GA New Member 8/26/21

Status
Not open for further replies.
Khan

Khan

Member Since 2021
Hi. My name is Jennifer and my cat's name is Khan. We accomplished his first injection this evening! He's 14 years old and was very recently diagnosed after a trip to his cardiologist. He's already on lots of meds for his heart, so this diagnosis wasn't as hard as it probably otherwise would have been. He was extremely hyperthyroid and it damaged his heart extensively. He's not much of an eater, so it was touch and go after he came home from his radiation therapy in March of this year. But he's still here. He's a fighter and I want to give him as good a chance as possible to stay here awhile longer. I adopted him when he was 10 and he was in pretty bad shape physically. I miss his feisty personality and am hopeful that this treatment will get that back!
 
Hi. Thanks for the info. He's on 1.5 units twice a day of ProZinc. The diagnosis came out of the blue because it was assumed his thirst and urination were side effects of all the diuretics he is on. So the diagnosis came as a relief to me to be honest, cause now we can try and help him feel better.
 
Hi and welcome Jennifer and Khan. He’s a lucky boy to have you.
HELP IS HELP YOU has some useful links within it.
Make sure you set up your hypo kit.
Hey @Red & Rover (GA) you Forgot to add the tag!;)

Have you thought about hometesting the blood glucose ? That is one of the most important things you can do to help Khan and keep him safe
 
I plan to spend some time with the spreadsheets and hypo kit tomorrow. Definitely plan on home testing. Brought the kit home. We tested him before his injection tonight and it was in the high 500s. That's where he's been consistently this week, with some dropping to the high 300s (testing done by the cardiologist and my vet).
 
Khan said:
I plan to spend some time with the spreadsheets and hypo kit tomorrow. Definitely plan on home testing. Brought the kit home. We tested him before his injection tonight and it was in the high 500s. That's where he's been consistently this week, with some dropping to the high 300s (testing done by the cardiologist and my vet).
Click to expand...
So glad you are goi:g to home test. What type of meter did you get? When you set up your signature (link in the help us help you link) can you add the type of meter please?
HERE is a link to hometesting hints
 
Hi everyone. Thank you so much for being such a kind group of people. Today is my first day to not have a lot of "other" stuff to do, so I will get started setting up everything here this afternoon. I have the AlphaTrak meter. I do have a food question to pose. Khan is picky about consistency of wet food. Pate literally makes him nauseous (he's on Ondanestron); he retches over the bowl. I've tried the Tiki Cat, but those shreds make it hard for him to pick up more than a few pieces. I know that any wet is better than none, but I'd like to try and find him something good he will eat. My kitchen is full of wet food that my other two cats cannot possibly eat anytime soon! So I donate to a woman who gives to a pet food pantry, when I know it's a no go. Thanks.
 
Hi Jennifer here is a link to a food chart, try to stay under 10% carbs.
I'm sure when @Red & Rover (GA) see's the tag she will tag the member who is familiar with diabetes/ heart conditions

If you can set up your signature today that would be great, it's at the end of everyone's post in gray, information about our kitties. I see Bron gave you the link in post #4
Then your spreadsheet, if you need help we have a member who will do it for you. Just let us know


https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-chart.174147/
 
Last edited:
Hello and welcome Jennifer and Khan. Can you tell me a bit about the heart diagnosis, and what medications he is on for it? I really didn't do anything different diabetes related when Neko got her heart diagnosis, but some of the meds associated with heart conditions can impact the blood sugar, so it can impact the insulin dose needed. Neko's heart condition impacted her appetite, made her nauseous until the heart meds got a chance to work. She was a bit more complicated because she got a small cell lymphoma diagnosis at the same time, on top of her kidney disease and acromegaly she was already dealing with.

Good to hear that you are already giving ondansetron. How much does he weigh and what is the ondansetron dose? Some vets still underdose it, meaning not enough to combat the nausea.
 
HCM, lasix, benazapril, clopidogrel, Vetmedin, cypro, ondansetron, lactulose. Wendy, He has an enlarged heart, severe gallop, and left ventricle issues (ventricle looks better lately). All came about after hyperthyroidism became uncontrolled. Had radiation therapy in March, which was successful. It was touch and go because he didn't eat at all at the hospital and very little when he came home. I hand fed him over a weekend and managed to bring him back. I suspect that is a major reason pate food makes him retch to this day. He weighs 15 pounds, quite a bit of it bloat. The ondansetron is 1/2 tab per day, but I can raise it to a full tab and plan to do so today.
 
My Neko was on benazapril, clopidogrel, Vetmedin, ondansetron and at the end on some Lasix as well. She also had kidney disease so Lasix was counter indicated. I have seen at least one member notice a difference in blood sugars with Lasix, but it might have been the injectible format? I can't remember now, been a while. I know the liquid didn't impact Neko's numbers.
Khan said:
He weighs 15 pounds, quite a bit of it bloat. The ondansetron is 1/2 tab per day, but I can raise it to a full tab and plan to do so today.
Click to expand...
Dosing for ondansetron is 0.5-1.0 mg/kg given every 6-8 hours. See table 9 in this article: (2016) ISFM Consensus Guidelines: Diagnosis & Management of Feline Chronic Kidney Disease
At 15 lbs or 6.8 kg, he is likely being underdosed, as unfortunately was my girl at the time. Not sure the size of your tablets, but 4 mg is a common size, half of that being 2 mg. His dosing would be 3 to 7 mg given 3 or 4 times a day. So you could probably up it to the full tablet, if they are 4 mg, and give more often. I hope the larger dose helps.
 
Hi all. I had to put Khan to sleep just a bit ago. He had fluid build up everywhere. I just couldn't keep putting him through all of it. I know my time here was brief, but you were all so wonderfully kind. You're a blessing to the world. Jennifer & Khan
 
Jennifer --

I'm so sorry. You clearly were devoted to Khan. I'm going to put a tag on your subject line so others know that Khan has flown free and is at the Rainbow Bridge.
 
Jennifer, I am so sorry for your loss. :bighug::bighug::bighug: Dealing with a cat with heart issues is so hard. Be gentle on yourself. You did a lot for your sweet kitty.
 
I am so sorry for your loss. I wish there was some way to take away the heartache. It is never easy to say goodbye.

Fly free sweet Khan and watch over everyone who loves you.
cat_wings>o
 
Thank you everyone. I miss him so much. It really helps to be able to tell others who understand, while the tears flow. The last 6 months have been rough, but he was always a joy.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top