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Tina Marie

Member Since 2012
Hi there...

Just joined this site...and am at a point of desperation! I thought my Sydney was not going to make it thru this last weekend...she is 20, diagnosed a year ago and her BS is all over the place and not consistent for longer than a month at a time, then decides to change itself... In the last month or 6 weeks she has gone downhill really bad, with her numbers going up over 600 regularly...when this happened, my vet was out for the weekend and they dont take even calls. So I increased the insulin from one unit to 2 ...with no change, so I went to 3...that helped...and I just adjusted based on her numbers. I found out from my vet that we should not do this with cats, the dosage needs to remain consistent and it will level off...so we tried to do that with using one unit twice a day. Dispite the change her blood sugar was over 600 most days and this went on for more than a week, close to 2 until she had lost so much weight (3 pounds since May) and then stopped eating. This brought us to last week when she started to walk wobbly. She deteriorated as the week went on and I was pretty sure she would not make it thru this past weekend and prepared to put her down today....until yesterday she perked up and was like a different cat. ....however her legs have become so weak that now she can hardly even get up...!!! Is there any advice??? She is eating like a trooper 4 times a day and drinking good also. She gets fluids every day, as she also has kidney failure numbers. I have had her on B 12 shots, but not consistent ....is there a B 12 that I can get over the counter to give her daily...or any other suggestions to get her strength back...I wonder if she is beyond help at this point.

Thanks for any help!

Tina Marie :cry:
 
The first advice I have is to breathe. This is doable and we would love to help you and Sydney.

First some questions: What kind of insulin? It sounds like you are hometesting? What kind of numbers are you seeing for preshots and midcycle? Was she diagnosed with a fructosamine test or just a blood test at the vet? What food do you feed her?

We have great success with a good insulin (Lantus, Levemir or ProZinc) dosed based on tests done at home and a wet low carb diet. The B12 can be given in oral form: Neuropathy But it can take a while in some cats and is helped greatly by getting her down into better numbers.

Give us some more info, do some reading of other new member threads and the info on the Board Index page.
 
Hi Tina Marie, and welcome to FDMB!

If Sydney's leg weakness is caused by neuropathy because of her diabetes then the specific B12 you need to get is 'methyl B12' (methylcobalamin) and you can buy it in tablet form as 'Xobaline' (you may need to buy it online). There is even a Xobaline especially for cats!

I've used this for my own cat. He had dreadful neuropathy in his back legs when he was dx with diabetes. I never thought he'd walk properly again. But he recovered completely! I crumbled the tablets and added them to his food and he didn't even notice them.

You'll find a lot of help and support on this forum. :smile:
 
Hi Sue and Oliver...thanks so much for your quick reply...Bless you for offering to help!

Ok...I'm breathing...now, that just since I wrote that post Sydney bottomed out...we were at the vet this morning and Dr tested her BS at 200...she said to give her a unit when I get home....so I did, and after a couple hours she cried out a couple times and I noticed her trying to get up and she could not...this has happened before so I knew to check her blood sugar (she had a seizure last time ) It was 39, so I got the karo syrup immediately! She still has not been able to get up and that was 3 hours ago, shouldn't she have bounced back by now? Now I'm worried AGAIN. The vet said it shouldn't take long. So now we will decrease her insulin to .5 unit. How do you regulate the blood sugar when it is so sporadic like this??? Im so perplexed by this.

So to answer your questions...

The insulin she is on is PZI BCP...my Dr mentioned that she would consider changing her insulin if it wasn't for her age...but I wonder now if that would be better than this up and down thing ...and how would I do that if she isn't willing?
Yes...I am hometesting...however, frustrated with that, we have found that my glucometer is not accurate with the readings that the vet is getting...seems to be low...sometimes 50 points, and sometimes more....is there a unit that you would suggest.

Thanks so much for any advice....I know she has lived a long time, but I feel like this was just a bump in the road.

Tina Marie
 
Can you get another reading? If she is still low (below 40) I would put some more syrup on her gums and test again in 20 minutes.

The issue here may have been that while she was 200 at the vet, she could have been much lower at home without the vet stress. So one unit could have been too much insulin.

Let's talk about dosing after you get her numbers up and she is acting normal again.
 
