? Do I Give Insulin or Not?

[Ben & Lucky]

Hello,

So Lucky's had a tough week. She had her dental surgery last tuesday, which went fine, but the stress of the surgery afterwards made her BG go very high and never lower (since she wasn't being regulated). On Saturday she was DKA and in the ER until Monday evening. She was finally eating on Sunday evening and Monday. We don't have her regulate PZi yet as it should arrive tomorrow, so I have a temperary insulin given to me by the Vet. The problem I'm having is she isn't eating this morning. She ate a little when we got home last night but has been drinking tones of water and urinating.

Since she isn't eating should I withhold the insulin? I gave her a food appetize stimulate the vet gave me on Friday hoping that might get her eating a little.

Thanks,
B

 

[Misterbeesmom]

sorry it sounds like an awful week for Lucky!

are you home testing? do you know her BG right now? can you call your vet and ask what you should do?

 

[Nan & Amber (GA)]

I agree, call the vet for help. One thing to ask about is an anti-nausea med-- if Lucky is nauseated, the appetite stim won't help.

With the recent DKA, she needs insulin, but it may not be safe to give the insulin if she isn't eating, especially if it is a fast-acting insulin (probably from your description).

 

[Nan & Amber (GA)]

Adding: meant to say also, with the DKA she needs to eat as well as needs insulin. You want to stay ahead of any developing ketones, don't wait on this one.

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

Sounds like you've had quite the week with Lucky.

I checked back on your previous posts and assume you are not yet home testing Lucky. The fact that her bad teeth have recently been removed should bring her BG down but just how much the BG has been affected to date seems to be an unknown. I personally would want to know what her BG is before giving insulin to make sure it is safe to do so.

With some insulin, it is imperative to make sure kitty has eaten and is keeping their food down before administering insulin. The fact that Lucky has recently had DKA and is still recovering makes the situation more complicated because she needs the insulin to keep the ketones under control or the DKA could reoccur but if she is not eating, giving insulin could be very dangerous.

What insulin has the vet prescribed for Lucky while you wait for the PZI to arrive? At what dose?

I think it may be necessary for you to syringe feed Lucky so you can give her insulin if the appetite stimulant doesn't work. I would however strongly recommend you contact your vet ASAP for further instructions as your situation is not straight forward and there are too many unknowns for us to give you a simple yes or no to your question.