Help, I'm so worried

JBat75

JBat75

Active Member
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/help-shes-been-so-high.299146/

Kaia is 16 years old and has had diabetes for 8 years.

I can't get the spreadsheet to work but I checked her glucose every 2 hours today...

I gave her 1.75 units of ProZinc tonight at 7:30 pm. I just get nervous sometimes because she has dropped down to 54 at times. I just can't control this. She does get little TINY bits of food through the day because she is always StARVING and crying for food. All night and all day!! What can I do???

7:30 am HI
9:30 am 302
11:30am 232
1:30pm 218
3:30pm 338
5:30pm 361
7:30pm HI
9:30pm 428
 
JBat75 said:
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/help-shes-been-so-high.299146/

Kaia is 16 years old and has had diabetes for 8 years.

I can't get the spreadsheet to work but I checked her glucose every 2 hours today...

I gave her 1.75 units of ProZinc tonight at 7:30 pm. I just get nervous sometimes because she has dropped down to 54 at times. I just can't control this. She does get little TINY bits of food through the day because she is always StARVING and crying for food. All night and all day!! What can I do???

7:30 am HI
9:30 am 302
11:30am 232
1:30pm 218
3:30pm 338
5:30pm 361
7:30pm HI
9:30pm 428
Click to expand...
@Suzanne & Darcy
 
JBat75 said:
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/help-shes-been-so-high.299146/

Kaia is 16 years old and has had diabetes for 8 years.

I can't get the spreadsheet to work but I checked her glucose every 2 hours today...

I gave her 1.75 units of ProZinc tonight at 7:30 pm. I just get nervous sometimes because she has dropped down to 54 at times. I just can't control this. She does get little TINY bits of food through the day because she is always StARVING and crying for food. All night and all day!! What can I do???

7:30 am HI
9:30 am 302
11:30am 232
1:30pm 218
3:30pm 338
5:30pm 361
7:30pm HI
9:30pm 428
Click to expand...
Based on these numbers, it looks like she may meed an increase in her insulin, but I need to see any data that you can put into the spreadsheet. I would be very happy to help you! Small meals spread throughout the day (and some at night as well) are best for her. It would probably be best if she not eat much after nadir, and she should not eat for two hours before her insulin injections so we can know that we have an accurate AMPS/PMPS number.

How is she doing besides her BG numbers? How is her behavior? Activity level? Litter box? Other than being hungry all the time, what else do you notice? How is her weight and her fur quality?
 
Oh, and 54 (you mentioned she dropped to 54) is a safe number for a cat. Just feed her some of her regular food and don’t panic or hijack the cycle with high carb food. Then test again in 30 minutes to make sure she’s staying stable (and 50 or above) in green or rising.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Oh, and 54 (you mentioned she dropped to 54) is a safe number for a cat. Just feed her some of her regular food and don’t panic or hijack the cycle with high carb food. Then test again in 30 minutes to make sure she’s staying stable (and 50 or above) in green or rising.
Click to expand...

Thank you SO MUCH!! I gave her 2 units this morning and will keep checking her (she was 341 this morning)

Her behavior is ok I guess, not lethargic just VERY thirsty and always hungry. I tend to give her a little less insulin at night because I'm not constantly feeding her. Is that a bad thing to do? I feel like she ends up HI in the morning because she drops so low? But I don't know as I only check her +3 at nights
 
