Hi all,
I am at my wits end...
I'll try to make this history as brief as possible, without negating important details...
Late September, I bring Seamus to vet for sinus problems (he has always had the snots...) While there, we decide to do exam and bloodwork, as he is 12, and due in October.
-bloodwork cam back great, except high glucose- 366
-recheck 2 days later- 250, 1 month later-322
During that month, we started him on purina DM wet pate'- he liked it at first, then needed to be guilted into eating it, so I switched to the DM savory selects, same thing & his weight was down 1 lb.(this from a cat who would eat ANYTHING and EVERYTHING!)
I did a lot of research on feline diabetes, saw that diet changes can prevent the need for insulin, and even took a shot at making homemade food. (He liked it at first, then off it...)
After he seemed to lose interest in eating, I brought him in (11/12/14), and he was diagnosed with pancreatitis, given fluids & a convenia shot, and B12 shot....( recheck a week later- bloodwork confirmed pancreatitis , and he was put on cerenia & zenequin. From the appt. on 11/12, until this past Thursday (12/4,) Seamus was eating ok... some days better than others, some days needing more fork-assistance to get in his required food. (all days excessive drinking & peeing). On his recheck on 11/28, his weight was up 1.5lbs! (When the cerenia was tapering off, his eating slowed down, so he was also put on an appetite stimulant.)
I brought him back in on Thursday (12/4) primarily because I wanted answers! Everything was so wishy washy... why was he not eating like crazy? Why is he not starting insulin (I had been home-testing #'s in the 200-300's & the non-stop drinking & peeing..) Why have they not discussed digestive enzymes or many of the things I have read about to help pancreatitis? Why can't they tell me how long this takes, and if he is going to get better? I'm not asking for a promise, just something to hold on to.
So on Thursday, his weight was down 1.6Lbs
Vet was concerned (of course) he was given fluids & vitamins, & buprenorphine shot and I was sent him with insulin, Hills A/D diet & more bup. to give when shot wears off. Thursday was an awful night!!! He did come home & gobble down a whole can of food (most he's eaten at once in a long time,) I gave him insulin (as of now, he's only on .5 units and they don't want to increase that because he is not eating well), then he spent the rest of the night on Thursday with his head over his water dish- not drinking, just zoned out- he was soaking wet & didn't care. I was so scared. After a few hours of this, I tested his glucose, as I was worried it got too low- it was at 587! Emergency vet said not to worry, that can happen & zoning was a reaction to insulin or pain med.
Called my vet in am, and they said don't change anything- give insulin & bup. I did, and he was better Friday- still zoned, but not as much water bowl time & he ate 2 and 1/2 cans of the A/D (still w/ some assistance)- but that is twice as much as he would normally eat on a good day.
So, I didn't give bup. Friday night, as he was still asking to eat at 11pm- 3 hours after it was supposed to wear off. (I hated how zoned out he was, and figured 1 dose a day may be better?)
Saturday morning- he came downstairs with me, only ate a little before his insulin & bup, and stayed under the bed all day. Barely even coming out to go to the litter pan. Only ate a small amount. Vet said maybe because he ate too much the day before?
By Sunday, I had him at the er vet, to get fluids & a shot of cerenia. She thought his pancreas may have flared up due to the amount of food he ate, and that it was A/D (which my vet prescribed, but on the Hills website cleary states it is not good for cats with pancreatitis!)
Now today (Monday,) he is so weak. He ate some yesterday 1/2- 3/4 can of I/D, after his visit to the vet, and he ate a little I/D (prescribed by er vet) this morning and a jar of beef & broth baby food over the course of the evening. He is still going down 2 flights of stairs to his litter pan, walking downstairs with me sometimes (I usually am able to feed him then,) and greeted me when I got home from work. But there have been many times over that past few days (especially today,) that he seems to have zero energy, and I don't know how he gets up.
I'm not sure if this is that he still needs to get over the pancreatitis, or that the diabetes is getting worse (numbers have been steadily hovering in the 400's- yes, since we started the insulin!) Or both... I assume his glucose numbers have escalated due to the food he has been eating all weekend (prescribed because his appetite was so bad, but now he's worse!)
Vet took over a month starting him on insulin, despite my pushing- because his numbers were in the 200's, with only a few 300's sprinkled in. But he was drinking & peeing like crazy. (Vet said he shouldn't be doing that with numbers in the 200's. BUT HE WAS, and his CBC in late September showed everything else was great, so it had to be diabetes, right? Maybe Seamus became diabetic before 300?
Ok, so I haven't really asked much here, but if any of you have any insight you can offer, it would be greatly appreciated. With him so weak all of a sudden, I am worried about having to make a decision that I cannot even fathom.
(He's had poor appetite for a month, yes- and he's been under the bed a lot, but he's never been weak like this!)
Has anyone had a similar situation? Has anyone had a kitty get so weak, and them recover? I don't know what to do here, and my heart is breaking over and over.
Any suggestions will help
{Seamus is currently taking:
1/2 tablet (8mg) Cerenia every 12 hours
1/4 tablet Cyproheptadine HCI (4mg) 2-3 times a day
.15 Buprenorphine (was .36, then .3, then we cut it in half again, because he was a zombie on it)
.5 units Vetsulin every 12 hours (I know- that insulin sucks... my vet gets annoyed when I quote things I've read on the internet, and does not offer PZI)}
Food suggestions too, would be great, as he seems to need variety. Tried beef & broth baby food today, ate that very well
Thanks so very much,
Lara
I am at my wits end...
