ToddyTiger
Member Since 2010
Hi There,
I actually post on the Feline Health forum more than anywhere else, but it was suggested to me that I should introduce everyone here to Todd, and so I could get some thoughts on what is happening with him.
The last few months of Todd's life have been kind of rough, so I'll try to make this info short.
To start with, Todd is 16 years old and has been a diabetic for a couple of years. He was started on Lantus just as soon as we found out he was a diabetic, however, I guess I really don't know much about Lantus, even now.
Anyway, Todd did VERY well for the last couple of years, aside from a small pancreatitis attack in early 2008 and major surgery for a intussusception Oct of 2009 (removed 6inches of his intestines), he has been fine. No problems with his diabetes. However, in July of this year, he stopped eating one day. Before this, he was acting fine, eating well and no problems. I took him to our vet and they checked him out, Couldn't find anything wrong. Did blood work, urine tests and everything. They gave him some fluids (it was a HOT day 90+) and sent me home. Within an hour of getting home, he started shaking and looking like he was gong to die. I rushed him back to our vet and his BG was in the 40's. They have him some glucose and sent me home, with their meter (I wasn't home testing at the time) I was told t check his BG in 3 hours and if it was below 60, to take him to the ER vet. Which is what happened... off to the ER vet for the night.
Now to skip a bit.. by the end of September, after receiving 3 X-rays, TONS of blood work and an ultrasound, they decided it must have been very bad pancreatits, but it was healing and we were good. He would be fine.. not long after that, he started to lose weight again, even though he was eating. Between July and Sept he had lost 3lbs. He was not overweight when this started, so he was down from 14lbs to between 11 and 12lbs. So anyway, again, out of no where he started losing weight again. Just 1lb this time.. they did more blood work (they've done about a dozen full blood panels on him since July). His kidney values were slightly up. nothing major, but they were up. and he was very, very dehydrated off and on this whole time. He got fluids for two days at the vet and his kidney values went back to normal and he seemed fine. But just to be safe, in October, we took him to see a internal Med. specialist. He ran another ultrasound and more bloodwork. Nothing looked off, aside from Todd's adrenal glands being slightly large and he noted that Todd's fur has not grown back from when he was shaved in April (he got a lion cut in April). He decided to treat Todd for renal issues and had me start Todd on Hill's k/d. So we did. He was doing great for almost a month. His weight stayed around 10ish lbs and he was eating well and acting well...
I went out of town Nov 17th until the 23rd, so Todd stayed at our vet office while I was away. They took good care of him and he did very well there. Our vet noted while there, that Todd has some arthritis in his back knees and spine, so she suggested starting him on Adequan. I said sure, so he was started on it the day we brought him home. Once a week. We brought him home and all seemed well, however, close to three weeks later, he started walking closer and closer to the ground, stumbling on his back legs and eating less and less.. this was over a couple of days I noticed this. I was told to try giving him a different renal food and see if he'll eat it. He did, but he was still acting off and he was so, so dehydrated. I was giving him 100ml of Sub-Q every other day for over a month at this point. He didn't seem better, so I took him into out vet on Friday Dec.10th. They did a in house check of his kidney values and BG. His kidney values jumped WAY up (BUN: 129 Creatinine: 4.6) and his blood glucose was so high, it went past the highest their meter could read, which is 500. They started him on IV fluids and had me transfer him to a ER vet overnight. He stayed at the ER vet until 8pm Saturday (Dec. 11th). He came home that night and was doing better, but still couldn't walk more than a step without just falling to the ground. The next day, I took him back to our vet and they hooked him back up to the IV. They decided to do IV treatment during the day for the next 3-4 days and see how he does. So that is what we did. We was at the vet during the day and at home at night. I could see each day, he was feeling a little better. I told our vet that I felt he had neuropathy, but she wasn't so sure. But I could see it was classic walking on the hocks. The vets didn't seem very hopeful, but we tried to make him feel better. On Tuesday (Dec. 14th) our vet suggested to me, that we should up Todd's Lantus from 1.5 units twice a day, to 2.0 units twice a day, because his BG numbers were anywhere from 350 to 600+. So we did.. By the next morning, he was actually walking normally again (no neuropathy) and was feeling tons better! So that is what I have been giving, the 2.0 units of Lantus, since the 14th. And if you look at Todd's SS, you can see that each day, the numbers were kind of getting lower, however, they were still pretty all over the place. The biggest issue was yesterday. He received his Lantus around 9am, and as usual, I checked his BG at 3-4pmish. it was 64 (was in the 400's in the am). I called the vet, who said to give him some Karo and skip his insulin that night. So I did. Now, I should point out, when I tested and got the 64, he was acting TOTALLY normal. He was chatty, eating and looked bright eyed. By the evening, his numbers were back up, but I skipped the dose, as the vet suggested. Today, I checked his BG in the am and it was in the 400's. I called and asked the vet if I could give the insulin and he said yes, but to go back to 1.5 units. I was about to, but then Todd threw up some white foam (but was still acting normal) The vet said skip it and see how he does today and tonight. If he seems ok and his numbers are still up, I can give 1.5 units tonight at 9pm.
