Newly Diagnosed- Worried

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Sue- we've tried everything we have at this point. We dug in the back of the cabinet and found some sardines in oil. She was not interested, but the dogs about lost their minds. I think because her sugar's low, she's likely nauseous. That's what happens to me anyway- the last thing I want is to eat, even though I know I need to!

Terri- That's correct. Here's how the day went. She ate about half of what I offered early this morning. I gave the glipizide after she seemed finished. She nibbled a couple more times during the morning, but hasn't touched anything (except a couple of treats since). I didn't give the evening dose. We've offered the following: Fancy Feast grilled, her prescription diet- wet and dry, canned turkey, canned tuna, sardines, Whisker Lickin's (treats). We put some corn syrup on her gums. My partner even took one of my glucose tablets, dissolved it in water and gave it to her with a syringe. I smeared a little peanut butter on her gums- hoping that the combo of sugar and protein would be better than straight sugar. Since all of that- she's back up to 57.

We have systematically called every vet in a 50 mile radius. Not one of them has called us back. We called the 24 hour place in Lexington. They were awesome. The vet told me to keep doing the syrup on her gums until she's back up in the 100's. **DO NOT GIVE THE GLIPIZIDE** Test every 2-3 hours until she stabilizes.

Can y'all give me some tips for taking a blood sample? Are there any other areas I could test? My partner is a groomer. Would it be okay to shave a small area (maybe on her belly) to test?


Again, I want to thank you all. You all saved her life. If y'all hadn't encouraged me to do home testing, I wouldn't have known her BG was so low and likely given the evening pill.
 
Do have a KFC in the area? I have heard sometimes they will eat that when they won`t eat anything else.
Yes I do know the vet will sometime test from the pads but I don`t know how it is done, possibly you could go online and look for a video.

Terri
 
Are you warming her ears before you test? Many of us use a rice sock. It also helps to briskly rub the ear to get blood flowing. Be sure to apply pressure afterwards to prevent bruising and keep ears from getting too sore.
 
The ear is easiest. Are you sure you are heating it til nice and warm? Do you have something to poke against? (small folded kleenix). Where are you poking? ( get a flashlight and look at her ear. You can see the vein running down it. You are aiming for the capillaries that run off that vein toward the edge of the ear. (but in emergencies and since she may be dehydrated, you could hit the vein. It may give you way too much blood and is not good general practice, but if you need a number, you need it)

This sounds ridiculous but sometimes if you put food on your finger and offer it, she will eat off your finger. You could try syringe feeding. Water down the food till nice and thin. Put in a needless syringe and squirt a teeny bit into the side of her mouth. If you try it, take it nice and slow. You don't want her to choke or vomit.
 
Huntress- Thanks, I'll try that next time and give her poor ears a rest.

Terri- LOL@KFC! I may try that if all else fails. I'm hoping her appetite will come back once we get her sugar up to normal.

Amanda- I wasn't at first, but read earlier that might help. I used a warm rag, but will make a rice sock for future use.

Sue- The flashlight is genius. I will definitely try that. I tried offering it on my finger earlier. I even dabbed a little on her nose to give her a taste. She seemed interested, but like something was stopping her- nauseous I guess. If she's not eaten by 10, I'll try the syringe.

Jill- Thanks! I'll check that out!

I'll post again when we take another reading.
 
Yes she could be have upset stomach form the the Glipizide, I just hopes she eats something soon. If she does not start eating by morning I would not give any more pills and take her to the ER. Do not take back to your vet.

Terri
 
KFC........so many that won't eat will eat KFC. Also, do you have any Pepcid A/C on hand? Has to be A/C not Pepcid Complete. If you do, you can give her either 1/4 tab b.i.d. (twice a day) or give her a 1/2 now if you have the 10 mg tablet. Helps settle the tummy but do not forget to syringe a little water, carefully, down her throat after dry pilling her.
 
i find the back paw testing easier, with my cat at least. he never has flinched or made a fuss about it. i doubt he even feels it. here's my method: i sit on the floor and put Gobbles on my lap, belly up and then grab hold of one of his feet, vigorously rub for about 15 seconds, and poke with lancet in the middle of back paw pad (i don't find the need--but you may want to warm his paw pad first with a rice sock, warm washcloth). once poked, i hold the paw pad between 2 fingers and gently squeeze for the drop of blood to form...sometimes, i don't get a big enough "bead", so i just poke again..... after testing, i apply pressure for 15 seconds, then a coating of triple antibiotic creme...
 
