Sparkle
Member Since 2016
Hi everyone. Great site. Looking to learn and participate and of course, get Sparkle regulated and happy!
Sparkle was dxed on 1/16/16. It was a 9 hour day at the vet. First, I was being worked in and it was a Saturday, their busiest day and second, I had two very sick cats with me, Brownie and Sparkle.
This vet is a VCA 24 hour hospital and I was seeing the head vet, who I call an elite vet and who I also call my friend. I've known her for over 20 years. Her name is Dr. C.
I had her look at Brownie first because I did not think Brownie was too sick. 13 yo with a cough and weight loss and lethargy. I won't go into all of the details, but after CBC/chem, xrays and ultrasound, it was determined that Brownie had cancer. I lost her two days later. So to say I was in shock is a huge understatement.
Sparkle, 10 yo, looked terrible, was cranky, eyes dilated, back legs weak and walking on wrong part of leg, severe weight loss, major skin flakes, dehydration, excessive drinking, huge urination. UA showed no ketones, chem/cbc were actually pretty good, except glucose was at 394.
Please stay calm when I say the next part......
While I was waiting for test results I was going through the records from my regular vet, Dr. L and I discovered that Sparkle had super high glucose readings 6 months previously and a few months before that, when he had a major dental. Yes, that vet, Dr. L, had completely missed the diabetes. I had been told that Sparkle had low potassium and been given a bag of lactated ringers with potassium added to take home and do sub q fluids with.
I'm not a person who gets angry easily and heaven knows I've made some awful mistakes over my 30 years of rescue work so I can compassionately understand a mistake, even a big one.
Dr. L and I have had a sit down and gone over everything that went wrong that lead to her mistakes and I think we can continue to work together. She also refunded all of money for Sparkles visits and tests. I like her as a person, but of course I will be very cautious as we go forward and I reevaluate her as a vet. Her clinic is a medium clinic with several vets, two locations, great facility, great staff and super close to my house. All the vets are relatively new to practice through.
I am very sad that it took me 6 months to save up the money to get Sparkle and Brownie to the specialist. I am on disability so money is always a huge issue. I also take care of 13 cats. I can introduce them at a later time, probably in my signature/ID thingee.
I gave Brownie and Sparkle all the care I could at home while saving my money to get a second opinion at the elite vet. I can do a lot since I am very experienced and have quite a lot of supplies. Sparkle was getting sub-q fluids, potassium, emu oil, and B complex and I was monitoring his food and litter box activities. I was doing supportive care for Brownie too and I never knew she was so sick. She looked great except for the weight loss and was always happy and purring. She loved her sick bay that was private with great beds and a nice big window. She never acted sick, except for the cough. I still can't comprehend that she is gone.
So Sparkle started Lantus on 1/16. I purchased an expensive AlphTrak kit from the vet and ran out and got a insulin pen and expensive pen needles (didn't know you could use regular insulin syringes!). The vet showed me how to test and give the insulin and Sparkle and I have been working on his diabetes now for 6 days.
I am not tech savy so I've been keeping records the old fashioned way, but will do an online chart when I can figure it out. Right now I'm not up to that challenge.
Sparkle goes to the vet in a few hours for his first check up. He is at 1 unit of insulin and I'm certain it will be upped today as his numbers are still way too high. However, he does look better, is less cranky, is drinking less, needing sub-q support less, smaller box clumps and eating is normalized. His legs and eyes are still bad. I've ordered the Zobaline and the Relion micro and prime monitors along with strips and ultra fine lancets. There is no way I can afford the AlphTrak strips for the close monitoring I want to do. I already ran out of the first 50 strips and luckily got a second canister of 50 for $30 off eBay that arrived yesterday.
About me, I'm 55, disabled with multiple physical and mental illnesses, am a certified medical assistant, but barely ever worked in the field due to my disability. I live alone except for the great cat gang. I left rescue 2 years ago which was the best thing I ever did for my health and my finances. My last volunteer work was at the city kill shelter and there is nothing as devastating as that experience. Since driving is very hard for me and I already have enough cats to care for, I had to give up fostering for rescues also.
I live small, simple, in silence and solitude and in great serenity. In general, I think my life is perfect. The cats are my life and I expect situations like with Sparkle and even Brownie. It is part of loving them and making a life commitment to them.
I've read many of your stories and can't wait to share some thoughts and tips and feel part of a family of cat lovers who just happen to have a diabetic situation.
