Major BG spikes-any thoughts?

Howiesmom

Howiesmom

Active Member
@Wendy&Neko
Howie has seen a massive spike in BGs over the past 2 weeks. He has lived in greens and low blues for months, but all of a sudden he has spiked up to mid to high yellows. Today I was excited to get a PMPS of 147 but his +3 just came in at 215. Normally, he stays pretty flat and doesn’t have these huge swings. We thought there was a UTI so he’s finished up some antibiotics (although a 2nd urinalysis after I took him back in after the 4th day of the UTI diagnosis didn’t show any raised WBCs we saw previously). If he has an infection, nothing is making itself apparent. He has no teeth, so it’s not a dental issue. The only other thing I can think of is that his acro tumor is really rearing it’s ugly head all of a sudden. Have any of the other acro kitties out there experienced this type of thing?

I’ve been giving him Novolin R to help manage these high BGs, but am wondering if there is a possibility of giving too much? I haven’t been able to find the right dose to drop him the 100 points it is supposed to so keep creeping it up the dose. I’m going back to my last R scale I had from April. Today, he has received 3 doses of 14 units each on top of the 24 units BID of Levemir. Is this too much?

On top of all this, I have to find him new wet food as the Dr. Elseys pork food he currently eats is not available due to production issues. I have 2.5 cases left but am trying to keep as much as I can on hand while I try to find a new food that is going to work. So far, I’ve tried 2 different Weruva foods that are low carb (5.8% or less). One is higher in protein than the other and are chicken and tuna/chicken. I don’t know if these new food experiments are also causing some of these big spikes or keeping them raised. I just started experimenting with new food a couple days ago, so that’s not the root cause of these problems.

I just don’t know what to think any more and am getting so discouraged as nothing is working to bring his levels back down. I see the vet again next Fri. I appreciate hearing any of your experiences or thoughts. I have a very busy start to my school year starting soon and really need to get this under control to eliminate some of the stress. Thanks!
 
Sorry for the late reply. Had to take my mother to a doctor's appointment - long story, took 10 hours of my time. :rolleyes: And then my computer died. Sigh.
Howiesmom said:
The only other thing I can think of is that his acro tumor is really rearing it’s ugly head all of a sudden. Have any of the other acro kitties out there experienced this type of thing?
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Acro tumours can wax and wane - yes that means the dose goes up and down. Neko went from 1 to 8.75 units, down to 0.75 units, up to 7 units, back down to 0.25 units, all over around 5 years. Smaller doses, same idea. July 2015 was the start of the last jump in dose. Another example of dose changing over time is Amethyst, here is her SS. Almost any acro SS you look at will see some change in dose over time.

I will also note that his good dose was 27 before the vet lodge and you lowered it to 23 for safety. Then it got lowered again for a petsitter. When you got back, you should have increased the dose back to his pre trip dose of 21 units. And you've had some dry food raids. All I can suggest is follow what the numbers tell you to do. Don't get too attached to a dose.

As for food, the only other pork one I know of is from Identity.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Sorry for the late reply. Had to take my mother to a doctor's appointment - long story, took 10 hours of my time. :rolleyes: And then my computer died. Sigh.

Acro tumours can wax and wane - yes that means the dose goes up and down. Neko went from 1 to 8.75 units, down to 0.75 units, up to 7 units, back down to 0.25 units, all over around 5 years. Smaller doses, same idea. July 2015 was the start of the last jump in dose. Another example of dose changing over time is Amethyst, here is her SS. Almost any acro SS you look at will see some change in dose over time.

I will also note that his good dose was 27 before the vet lodge and you lowered it to 23 for safety. Then it got lowered again for a petsitter. When you got back, you should have increased the dose back to his pre trip dose of 21 units. And you've had some dry food raids. All I can suggest is follow what the numbers tell you to do. Don't get too attached to a dose.

As for food, the only other pork one I know of is from Identity.
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Thanks, Wendy! I appreciate the expert eyes and perspectives. He was doing so well at the lower doses so had hoped that’s where he could stay. He’s back to 26 units today. Any caution I should take on giving too much R?
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Just make sure he doesn't drop more than 100 points during the time R is active. You will have to figure a new R scale out.
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i just didn’t know if giving 40+ units of R (divided up among various doses) on top of Levemir during a day is dangerous.
 
Nice to see greens back. :D 40 units of R is a lot, but ECID. Start low and work up to what you need.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Nice to see greens back. :D 40 units of R is a lot, but ECID. Start low and work up to what you need.
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Yes, those greens are great to see. I raised him to 28 units tonight as he got up to 180 this afternoon. I just need to remember not to sit on a dose too long. I start my school year soon so am hoping I’m passed all the craziness of these really high BGs. I know changing food will probably always impact things. He gets great readings when he has his normal food, but that is in limited quantities. I still have an appt with my regular vet on Fri even though things are improving. I’m not going to give it up so may just have more of a consultative visit to talk about his heart and look more into his kidneys.
 
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