Chyna coming out of remission? Signs?

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Rachel & Chyna (GA)

Rachel & Chyna (GA)

Member Since 2012
Hi guys. Just wondering, how can you tell if it's time to start insulin again or if they are coming out of remission? I don't want to jump the gun but Chyna gave me a 135 this morning and again tonight :cry: . She's been 8 months OTJ and the last few in low blues mostly with a green thrown in once in awhile. Her first few months OTJ she was all green. She's peeing (no bad smell), pooping, eating and drinking is normal and she's acting fine. She has been scratching a bit more again (allergies) but I'm at my wits end what is causing it. I hope it isn't her freeze dried treats. She only likes the whitefish and she can't have the chicken or turkey and hated the beef. She's not much a fan of the shrimps either. I don't think it's her food as when it was before she had a lot worse symptoms; she's on all lamb right now still.

I have been giving subqs for her CKD, 50ml for two days and then one off, I'm going to increase this to 50ml a day now (the vet recommended 250ml a week a few months ago). I was worried about over hydration but I read somewhere that some dehydration can cause higher BG? She gets water mixed in her food too. Last night was the "no fluids" night and then she was high today. Maybe I'm grasping at straws :? . She's due for bloodwork in a few weeks but I'm wondering if I should do it now...I'll keep testing BG daily when I'm not at work when I can...any advice is appreciated :-D
 
I would take her in for a checkup soon as possible.. Look for signs of infection..dental. Ear, UTI.

You haven't changed her food at all? No contraband?

Keep testing daily. 40-130 is normal but we don't want her above that for more than a week all the time.
 
Thanks Wendy. No, no food change, no contraband ;-) . I haven't really changed anything recently, she's on the same supplements etc she has been for months. Weight has remained steady within a few ounces of what the vet deemed the weight she should stay at...it's hard to tell for infection in the ears, since she does have allergies and we believe scents are one of them. Her right eye does water sometimes but the vet said that was probably from allergies as she couldn't see any ear infection last time we were in. Argh :cry:
 
What about Lysine for the watery eye? Many people mix Lysine into the food and it helps.
What stage CKD is Chyna, and what are the supplements and meds you are currently giving?
When was the last time the teeth were checked? Just one bad tooth or even a cracked one can make a big difference in cat's BG numbers.
Rising BG will be seen with many illnesses, including URI UTI pancreatitis, etc so you want to rule out those types of problems before worrying about relapse problems. You can easily do a food test..... test before a main meal, then feed as usual. Test again after a couple hours and normally you will see lower numbers as the cat is using the food to regulate.

With CKD, you may want to be reading all on Tanya's site .... felinecrf.org the kidneys are more important than relapsing and needing insulin again, so be sure you focus closely on Chyna's renal numbers and feed appropriate foods that are not high in phosphorus, reduced in protein, and a bit higher on the fat ... a better mix of food for a kidney kitty.

Gayle
 
Hi Gayle:) I've never heard of Lysine, but I will look it up. Her eye isn't always watery, just sometimes. She had a dental with several extractions in Feb this year.

Tanyas site is awesome! Overwhelmingly so sometimes ;-) For CKD she is in stage 3 (as of her last bloodwork in mid Sept when she also had a checkup). I do have her bloodwork in her spreadsheet in my signature, the tab is here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...1XcHJRMEFwc3Q2ZF9PNGpSS1E&usp=drive_web#gid=9

Since her last appointment/bloodwork I switched from Epakitin to Aluminum Hydroxide for a phos binder and we started the small amounts of subqs. We were on sodium chloride but are now using LRS. She's taking Astros Scrub and Astros Oil, cosequin for arthritis, and 1/4 tablet pepcid AC once a day. She also gets vitamins: Jarrows BRight and MethylB12 daily (split into two doses). With her allergies she couldn't have renal food plus we didn't see one low enough in carbs, so she's on the lowest phos/carb food I could find in a different protein (Ziwipeak lamb). Chyna doesn't really have a main meal, her food is split into 8 feedings over 24 hours. I'll try to do a test tomorrow night after work though a few hours after her supper meal :smile:

I'm not seeing symptoms for pancreatitis or UTI from what I remember of my reading, not sure about URI I will have to do some more looking things up! Too bad I have to go to work so much when I'd rather be home with Chyna :evil:
 
The amount of carbs is now secondary to the kidney disease, and stage 3 of 4 needs to be watched closely.
The Lysine is fine to give once a day and may be all you need.
The pepcid will help if you give twice a day because it lasts maybe 8hrs max. If you give about 30min before the am and pm shot meals, it will be most helpful.

What total amount of phos binder did the vet say to mix into the food for the day?

Gayle
 
Aw China. Let's stay at the falls.

I've had this issue with Shadow. And have to watch carefully like you are doing.
One of the things I was told to do was grab another test a few hours later, to see if she's still bringing her bg back down after eating.
It seems to have been the arthritis that was causing our spiked numbers and we started Adequan shots.... so far, so good.

Fluids usually do bring lower numbers right afterwards.
And February isn't far away, some cats have new teeth issues that quickly. ( I face that too)
The earlier you catch any thing at all, the better chance at staying in remission or getting right back there.

I also did the bloodwork a little early. It will give you feedback on how the ckd is doing.
 
Hi again Gayle:) I'll ask the vet about Lysine. For the phos binder, I am following Tanyas site by weight and using 1/2 tsp over all meals in a day (she is just over 12 lbs). For food, she is allergic to chicken and possiblly turkey and beef so I'm limited in choices :sad: She's still eating all her meals with gusto so I hadn't upped the pepcid AC to twice a day...but if it will help BG I will go to twice a day (I do give it half an hour before her meal).

Hi Rhiannon! Nice to see you. Do you give cosequin too, or just the shot? Maybe the cosequin isn't cutting it anymore. I'm going to give fluids every day now as long as she is absorbing them...I think I'll be booking a checkup with bloodwork sooner than expected if they can fit me in this Saturday or if I can get out of work before that. I'll do my BG with food tests tonight first to see how she is. I hope it's not a dental needed, I don't even know how I'll come up with the $$$ for the vet visit...much less extra. I was hoping for a Christmas bonus from work that is usually around the same amount as a vet visit with bloodwork :lol:

Thanks for your input ladies. I hope, hope it's nothing major, I'm a mess just thinking about it and all the things that could be wrong, what a basketcase I am :roll: :cry: nailbite_smile
 
I actually have a bottle of Dasuquin but Shadow wasn't liking it in her food so I didn't give it for very long. I read later that I needed to give it for a month or
two before seeing if it truly helped. We didn't do it long enough. So it's just the adequan shots. They said once a month but that seems too long and I give
it every 3 weeks instead.
 
I posted a condo today to say hello and remarked on this in Lantus tight regulation and wasn't sure if I should post what I'm doing here as well...didn't want to cross post or do something wrong! Here's what I put in my Lantus post:

Tonights numbers...not great. Up higher, to 160 both before supper and two hours later :cry: Found puke from the afternoon, sometime between 2pm and 6pm...looked like pretty solid food so maybe scarf and barf. Some little poos all over the litter box too, but some solid ones also...guess I'm calling the vet first thing to try get in asap. She was a little growly during the end of subqs, tried to walk off and meowwwwed at me. I noticed a not so nice smell around the top of her head but she won't sit still for me to check her ears at the moment. Maybe an ear infection, or she just stuck her head in something stinky :shock:

Hopefully will get into the vet tomorrow...
 
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