I'll try to make this history as brief as possible, without negating important details...
Late September, I bring Seamus to vet for sinus problems (he has always had the snots...) While there, we decide to do exam and bloodwork, as he is 12, and due in October.
-bloodwork cam back great, except high glucose- 366
-recheck 2 days later- 250, 1 month later-322
During that month, we started him on purina DM wet pate'- he liked it at first, then needed to be guilted into eating it, so I switched to the DM savory selects, same thing & his weight was down 1 lb.(this from a cat who would eat ANYTHING and EVERYTHING!)
I did a lot of research on feline diabetes, saw that diet changes can prevent the need for insulin, and even took a shot at making homemade food. (He liked it at first, then off it...)
After he seemed to lose interest in eating, I brought him in (11/12/14), and he was diagnosed with pancreatitis, given fluids & a convenia shot, and B12 shot....( recheck a week later- bloodwork confirmed pancreatitis , and he was put on cerenia & zenequin. From the appt. on 11/12, until this past Thursday (12/4,) Seamus was eating ok... some days better than others, some days needing more fork-assistance to get in his required food. (all days excessive drinking & peeing). On his recheck on 11/28, his weight was up 1.5lbs! (When the cerenia was tapering off, his eating slowed down, so he was also put on an appetite stimulant.)
I brought him back in on Thursday (12/4) primarily because I wanted answers! Everything was so wishy washy... why was he not eating like crazy? Why is he not starting insulin (I had been home-testing #'s in the 200-300's & the non-stop drinking & peeing..) Why have they not discussed digestive enzymes or many of the things I have read about to help pancreatitis? Why can't they tell me how long this takes, and if he is going to get better? I'm not asking for a promise, just something to hold on to.
So on Thursday, his weight was down 1.6Lbs
Vet was concerned (of course) he was given fluids & vitamins, & buprenorphine shot and I was sent him with insulin, Hills A/D diet & more bup. to give when shot wears off. Thursday was an awful night!!! He did come home & gobble down a whole can of food (most he's eaten at once in a long time,) I gave him insulin (as of now, he's only on .5 units and they don't want to increase that because he is not eating well), then he spent the rest of the night on Thursday with his head over his water dish- not drinking, just zoned out- he was soaking wet & didn't care. I was so scared. After a few hours of this, I tested his glucose, as I was worried it got too low- it was at 587! Emergency vet said not to worry, that can happen & zoning was a reaction to insulin or pain med.Called my vet in am, and they said don't change anything- give insulin & bup. I did, and he was better Friday- still zoned, but not as much water bowl time & he ate 2 and 1/2 cans of the A/D (still w/ some assistance)- but that is twice as much as he would normally eat on a good day.
So, I didn't give bup. Friday night, as he was still asking to eat at 11pm- 3 hours after it was supposed to wear off. (I hated how zoned out he was, and figured 1 dose a day may be better?)
Saturday morning- he came downstairs with me, only ate a little before his insulin & bup, and stayed under the bed all day. Barely even coming out to go to the litter pan. Only ate a small amount. Vet said maybe because he ate too much the day before?
By Sunday, I had him at the er vet, to get fluids & a shot of cerenia. She thought his pancreas may have flared up due to the amount of food he ate, and that it was A/D (which my vet prescribed, but on the Hills website cleary states it is not good for cats with pancreatitis!)
Now today (Monday,) he is so weak. He ate some yesterday 1/2- 3/4 can of I/D, after his visit to the vet, and he ate a little I/D (prescribed by er vet) this morning and a jar of beef & broth baby food over the course of the evening. He is still going down 2 flights of stairs to his litter pan, walking downstairs with me sometimes (I usually am able to feed him then,) and greeted me when I got home from work. But there have been many times over that past few days (especially today,) that he seems to have zero energy, and I don't know how he gets up.
I'm not sure if this is that he still needs to get over the pancreatitis, or that the diabetes is getting worse (numbers have been steadily hovering in the 400's- yes, since we started the insulin!) Or both... I assume his glucose numbers have escalated due to the food he has been eating all weekend (prescribed because his appetite was so bad, but now he's worse!)
Vet took over a month starting him on insulin, despite my pushing- because his numbers were in the 200's, with only a few 300's sprinkled in. But he was drinking & peeing like crazy. (Vet said he shouldn't be doing that with numbers in the 200's. BUT HE WAS, and his CBC in late September showed everything else was great, so it had to be diabetes, right? Maybe Seamus became diabetic before 300?
Ok, so I haven't really asked much here, but if any of you have any insight you can offer, it would be greatly appreciated. With him so weak all of a sudden, I am worried about having to make a decision that I cannot even fathom.
(He's had poor appetite for a month, yes- and he's been under the bed a lot, but he's never been weak like this!)
Has anyone had a similar situation? Has anyone had a kitty get so weak, and them recover? I don't know what to do here, and my heart is breaking over and over.
Any suggestions will help
{Seamus is currently taking:
1/2 tablet (8mg) Cerenia every 12 hours
1/4 tablet Cyproheptadine HCI (4mg) 2-3 times a day
.15 Buprenorphine (was .36, then .3, then we cut it in half again, because he was a zombie on it)
.5 units Vetsulin every 12 hours (I know- that insulin sucks... my vet gets annoyed when I quote things I've read on the internet, and does not offer PZI)}
Food suggestions too, would be great, as he seems to need variety. Tried beef & broth baby food today, ate that very well
Thanks so very much,
Lara
