My baby, Felix, is gone...

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felixsmom

Member Since 2014
Hello,

I'm new to the board. My cat, Felix was diagnosed in December of 2006. He's been pretty easy to regulate ever since on PZI. Last summer he had a few days where his BG was super low but it went back up and we ended up cutting his dose in half to 2 units twice a day (we use 1/2 cc needles). For the past couple of days his BG has been scary low. He boarded at the vet over the weekend and they said it had gone back up so they resumed his regular dose. I got him home sunday night and monday after giving him his morning insulin, it shot down to very low by 2 pm that day. We skipped his dose last night and then this morning his BG was 487 so I gave him 1 unit per the vet. All day it continued to drop. By 6 pm it was 131. I'm so confused what is going on. The vet said if he's not better by thursday we will check his thyroid. He is 15 years old and just seems very lethargic, although eating pretty well. He is walking on his haunches and not moving more than a few steps at a time. I'm at a loss on what to do and we are leaving for out of town on Saturday. Normally I would take him but i'm scared to at this point. Would LOVE some advice!!
 
Re: Blood sugar keeps dropping without insulin!!

So, now it's going back up. It's at 172. I am not comfortable giving him a shot tonight. Is he maybe going down to 1 a day? So confused. He just seems like he's lost weight, and is walking weird, very low energy, etc. Would anyone with a Hyperthyroid/diabetic cat please let me know what symptoms are? I've read that the BG is high and hard to control but Felix's problem is a low BG. What other problems separate from diabetes could be causing this?
 
Re: Blood sugar keeps dropping with very little insulin

Here is our protocol for ProZinc.


http://www.feline diabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=109077

Fantastic that you are hometesting and caught the low numbers! It looks like two units was too much insulin. He probably shot up to 487 not only because he had been 24 hours without insulin, but because he had dropped low and then bounced. (a bounce is when his body recognizes a number too low or much lower than it is used and releases extra glucose, causing the next number to bounce up higher). Today it looks like one unit may even have been a little too much.

If he were mine, I would not shoot under 200. (our usual advice is to wait 20 minutes, without feeding and retest. You want to be sure he is rising, not falling and above 200.). And I think I'd try .5 to see if you can get two preshot numbers you can shoot. You can always increase the dose as your hometesting dictates, but it is much harder to deal with a number that is too low because the dose was too high.

What does Felix eat?
 
Re: Blood sugar keeps dropping with very little insulin

Felix eats fancy feast classic canned food. Would this cause the weight loss and crazy walking etc.? Since it had been 12 hours when i tested him last and it was still under 200 should I skip tonight's shot completely and just give him .5 units tomorrow morning? I've been so distressed about this, feeling like he's dying or something. I have been very blessed with his diabetes being as easy as it's been over the past 7 years. I just hope we are not getting to a point where he cannot be regulated due to age, etc.
 
Re: Blood sugar keeps dropping with very little insulin

I don't know about the weight loss and walking on his haunches. Walking like that is usually a sign that they're unregulated - it can be neuropathy. The bouncing around from highs to lows can definitely be that the dose is too high. But the changing levels don't fit the other symptoms. Has he been pretty well regulated? (mid 200s at preshot, double digits at midcycle but not below 50?)

The only thing I know to do is to work on getting his numbers stable. I'd definitely have the vet do some tests to see if something else is going on.

I guess I'd skip tonight. The only other option is to watch the numbers and when he heads up, then give him a shot. But you run the risk of messing up your schedule if you're off 12/12.
 
Re: Blood sugar keeps dropping with very little insulin

I have not been a huge home tester unless I see that he is really drinking tons of water, acting funny, etc. To my knowledge, just by watching him, he's been fairly regulated but I don't know for sure. I have noticed signs lately that maybe he's been getting too low, sort of twitchy, etc. BUT, he's been eating, acting fine otherwise. Last week I knew it was very low due to him having no energy at all, barely moving etc. Would his thyroid cause these issues?
 
Re: Blood sugar keeps dropping with very little insulin

I've not had experience with thyroid issues. According to this website, weight loss is definitely a symptom.

http://catinfo.org/?link=felinehyperthy ... diagnosed_

We do have members who are dealing with thyroid issues and diabetes.

I don't know how busy the board is tonight, but you could go back to your first post, choose Edit and add thyroid issues to your subject line. Then be patient till someone who has experience answers.

I wish I could help more.
 