I took another reading and it was 109, however, knowing that my glucometer is a little low, I gave more karo syrup, just checked and it is 153, but she is still just laying there very lethargic, and lifeless...she has not hardly lifted up her head at all, and not even tried to get up...could this have been so dramatic because she was already weak? Should she have bounced back already ...what is normal or when should I feel concerned?
 
I don't know if she is still reacting from being low or whether there is another reason for her feeling weak. Will she eat and drink? Does she react to your petting or talking to her? Is it that she is spacey or seem disoriented?

I'm not a vet of course. If she were mine, I would keep track of her numbers for the next few hours. It is possible that she went down again after your first giving her the Karo and stayed in lower numbers for awhile. The 157 is safe, as long as she doesn't drop. (that's why I'd keep track). The Karo is a short term fix, lasting 30 minutes or so before it wears off. If you can get her to eat, that is likely to keep the numbers moving up. You can put some food on your fingers to get her interested in eating.

It is concerning that she still seems weak.

Ps. It is not that your meter is necessarily low. It is lower than the vet's , but that can be because she is stressed at the vet. Your numbers are more likely to be the accurate ones
 
Oh,...bummer ...just saw this...my email notifications are not working and Im not getting notice there was a post...so sorry.

Well much has happened since the last post...Im so emotionally exhausted..!

I had checked the insulin again and it was close to 454....eek...but didnt want to give insulin after that episode, so waited a while and took it again and it was 528...and my glucometer is low, remember? (oh, by the way, we figured out it was low because I took it in to the vet and they checked numbers side by side) Anyway, I thought I had better give her a half unit of insulin before it went even higher.

Later in the evening she ended up getting up and walking around...still very weak and wobbly and then vomited a huge amount..then went to lay down and she looked the worst that I have seen her yet...I literally expected her to die...she was limp and out of it...and at one point her eyes rolled up a bit in her head...I waited about a half hour till she came around a little and gave her 50 ml of fliuds..she gets them daily anyway,and it was time.

Well long story short that was around 8 pm and now, 3 1/2 hours later, is like a different cat...walking around...still wobbly also, but ate about 40 mls of food, and drank a little water. Except just now she vomited again, that concerns me if she isnt going to keep food down. :( :( :(

My vet encouraged me to put her down today, and I decided to wait a few more days and see if she would bounce back... now I'm wondering if I am prolonging her life and not doing her any favors by taking care of her. :( This is so hard!
 
I am sorry that she is feeling badly again. You could start a new post and ask for help with the womiting/weakness issue. It could certainly be a separate issue from the insulin. All I know is small meals and the fluids definitely help.

Just some ideas on the insulin. The bouncing around is logical. What happens when they go very low like she did, is that her liver panics and releases extra glucose. So she "bounces" - going up into high numbers. Not "real" numbers, but ones influenced by that extra glucose from the liver. We say not to shoot that higher number with a higher dose, so as not to start a roller coaster of high and low numbers.

I think your original dose (that gave her the low numbers yesterday) is too high. I would reduce it and give that amount of insulin for a few cycles, checking carefully at a few hours after the shot to see where she is headed and then at midcycle to see how low she goes. That may stop the roller coaster and help her feel better.

The eating issue can be that the roller coaster makes her feel crummy or it may be that she has a separate tummy upset. But settling one down may help.
 
Thank you so much for taking the time to talk about this...its tough!

Well, she vomited again this morning after her first meal, but when I came home for lunch and fed her, she finally kept it down. I also was able to get some cerinia from the vet and started her on that this evening.

Good advice on the insulin...we are going to half a unit now, see how that goes. One question, my vet made a comment a couple weeks ago about changing her insulin if it wasnt for her age. Do they work differently and what would be the benefit of changing...?

Yes, I am hoping to get this blood sugar leveled off and hoping her legs strengthen so she can stand at the dish to eat and drink...my vet thinks I should put her down but I dont feel its time...its so hard to know...especially when she is eating well and has gained a half pound back in the last week. That is a huge amount when you only weight 5 and a half pounds.

Do you have any idea why I am not getting notifications when I get a post on here?
 
Not sure about the notifications. Maybe go through the routine again - go to User Control Panel, Board Preferences, Posting defaults and then Notify Me Upon Replies. Be sure to pick and choose Submit.

I would concentrate on monitoring with this insulin before worrying about switching. It is certainly bringing her numbers down. You just want to get her stable with it and consistently in a safe range of numbers. I'd concentrate on preshot numbers and midcycle numbers and see how the lower dose works.
 
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