We've been unable to get enough blood for another test. We've tried 4-5 sticks and just cannot bear to do it anymore tonight. She's miserable and we're frustrated.

She's eaten on and off a few times since 9:30 and is eating now. It's gotta be up with what she's eaten and the corn syrup I put on her gums since I checked last.

We're going to figure something out to test in the morning. We are considering shaving a small patch on her belly and doing it that way. Her ears are sore and her foot pads are likely sore now. We used the rice sock and in fact, she was sitting on the vent before we tried her feet, so they were nice and toasty. Not enough blood and when we did get enough blood, she pulled away and smeared what we had.

We're gonna go to bed and start over in the morning. Will keep y'all posted.

Also, if someone can post a link on how to read the spreadsheets I'd really appreciate it. Looks like Greek to me.
 
It's good that she has eaten a little. You might leave food out overnight so she can eat if she wants.

The spreadsheet: amps=morning preshot number before eating
+3 = the number 3 hours after the shot
+6 = the number 6 hours after the shot
Pmps= evening preshot number before eating

I am hoping that when you can get some numbers, they will be non diabetic. Just for a reference, we consider a cat in remission if they range between 40-120 ( without insulin) with the majority of the time in double digits, for 2 weeks.

I don't think you can get a blood glucose reading on her belly. (I have never heard of anyone doing that) You'd have to be able to hit capillaries and I don't know how you would do that. Tomorrow, come on and tell us exactly how you are testing, all the steps. Maybe we will have some modifications you can try.
 
With numbers that low from the glip (I also recommend not giving her any more), dry food, and her young age, I'm not even sure if she should go on insulin just yet. That is something to worry about later.

Right now, make sure she's eating. Once that's out of the way, I suggest transitionig her to low carb, wet food ONLY. She may have had an infection that spiked her BG numbers, it may have been vet stress, but without a fructosamine test and daily monitoring, there's no way to *definitively* state she is diabetic just yet. I'm really concerned about those low numbers on just the glip.
 
Good news that she's eating, even if its just a little - hoping the nausea is starting to wear off (maybe as the glipizide is leaving her system??)
 
Hi Kristi, welcome to FDMB.

I wanted to offer a suggestion for testing -- you can take a sock and fill it with some uncooked rice, tie a knot, and heat it up in the microwave for 10 seconds. If you press that to Bijou's ear for a few seconds before you test, it should help draw the blood to the surface. As someone else mentioned, you can use Neosporin ointment with pain relief after. A little dab before you test might also help the blood drop form and might reduce some discomfort. I wish you and Bijou all the best.
 
Kristi

I would not recommend testing on the belly area. That is a very senstive area on a cat, it could be very painful and might cause an aversion to testing altogether. I would stick to the ears if at possible or paw pads. Hope she is eating this morning and feeling better.

Terri
 
Morning everyone,

We made it through the night! In fact, she woke me up like always (before all this started) making biscuits on my chest. She apparently ate the rest of what I had out for her during the night and was hungry this morning! She's back to her old affectionate, very vocal, self this morning. She drank some water and has taken up residence in her favorite spot- the floor vent. (This is how she was before the glip yesterday.)

She's been eating the wet food since last night. Until I did all this reading the past few days, I was under the impression that dry food was better for cats. :/ She's always preferred wet. Sure wish I'd listened to her a long time ago. Between last night and this morning, I'd say she's eaten an entire can of the Fancy Feast.

A different local vet called me back last night about 1 a.m. (He'd just gotten my vm. Service is spotty in this area.) He agreed with everything I told him and was really nice. One thing he offered to do was to check her BG at the office and see how it compares with the readings I get on the meter. Basically, he'll draw blood give a bit for the strip and test the rest himself. That way we're both sure that my meter is good and accurate. He agreed though that either way it sounded like she definitely was hypoglycemic yesterday and what I did was right. (Thanks y'all)

He's not a fan of the glipizide either and suggested a few types of insulin we could try. First though, he wants to make sure that she actually *is* a diabetic, but said that 383 (her original BG on Friday) is pretty high and he's inclined to think she is or it could be an underlying issue combined with vet stress. He's got a hospital about 40 minutes away and said if anything happens today to call him and he'd meet me there. I think I found a new vet!

