First Hypoglycemic episode happening now

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2:54 BG 52 with 1/2 milk mix and 1/2 Tbsp 8% food-looking around the house for some longer lasting higher carb food-considering making a quick trip to get some mcdonalds fries
 
...actually I do have some boiled red potatoes-do you think it would be a good idea to mash some up-add a little milk for moisture and give her that?
 
arienette386 said:
...actually I do have some boiled red potatoes-do you think it would be a good idea to mash some up-add a little milk for moisture and give her that?
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You could try a little of that. Does Claudia like cheese? Just wondering if a little would make it more palatable?
 
Hi Arienette,

Here is Dr. Lisa Pierson's list of foods with the amount of carbs/proteins/phosphorus.
http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf

The likely reason that Claudia's BG hasn't risen much, nor stayed up since being below 50 is because you have not fed her an HC food after that. The Karo and other sugary foods do not usually keep that blood glucose level elevated for very long. Just like in humans, the sugar in the body is elevated for short time and then comes crashing down.

If you feed Claudia a tiny, tiny bit of an HC "cat" food, her blood glucose level will likely climb, and stay up for a bit longer. My Rocky's BG can stay elevated after eating an HC cat food for two hours.

Fancy Feast SLICED Beef Feast has 23% carbs, and that is pretty high, definitely an HC cat food.

if you look on this list, there are several flavors of Friskies cat food that are also HC. There are so many of them that I'm not going to list them all. I think Walmart probably carries many of these Friskies flavors. You might print out this list and take it the store with you the next time you go shopping. :smile:
 
3:14 BG 52 Gave an undisclosed small amount of potatoes, milk, little cheese. Going to add more cheese to see if second try is more enticing for her. Probably got about 1/4 Tbsp of food altogether.
 
Tina & Rocky said:
If you feed Claudia a tiny, tiny bit of an HC "cat" food, her blood glucose level will likely climb
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HiyaTina,
Arienette has no high carb cat food at home right now, hence scouring the house for human carb foods.
 
Arienette,
Do you know why Claudia is off her food? (Is it right that she was not even keen on the dry food before switching to wet?)
Does she have any other health issues going on that you know of?
 
I can go pick some up but I would probably take longer than 20 minutes and I'm not sure that's a good gamble right now. Hopefully the potatoes help!
 
Does she have any of the dry kibble that she used to like, left in the house, anywhere? I wouldn't know how much to kibble to suggest, and maybe that has already been suggested?
 
No other issues to my knowledge-she was tested for pancreatitis a few weeks ago and that was negative-no uti -etc...other than that I'm not sure if there are any other health issues. She has had pancreatitis once several years ago and I know that is a precursor warning sign for diabetes.

She slowly just ate less and less of her dry food over the last few weeks. I just got the glucometer on Saturday night and did a curve test sunday with some force feeding of the wet.

Here's the curve from Sun

7:30a BG 419
Given insulin and fed
9:35 BG 272
1130 BG 178
143 BG 208
415 BG 286
556 BG 338
Given insulin and fed some
804 BG 82
11 BG 74

Then the next morning was this morning
 
She has the kibble but is refusing it too. I've made it available to her the last several hours. =(

I think she has an upset tummy by now.
 
Re Claudia being off her food:
Are her teeth OK? Any possibility of dental or mouth problems making it hard for her to eat?
Or does the issue seem to be gastric? Does she lick her lips at all (indicative of nausea)?
Is she peeing and pooping OK...? Could she be constipated..?
 
Between the last two checks she pooped something awful stinky. It looked pretty loose to me. I'm not sure about the teeth. She is an older cat and may be having some gum issues. I could have that checked out. I'm wondering if the stools are loose because of the switch or because of something else.
 
arienette386 said:
I'm wondering if the stools are loose because of the switch or because of something else.
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Changing the diet quickly is a common cause of gastric upset; so that's certainly possible if the switch-over was too fast for her.
But at least we know she's not blocked up...
 
arienette386 said:
3:52 BG 76!!!
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It must be hugely reassuring to see those numbers coming up.
Claudia may well continue to rise without further feeding now. Potatoes are much 'slower-release' source of carbs than the syrup is.