I can’t tell if I agree with that because I can’t see her spreadsheet data. But a lot of cats end up high in the morning because they are not getting good duration of their insulin or just plain aren’t getting enough insulin. I see that a lot. It would be good if you could set an alarm and get a test at +6 some time (not every night) — that would give us good information. A lot of time shooting a different (lower) dose a.m. and p.m. is not a good way to go because it can allow the cat to climb higher overnight which makes it harder for the a.m. dose to be as effective. It’s pretty rare that I recommend doing that. I am not talking about doing a one-time reduced dose if you encounter a lower than expected preshot value — that’s a different matter entirely.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
I can’t tell if I agree with that because I can’t see her spreadsheet data. But a lot of cats end up high in the morning because they are not getting good duration of their insulin or just plain aren’t getting enough insulin. I see that a lot. It would be good if you could set an alarm and get a test at +6 some time (not every night) — that would give us good information. A lot of time shooting a different (lower) dose a.m. and p.m. is not a good way to go because it can allow the cat to climb higher overnight which makes it harder for the a.m. dose to be as effective. It’s pretty rare that I recommend doing that. I am not talking about doing a one-time reduced dose if you encounter a lower than expected preshot value — that’s a different matter entirely.
Click to expand...

OK. I'm working on getting my spreadsheet back up. I will Set an alarm and check her at +6. Is that they typical Nadir timeframe?
 
JBat75 said:
OK. I'm working on getting my spreadsheet back up. I will Set an alarm and check her at +6. Is that they typical Nadir timeframe?
Click to expand...
It is typical nadir for many cats, but some nadir at different times and some cats even have nadirs that move around. I noticed from your BG readings and times that you posted above that +6 was the lowest point in the cycle.
 
JBat75 said:
I had the vet test her as I was out of strips. They did send us home with an IV for hydration. He said a POSSIBLE UTI and also gave her antibiotics
Click to expand...
When was that? The DKA was back in 2021. Right? How long was she hospitalized? I mean back in 2021.
 
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I went back and read your original post from earlier in March. So she was at the vet in March. The vet tested for ketones then. I definitely would get a blood ketone meter if possible and test for ketones at home. They can fluctuate around a lot even during a single day so relying on a spot check from the vet on a single day doesn’t mean she’s not producing ketones now. It’s just good to be proactive about them. After my boy was hospitalized for over a week with a severe DKA, I bought a NovaMax Plus blood ketone meter and tested him daily until he started getting into mostly green numbers and then I tested less often, but still checked from time to time.

Has Kaia finished the course of antibiotics now?

Was full bloodwork done on Kaia in March? Do you have a copy of it? Regarding the nighttime howling and also her extreme hunger— has her blood pressure been checked? The howling/meowing can be a sign. Hypertension can lead to seizures. Also nighttime meowing can be associated with hyperthyroidism so her T4 should be checked. It’s possible that hyperthyroidism in conjunction with the diabetes could be making her extremely hungry. Has she lost weight?

If she’s hungry at night, you could leave wet food out for her to eat or you could get an automatic feeder to dispense wet food to her at specific times during the night. Many of our members here do that (also if they are away during the day for long periods of time.)
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Does she have kidney disease? I only ask because of the sub-q fluids (I assume this is what you meant because people don’t usually do intravenous fluids at home).
Click to expand...

Yes, sorry sub-q fluids. Her kidneys are getting a little worse. Her bloodwork a couple months ago looked better than the recent testing. She is constantly drinking and she tends to do better on fluids.
 
I’m sorry about the kidney disease. The fluids can help her to feel a lot better. I would definitely get them to check her blood pressure. I have had two cats so far who had kidney disease and also developed high blood pressure and both were undiagnosed as being hypertensive and both had seizures as a result. Do you know what her BUN and Creatinine were? T4? They should be part of a full blood panel. I have had other cats with kidney disease over the years, but this did happen with two of them. Very scary. One lost his vision after the seizure due to a partial retinal detachment, although he regained some of his sight eventually. The sign in his case that I overlooked was his nighttime howling. I thought maybe he was just old with cognitive decline or disorientation at night in the dark— so did the vet.
 
Have you considered switching her food from the Fancy Feast pates to a lower phosphorus food that would help by reducing the workload on her kidneys? It really can help a lot to feed reduced phosphorus foods. Do you know her phosphorus level from the March vet visit. It should be around 4-4.5. If it goes high it can further damage her kidneys and if it goes really high it can interfere with walking and jumping because it can cause hind leg weakness. Also, how is her potassium? Are you supplementing? It’s very common for CKD cats to be low in potassium which also can contribute to weakness. Sorry for so many questions.
 
