Is vomiting a common side effect of insulin injections

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KayDee+Madeline

Member Since 2010
My 14-year-old female cat was just diagnosed with feline diabetes and we started giving her injections yesterday (Friday July 24). She's only had 3 injections so far but she has vomited shortly after each - just liquid and just a small amount, but nonetheless, we're wondering if this is a common reaction and whether it's temporary until she adjusts to this new treatment. Any insight would be greatly appreciated! Thank you fellow cat lovers!
 
This doesn't sound right.
How much insulin is your kitty getting? How soon after injection is she vomiting? How are you doing the injection? Just under the skin? Is she just getting two injections per day, 12 hours apart?
 
Heading off to bed in a few minutes...
I have never heard of vomiting being a side effect, but I can't say for sure that it won't be in your kitty...just saying that doesn't sound right.

btw..welcome to the LL family!
 
no, never ever noticed vomiting as a side effect of insulin injection.
any chance your cat has pancreatitis? many diabetics do. be very cautious. if you see vomiting more than normally i'd contact vet. even if cats are still eating, if they're vomiting they may not be getting the nutrients they need, plus pancreatitis is very painful (they hide the pain very well).
if she's still vomiting by monday you might want to bring her to the vet for an fPLI test for pancreatitis (it'sa quick blood test). you'd get the results the next day.
in the meantime it would help to add water to her canned food, even syringe water into her mouth if she'll let you (i use the oral baby syringes you can get a CVS or other pharmacies), and 1/4 tablet of pepcid AC followed by a water chaser. if you notice her straining to pee or poo you might want to bring her in sooner just in case she has a blockage.
 
Are you feeding her prior to the injection? I'm just asking, because I usually test/feed/shoot in short order and you said your kitty is only vomiting up liquid... My girl will vomit if her stomach gets too empty - just liquid...
 
How much insulin are you giving at each shot time?

We followed my vet's prescribed dose for my two kitties. I was told to give my Raja 3 units (of Vetsulin) twice a day and by the 5th day, she was vomiting a lot. It turned out that I was giving her way too much insulin. I began home testing shortly after when I joined the forum here. I hope you will consider home testing. That is the only way you can know what the BG numbers are. We test before each shot at least during the day.
According to Raja's numbers, it was suggested that I start her out on .6u of insulin!!!! She was on .6u for awhile and never went above that dose. The vet had me on 3 units!!! :o That explains the vomiting and also her strange scared hiding and change of personality when I was giving her the 3 units. Hypos are a real threat....so perhaps you will read the stickies that the top of the page on this forum.

We have a protocol that say to start low and go slow with the increases... We usually start out at 1.0 unit and work our way up at .25 increments according to the BG numbers that we see.

I am so glad that you found your way to our forum. We post each day and would be happy if you would join us. We have a Spreadsheet available to download in our Tech Support forum.. http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopi ... =6&t=18207
It is great to use so you can upload the BG numbers for all your daily BG tests. We use human meters so we can track the BGs throughout the day.
This forum is packed with wonderful information that you will e able to use easily...and we would love to see you post each day.
If you haven't considered testing the BGs yourself, it is something you should look into, okay?
Meanwhile, could you say what type of food you are feeding and what dose you are shooting....
 
Providing dosing is OK, the other issue might be food related. How long is it between meals for your kitty? Unregulated cats are hungry all the time. If you are only feeding at shot time, your cat may have a bit of an acid stomach and that may be causing some vomiting. As long as she's eating, I'm less suspicious of pancreatitis, but it's certainly worth discussing with your vet. I'd try giving several small meals throughout the day and evening. We generally don't suggest feeding within 2 hours of shot time since food can influence a blood glucose test result. I usually provide a snack around 3 or 4 hours before shot time as well as several small meals.
 
