Ballonee 12/24/17 AMPS 220, +4= 50 on alphatrack2, PMPS= 333, +4=63

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SpencerLindley

SpencerLindley

Member Since 2017
This morning Ballonee wouldn't eat for me again similarly to yesterday. Yesterday I didnt give the 0.25U insulin and she got up to 414. Was 220 this morning, gave the 0.25Units. She eventually ate 1/4 of a can of food (1/2 recovery, 1/2 diabetic formula) plus a couple drops of gravy to get her interested in it so she'd eat something around +1. Checked her again at her Nadir. She was laying with me and purring but I noticed when she lifted her little head it was shaky looking so I panicked.. she was 50 on the Alphatrak.. Gave cornsyrup on her gums and food with gravy that she ate well.. will check again in 5 mins.

Instead of reducing the dose of insulin this time I think I need to hold the 0.25 and work on the diet. Shes a finicky unpredictable eater, but maybe I need to talk to the vet again about increasing her carbs?... he hasn't really followed up on the brittle diabetes but maybe I need to talk about it again.
 
It'll take a little while before the carbs hit the system, so not much point in testing any less than maybe 15-20mins after giving them.

Whew! Ballonee is giving you a run for your money! So glad you are keeping such a close eye on her.
 
The other thing is, we haven't talked much about the "bouncing" phenomenon. Sometimes, when a cat's BG goes low, her body responds by dumping sugars into the blood to compensate. That may have been part of why she got so high yesterday, and may be what she's doing now.
 
Yes, thank you.. that's actually something I had to remind the vet of because she'd bounce up and he kept taking it as a sign that her insulin dose wasn't high enough :/ so I mentioned that like 3 times before he was like "oh yeah maybe" :/ Yeah I will expect some increases now.
 
Hi Spencer,

I'd suggest keeping a log of exactly how much Ballonee is eating each day. It will give you and your vet a much better idea of how many calories she is getting each day and, as a ketone-prone kitty, it's especially important to make sure she gets enough food and insulin.

I really feel for you because I know how tough it can be when one's fur baby has a poor appetite - and often tougher again when trying to treat with insulin. (((Spencer)))

Does Ballonee show any signs of nausea at all? It can really affect how much food a cat is able to get down. Here's a helpful link about clinical signs and treatments:

Nausea and appetite problems - symptoms and treatments

If it should prove that nausea is an issue for your darling girl then the right anti-nausea treatment (and possibly an appetite stimulant) can help the situation enormously. Saoirse did very well with ondansetron (generic) for nausea and (occasionally) cyproheptadine for appetite. (Note: cyproheptadine is a much gentler appetite stimulant than mirtazapine (another commonly prescribed feline appetite stimulant) but one needs to be sure that liver function is OK for the cypro).


Mogs
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Thank you! <3 Yes, I will start keeping a log. I had the idea of weighing her food on a food scale before and after she eats as well so I ca have an exact amount. So Ill start doing that.

She actually seems pretty content, but what I noticed and I just called the vet about is her little tummy feels a bit distended and she hasn't been pooping a lot. When she came home she had a hard bowel movement and the vet said he wasn't too worried because shell be moving around more now. But I think she's still having issues.. so the vet suggested giving her 1ml lactulose.. anyone have experience with lactulose and kitty's? :/

I will read that link and thank you for your advice about the appetite stimulant.. depending on how she does I might look into it.

Also, I just checked her to make sure she wasn't dropping again and she's 85 on a human Onetouch Verio meter ... I had been tracking this episode on a human meter and her alphatrak because i'm thinking of switching and trying to familiarize myself with it. Her numbers were 36 initially, her second check was 100, and this check was 85.
 
OK, the 85 is a bit lower, but she's holding pretty steady. Her last high-carb food was after the 36(AT50), correct? I'd get another test 30mins after the last one, if she's still maintaining these numbers you can probably relax for a while.
 
Okay thank you so much for your help^^ I will get one now. She appears so much better now so hopefully shes steady. she usually starts to increase on her own by this time too so crossing my fingers
 
Great! I think she's out of the woods for now, but definitely keep an eye on her-- Ballonee has definitely shown us that she has surprises up her furry little sleeve.

It's probably a good idea to put "AT" in the title of your post when you update the numbers. Especially with traffic so light over the holiday weekend, and people spending less time than usual on the boards, a lot of people just scanning wouldn't have realized that that 50 you got was really low. If you get another low number like that later you'll want to attract as many eyes as possible, for the company if nothing else through these stressful periods!

For your other question, I haven't used lactulose and don't have a lot of experience in general with kitty constipation, but loads of other people here do. It's probably worth a post over on Feline Health to get the low-down.

Nice job today!
 
I thought she'd be okay this evening because her PMPS was 333 she ate beautifully for me, a little over half a can of food without arguing.. and four hours later dropped to 63 on 0.25 units :(
 
This morning she was 25.9 :( I'm just at a loss of what do to.. With how low she's going I can't very well give her more.. She did even eat so well for me before she dropped that low. Unless its all bouncing.. I'm just so hesitant to give her a lower dose because of DKA. She's so happy in her higher numbers though lol. She always acts so much less vacant.
 
She's probably gotten used to the higher numbers-- they feel "normal" to her.

Don't worry too much about that 25.9 (466 in US). That's really not bad for a high number on an AT, and you're right-- at the moment, you absolutely don't want to increase the dose given how low she goes. She's actually earned another reduction to 0.1U with the low numbers yesterday, and if she goes low again today I don't think you'll have any choice but to take it, even with the DKA, but I'd still rather see her numbers managed with more carbs.

On the spreadsheet it looks like her regular food is still 1/2 diabetic, 1/2 recovery food, which would be low carb. Can you start feeding her some of the gravy-containing food in her regular meals, and see if that allows her body to handle the 0.25U dose?

(also: new day, time for a new thread! ;) )
 
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