Misdiagnosis?

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Squeaks & Nemo

Member Since 2016
I'm Jen, the slave of a tuxedo named Squeaks and his brother Nemo. But I'm a well treated slave- usually.

Anyway, Squeaks and Nemo get a yearly checkup and a yearly dental, about six months apart. This past Wednesday I got a call from the vet: Squeaks needs a broken tooth extracted, he's showing signs of possible reabsorption, and he's running a BG over 500.

Prior to this I have asked them to check for diabetes. He hardly eats and yet he keeps gaining weight. He's lethargic. He vomits and regurgitates food regularly. He has loose bowel movements constantly. And last week, on Sunday, he showed discomfort in his hindlegs, even crying and growling a bit.

We immediately switched to a diabetic food (now we have FF to integrate) and I started home testing with an accucheck aviva. He's better than I am at it, so we've only gotten three readings so far: 99, 111, 102. All of these occurred 2-4 hours after food. Lantus was discussed with the vet, but none has been purchased over given yet.

I really am starting to think just switching food has worked that fast. He hasn't vomited or regurgitated his food since. He's no longer hovering over the water fountain. I just scooped the litterbox and there was no loose stool. And he just seems happier. I'm still going to keep testing him until we know for sure, but I am so delighted to see my baby acting more like he did when he was younger!

Could he have been 'borderline' and the wrong food, coupled with a broken tooth and vet stress gave him a reading of over 500? He's never been that high before- always in the mid-200's (not adjusted for vet stress consideration). Could he have truly been diabetic and the food switch made that significant of an impact in less than a week? Could something else have caused those symptoms and results?
 
I'm Jen, the slave of a tuxedo named Squeaks and his brother Nemo. But I'm a well treated slave- usually.

Anyway, Squeaks and Nemo get a yearly checkup and a yearly dental, about six months apart. This past Wednesday I got a call from the vet: Squeaks needs a broken tooth extracted, he's showing signs of possible reabsorption, and he's running a BG over 500.

Prior to this I have asked them to check for diabetes. He hardly eats and yet he keeps gaining weight. He's lethargic. He vomits and regurgitates food regularly. He has loose bowel movements constantly. And last week, on Sunday, he showed discomfort in his hindlegs, even crying and growling a bit.

We immediately switched to a diabetic food (now we have FF to integrate) and I started home testing with an accucheck aviva. He's better than I am at it, so we've only gotten three readings so far: 99, 111, 102. All of these occurred 2-4 hours after food. Lantus was discussed with the vet, but none has been purchased over given yet.

I really am starting to think just switching food has worked that fast. He hasn't vomited or regurgitated his food since. He's no longer hovering over the water fountain. I just scooped the litterbox and there was no loose stool. And he just seems happier. I'm still going to keep testing him until we know for sure, but I am so delighted to see my baby acting more like he did when he was younger!

Could he have been 'borderline' and the wrong food, coupled with a broken tooth and vet stress gave him a reading of over 500? He's never been that high before- always in the mid-200's (not adjusted for vet stress consideration). Could he have truly been diabetic and the food switch made that significant of an impact in less than a week? Could something else have caused those symptoms and results?
Yep---food and a resolved dental issue could do the trick!! fingers crossed for you…. I would also monitor a while longer and spot check after a while to be sure he is not going over the threshold. Many cats get diabetic neuropathy with those high numbers… if that hasn't resolved itself people have great results with zobaline supplement.:cat:
 
Hi Jen,

Sorry I didn't get to reply to your previous thread earlier. (I'm very, very tired today.)

I agree with the others replying here that Squeaks may be borderline/pre-diabetic and the dental and food change may have helped bring him back into regulation; his clinical signs sound very encouraging. I'd still check with the vet if the fructosamine test was run (it should have been for a firm diagnosis) as that will give you a picture of Squeaks' diabetic status in the run up to the dental.

WRT the rear leg issues, I'd recommend asking the vet to check Squeaks' B12/folate and potassium levels. Deficiencies in both B12 and K can cause weakness. Probably check for any signs of musculo-skeletal issues, too. If B12 is low, Squeaks may have a touch of neuropathy. (Watch Tootsie's story below to see whether Squeaks is showing similar symptoms.) It's treatable with B12 methylcobalamin supplementation. (Zobaline is diabetic-friendly - available online.) If potassium's low your vet should be able to sort that. Of course, it may be something else, but that's all I know to suggest to you.



Mogs
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Glad to see you posted here and got some input.
Fingers crossed that the change in food did the trick.
Keep testing and please update how Squeaks does.
 
Thanks, everyone! Even if the food has done the trick, I'm not leaving this site! While internet can be a pain and cause a lot of problems, I shudder to think of what it would have been like without resources like this page for new sugar babies!

For the first time in forever I saw Squeaks engaging in active play with his civvie brother Nemo. It was beautiful!

I have e-mailed the vet about the fructosamine test and B12/folate/potassium. He gets a full blood work up once a year, twice now because of the high BG. I am unsure if they check potassium or B12 in that test. However, it could be aches from arthritis and/or weight. Hopefully he'll shed the bulge with his low-carb food and that may remedy it.

I tried to post of vid of how he acts with his legs. If it's not successful, I'll try again on a computer instead of my phone. He's only done this twice that I have seen. (Skip to the last part of the video.)
 
For the first time in forever I saw Squeaks engaging in active play with his civvie brother Nemo. It was beautiful!
Sheer magic! :cat:

I'm so pleased for all of you. :)

I think you may need to request the B12/folate assay but, to the best of my knowledge, the potassium levels should be checked as part of the normal biochemistry panel. I just tell our vets which markers I'm concerned about and they advise on the right set of test panels to run to get the results I'm after.

Can't see the vid yet. (Suggest trying to use the "Media" icon above the message box.)


Mogs
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