? Niki - been in ER now home need advice

[nikkiaz]

Yes, I am blown away by how much lower my Susie's ALT test and AST test are now. She had been very high with both of these test for several months. I started giving her the milk thistle about 4 months ago. I'm supposed to be putting it in her food twice a day but I only do it at night. Her high levels have dropped dramatically. I can't think of anything else that would have made a difference for her.

that is really encouraging - thank you!

 

[nikkiaz]

Yikes, what a traumatic time you're having. I can only weigh in on the ketone meter - 2nd vote for the Novamax (also doubles as a BG meter using different strips). I rely on it now for checking ketones - for Minnie it definitely shows the rise much earlier than urine tests. I start taking action on her ketones based on blood readings while the urine is still showing negative. Minnie has a tendency to get ketones and with her last DKA the vet had us supplement the Levemir with Regular insulin as her ketones rose. So, good info for you to have and report to the vet if Niki's ketones rise. Good luck. Good news with the appetite! And hope you get some sleep too, definitely helps.

thank you! I appreciate the vote of confidence for the Novamax as I ordered it at lunch.

 

[Heather & Shooter]

Yikes, what a traumatic time you're having. I can only weigh in on the ketone meter - 2nd vote for the Novamax (also doubles as a BG meter using different strips). I rely on it now for checking ketones - for Minnie it definitely shows the rise much earlier than urine tests. I start taking action on her ketones based on blood readings while the urine is still showing negative. Minnie has a tendency to get ketones and with her last DKA the vet had us supplement the Levemir with Regular insulin as her ketones rose. So, good info for you to have and report to the vet if Niki's ketones rise. Good luck. Good news with the appetite! And hope you get some sleep too, definitely helps.

Hi Liz. So it's probably wrong of me to have thought that anytime Shooter's bg's are high his ketones are high and vice versa? Also, is it strange that Shooter drinks a lot of water when his bg's high AND when they are low? I thought they would be less hungry and thirsty when staying in lower ranges (although right now he's not staying low at all).

 

[nikkiaz]

Just a FYI … vet said no more than 100 ml subq fluids a day max for Niki.

and of course his PMPS was 274, so I am questioning if 1.5 units is the correct dose for tonight (I started another thread so that I don’t get more confused).

you all rock!

 

[Liz & Minnie]

Hi Liz. So it's probably wrong of me to have thought that anytime Shooter's bg's are high his ketones are high and vice versa? Also, is it strange that Shooter drinks a lot of water when his bg's high AND when they are low? I thought they would be less hungry and thirsty when staying in lower ranges (although right now he's not staying low at all).

I'm not sure of the answer to that, all I know for certain is that when BG is high you should definitely be on the lookout for high ketones. There are other things which can influence the ketones - this sticky has a lot of good info.
Ketones, Ketoacidosis, and Diabetic Cats: A Primer on Ketones

Minnie's appetite is high when she has high BG and also when she has very low BG (lucky for me when she hits the limes) but typically she only drinks a lot when BG is high (300s+) - though having said that, she drank some today with a BG in the 200s, which was unusual for her.