9/28, Susie, 257 AMPS

Summer and Susie (GA)

Summer and Susie (GA)

Member Since 2020
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/9-26-susie-287-amps-240-2-174-3.253471/#post-2858683

Susie has been in the ER clinic since 10:00 am when I left. It is now 2:00 pm. Vet was to do a UPC and an abdominal ultrasound.

Intern was not happy that I was using a human meter to test her.

He was not happy that I was giving insulin to a cat that wouldn't eat.

Seems to be more worried about ketones and DKA with her not eating. I just heard, about 30 minutes ago, that she was finally going in for her ultrasound. Seems I only need one sample to do the UPC test.

I think I had mentioned that I put the Mirataz on Susie's ear yesterday afternoon. She ate all her dinner although didn't start until late. Then, she ate all her breakfast. It must be the Miratz.

I'll update everyone once I know what is going on and whether I can bring her home.

@Suzanne & Darcy I did take in food, her insulin and syringes just in case they wanted to keep her overnight. Thanks for your help and everyone else's. Just want my girl home and for her to get healthy.
 
Thank you, Gina. Yes, I want her to come home today too but only if she doesn't need extra attention through the night. I've really been worried about her. Thrilled that she has eaten but she was acting kind of like a zombie. Just a little spaced out. Poor cat seemed uncomfortable too. Poor Bama. Really struggling with those high numbers. I hope this new dose kicks in soon.
 
Summer and Susie said:
Thank you, Gina. Yes, I want her to come home today too but only if she doesn't need extra attention through the night. I've really been worried about her. Thrilled that she has eaten but she was acting kind of like a zombie. Just a little spaced out. Poor cat seemed uncomfortable too. Poor Bama. Really struggling with those high numbers. I hope this new dose kicks in soon.
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The Mirataz could have affected her behavior. Every cat is different so we can’t be sure unless you see her with and without the Mirataz … I am referring to the zombie reference. Although frequently cats get hyper or vocal or aggressive on Mirataz. I wonder if that was the reason for her being zombie like. Was she like that at the clinic today? Or did you just drop her off and go?
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
The Mirataz could have affected her behavior. Every cat is different so we can’t be sure unless you see her with and without the Mirataz … I am referring to the zombie reference. Although frequently cats get hyper or vocal or aggressive on Mirataz. I wonder if that was the reason for her being zombie like. Was she like that at the clinic today? Or did you just drop her off and go?
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She was not like a zombie at the clinic. I spoke to the vet about her when he was examining her and decided to keep her for the ultrasound and the UPC test.
 
Bama Kitty Mom said:
When Bama had his abdominal ultrasound last April, I had to wait until the next day--end of day--for the vet to call with the results of the report. Of course, they had an outside vet come in to do the ultrasound so maybe that is why.
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Wow. That makes me glad that my vet can do the ultrasound and give me a report and show me on her ipad or computer almost as soon as she’s finished. Because my Ginger is scheduled for one next Monday. She always shows me what she sees, which is good since those things are really hard for the layperson to see and know what they’re looking at.
 
She is home. Had the UPC test and she is negative for proteinuria. Her kidneys are small and irregular in size but he wasn't worried about that. His concern is that she has a thickening around her stomach. Said it could be IBD but that is treated with steroids which diabetic cats should not have. He also said it might be cancer but that it would require a surgical biopsy. He just told me to take her home, keep her on the Mirataz and the insulin and see how she is doing in two weeks. And, that was that. I don't think it is IBD because she doesn't have constant diarrhea nor vomiting. I feel badly because he didn't even give her fluids and I asked him to. He said it wasn't necessary and she didn't feel dehydrated.

The only silver lining to all of this is that when I brought her home she was really hungry and she ate all her dinner. I put some more Mirataz on her ear tonight (once a day) and hope she will eat her mini meals later tonight. Poor kitty. All day at the ER clinic and no new relief. I like the way she was acting when I brought her home. More like her old self. By the way, the Intern said not to worry about giving Mirataz if you fear nausea. And, like @Ann & Sister said, Mirataz can be used with cats that have nausea.

I will get the full report from the Dr. tomorrow or the next day. Thanks to all for your concern. Hope to get Susie back on track with her appetite and the insulin soon but if her appetite remains a problem I will not increase her dose of insulin. That is this "Cat Mama Speaking" and I am sticking to it.
 
Will you get a written report about the thickening around the stomach? I guess you will see tomorrow how much is in the report? He should have taken measurements of everything in there and noted it down. All abdominal organs. Thicknesses of intestinal walls, etc. especially if he suspects IBD.
We have several cats on this board (more than seven) who take steroids (either Budesomide or Prednisolone) for IBD or for asthma. The first one that comes to mind is Ruby who is on pred for IBD that is now small cell lymphoma. @PerfumedCatMom I know you can contribute to this discussion. IBD does not always present with either diarrhea or vomiting. I had an IBD cat who had neither (later he developed small cell lymphoma.)

Just take note of her behavior on the Mirataz. It makes some cats weird. But I am so glad she’s eating tonight!
 
