Low BG. Vet thinks maybe cancer. Advice.

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Nikki_Renee

Nikki_Renee

Member Since 2015
Hey guys. I have only posted on here a few times and it's been a while. I'm going to paste my previous post just to give you guys a background of what's been going on with Nemo and then I'll explain whats going on now.

"Hello!
When nemo was little he was diagnosed with diabetes and put on a bunch of prescription diet dry food. Last year his diabetes got really bad and really scary. His BG was in the 400 and he weighed 21lbs. He was so sick acting and our vet at the time wanted to keep him on his weight loss prescription food (not even diabetic) and start us on insulin. I started doing a bunch of research. I found out our vet wasn't very trustworthy and I came across this forum. We switched vets and some people on here convinced me to switch him to friskies special diet. His BG level came down some but were still high so our vet started us on glipizide pills. A lot of people on here said that was a bad idea but my vet reassured me that it was safe.
After 2 weeks his sugar was constantly really low (sometimes in the 30's, usually around 60). The vet took him off the pills and I switched to a higher carb friskies (prime fillets- 19% carbs) to try to get his sugar back up. It's been about 7 months and he is still always sooo hungry. He now weighs 14lbs. His sugar is usually between 60-80 with corn syrup I can usually get him up to about 100. I need help bringing it up and keeping it up. He runs around destroying the house all day because he wants food. We feed him and an hour later he's back at it."
I posted this in Feb. 2016

Fast forward to now. There seems to be nothing I can do to bring Nemo's sugar up. His sugar is actually showing a pattern of dropping when fed. I went half of a day last week without feeding him and his sugar shot up to 90. This is SUPER high for him. I fed him and it dropped back down into the 40's. I talked to my vet and he's kinda at a loss. He's consulted with about 4 other vets and they are thinking Pancreatic Insulinoma. Nemo is 13 and still has a good quality of life. I will not make him suffer chemo. He said the best thing to do is try to get him to stay in the 60's and above.

I don't allow Nemo to have dry food but I can't give him corn syrup everyday either. He used to weigh 21lb when his sugar was high. We got him down to 14lb (desired weight is 13lb) but he is gaining weight again and is back up to 16lb. I think supplementing in some dry food when his numbers are low is my best option right now. Any advice?

For some reason my computer is being crazy and wont let me upload his most recent BG values but when I get this fixed I'll post those.
 
I think if you add a question mark to your prefix you might get more eyes on your post. Someone on here told me that once and it did help.
 
I honestly think I'd feed him whatever he liked, that keeps his numbers up. If QOL is your main concern at this point, whatever keeps him happy and works, whether it's dry or not. Sending prayers and hugs! :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Squalliesmom said:
I honestly think I'd feed him whatever he liked, that keeps his numbers up. If QOL is your main concern at this point, whatever keeps him happy and works, whether it's dry or not. Sending prayers and hugs! :bighug::bighug::bighug:
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I agree. I have lost 2 cats to cancer and that is what I did. The important thing is to give him foods he wants to eat no matter if it dry or not.

If you have not already, ask your vet for pain meds and an appetite stimulant so you can have them on hand when you need it. These will help him to keep eating.
 
If you're using a human meter, remember those readings are lower than actual readings with a pet meter... So while it's a 40 on the relion, that might translate to a 50-60 on a pet meter.
 
I hope it's not cancer. If it is, maybe get a prognosis and depending on what they say, spoil him and give him his favourite foods so the precious time you have with him is good and you will have memories of a happy cat. Keeping my fingers crossed for a long and healthy life for Nemo. x
 
There is the possibility that the drop in BG after eating and the higher BG after fasting may be perfectly normal.

The pancreas produces significant bolus pulses of insulin at mealtimes and also a basal trickle between meals. One of the markers we look for here in cats on insulin is a drop in BG after eating as it can sometimes be a cue that the cat may be going into remission (the drop after a meal can point to the cat's pancreas starting to produce more of its own insulin).

The rise in BG after fasting for a longer period may indicate that the basal trickle of insulin between meals isn't quite enough to keep pace with the amount of stored glucose the body releases into the bloodstream between feeds so the BG rises as a consequence (impaired fasting BG level). That said, a BG of 90 on a human meter is definitely within the meter-appropriate normal reference range. (Note: feeding smaller, more frequent feeds may tend to produce more frequent bolus pulses of insulin which would then reduce/eliminate "fasting BG spikes".)

Here is a very helpful article which describes how normal BG regulation works and also how it goes wrong. It's in plain english and it's one of the most helpful things I've ever found on the fundamentals of how the pancreas works:

How blood sugar control works - and how it stops working

It might be worth reviewing it and perhaps discussing it with your vets? Most vets never get to see the volume of day-to-day BG data that we gather here with our home monitoring (including the phenomenon of BG dropping after meals) so I think it is very much worth exploring the possibility that the BG values you're seeing in Nemo may be perfectly normal for him; some cats in remission that we have here naturally run in the 40s (as measured on a human meter).

(@Chris & China - any chance you can give some input on cats in remission that run quite low, please?)

With Nemo gaining weight that points to his body being able to use food properly. How is his appetite now? Is he eating normally or still going nuts looking for food? ETA - Are his poops normal (both consistency and frequency)?


Mogs

ETA:

Just to double-check we understand the current situation, please can you confirm to us that Nemo is not currently on insulin or any other BG-lowering medication(s).

.
 
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A higher fat intake (and fat can be broken down to make carbohydrate) may help keep him satiated Wellness is one brand with a fairly high fat content.
 
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