Newly diagnosed and struggling

Status
Not open for further replies.
Hi All,

My 13 1/2 year old boy, Max, was diagnosed March 15 after I noticed an increase in water drinking and urinating and finally a decreased appetite (after always be a great eater). After a visit to the vet his glucose level was in the 400's (all previous wellnes check-ups had been around 113), so the vet put him on 2 units of Lantus 2x a day, plus changed his food to Purina DM (1/2 can in a.m. and 1/2 in p.m.). He did fine for a couple of days, but started vomitting approximately 10 hours after eating and dosing. A couple of days later the vomitting stopped, but I noticed black stools. Then all was O.K. for about a week, although the black stools continued. He went in for glucose level testing with the numbers dropping to about 89, so we dropped the Lantus to 1 unit 2x a day.
Things were O.K. for a couple of days. Then he stopped eating! I had to stop the insulin and take him to the vet for fluids, blood tests, and observation. After checking kidney and liver functions, which all came back O.K., we decided that Max had had a pancreatitis attack. He had been diagnosed with mild pancreatitis a couple of years ago, but it had been diet controlled with Royal Canin HP (dry) and he had done very well. The vet returned him to the Royal Canin to get the pancreatitis under control and 1/2 unit of Lanus 2x a day. He returned to normal eating habits (just not as voracious as in the past), but started hiding by the third day. I paniked and brought him to the vet again (his third day in a row) thinking he was having a hypoglycemic episode. They ran a glucose test and the number was 140. So, Max came home. I continued with the Royal Canin and 1/2 unit of Lantus, but started noticing that it was taking him longer to finish eating. The next day Max hid again, but this time it was before I had given him an injection. After consulting with the vet, we decided that he was experiencing stress from the multiple vet visits. This morning I fed Max, but he was very slow to finish his meal. I added chicken baby food to encourage him to finish eating so that I could dose him, which worked. Tonight, I gave Max his dinner. After about 10 minutes I checked to see if he had finished, however, he had vomitted undigested food and frothy, clear liquid. He proceeded to eat all the vomitted food, but did not finish the rest of his dinner. Again, I added baby food to encourage eating. He had a couple more bites, so I decided to give him his injection. He never finished his dry food, but had about 1 1/2 oz. of chicken baby food (plus about 1/2 of his 1/3 cup of Royal Canin). I've been checking on him and he seems to be O.K.
I'm freaking out trying to get him regulated. I'd just like him to eat normally, so I can work on the diabetes. I've been sick with worry! I am supposed to go out of town in 1 1/2 weeks, but I don't know what to expect. I may have to cancel, just so I can help Max feel better. As this is all new, all advice is welcome.

Thanks!
 
Welcome!

I think we all can relate to your story of trying to get this feline diabetes thing figured out and how stressful it can be. You are going to do great, you are in the right place :-D

We are new and there are definitely more experienced people here to give you advice...Elie and I are here for moral support!

Tanya and Elie
 
Hello, Heidi and Max...
and welcome!

Tanya was kind enough to ask for some experienced folks to look in on you and Max
so that you can get some good input...

should be some eyes here soon. :-D

you have found a wonderful place for help...
the folks here are very knowledgeable...and unbelievably generous in helping us through the feline diabetes maze...
so take a deep breath-
help is on the way!

celi & binks
 
Welcome to the site, to both of you; it's sounding like you have had a pretty rough start with things.

I am sure many others will have lots to add but the important areas for you right now are diet and home testing.

1. The home testing will eliminate the guessing where Max's numbers are and will cut out all the expensive vet visits.
Pick up a blood glucose meter at the pharmacy or Walmart, test strips, lancets - not sure where you are located, but if in the US, the Relion meters are quite good and the most economical. If outside the US, the Bayer and OneTouch are quite good and popular as are many others. The only meters that you should NOT get are the FreeStyle meters or any of the TRU meters.... their readings are off for cats. And a container of KETOSTIX so that you can test Max's urine for ketones.
Here is a link about testing your cat:
Testing on cat’s ear
All humans test themselves before giving injections, so there is no reason why our cats should not be kept just as safe. We test before giving shots as there will be times when it may not be safe to give the shot.
Imagine shooting insulin blindly, so here are some links to info about HYPO issues.

List of Hypo symptoms
How to treat HYPOS-They can kill! Print this out!
Jojo’s HYPO TOOLKIT

2. Food is quite important. Do not feed any dry food as it's contributing to Max's problems. You want to feed him a low carb wet food diet.
Here are some links with info; Binky's is one which lists many foods and the carb contents - aim for below 10% carbs.

Binky’s Food Lists
Feeding Your Cat: Know The Basics of Feline Nutrition
List of Low Carb Healthy Treats

Now, you mentioned pancreatitis. Can you find out from your vet how that diagnosis was reached? Can you confirm your vet had fPLI test done and ask what was the test result number. Below 3.5 is negative and above that amount is positive.
Pancreatitis is quite painful, and is usually treated with SubQ fluids which you can give at home, pepcid AC which will help with upset stomach, and some type of pain med because pancreatitis is VERY painful. Most people get Buprenex from the vet for the pain. You can purchase a kit for the fluids and give them to Max at home instead of dragging him into the vet for fluids.


What did your vet say about the black stool, and is it still present?
How's Max acting now and what is his dose at the moment?
What foods are you feeding him now and what frequency?

