Calley had a hypoglycemic seizure....almost didn't make it

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Kris10mo

Kris10mo

Member Since 2014
Today has been a terrible pet day. I woke up at 7am to do Calley's morning shot and found my beloved Yellow Lab Sommer, 14yrs old, dead in her sunroom. :( So unexpected...she seemed ok last night though she did not eat her dinner. I cried for a bit and lay back down to rest after taking her to the vets for cremation.

So I wake at 11am to find Calley throwing up and seizing. I try to get her to take some syrup but she was too far gone to do that. So I wrapped her up in a towel and drove to the vet's with her in my arms. I have never driven so erratically before. Got her to the vet and they did oxygen and took BG....it was 20. OMFG!!!. They gave her oxygen and a shot of some sort of sugar....dextrose maybe? And she came back quickly thank god. Then they gave her a can of food and she ate the whole can very quickly.

Calley is at the vet's for observation this afternoon. They are going to do a thyroid test. And decide if I need to go back to Lantus to keep her levels more even. I'm skeptical about that since she was on Lantus before from Dec 2013-March 2014 up to 6 units/2x daily to no avail. I was not rolling the Lantus either and I said that to the vet and she said it didn't matter with Lantus you didn't need to roll or shake. Is that right?

Vet said she might want me to go to 5units of Humulin if we stay on it. She is thinking about what she wants to do and will tell me when I go pick up Calley at 4pm.

I'm so worried about going out of town now this weekend with Calley being unregulated. I was so hopeful we were on the right path with her reduced drinking and peeing and looking/acting better. :(

Now what?

SIGH

Kristin and Calley
 
Re: Calley had a hypoglycemic seizure....almost didn't make

Yes, you did have a very bad day. I am saddened by Sommer's passing.
Purring and praying that Calley makes full recovery and you can get the BG under control.
 
Re: Calley had a hypoglycemic seizure....almost didn't make

Calley is back home from the vet. We won't know the thyroid result until tomorrow morning. The vet said that Calley has been very mean while there today...biting, hissing, not acting her normal sweet self. Calley has also bitten me and my children several times lately. Is this a sign that she is in a lot of pain?

Vet says to not give her any insulin tonight and let her eat/drink as she wants. I am to start insulin again tomorrow morning at a reduce amount of 5units. She has put back on the pound of weight she lost last week so that is good.

I will wait to see the result of the thyroid test. If it is normal then I tend to think I will be putting Calley down. The vet is very worried that she is going through hell and with her change in behavior to being mean, and that the sugars can't be regulated, that she probably has a tumor.

I do not want to go away on vacation and have Calley have a seizure and the sitter have to deal with finding Calley dead.

So much stress. Here I am mourning my Sommer girl....and having to deal with all of Calley's difficulties.

This is not easy.

Kristin and Calley
 
Re: Calley had a hypoglycemic seizure....almost didn't make

It could be some residual effects from going hypo - it really jolts the body, and I'm sure it doesn't feel good.

Or it could be the insulin. It is very harsh and drops the cat rapidly, then wears off rapidly. She might be better on a more gentle insulin such as PZI or ProZinc.

Because Humulin lasts only 6-8 hours in the cat, you have 4-6 hours with no glucose control. Of course it isn't working well for her. A home curve of testing every 2 hours will show you when it wears off.
 
Re: Calley had a hypoglycemic seizure....almost didn't make

I asked the vet about the different types of insulin. She said that there is only Lantus and Vetsulin long acting insulin....but then said that Vetsulin is not always available. She did not mention ProZinc at all. Where is that found?

But don't you think that if Calley didn't regulate on Lantus, that that means she isn't going to regulate at all? I thought Lantus was the easiest insulin to regulate on. I'm thinking, as I have all along, that she is never going to regulate.

Do I switch her insulin right before I go on a two week trip or should I wait until we get back?

Isn't skipping tonight's insulin going to be harmful? So far at home she has eaten several times and drank a bit but still seems ok....better than a few weeks back.

Kristin and Calley
 
Re: Calley had a hypoglycemic seizure....almost didn't make

Check her glucose level.

If she's high, you might do a token dose of 0.5 to 1.0 unit if you can monitor.
 
Re: Calley had a hypoglycemic seizure....almost didn't make

Besides Lantus and Prozinc, there is also Levimir that works well in cats. Vetsulin and Humulin/Novolin N just usually do not last long enough in a cat.

No, you probably do not want to switch insulins right before you go away on vacation.

Regulating your cat is a combination of what food she is eating along with monitoring those BG levels and lots of patience. It's why we so strongly suggest to members that they learn to home test.

It took time for your cat to become diabetic, it will take time to get her regulated.
 
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