So that is where we are at right now. He has eaten some, and seems bright eyed, but a bit tired today. Still walking fine and he got his sub-Q today. I should point out, the vet is having me do 100ml to 150ml of Sub-Q everyday until we recheck his kidney values next week. At last check his kidney values did go down a bit from the 10th. Lats check was Tuesday. BUN: 70 Creatinine: 4.3
His current medications are
Lantus 2.0u (but was 1.5u until the 14th)
Tumil-K (two pills a day)
Zenequin (for high white count, to be safe)
Mirtazapine every 72 hours (due tomorrow)
B-12 injections
Sub-Q daily 100ml to 150ml
His food is k/d dry and wet, though getting him to eat wet is REALLY hard. He just wants the dry. :/
I do want to mention, that before Todd got sick in July, he was receiving 2.5U of Lantus twice a day for well over a year and had been doing well.
No one is totally sure what is going on with him. I have a feeling though that the last few weeks or even month or so, a lot of his problems may have had to do with getting no insulin for a while (they took him off insulin off and on between July and Sept) and then being on a low dose for so long.
Thank you! I hope this wasn't too confusing to read. I'm terrible at trying to explain stuff. and please forgive spelling mistakes.
I actually post on the Feline Health forum more than anywhere else, but it was suggested to me that I should introduce everyone here to Todd, and so I could get some thoughts on what is happening with him.
The last few months of Todd's life have been kind of rough, so I'll try to make this info short.
To start with, Todd is 16 years old and has been a diabetic for a couple of years. He was started on Lantus just as soon as we found out he was a diabetic, however, I guess I really don't know much about Lantus, even now.
Anyway, Todd did VERY well for the last couple of years, aside from a small pancreatitis attack in early 2008 and major surgery for a intussusception Oct of 2009 (removed 6inches of his intestines), he has been fine. No problems with his diabetes. However, in July of this year, he stopped eating one day. Before this, he was acting fine, eating well and no problems. I took him to our vet and they checked him out, Couldn't find anything wrong. Did blood work, urine tests and everything. They gave him some fluids (it was a HOT day 90+) and sent me home. Within an hour of getting home, he started shaking and looking like he was gong to die. I rushed him back to our vet and his BG was in the 40's. They have him some glucose and sent me home, with their meter (I wasn't home testing at the time) I was told t check his BG in 3 hours and if it was below 60, to take him to the ER vet. Which is what happened... off to the ER vet for the night.
Now to skip a bit.. by the end of September, after receiving 3 X-rays, TONS of blood work and an ultrasound, they decided it must have been very bad pancreatits, but it was healing and we were good. He would be fine.. not long after that, he started to lose weight again, even though he was eating. Between July and Sept he had lost 3lbs. He was not overweight when this started, so he was down from 14lbs to between 11 and 12lbs. So anyway, again, out of no where he started losing weight again. Just 1lb this time.. they did more blood work (they've done about a dozen full blood panels on him since July). His kidney values were slightly up. nothing major, but they were up. and he was very, very dehydrated off and on this whole time. He got fluids for two days at the vet and his kidney values went back to normal and he seemed fine. But just to be safe, in October, we took him to see a internal Med. specialist. He ran another ultrasound and more bloodwork. Nothing looked off, aside from Todd's adrenal glands being slightly large and he noted that Todd's fur has not grown back from when he was shaved in April (he got a lion cut in April). He decided to treat Todd for renal issues and had me start Todd on Hill's k/d. So we did. He was doing great for almost a month. His weight stayed around 10ish lbs and he was eating well and acting well...
