Charlie ketones 2.1 at +2 pm

Sarah & Charlie-cat

Sarah & Charlie-cat

Member Since 2022
Chris in the Facebook group suggested I post here too.

Charlie was 1.6 on the blood ketone meter this afternoon at 5:30 central time. Gave him fluids and a snack and he came back down an hour later. He ate some dinner and got his shot at 8 pm central. Rechecked ketones at 10:30 and they were 2.1. He ate a fair bit of food at 10:30 at least.

The IM vet ab hour away closed their emergency services because the vet got bit by a dog. The local place was full and said they could examine him but couldn't keep him.

I have asked and begged for help from his vet to learn how to manage this better at home and was just told get his glucose down. I've been trying to do that and other than more testing in the middle of the night, I don't know what else I could be doing on that front anyway.

I think he may have a fever, so I'm going to try to get him in with our regular vet at 7 am but in the meantime, any thoughts?

Have any of you managed ketones at home yourself?

Am currently waiting for needles to cool to give more fluids per the local ER place. Because of course, I'll get more Monday is not working out.
 
Have you considered moving to TR for a dosing method? It'll allow you to increase to a better dose faster.

In the mean time, more calories if he'll eat it.
 
I have switched over to TR, the best I can manage, and we've increased his dose to 6u over the past 7 weeks or so.

He was not interested in food now but since I just gave him fluids in the scruff, I don't want to try to syringe feed, since that requires grabbing him by the scruff, just yet until that's absorbed.

Will try again soon and have some baby food and some Tiki mousse tho that has all sorts in it that might be bad for his IBD
 
Kim and Chris suggested I ask you all about using Humulin R at home and suggested I ask the IM vet (we are supposed to be up there on Wednesday for fasted blood work) to train me to use it. I feel like I can follow a written protocol, if this then that, but I feel like I've been spinning my wheels never knowing what to do
 
Your signature says SLGS as does the spreadsheet, so that's what I assumed you were following.

There is no written protocol for using R. Each cat is quite different and we suggest getting a person experienced in using R to "sit" with you the first few times you use it. There is a lot to learn about using R, and more to learn about when not to use it.

First questions, what time zone are you in, and what is your shot time? Need to see if we can find someone to help you at the time you need. This is a busy week for me. There isn't really a lot more the IM can train you about. You use U-100 needles and tiny doses.

If you are getting blood work done on Wednesday, you might want to ask the vet about testing for acromegaly and IAA (insulin auto antibodies). Once a cat gets to 6 units dose, there a good chance one or the other is present. My girl Neko had both conditions. Charlie is on prednisolone, so that may be the reason he has a higher dose, but eliminating the other possibilities would be a good thing to do.
 
I need to update my signature.

I specifically asked about acromegaly and Cushing's and that was brushed off. I will also ask about IAA. She's very focused on his pancreas, which is clearly busted and the only thing anyone seems to agree that he has.

But something is clearly up since his numbers are no better on 6u than they were 7 weeks ago on 2.5! And once upon a time he was in the blues with a drop dose.
 
I'd ask again about acromegaly. One in four diabetic cats has it. The majority of cats don't show any clinical signs at diagnosis. I had to beg my vet to humour me to get the tests done. IAA is another possibility. We had one kitty here who was getting close to remission, when he all of a sudden started needing a lot more insulin. That cat had a heart issue, but also IAA. In both cases of IAA and acromegaly we know there is something else causing insulin resistance, so can tweak our dosing methods a bit.
 
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