Re: Blood sugar keeps dropping with very little insulin

I just checked it at 14.5 hours after his shot this morning and it was 261 so I went ahead and gave him .5 units to try and keep him stable. Hoping and praying we can get this figured out!
 
Re: Possible thyroid problem with diabetes?

Both hyperthyroidism and renal disease may cause excessive urination, and/or weight loss. Lab work is needed to identify what is going on.

ProZinc can be dosed as low as 0.2 units at a time by using U-100 syringes and a conversion table for U-40 insulin.

The nadir, or lowest glucose between shots, is about +5 hours after the shot.
 
Re: Possible thyroid problem with diabetes?

His BG climbed up to 465 6 hours after his very small dosage. It was such a small amount I wonder if he got anything at all? I went ahead and gave him 1 unit this morning because his BG was 500. I hope he's going to be ok. I am supposed to take him to the vet on Thursday for tests but he wanted to see if we could get him regulated first. Prayers needed. He is my baby!
 
Re: Possible thyroid problem with diabetes?

He may be bouncing.
When the glucose level drops quickly or when it drops to an unusual number for the cat, compensatory hormones release stored glycogen, which is converted into glucose. This results in an exagerated high level. It can take about 3 days for the glucose level to settle down again.

Be sure to check the nadir period to monitor how low he is going. That is the more important number.

Or, the dose may be too high for him for the glucose to rise so precipitously.
 
Re: Possible thyroid problem with diabetes?

I checked him again 2 hours after I gave him his shot this morning and it was up to 565. He's at the vet getting his blood checked for other possible causes. The Nadir number was very high. I checked him at 3 a.m. after giving him a 9pm shot. I am not able to regulate him at all so thinking he may have something else going on. I am an absolute wreck today. I'm not ready to lose my furbaby.
 
Re: Possible thyroid problem with diabetes?

If the test data are charted in our Google Docs spreadsheet, it may help us (and your vet) to see a pattern.

Instructions are here.
 
Re: Possible thyroid problem with diabetes?

The vet confirmed my suspicions that it is renal failure. He's keeping him over night and I guess we discuss our options tomorrow. I do not want to put him through fluid therapy etc. being that he is very very shy, HATES the vet and 15 + years old. Quality of life is more important to me. I'm not doing very well tonight as you can imagine thinking that this may be the end of our road together but I will always cherish the time we had together.
 
Re: Possible thyroid problem with diabetes?

Yesterday I made the toughest decision I have ever had to make. Felix had been at the vet's overnight and I went in to discuss options. I cried so much the night before knowing what I needed to do. The vet could not get his insulin regulated due to renal failure. He wanted to keep him a few more days to try. The vet said he was eating well but his BG was all over the map. Felix, is my shy cat who absolutely hated the vet and was scared of new places and people. I had always told myself I wouldn't put him through fluid therapy etc if it got that point having seen my mom have to do that to one of her cats. Yes it may prolong his life a few days, weeks but leaving him at the vet to get poked and prodded was more than I could bear. He was so alive when I saw him the last time but didn't really recognize me, was almost "wild" acting. I picked him up, gave him a hug and I made the very tough decision to euthanize him. I keep having the "what if" I did the right thing moment and just wanting to be with him one more time. Did I make the right decision? It would be different if it was JUST renal failure but having diabetes as well was just so much to deal with. I feel absolutely heart sick. I cannot stop crying. My two young children have never seen me like this before. Thankfully we are going out of town tomorrow for a week. I need to get away BAD! I have another 16 year old cat and puppy dog to make me feel better and I know in time we will rescue another one in Felix's honor. He was my soul mate, my best friend and I hope I will feel that way again.
 
Felix knows that you did the best for him you gave him the gift of love you took his pain into your heart and release him from his old wore out body. Please try not to be so hard on yourself he was so sick and you helped him. I have send you on a journey to a land free of pain not because I did not love you but because I loved you too much to force you to stay. Hugssss and big happy smiles from Felix as he bounces from one cloud bed to another in his new young body with wings wheee!!!!! ((((((((((jt)))))))))))))tons of healing green light to your hurting heart. Kath
 
It is never easy to make that decision. Felix knows you did the best for him and it was out of love that you took away his suffering.

Fly free Felix and watch over your loved ones.
 
I am so sorry. I lost Angel's sister to renal failure last Sept, she had only just turned 8 and it was very sudden.
Letting our furbabies go to prevent suffering is the greatest gift we can give, but it always hurts so much to lose them. Thinking of you xx
 
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