. Or anyone else who would chime in. Thanks.
 
Since you are following TR now, you could increase to 1.25 units. You did see a tiny bit of high greens, but it's been 5 days and no joy since then. I think you have room for that 0.25 units increase.

Having a vet that does house calls is awesome!
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Since you are following TR now, you could increase to 1.25 units. You did see a tiny bit of high greens, but it's been 5 days and no joy since then. I think you have room for that 0.25 units increase.

Having a vet that does house calls is awesome!
Click to expand...

Thanks Wendy, and any suggestions about how to communicate/work with the vet?
 
I printed off my spreadsheet, and also a copy of the TR protocol and gave it to my vet and told her that's what I wanted to do. Might have helped that she didn't know Lantus well and that the locum vet who got me on Lantus had pointed me here. In the dosing methods sticky note is an attached document titled "Management of Diabetic Cats...." - you can print that one. I had my spreadsheet with me on my iPad whenever I visited any vet, they all seemed fascinated by the detail and getting such a good view of what was happening.
 
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