Instructed not to give insulin for 24-hours after sedation

Kathy4Lewie

Kathy4Lewie

Active Member
Poor Lewie got really constipated and after non-invasive measures didn't work, he had to be sedated and cleaned out this morning. Lewie is a bouncy boy and many days his AM numbers are HIGH but today at the vet his AMPS was 249 so they didn't give him his insulin this morning. And I'm instructed not to give it tonight either. The vet knows I test at home, but she still said not to give it and I really didn't hear the reason. She's not steered me wrong yet, but it feels weird. Does anesthesia affect blood sugar? I'd like to hear your thoughts.
 
Even for dental procedures it's common practice to give a half dose of insulin in the morning before the anaesthetic/surgery even though in that case the cat has likely been fasting for 12 hours ...give or take and then depending on whether kitty is eating or not, to continue with insulin that night but possibly at a reduced dose if appetite is down/BG is down or a skip if BG is way down. I wonder if the vet thought Lewie might be nauseous and that is her reasoning. I've never heard of withholding just because of anaesthetic per se but the dose might have to be adjusted temporarily.
 
The vet said no shot at all tonight. His PM number is 545 so I feel bad about not giving anything. His appetite is very reduced so maybe he will be ok overnight.
 
Wow...His AMPS is likely to be pretty high since he was so high already at PMPS and had no shot. Next time you talk to the vet, I'd ask WHY they instructed no shot and let them know how high his PMPS is. Just for future reference since no shot at all is a really strange request to me.
 
Luckily his AMPS was 576... I know that's terrible, but I'm thankful the meter didn't read "High" and totally off the charts. I'll definitely get clarification on this instruction from the vet. They did tell me that for cats whose owners DON'T test at home, they withhold insulin for 2 to 3 days... when they have the cat back in for a followup.
 
So are you back to giving insulin today? Was it just the one shot the vet asked you to skip?
 
The procedure was Monday so I had the blessing from the vet to start up insulin on Tuesday. I gave a shot Tuesday morning, but he was in the yellows throughout the evening so I wasn't comfortable giving a shot Tuesday evening so I skipped. Wednesday morning (today) his AMPS was only 310 after skipping last night, so I skipped his AM shot. I'll see how he's doing about 5pm and give a shot then if appropriate. I'm waiting because I need a reasonable shot schedule.

The procedure took a lot out of him and he isn't doing very well. His blood test revealed that his red blood cell count is dropping so I'm afraid he's wearing out. He has a lot of health issues and his body is tired. He's a tough boy so maybe he will pull out of this and last a little while longer. He has a lot of muscle wasting though. His throat is either sore from the tube placement during anesthesia... or he is nauseated because he swallows hard and he's not eating very well and that's not like him. Even before the procedure when he was super constipated, he chowed down. Hopefully his throat will feel better soon.
 
Thank you both PatJ and Djamila. PatJ... from one yellow kitty :cat: to another! :cat:

Tonight I put Lewie on top of my stomach/chest and we watched 2 hours of TV tonight. He is very weak. He did eat a little better tonight... I almost accidentally fed him the wrong food going to one of my other cats. When I set the bowl down Lewie caught a whiff really fast and he perked up big time... so I poured the carb-food juice over his low carb food and he eat really well.

Thank you for your hugs, love and healing vibes... we sure need them.
 
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