I do not really agree about giving any appetite stimulant (mirt or cyproheptadine) without first addressing nausea. Technically, it will not physically harm them, but it may be very uncomfortable (i.e., you feel like you want to barf but also are ravenous at the same time.) But, we don’t really have any evidence that Susie is nauseated. For that you would have to do trial end error of nausea meds. Maybe she just feels weird around her stomach? I assume he palpated her abdomen and found it to be non-painful? They usually write that up in the discharge papers which hopefully you will get a copy of and they will send a copy to your regular vet.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Will you get a written report about the thickening around the stomach? I guess you will see tomorrow how much is in the report? He should have taken measurements of everything in there and noted it down. All abdominal organs. Thicknesses of intestinal walls, etc. especially if he suspects IBD.
We have several cats on this board (more than seven) who take steroids (either Budesomide or Prednisolone) for IBD or for asthma. The first one that comes to mind is Ruby who is on pred for IBD that is now small cell lymphoma. @PerfumedCatMom I know you can contribute to this discussion. IBD does not always present with either diarrhea or vomiting. I had an IBD cat who had neither (later he developed small cell lymphoma.)

Just take note of her behavior on the Mirataz. It makes some cats weird. But I am so glad she’s eating tonight!
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I am supposed to get a written report. The same one he sends my regular vet. I do not know what it will entail. He did not want to give steroids but I think more than that was that he really didn't know if it was IBD or cancer. Maybe he didn't want to scare me and that is why he said let's see how she does over the next two weeks on the Mirataz. I don't know, Suzanne. I walked away with many questions but what choice did I have? He is the only Intern in the area and I know if I had taken her to my vet she would not have received the attention she did today.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
I do not really agree about giving any appetite stimulant (mirt or cyproheptadine) without first addressing nausea. Technically, it will not physically harm them, but it may be very uncomfortable (i.e., you feel like you want to barf but also are ravenous at the same time.) But, we don’t really have any evidence that Susie is nauseated. For that you would have to do trial end error of nausea meds. Maybe she just feels weird around her stomach? I assume he palpated her abdomen and found it to be non-painful? They usually write that up in the discharge papers which hopefully you will get a copy of and they will send a copy to your regular vet.
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I never received any confirmation that she was nauseous or not. Neither one of the vets could confirm or deny. After two weeks of not wanting to eat it seemed like the Mirataz was my only option to get her to eat and, thus far, it seems to be working. I will be interested in seeing how she acts and feels tomorrow. She is very tired tonight which is not a surprise. All day at the vet and they were doing construction too. I think she is happy to be home. I am happy to have her home but tired. Didn't sleep last night. Worry is not good for sleep. I think I will go to bed tonight feeling a little better. At least I took her to the best possible place I could have that was somewhat close to my home. Of course, cancer is the worst and I don't want to think about that right now. I am actually relieved that he doesn't think it is kidney disease. I've got to eat, test Susie and go to bed. Thanks, again, for all your help.
 
Summer and Susie said:
I never received any confirmation that she was nauseous or not. Neither one of the vets could confirm or deny. After two weeks of not wanting to eat it seemed like the Mirataz was my only option to get her to eat and, thus far, it seems to be working. I will be interested in seeing how she acts and feels tomorrow. She is very tired tonight which is not a surprise. All day at the vet and they were doing construction too. I think she is happy to be home. I am happy to have her home but tired. Didn't sleep last night. Worry is not good for sleep. I think I will go to bed tonight feeling a little better. At least I took her to the best possible place I could have that was somewhat close to my home. Of course, cancer is the worst and I don't want to think about that right now. I am actually relieved that he doesn't think it is kidney disease. I've got to eat, test Susie and go to bed. Thanks, again, for all your help.
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Good night. I am very happy the UPC was normal. Sleep well.
 
Doctors can tell the difference between IBD and lymphoma with an endoscopic biopsy. The scope can get to the stomach and the upper end of the small intestine and get a good picture. This is how Ruby's SCL was diagnosed. Surgical biopsy is not necessary. Steroids can be used to treat both conditions, and yes, it's contraindicated for diabetic patients but if you had to privilege her GI disease over her diabetes, I would choose the GI disease because it's a real quality of life issue. There are many indicators of GI disease: vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, inappetence and nausea are among the major ones. I'm not sure what symptoms Susie has because I haven't had time to read through your threads, but I hope she gets over it soon, Summer.

ETA: I am glad your vet did not jump immediately to IBD or lymphoma and recommend steroids yet. Olive was throwing up a lot earlier this year, and after an ultrasound there is a suspicion of IBD, but she has been doing really well as of late, very little vomiting and only occasional bouts of not wanting to eat as much that she gets over with a dose of Cerenia or completely on her own. It comes and goes and there is little explanation why as I am very consistent with what I feed my cats.
 
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Summer and Susie said:
Thanks, Jessica. This has been really frustrating. On one hand I want a reason for her illness. On the other I am afraid to hear it.
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Oh Summer don’t we all feel that way. Just wish we could pretend away our fears. Just remember most things can be treated or managed. We’ve all got your back, both you and Susie. You don’t have to go through anything or “nothing” alone. :bighug::bighug:
 
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