How does she seem in herself?
And how long many hours since insulin now?
 
9 hours since insulin

Perking up some-not a lot of change seen yet-but she's also probably pretty tired.

Also-saucers not required! I'll take that tea any way it's served at this point!!
 
Now do I continue testing every 20 min or stretch it out longer? I was thinking one more test at 15min and then recheck in an hour? Thoughts?
 
arienette386 said:
Now do I continue testing every 20 min or stretch it out longer? I was thinking one more test at 15min and then recheck in an hour? Thoughts?
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It's been just over 9 hours since insulin, and you've got 3 rising numbers in succession. Great!
If you do get another 20 minute test then that would reassure you that she's still definitely on the way up.

If she’s still rising at the next test then (if you can set an alarm and grab some sleep) you could probably leave it for an hour or so before testing again. And that may be the last test you need to do. The longer interval between tests can actually make it harder; you’ll probably feel like you’ve only just got to sleep before having to get up again…
 
4:33a BG 109! No food given. Plan to wait 40 min for retest-Then if that is good breakfast is at 6:30-will pop in here with numbers at 5:15 and looking for advice at breakfast time 6:30!

Thank you to everyone you have been a tremendous help in getting me through the night! Without your encouragement and advice I may have given up and taken her to a hospital(lofty bill i can't afford!) I am singing this forums praises and will do a little fundraising for this site as well! Once I'm a little better off I'll be donating something too. This has been a long learning experience that I hope never to repeat this way! Calling my vet in the am and will probably take her in and be late for work. Need to get this girl eating again!

See you all in a bit!
 
6:40 BG 371 Reccomended dose? Showing little interest in getting out of bed. Because she's tired-Perky and alert though! Looked right up as I walked in! I think I surprised her.
 
I do hope you managed to get some sleep.

At that preshot I'm thinking that reducing the dose by half for this shot may be worth trying.
It would be good to 'let the dust' settle a bit after the last cycle and see what happens...

That preshot may be elevated by the carbs Claudia ate, and so may not be a 'true' (un-influenced) preshot number. So I would definitely err on the side of caution for this shot.
But do wait and see/hear what others have to say...
 
Doh!
Forgot to say...
That preshot may also have an element of 'bounce' in it.
Bouncing/rebound happens when the blood glucose drops too low or too fast. "Too low" doesn't necessarily mean 'dangerously low'. It can happen even when the BG drops lower than the kitty has become accustomed to.
The body responds to the 'threat' by releasing glucose into the sytem and also possibly counter-regulatory hormones, the purpose of which is to try to keep the blood glucose high for a wee while.
 
You all did phenomenal last night. :-D :-D What a stroke of genius to give her potatoes!!!

I think Elizabeth has a great suggestion to give a half dose and see what she does. She has more experience with these types of insulin. Elizabeth, you are my hero today ....thank you for stepping in. :-D :-D

Arienette...I'm sorry...we should have asked if that is your name...I'm sure you are way past exhausted and I hope you both can get some sleep. You did great for your sweet Claudia. Thankfully, you were hometesting! :-D

When you are rested, I would grab some of those higher carb foods and have them handy. I'd definitely get Claudia into the vet to find out why she isn't eating. The numbers last night could be a combination of not eating, too much insulin, and something being wrong with her. If you can also grab some ketostix at Walmart to test urine ketones, that would be a smart thing to keep an eye on. If a cat is not eating/drinking enough and may have some infection, it can set them up for ketones which can progress into diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) which is not good.

I'd also discuss with my vet the possibility of moving Claudia to depot insulin like Lantus. Many cats have done well on Vetsulin but Lantus is a gentler insulin. We can help you with that and we have a very active insulin support group in this forum for Lantus users. Lantus is more expensive than Vetsulin and that is something to consider. But it is unlikely Claudia would need 4u bid. That's a high dose for most Lantus cats.

