Hello! We are new to FDMB

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sanchiarose

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My amazing 11yr old maine coon mix was diagnosed with diabetes january 2,2008. His name is Ylee and he is the sweetest boy. In september of 2011 we had a diabetic crisis, he was not eating. After 3 days in ICU his liver had become fatty and the vet advised us to say goodbye. Ylee had an infection somewhere, first they thought it was pancreatitis and then possibly cancer. We opted for a nasal feeding tube and within 2 days he was feeling so much better. Since then we have been trying to regulate him, he is currently on 3 units 2x a day of prozinc. His Bg has been in the mid 300s lately. The vet is now more concerned with his heart. January 2 of this year he was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. He has had the fluid drained 4x in the past 8 days.1.25cc 3x a day of lasix, 2cc 3x a day of rutin, and enalapril 2x a day. So far Ylee has been good about taking all of the meds, but the vet visits are getting harder. I worry we will be forced to make a decision every time we go. The main concern is how quickly the fluid comes back and how rapid it makes his breathing. We measure his respiratory rate throughout the day and if it goes up to 60 its ER time.
I would appreciate any advice/support you all can offer Ylee and I.Thank you
 
aw, your sweet Ylee has had a lot to deal with.

i'm not a PZI user so will let others help you on that, but i did want to say welcome. we'll do what we can. we do have one person who is really experienced with fatty liver - her cat had it and she's been a spokeswoman teaching others about it. i'll let her know that you're here.

i don't have experience with all the heart issues you're working with - but this is a very experienced site and perhaps others will be able to advise you.

welcome!
 
Very Welcome Ylee and caretaker!

I am sorry to learn about the heart condition.

Is he eating fine?

And what kind of food is he eating?



Also, have you started to hometest the blood glucose yet?


Jess & Earl here work with cardiologists, and perhaps she knows if any of Ylee's heart meds affect bg levels.
 
I just want to pop in and offer you and your big boy some big hugs.

For a Maine Coone that doesn't sound like a lot of lasix. My dog was only 11lbs with congestive heart failure and she was on 20mg 3x's a day to stave off the fluid at the end. I wonder about cats and their ability to handle more lasix. She was also on benazepril and vetmedin. Is there a cardiologist in your area? A vet school?

There is a member on the Lantus forum fighting CHF in their cat and also a member that is a vet tech very knowledgeable in heart disease. I'm going to send them your link. I lost my sweet boy Maverick in April last year to undiagnosed heart disease (most likely). I didn't know Maine coons were genetically predisposed to this. All the while my dog was seeing a cardiologist ohmygod_smile

Sending more hugs.
 
Welcome extra sweet Ylee and MamaBean!

I'm sorry your baby is going thru so much right now. KT is also a Maine Coon mix and is a BIG boy - 17 lbs is his ideal weight. Luckily for us, his only problem that we know of is diabetes. BUT...his 'brother' (no kin) is a Piebald Siamese mix, about 10 lbs usually, that has CHF. About a month ago now, he started retaining fluid - from Thursday to the following Tuesday, he'd gained about 3 pounds of fluid not only in his body cavity but also under the skin. We started him on 12.5mg Lasix twice a day and 2.5mg Enalapril once a day. It was 3-4 days before I started really seeing an improvement in the fluid pockets. Now, as long as I give him meds, he seems to feel good - he did his 'happy run' outside for the first time in a lONG time yesterday, something I thought I'd never see again. If I miss one fluid pill it's noticeable.

We also have an older ShihTzu with CHF also - about 15 pounds of dog - she takes the same Lasix doses but takes two Enalapril's daily. Her fluid isn't clearing as easily as Scruffy's. She has a heart murmur also which contributes to hers. The pills upset her stomach so we go from no pill/eating to pill/no eating as often as we can.

There's a wonderful Angel here that's studying to be a feline cardiologist - I'm emailing her (Jess and Earl) asking her to visit your condo here too. I don't know much of anything about all this other than what I've experienced myself but Jess will. I also can't help with the other medications.

BIG HUGE HUG and welcome again!!! I'm glad you found the best place you never wanted to find...
 
You are all so wonderful. I am so thankful for you all, even though we just met! Thank you for sharing and caring.
Ylee is currently eating EVO wet we switch the flavors around. I also offer him EVO dry because sometimes thats all I can get him to eat. Last week I started mixing in some classic fancy feast. I add water and warm it up as well. He eats well. We have been home testing, I use Alpha Trak.
We were planning on seeing a cardioligist on friday but after speaking to 4 vets they all agree that his diagnoses is correct and the medication is as well. They did not feel it would be money well spent at this point. Ylee saw the feline specialist today and she said he still has some fluid but his breathing is better she asked us to do a small curve tomorrow.
 
Welcome to you and Ylee! That is really great that you are hometesting and your vet is supportive. We would be interested to hear the numbers during your curve tomorrow. So glad you found us!
 
Good luck with your bg curve! Wishing you warm ears and quick bleeds, and a happy cat without fluid, that sounds really worrying.
 
In my opinion he is on way too low a dose of lasix. I would research this on the forums and with the name of the person Squeeky recommended. I don't know CHF in cats but I think they can handle more than 1.25 mg. My dog was only 11lbs and she was on 20xs that amount almost in her final stages. I know cats and dogs are different. The cardiologist bought us at least another year with her. They know things that vets don't. Your cat is further along but you may buy some months or more. Reach out to the people and forums mentioned here. The thing about these forums is that a lot of them have people more knowledgeable than generalists vets on specific topics. Like feline diabetes. These boards help thousands of cats with diabetes, a vet may see a handful of diabetic cats a year, and don't become specialists. Even cat specific vets couldn't. Sending more hugs.
 
We did our curve today. It was not as productive as I had hoped( I wasted a few test strips and then ran out:(, placed order a few days ago)
7am pre-insulin/meal 303
1:15pm 418
3:30pm 473
5:40pm 438
7pm pre-insulin/meal HI
He is on 3 units of prozinc.
Last month he was on 4units, but he was dropping below 100 in the morning and then hittin 400 in the evening. Vet lowered his dose to 3 units and his numbers still seemed whacky so we went to 2.5 units. His numbers got higher so we went back up to 3. Today he had a teaspoon of chicken baby food mixed with water at 3:30 ( his treat for taking his lasix and rutin) his bg dropped a bit during that time???? I emailed his vet and while I wait for a response he is at the water bowl. :(
 
There is a phenomena called rebound that sometimes occurs with higher doses.

http://petdiabetes.wikia.com/wiki/Somogyi_rebound

You might ask your vet about it.

We like to start low and go slow. We start with a dose of one unit or less and test at home. If the numbers warrant it, then we can increase the dose slowly, by .25 or .5 units at a time. If you start with a high dose, you run the risk of too much insulin and hypos. And you could have started over the ideal dose and he could be rebounding.
 
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