Introducing Debbie and Bowie

[Debbie Schultz]

Hi!
I'm in the position of being an "aunt" to Bowie. My good friend and neighbor (just down the hall) Darlena adopted Bowie several years ago. He was left behind when someone moved. He is a white short hair around 7-8 years old. Last December Darlena asked me to look at Bowie because he had something wrong with his hind legs. I was shocked. He had neuropathy and "clown feet". He also looked like he had lost a significant amount of weight. I made an appt. at a local shelter cat clinic. His initial blood glucose was 347. He had lost 6 pounds. While trying to get his glucose regulated he had a mild flare up of pancreatitis. Anyway, he recovered quickly and we settled on 1 unit of vetsulin every 12 hours. We switched him to low carb wet food. His sugars did well, his neuropathy resolved, his weight stabilized, and in June the vet decided to try him off the insulin. That very same day he quit eating and was diagnosed with IBD. A course of nausea medication and prednisolone worked but increased the glucose dramatically. We resumed 1unit and then 1.5 units twice a day. The blood glucose continues to go up and the Vet's current thinking is very concerning and I don't know what to think. I give Bowie his insulin and try to advocate. I'm not sure if at this point I should post my concerns on the other part of the message board. If you will let me know what's appropriate. I really need a different prespective.
Thanks, Debbie

 

[Idjit's mom]

Hi and welcome Debbie and Bowie. First, thank you for being such a kind person and helping Darlena take care of Bowie. You can post questions on the Main Forum, and/or in the Vetsulin Insulin Support Group forum. First, however, I ask that you create a signature that is going to provide all Bowie's pertinent information with each of your posts. That way you won't have to repeat information and the other members won't have to try to scroll through past posts or threads to find out. Here is a link on how to do that: SIGNATURE
You say you inject the insulin, do you also do the blood sugar testing? or is that the neighbor Darlena? We also use a spreadsheet on the board to record data such as the time and dose of insulin used, as well as all the blood sugar tests (BG for blood glucose).
It would be very helpful to advising members to have that information available, in order to make any recommendations. Here is a link on understanding and creating the spreadsheet: SPREADSHEET