? Misha: the honeymoon is over?

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Squeakycats

Member Since 2017
I'm sure some version of this has happened to many people, but it's still a big bummer for me: Misha appears to have gone out of remission after a little more than a month. I think I know what the problem is and am wondering how to recover.

He had an ear infection that didn't want to clear up, so I decided to give him Tresaderm, even knowing that it was a steroid. I checked his BG the day after starting it, and he was fine; I think I checked again the next day as well. But after 5 days, right when the ear had pretty much cleared up, I checked, and he was at 200.

Today he's gone as high as 240. His behavior changed a bit over the last few days--no big overt signs of diabetes, but he's been really clingy, following me from room to room. His diet and routines have not changed at all, and nothing unusual has been going on around the house.

I gave him a drop of his Lantus this morning to see if that would have any impact at all; it didn't appear to. I'm really not sure how to "restart," given that he's not at a high level now but does need to be brought back down. I'm also not sure whether to think the Lantus is fresh enough--I bought it back in March. It does not appear cloudy or have "floaters."

I was so excited that he was doing better that I went ahead and reserved a room at a bed and breakfast (non-refundable) at the beach; DH and I are supposed to be there Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon, which would mean he'll miss four shots. The friend who is taking care of him can't do the testing or injections, and I don't know that I can find a tech this close to departing. I don't want him to get worse, but I also really don't want to cancel the only vacation we've gone on in a long time (and lose hundreds of dollars!).

What do y'all recommend? I'm going to go read around but thought I'd ask quickly in case it seems like a good idea to start him on a higher dose (since I'll be back at work all week and it'll be hard to see how he responds during the day).
 
Hi Vicki!
Hopefully the ear infection won't completely throw him out of remission! I'm still new with Lantus but my thinking is to wait at least 3 cycles to see if the drop dose is building a depot to get working. Since he's been OTJ, there isn't anything left to work with. Hopefully one of the more experienced members will chime in. I hope you will be able to go on your mini vacation! :bighug:
 
Hi Vicki!
Hopefully the ear infection won't completely throw him out of remission! I'm still new with Lantus but my thinking is to wait at least 3 cycles to see if the drop dose is building a depot to get working. Since he's been OTJ, there isn't anything left to work with. Hopefully one of the more experienced members will chime in. I hope you will be able to go on your mini vacation! :bighug:
Thanks, Yong! I hope the Lantus works well for you.
 
Oh, Vicki, I know all to well the disappointment that you are feeling. Bubba lost remission twice within about 6 weeks of going OTJ.

Is the ear infection gone? I think a drop isn't going to cut it right now. I started Bubba back on 0.1 and went quickly up to .50 unit and he was in the low yellows when I realized he was losing remission. I would give at least .50 unit. But, your issue is no testing and shooting while you're gone is a problem. If you can't get someone to come in and test and shoot then maybe you should wait till after your trip.

Let's see what others say.
 
Oh, Vicki, I know all to well the disappointment that you are feeling. Bubba lost remission twice within about 6 weeks of going OTJ.

Is the ear infection gone? I think a drop isn't going to cut it right now. I started Bubba back on 0.1 and went quickly up to .50 unit and he was in the low yellows when I realized he was losing remission. I would give at least .50 unit. But, your issue is no testing and shooting while you're gone is a problem. If you can't get someone to come in and test and shoot then maybe you should wait till after your trip.

Let's see what others say.

It's comforting to see that Bubba has had 3 OTJ parties! I know we'll get back to the routine and things will be fine, and he'll be feeling better.

I think the ear infection is gone, but I've stopped the Tresaderm regardless--what do people do when their steroid-sensitive cats have these kinds of problems?

I wonder if there's any point getting him back up to .25 or .5 and then skipping those 4 shots on the weekend--would that be better or worse than just waiting? I have a neighbor who's a very experienced cat owner who could certainly do the injections, but I don't know about testing (and I don't know if she's even around)--but even if that was safe, it would upset him so much. He'd have to be hauled out of his hiding place. He's so easy for me to handle, and so terrified of almost everyone else, and I wouldn't be there to comfort him afterwards...
 
Oh, and the insulin should still be fine. I got 6 months out of a pen. As long as it has been in the refrigerator, clear and no floaters.


ETA: How long has he been off the steroid drops? Wondering how long that takes to clear his system and if he could just come down again if the infection is gone. It seems odd that he went from 60s to 200's overnight.
 
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