Once you are testing his BG at home, you are going to feel so much better because you won't be in the dark anymore; you will know exactly how he is doing.

Be sure to ask any and all questions you have; I can pretty much bet that a handful of others here had the very same questions when they arrived here.
 
There you go Heidi...Gayle is one of the most experienced folks here.

i have only one thing to add...
If it seems like you aren't getting responses to your post,
sometimes it helps to click on the blue link "Return to FELINE HEALTH: the MAIN FDMB Forum" at the bottom of the page, then click on your post again...
sometimes that will refresh your browser to show the responses :-D

celi
 
Wow! Thanks for all the quick replies and moral support. I'm sitting here looking at my unfinished dinner because I'm so worried that I'm not going to get this under control.
Just to update my info...the vet has not suggested at-home testing, but after all the posts I've read I'm ready to try it. I've just been overwhelmed with the whole eating/ not eating thing. The black stools disappeared after I returned Max to his HP food (although there have only been two stools since changing him back on Monday). We did try the Royal Canin HP canned food (duck and venison), but Max wouldn't touch it (because he didn't like it or the pancreatitis episode?) Not sure about the pancreatitis test result numbers....I'll check with the vet in the a.m.
BTW...I just checked on Max again and he appears fine, although he still hasn't finished his dinner.

Thanks again!
Heidi (and Max, too)
 
Hi Heidi ...sorry to hear Max has had a difficult time.

Gayle has given you a lot of great info. Home testing puts you in control and keeps your baby safe. It also gives you a more realistic number for what Max is doing as there is no vet stress.

I'm concerned with the amount of the increases and decreases. We typically do not increase or decrease by more than .25u at a time. By doing it a unit up or down, you can easily miss the "fitting" dose or that dose which allows kitty to be in normal numbers most of the time.

One thing I will say is that diabetes is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes time and patience.

One other thing that will help us help us help you is if you can do a spreadsheet to track Maxs numbers once you start home testing. Here's a link that tells you how to do it: [ b] Spreadsheet[/b]

You can click on the link in most signature blocks and see what the spreadsheets looks like. Good luck and hope we see you around!
 
Dearest Heidi & Max...
You have found the BEST place to be! You will be asked questions, given advice from fd families that deal with this everyday and tons of support!

I am glad everyone is throwing in home testing and setting up a spreadsheet. I was soo nervous and scared when Bean was dx 4/11.. My vet had been my vet for years and years and I had total trust in him for the care of my 3 girls. After the dx, Bean was on 1 unit bid and I went back to the office for her curve one week later. He increased the dose to 2 units. But by then, I stumbled upon this wonderful place! When I asked my vet about home testing, he said dont bother. I was hanging here, reading all the post and decided to received my free test kit, but still not 100% sure that I was going to use it ~after all, my VET said it was not neccessary. Now, I am not trying to trash my vet, but just point out that all of us here, again deal with this 24/7, and he does not.

If you would like to view my spreadsheet, you will see why I am telling you my story... 2 hours after Beans shot, we were able to get a successful test. She was already hypo and we had hours to go before the lowest mark in the 12 hour span! That right there, made me a believer out of this forum and all the great folks here! They helped me on the board and phone call for over 4 hours!
I was sooo scared but boy was it a good lesson learned. I did make a promise to my Bean girl to never ever shoot again without that test!

TY for reading our story! By listening to the folks here, taking their advice, the home testing became easier. The low carb list that I printed from this site made it easier to know what kinds of foods Bean needed. And NOW she is in remission! We are almost 1 yrs OTJ (off the juice).

There is lots of knowledge packed into the forum for all kinds of furry situations. Max needs to eat and I have not personally dealt with this before, but I know if Bean was to have this tomorrow, I would be right here, asking and getting advice and support.

Hang in there, this will get better! Furry hugs coming your way! :YMHUG:

Keep us posted
 
Hello Heidi,

Despite not home-testing it doesn't sound like you're doing too badly in the insulin/diabetes department. The 140 test at the vet is a good sign and I assume you are only at 1U of Lantus now?

Pancreatitis is going to complicate Max's diabetes treatment for sure, so that is more important to get under control. With stool changes he could also have some intestinal upset, if not actual IBD.

Diet is key to both diabetes and pancreatitis treatment. The most crucial aspect is getting them to eat in the first place! Has your vet mentioned syringe feeding? There is an assisted feeding mailing list on Yahoo groups that innumerable people have found helpful. http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Feline-Assisted-Feeding/

There are several elements to pancreatitis which need treatment, nausea, dehydration, pain. Here is an important post written by a vet tech that covers all the bases: http://www.felinediabetes.com/phorum5/read.php?8,876722,876722 It is from an old version of this board, so that's why it looks different, but the info is still very relevant. There may be other anti-nausea meds now which might work better than Pepcid-AC however.

I also invite you to read all you can from a vet's marvelous website: http://www.catinfo.org She has the complete 411 on diet for ALL cats, not just ones suffering an illness, many of which were caused by diet in the first place. Dry food is not appropriate for cats, it doesn't matter which vet is selling it or what pet food company is promoting it. Dr. Pierson is most respected here because of her no-nonsense style and common sense explanations.

I would include more info from personal experience, but don't have enough time this AM. There is a wealth of info among members here, we can help you help Max. (((Hugs))) I know it's hard.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top