Wow, thank you all so much for your replies! Our poor kitty also has inflammatory bowel syndrome so vomitting undigested food used to be a very common occurrence. She gets steroid shots every few months to keep that under control, but the vet said it's likely that it's the steroid treatment that brought on the diabetes. Our Maddie has been eating and we give her the injection shortly after she eats. We are administering them 12 hours apart. She is on a very small dose (to just the first line on the needle) and my husband used to be a paramedic, so we'recomfortable that he's doing it properly. So far, she hasn't gotten sick today and she got her shot 4 hours ago, so we're keeping our fingers crossed that it was a temporary reaction. Will monitor her closely today and call the vet on Monday if the vomiting persists.
Oh, regarding food - the vet told us to discontinue putting dry food out and only give her wet/canned food. We give her multiple varieties of nine lives and Friskies . We are definitely going to get the at-home glucose testing kit! We're scheduled to take Maddie back to the vet next week (10 days after diagnosis) for glucose check and thereafter we plan to do them ourselves at home with periodic checkups at the vet.. Thank you all again so much for your kindness! Have a blessed day. cat_pet_icon
 
Welcome to the family Maddie :-D

I'm so glad you're planning to start testing your kitty yourself. It's the only way to really know how she's doing.
Have a good day. Hope to see you posting often.
 
Welcome to LL! I hope Maddie's vomiting episodes are over and she's on her way to being a happy, healthy kitty. :-D So glad you will be hometesting, and you will be too. It gives you an incredible peace of mind knowing exactly what's going on with your kitty. Have a great Sunday!
 
What foods do you all suggest for diabetic kitties? Vet told us low- carb, high protein. Are there any decent foods can get at the grocery store or do I need to start going with something more specialized? Also, Sienne ... You mentioned giving your kitty several small meals plus snacks...what do you use for snacks?

I'm so grateful for everyone's help!! cat_pet_icon
 
KayDee+Madeline said:
What foods do you all suggest for diabetic kitties? Vet told us low- carb, high protein. Are there any decent foods can get at the grocery store or do I need to start going with something more specialized? Also, Sienne ... You mentioned giving your kitty several small meals plus snacks...what do you use for snacks?

I'm so grateful for everyone's help!! cat_pet_icon
Click to expand...

Your vet sounds really with it, between the food suggestions, prescribing Lantus, and advocating home testing. You are fortunate! :smile:

Many people here feed Fancy Feast, which you can find at pet stores and even some grocery stores (although I don't know about the varieties available at the grocery store; probably more limited than at, say, Petco). There are MANY options to feed, and luckily there is a food chart which breaks down the values which are important to look at (carbs, fat, protein). You can find the chart here: http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html
Many of the Fancy Feast (FF) flavors are listed on the "old food chart" but the "new food chart" is the one which is still being updated, so it's good to look at both. You want to look for a food with <10% carbs. Fat content is also important, particularly for pancreatitis (not saying that's what Maddie's issue is, just something to keep in mind for now or the future).

You can also order food from online sites, such as Pet Food Direct: http://www.petfooddirect.com
Join their e-mail club and they will send you more coupons than you can use for percentages off, or free shipping. If you sign up for their AutoShip, you will receive a 15% discount on all your orders. It's really awesome to get your pet food delivered to your door, I'll tell you that much. ;-)

As far as snacks, I believe Sienne means just smaller portions of food, but I'll let her tackle that so I don't put words in her mouth. As far as treats, Halo Liv-A-Littles are also affectionately called kitty crack around here. It's just freeze-dried chicken but man, it's popular. It's also expensive (IMO) so while I do get them semi-regularly, I also just cook up a chicken breast in a pan, cut it up in small pieces, and use that for treats, mostly after testing. There are a few brands of low-carb treats, mostly freeze-dried. Pure Bites is one that comes to mind in addition to the Liv-A-Littles. Anything with one ingredient (meat) is generally good for diabetics.
 
Welcome to LL! Looks like you've got a good a handle on things already and that you have a vet that is up to date. :thumbup Unfortunately a lot aren't.

When you buy your meter get a human BG meter. That is what most of us use, you don't need the one specifically for pets. Those strips are expensive and you can only get them from the vet. That can be a problem if you run out and the vet is closed. The meters are the cheapest part of the setup often w/ rebate. Check the price of strips, that's where it gets expensive. Many peeps use the Relion from Walmart w/ very inexpensive strips. One Touch Ultra Mini is also popular and strips are easy to get but expensive. I use the Maxima ASt from Hocks.com. Cheapest strips, but not available retail usually so you have to plan ahead. Just don't get the True Track or True Test available at CVS and Walgreens. Many of us have had problems with them.

Also try to get half unit marked U100 syringes. When you start reducing the dose it will be a big help. Check out Hocks, there is a link at the top of the page and they make a donationton FDMB when you order through that link.