I went out of town Nov 17th until the 23rd, so Todd stayed at our vet office while I was away. They took good care of him and he did very well there. Our vet noted while there, that Todd has some arthritis in his back knees and spine, so she suggested starting him on Adequan. I said sure, so he was started on it the day we brought him home. Once a week. We brought him home and all seemed well, however, close to three weeks later, he started walking closer and closer to the ground, stumbling on his back legs and eating less and less.. this was over a couple of days I noticed this. I was told to try giving him a different renal food and see if he'll eat it. He did, but he was still acting off and he was so, so dehydrated. I was giving him 100ml of Sub-Q every other day for over a month at this point. He didn't seem better, so I took him into out vet on Friday Dec.10th. They did a in house check of his kidney values and BG. His kidney values jumped WAY up (BUN: 129 Creatinine: 4.6) and his blood glucose was so high, it went past the highest their meter could read, which is 500. They started him on IV fluids and had me transfer him to a ER vet overnight. He stayed at the ER vet until 8pm Saturday (Dec. 11th). He came home that night and was doing better, but still couldn't walk more than a step without just falling to the ground. The next day, I took him back to our vet and they hooked him back up to the IV. They decided to do IV treatment during the day for the next 3-4 days and see how he does. So that is what we did. We was at the vet during the day and at home at night. I could see each day, he was feeling a little better. I told our vet that I felt he had neuropathy, but she wasn't so sure. But I could see it was classic walking on the hocks. The vets didn't seem very hopeful, but we tried to make him feel better. On Tuesday (Dec. 14th) our vet suggested to me, that we should up Todd's Lantus from 1.5 units twice a day, to 2.0 units twice a day, because his BG numbers were anywhere from 350 to 600+. So we did.. By the next morning, he was actually walking normally again (no neuropathy) and was feeling tons better! So that is what I have been giving, the 2.0 units of Lantus, since the 14th. And if you look at Todd's SS, you can see that each day, the numbers were kind of getting lower, however, they were still pretty all over the place. The biggest issue was yesterday. He received his Lantus around 9am, and as usual, I checked his BG at 3-4pmish. it was 64 (was in the 400's in the am). I called the vet, who said to give him some Karo and skip his insulin that night. So I did. Now, I should point out, when I tested and got the 64, he was acting TOTALLY normal. He was chatty, eating and looked bright eyed. By the evening, his numbers were back up, but I skipped the dose, as the vet suggested. Today, I checked his BG in the am and it was in the 400's. I called and asked the vet if I could give the insulin and he said yes, but to go back to 1.5 units. I was about to, but then Todd threw up some white foam (but was still acting normal) The vet said skip it and see how he does today and tonight. If he seems ok and his numbers are still up, I can give 1.5 units tonight at 9pm.
So that is where we are at right now. He has eaten some, and seems bright eyed, but a bit tired today. Still walking fine and he got his sub-Q today. I should point out, the vet is having me do 100ml to 150ml of Sub-Q everyday until we recheck his kidney values next week. At last check his kidney values did go down a bit from the 10th. Lats check was Tuesday. BUN: 70 Creatinine: 4.3
His current medications are
Lantus 2.0u (but was 1.5u until the 14th)
Tumil-K (two pills a day)
Zenequin (for high white count, to be safe)
Mirtazapine every 72 hours (due tomorrow)
B-12 injections
Sub-Q daily 100ml to 150ml
His food is k/d dry and wet, though getting him to eat wet is REALLY hard. He just wants the dry. :/
I do want to mention, that before Todd got sick in July, he was receiving 2.5U of Lantus twice a day for well over a year and had been doing well.
No one is totally sure what is going on with him. I have a feeling though that the last few weeks or even month or so, a lot of his problems may have had to do with getting no insulin for a while (they took him off insulin off and on between July and Sept) and then being on a low dose for so long.
Thank you! I hope this wasn't too confusing to read. I'm terrible at trying to explain stuff. and please forgive spelling mistakes.