If you decide to stay with us here in FDMB, it's good to have a spreadsheet where you can record her numbers and we can see what she's doing and help with dosing. If you'd like to do that, if you send me a private message (click on the PM box under my Gracies photo to the right), I will get some info from you and set it all up considering the crazy night you had.

My apologies again for leaving you but I knew Elizabeth would take great care of you two and have a fresher mind than mind last night :-D ;-)
 
What a great job you did, Arienette!

Felt so bad having to leave last night, but was glad to see Marje jump in and I knew she could help as well as knowing who best to contact to help with using your insulin. Thanks to Marje and Elizabeth for helping out!

Who ever thought McDonalds french fries might be a healthy thing?....LOL (At least they inspired you to try potatoes which seemed to work well!)

I agree with the others that it might be a good idea to have her see your vet and find out why she's not eating.

Hope you're getting some well deserved rest today, and Claudia feels better!
 
Thank you everyone for the coaching! After breakfast Claudia and I (Amanda) went to the vet. He is keeping her for some testing today and said he was considering switching her insulin to something that started with a G(I was very sleepy and did'nt catch it). Her temp was normal so that's great. He's testing her blood today to ensure her organs are functioning right and I'm not sure what else. He said he might IV her some fluids after all she went through last night. I am supposed to pick her up this afternoon around five thirty. I've had a few more hours of sleep and will be heading into work (late). Again thank you all for everything. She probably would not be here this morning without you. I plan on asking LOTS of questions and not letting myself feel rushed this afternoon.


Edited: Also she got 1.5 units this morning and ate very little again...vet agreed it was a good idea to lower her dose before talking with him again.
 
He probably said Glargine which is Lantus. It would be a very smart move.

You should ask for a copy of the labs. If you want to post them, we can look at them and help you. Sometimes vets dismiss something that bears watching.

You were doing all the right things, Amanda, even before you posted. She has you to thank for her life. We just kept you company and made a few suggestions but you hung in there, kept testing, working the food.

We will be happy to help you in any way we can. Have a quiet day at work and please let us know what the vet says.
 
Marje and Gracie said:
You were doing all the right things, Amanda, even before you posted. She has you to thank for her life. We just kept you company and made a few suggestions but you hung in there, kept testing, working the food.
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Seconding everything Marje said, Amanda. You worked so hard, kept a cool head, and did absolutely brilliantly.
Claudia is blessed in having you as a care-giver. :smile:

(And what's more, your ingenious use of potatoes will probably go down in FDMB history ;-) )

Eliz
 
Great job last night, Amanda!

And thanks to Elizabeth, Marje, and everyone else who hopped in while I was getting my beauty rest :lol:
 
Please don't beat yourself up for making any changes too soon...food or other.
I want to say we all have been there, but can only speak for myself right now.
Murphy was on regular fancy feast dry/can plus c/d dry food for a UTI until he was diagnosed as Diabetic in early June.
We then switched to w/d dry (gastro/glucose management) with a bit of fancy feast dry/can food.
It was just a week later I think that my New vet at The Cat Clinic switched him to dry dm with canned low carb fancy feast.
It all happened so fast that I didn't even think about making a smooth transition with the food!!
The end result was green slime coming from his backside and a very upset cat in the ER.
As I was told by many kind people on the message board and website, its a learning process
so try to be calm for yourself and your cat and breathe.
I keep you all in thought and prayer.
Donna
 
MURPHYSMOM said:
Please don't beat yourself up for making any changes too soon...food or other.
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I agree. This is a learning process and we all have made decisions that later turned out not to be the best one to make. That is one reason this board exists and we are here to help you and other new members learn.

Before long, you will probably be responding to posts with encouragement and advice to other new members. :-D
 
Thank you for all the kind words everyone.