As for testing, I'm going to leave her alone for awhile today. If she appears to be *not herself* at all, I'll whip it out and we'll go from there. As for right now, she's enjoying the vent and waiting on the dogs to come in so she can smack them around.
 
Kristi

Things sound much better this morning and it sounds like you have it under control. I am glad you might have found a better vet that will listen to you.I think that is a very good idea to compare the meters to see how accurate yours is so you know what your readings are. Fancy Feast is very good to feed her, most here feed that but they feed mostly the pate style. Dry food for diabetic is not good.
I would not give her any more Glipizide. Hopefully you can work with the new vet to get on her on injectable insulin which should work a lot better if she really is diabetic. Some cats can be diet controlled just by removing dry food and feeding only canned foods.
Glad to hear she better this morning, what a scary night.

Terri
 
Important note on human glucometers: at the low end, they may read about 30 points lower than the vet's lab equipment or a pet-specific glucometer.

This is OK - you use different number ranges depending on the type of meter.
Ex
You don't want a new diabetic cat going lower than:
50 on a human glucometer
80 on a pet-specific glucometer

Also, the FDA allows glucometers to read +/- 20% of the 'true' value
Thus
50 -> 40 to 60
100 -> 80 to 120
200 -> 160 to 240
400 -> 320 to 480
Notice how the range of values gets wider as you go higher. This is OK as it won't change what you do.
 
Glad to hear this morning, this vet sounds like a good one, so a 40 minutes ride is worth it. I am sure you agree. Keep us updated and great work last night with your baby. ;-)
 
joining in late, but wanted to welcome you and let you know we all get how you feel. just remember to breath stay calm. your in the right place. we are here for you
 
Hi y'all,

We're scheduled to go to the vet today. I had a work trip yesterday that I couldn't get out of. My partner could've taken her, but I feel like I need to be there, so we're going today.

I'm hoping against all hope that she's *not* a diabetic. She's been fine for two days. Appetite is good. Bathroom business is all good. She's active, alert, and up to her mischievous ways around the house. My heart is glad every morning she trips me to get to the food bowl.

I'll update this evening after we've seen the doctor! Thanks y'all!
 
Sending (((((healing vines))))) & Best Wishes for Kristi & Bijou!!! :razz: Good luck @ the new vet's office....wish I could find someone who's in the vet field that would listen to me :roll: Luckily we have the FDMB forums & all good advice from people more experienced than us newbies! :thumbup Cindy & Sabrina cat_pet_icon
 
milfordcollector said:
Sending (((((healing vines))))) & Best Wishes for Kristi & Bijou!!! :razz: Good luck @ the new vet's office....wish I could find someone who's in the vet field that would listen to me :roll: Luckily we have the FDMB forums & all good advice from people more experienced than us newbies! :thumbup Cindy & Sabrina cat_pet_icon
Click to expand...
Plenty of vines coming from Ohio :-D And yes, Luckily we all have eachother :YMHUG:
 
following but not posting often, but healings vines heading your way from little ri
fdmb best place on earth, has officially topped disney land for me. :razz:
 
Hi Y'all!

We're back from the vet and settling in. We actually went back to see the other vet. The new vet wanted me to go back and see him first. We had a much different visit this time!

He couldn't get over how great she looks: "She's good and hydrated. Her coat looks good. She's bright-eyed and alert." They weighed her- 0.5 pound increase! (Probably mostly fluid.) He just went on and on. I told him about the testing I did and he was impressed. He couldn't believe I actually did it. Ha! He tested her glucose (drum roll please) it was 97.

Yes, you read that right 97!! He was amazed and baffled. I asked "So no diabetes?" He said "No, doesn't look like it." He asked me to keep an eye on her and test her from time to time just to make sure. Other than that, we're good.

So so glad I found you all. This MB saved my sanity and my kitty's life. If not for y'all, I likely would've given her the glip on Saturday night and don't know if she would've made it. Thank you all a million times. I just can not begin to express how much I appreciate what you did for us. Much love and many blessings to you and your kitties.
 
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