Thank you all so much!! I was just catching up on all your responses. I will get in contact with my vet and ask for a copy of her bloodwork. I will also be changing her food. I've been just sick with worry for her.
She has a follow-up vet on April 5th. I will make sure she get her blood pressure taken.
Shes getting pretty thin, she has the look of an old 16 year old cat and it's breaking my heart

I can't tell you how much I appreciate your responses!!!!
 
Jeni --

Had you considered using a timed feeder? It will allow you to leave food out overnight. Also, a diabetic is going to be hungry (and thirsty) all the time if their numbers aren't regulated. At least based on the numbers you posted from Thursday, Kaia isn't regulated. What that means is that when she eats, her food is metabolized into glucose. In non-diabetics, the glucose is transported in to the cells by insulin. In a diabetic, since there isn't very much insulin to help with this process, the glucose is floating around in your cat's blood stream. That's what the high numbers indicate. It also means that food/glucose isn't getting into the cells and your cat is literally starving. Please feed your kitty!!
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
Jeni --

Had you considered using a timed feeder? It will allow you to leave food out overnight. Also, a diabetic is going to be hungry (and thirsty) all the time if their numbers aren't regulated. At least based on the numbers you posted from Thursday, Kaia isn't regulated. What that means is that when she eats, her food is metabolized into glucose. In non-diabetics, the glucose is transported in to the cells by insulin. In a diabetic, since there isn't very much insulin to help with this process, the glucose is floating around in your cat's blood stream. That's what the high numbers indicate. It also means that food/glucose isn't getting into the cells and your cat is literally starving. Please feed your kitty!!
Click to expand...

How much do I feed her?? I've been feeding her Sheba, at least 6 packages, maybe more
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
Jeni --

Had you considered using a timed feeder? It will allow you to leave food out overnight. Also, a diabetic is going to be hungry (and thirsty) all the time if their numbers aren't regulated. At least based on the numbers you posted from Thursday, Kaia isn't regulated. What that means is that when she eats, her food is metabolized into glucose. In non-diabetics, the glucose is transported in to the cells by insulin. In a diabetic, since there isn't very much insulin to help with this process, the glucose is floating around in your cat's blood stream. That's what the high numbers indicate. It also means that food/glucose isn't getting into the cells and your cat is literally starving. Please feed your kitty!!
Click to expand...


How do I stop this vicious cycle? More insulin and more food? How do I get her regulated again. I don't even know what happened
 
We really need to see a spreadsheet. I've very reticent to offer advice without benefit of seeing Kaia's response to insulin. I know we're harping on you're posting your cat's spreadsheet but we don't want to make a suggestion that could potentially harm your cat.

I'm tagging a member, Bhooma, who can help you with getting a spreadsheet set up. @Bandit's Mom
 
JBat75 said:
Did that work?
Click to expand...

When I look at Kobe's Spreadsheet, I have a share button near the top right. When you click on your spreadsheet's share button, can you change your "General access" so that it looks like mine?
Next hit "Copy link."
Then hit the blue "Done" button.
Your new link is now on your "clipboard" in your computer's memory. Go to you signature, remove the old link, and add your new link (Ctrl + V will paste your new link from your clipboard into your signature). Save your changes. Let's see if we can get this bugger fired up!!!
upload_2025-3-30_20-33-50.png
These are the add link and remove link buttons

@Bandit's Mom
upload_2025-3-30_21-2-4.png
 

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To set spreadsheet sharing permission:
* At the top right of the spreadsheet screen click on Share.

* In the pop-up dialog box click on the Get Link section.

* Change link access from 'Restricted' to 'Anyone with the link' and make sure that the permission on the right hand side is set to 'Viewer'.

* Click Done to save the changes.
 
Will you let me know if you are having trouble still? I can send you a link for a Google Meet and share my screen in that Google Meet. I will go through the steps with you! Don't give up!
 
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