Kitty kisses and Big hugs to all:
Pepper, Sparkle and the rest of the 4 footers
Sparkle was dxed on 1/16/16. It was a 9 hour day at the vet. First, I was being worked in and it was a Saturday, their busiest day and second, I had two very sick cats with me, Brownie and Sparkle.
This vet is a VCA 24 hour hospital and I was seeing the head vet, who I call an elite vet and who I also call my friend. I've known her for over 20 years. Her name is Dr. C.
I had her look at Brownie first because I did not think Brownie was too sick. 13 yo with a cough and weight loss and lethargy. I won't go into all of the details, but after CBC/chem, xrays and ultrasound, it was determined that Brownie had cancer. I lost her two days later. So to say I was in shock is a huge understatement.
Sparkle, 10 yo, looked terrible, was cranky, eyes dilated, back legs weak and walking on wrong part of leg, severe weight loss, major skin flakes, dehydration, excessive drinking, huge urination. UA showed no ketones, chem/cbc were actually pretty good, except glucose was at 394.
Please stay calm when I say the next part......
While I was waiting for test results I was going through the records from my regular vet, Dr. L and I discovered that Sparkle had super high glucose readings 6 months previously and a few months before that, when he had a major dental. Yes, that vet, Dr. L, had completely missed the diabetes. I had been told that Sparkle had low potassium and been given a bag of lactated ringers with potassium added to take home and do sub q fluids with.
I'm not a person who gets angry easily and heaven knows I've made some awful mistakes over my 30 years of rescue work so I can compassionately understand a mistake, even a big one.
Dr. L and I have had a sit down and gone over everything that went wrong that lead to her mistakes and I think we can continue to work together. She also refunded all of money for Sparkles visits and tests. I like her as a person, but of course I will be very cautious as we go forward and I reevaluate her as a vet. Her clinic is a medium clinic with several vets, two locations, great facility, great staff and super close to my house. All the vets are relatively new to practice through.
I am very sad that it took me 6 months to save up the money to get Sparkle and Brownie to the specialist. I am on disability so money is always a huge issue. I also take care of 13 cats. I can introduce them at a later time, probably in my signature/ID thingee.
I gave Brownie and Sparkle all the care I could at home while saving my money to get a second opinion at the elite vet. I can do a lot since I am very experienced and have quite a lot of supplies. Sparkle was getting sub-q fluids, potassium, emu oil, and B complex and I was monitoring his food and litter box activities. I was doing supportive care for Brownie too and I never knew she was so sick. She looked great except for the weight loss and was always happy and purring. She loved her sick bay that was private with great beds and a nice big window. She never acted sick, except for the cough. I still can't comprehend that she is gone.
So Sparkle started Lantus on 1/16. I purchased an expensive AlphTrak kit from the vet and ran out and got a insulin pen and expensive pen needles (didn't know you could use regular insulin syringes!). The vet showed me how to test and give the insulin and Sparkle and I have been working on his diabetes now for 6 days.
I am not tech savy so I've been keeping records the old fashioned way, but will do an online chart when I can figure it out. Right now I'm not up to that challenge.
Sparkle goes to the vet in a few hours for his first check up. He is at 1 unit of insulin and I'm certain it will be upped today as his numbers are still way too high. However, he does look better, is less cranky, is drinking less, needing sub-q support less, smaller box clumps and eating is normalized. His legs and eyes are still bad. I've ordered the Zobaline and the Relion micro and prime monitors along with strips and ultra fine lancets. There is no way I can afford the AlphTrak strips for the close monitoring I want to do. I already ran out of the first 50 strips and luckily got a second canister of 50 for $30 off eBay that arrived yesterday.
About me, I'm 55, disabled with multiple physical and mental illnesses, am a certified medical assistant, but barely ever worked in the field due to my disability. I live alone except for the great cat gang. I left rescue 2 years ago which was the best thing I ever did for my health and my finances. My last volunteer work was at the city kill shelter and there is nothing as devastating as that experience. Since driving is very hard for me and I already have enough cats to care for, I had to give up fostering for rescues also.
I live small, simple, in silence and solitude and in great serenity. In general, I think my life is perfect. The cats are my life and I expect situations like with Sparkle and even Brownie. It is part of loving them and making a life commitment to them.
I've read many of your stories and can't wait to share some thoughts and tips and feel part of a family of cat lovers who just happen to have a diabetic situation.
Kitty kisses and Big hugs to all:
Pepper, Sparkle and the rest of the 4 footers
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