Claudia spent the day at the vet and he said she had a good day glucose-wise. She ate on her own(vet provided food) and he ran some blood tests to rule out liver and pancreas dysfunction. Her WBC count was high and he tried doing a urinalysis but she was uncooperative. He said this is indicative of some sort of infection. Hes assuming she has a UTI(I guess sugar in the urine can cultivate the bacteria) and gave her an antibiotic shot for the week. Since she's so newly diagnosed he did not want to change the insulin just yet-but he did reduce her dose to 2 and asked for daily updates if she is not doing better. I was hoping he'd change it myself but we will try to stick with the vestulin a bit longer.

I can call and request copies of the labs in a couple days-but I need some time to recoup myself! I'm mentally exhausted(still). Brought Claudia home and her BG was 455. Gave her 2 U and dinner-she ate a little but not much. I reverted to her dry kibble and a little bit of moist food on top. Hopefully she takes to wet food slowly. We shall see. I'm afraid of her not eating again-but we'll see. I will be using lots of the tips I learned to see if she will take to wet food over time.

I feel like I still have a long road with her as far as regulation is concerned but the vet agreed it would be best to do curve tests at home. I plan on doing one a week since I'm usually off saturday or sunday. . .

Now I think I will wait an hour and test her-and then hopefully call it a night!

Thanks again to everyone! You have all been so wonderful and I am so amazed and thankful this community exists!
 
7:30p BG 341 Did not eat much at all on her own. =/ Hopefully once her antibiotic kicks in she'll be feeling better and eat more heartily...
 
I wonder if he gave her Convenia? Just for future reference, it is effective for 2-3 weeks but stays in the body much longer. It is also not the best a/b for UTIs. But it's easy. Personally, I don't allow my cats to have it and many of us here don't. Once it's in, you can't get it out. if she has a UTI, her BG might come down as it is resolved.

There's absolutely no reason to wait to move her over to Lantus/Glargine. If you want to change her, I'd push it with the vet. We've had cats change insulins after a few days, few weeks, months, etc.

Get some rest and let us know how we can help.
 
Mmmm ... antiobiotics are notorious for causing GI upset (lack of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea).

Snag some Forti Flora or yogurt with active cultures on Intelliflora or other probiotic and provide some of that about 2 hours after the antibiotic, to return back some good bacteria that are killed off by the antibiotic.
 
Do you know if fortiflora is carried at petstores like petco or petsmart or is it only available online?

Also she did not eat much at breakfast this morning and I only measured out a little of her exsisting dry food for the time being. She is munching on it now(BG 109). It seems like she'll eat if I leave it out but the vet advised against that in the beginning. Do you think this is ok as long as I'm monitoring her BG throughout the day? (I can check it every lunch break so I can guaruntee she will get BG tested every four hours on a work day).

I plan on hitting up the pet store after work today for some HC food for emergencies (Maybe I can find something with potatoes in it =P).

Also I'll push with the vet about switching insulin. It seems like the reviews on Vestulin aren't the greatest anyway.

In other news he charged me $200 freaking dollars just to tell me that her WBC's are high and all her tests are negative. These visits are really taking a toll on the pocket book. However I'm glad he agreed to do the curve tests at home. I'm considering switching vetrinarians to someone more communicative. Then I might feel like I'm getting more value for my money. It seems like he doesn't really have a long term plan for her-that he's just treating her with short term goals. His office is always so busy and I feel like an afterthought there. I'm frustrated and running out of cash!!
 
I went to Petco's and PetSmart's on-line store and searching for fortiflora returned nothing.
You can likely get it from your vet
 
Yeah the only places you can get Fortiflora are online or at your vets....of course it's going to be more expensive at your vets

The good news is that one box will last you awhile though..you just open one pack at a time and sprinkle a little of the powder on top of food. One pack can last us several days
 
I wouldn't wait on getting it. Forti Flora is based in an animal digest that is very tasty to most cats. That makes it very handy to have around when the cat is uninterested in eating.
 
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