Just saw your last post. Go tohttp://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html for lists of the carb content in catfood. Read the labels too, no grain or gluten, no veg. or fruit if possible. I think Sienne was referreing to a very small meal as a snack, I usually give about 1/4 oz. Most of us use freeze dried chicken or salmon treats,these are single ingredient on no carb. Cats love them so much some people call then Kitty Crack. Be sure to give a treat after tests. Tess will actually purr through the test cause she knows she will get a treat. :-D
 
Hi there and welcome to LL!

What a great group we have here for sure!!!

I use the One Touch Ultra you can get at WalMart. The strips are the most expensive things ohmygod_smile I get mine on Ebay. If I run out I know I get these
strips at any Grocery Store or Walmart. it will be great to test at home you really get a chance to know what's going on. It's a crazy game. I'm a perfectionist so this at
times can make me crazy with all the changes ohmygod_smile My mom's a Nurse Practioner and told me that medicine is not perfection so don't expect it :-D gotta love the mom's.

Have a great day!

So glad no vomiting today!
 
If your kitty has IBD, I'd find a wet food that's grain free with minimal ingredients. My Logan has IBD and I don't let him have fancy feast, 9 lives, etc. Way too many ingredients that can cause irritation and inflammation for IBD kitties. Logan's biggest symptom has been inappetance and occasional vomiting. We've gone through many brands of food. He's currently eating Merrick and Weruva. We've also tried Wellness and EVO. I'd stay away from wheat gluten, starches, meat by-products, grains, etc.

Welcome to lantus land and best of luck with treating the diabetes! Treating IBD and diabetes is a balancing act, but you'll manage.
 
Ann and Sarah know me all too well! I did mean a smaller portion of a low carb, high protein food for snacks (or mini-meals). As far as treats, anything that's a freeze dried or jerky product that contains just meat is what most of us use. Some more ambitious folks will cook chicken and use that as a treat.

In addition to the link that others provided to Janet & Binky's food charts, you may want to take a look at the website authored by Lisa Pierson, DVM on feline nutrition. She mentions that a raw diet has been found to be helpful for treating cats with IBD.

A word of caution. If you are planning on transitioning your cat to a low carb diet, please wait until you are home testing. The switch to a low card diet can dramatically effect blood glucose levels. There have been several cats who have been able to completely discontinue insulin as a result of a change in diet. If you are giving insulin and not testing at the time you are switching foods, you could risk having your cat drop into very low numbers and not know it. We are very attentive to managing low numbers and/or symptomatic hypoglycemia by testing and use of high carb food. Although, in the case of a cat with IBD, you will probably want to not use the typical high carb Fancy Feast since it contains gluten. Adding Karo syrup, honey, etc. to low carb food acts as a good substitute.
 
FYI 9-Lives ALWAYS made Tinkerbell & even my non-diabetic cats throw up. Tink gets only under-8% carb (from Janet & Binky's food charts) Friskies now, sometimes Fancy Feast but she seems to do better on Friskies.

Welcome! We don't post much but we lurk around here a lot.

Desi & Tinkerbell & the Gang
 
Sienne and Gabby said:
Although, in the case of a cat with IBD, you will probably want to not use the typical high carb Fancy Feast since it contains gluten. Adding Karo syrup, honey, etc. to low carb food acts as a good substitute.
Click to expand...

We take some Karo and add it to the fancy feast appetizers - Logan loves those and they're pure meat/broth. They're not nutritionally complete but they work great for adding Karo and he eats them b/c he thinks they're a big treat. I've tried adding the Karo to his food and he won't touch it.
 
I've been reading Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins book "Your Cat: Simple Secrets to a Longer, Stronger Life." There is a lot of good information in it including a good section on IBD. Since it is an allergy caused problem food is often the culprit. She strongly recommends feeding a raw diet, it isn't as bad to make as it sounds. I just got done making a batch.

There are lots of recipes around the simplest way is to use plain meat (chicken, turkey, rabbit (recommended for food allergies) , stay away from beef, a common allergen) and get a premixed supplement. Sienne and I have been using Feline Future, but there are several others. I tried Wild Kitty but Tess turned up her nose. :roll: If you use the supplements you don't need to grind the bones, I just dice up the meat. Added bonus is that chewing chunks of raw meat is good for cats teeth.

Dr. Lisa Pierson's site http://catinfo.org/ and http://www.catnutrition.org/foodmaking.php are good places to start. There is a good video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzxL4LBAPsI
 
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