Noah & me (GA)
Member Since 2016
I need to seriously consider changing Noah from Caninsulin / Vetsulin to another insulin, reasons listed below.
Noah is about 13 years old. These are Noah's preexisting medical conditions; (This is as brief as I can be)
> Noah has cardiomyopathy as did his brothers and parents. As I understand it there is no definitive test for cardiomyopathy, it's a conclusion reached by symptoms, reasoning and ultrasound tests.
From the Google drop-down list; (all italics are quotations with some editing for brevity)
"How long can a cat live with cardiomyopathy?"
Cats that develop congestive heart failure have reported survival times varying from 3 months to 2 years....Cats who's first sign is a blood clot require intensive care and may survive less than 6 months.
Noah has lived well past his best-before date. I have never seen him short of breath, mouth breathe or have trouble with the stairs. He has had three ultrasound tests (minimum $500 with diagnosis) and I don't want to put him through the stress of another test.
> Noah has an enlarged heart, so big it has partially torn through the cardiac sac. This has been confirmed with x-rays and two ultrasounds diagnosed by a feline internal medicine specialist.
From the Google drop-down list;
What are the primary symptoms of a cat with an enlarged heart?
>Listlessness and/or depression No, he just takes things easy like any old cat would.
>Lack of appetite. No, he eats the right food at the right times and maintains the correct body weight.
>Weakness/sluggishness. No, I've never seen this.
>Partial paralysis as blood clots become more common. He never favors one side over the other or shows any signs of partial paralysis.
>Abnormal heart rhythm. see footnote 1
Difficulty breathing, possibly with a cough. Never.
From the Google drop-down list;
What are the symptoms of congestive heart failure in cats?
Blue or gray gums or tongue.
Loss of appetite.
Weakness or lethargy (tiredness)
Hind limb paralysis.
Only these last three all describe what happened to Noah's two brothers and his Momma.
Difficult or rapid breathing / collapse / sudden death.
Zoe died in the back of the car, Simon died in the waiting room, Andrew died 12 hours after being admitted.
footnote 1 Abnormal heart rhythm Noah leaves the house for emergencies only. To say he is stressed does not begin to describe it. He has never been crated and is terrified of windows. I'm not dragging him to the vet to confirm a 13 year old cat has an abnormal heart rhythm.
Noah needed all his teeth pulled years ago but had only a 10% chance of surviving the surgery. That is why he gets transdermal BUPE.
FINALLY, the change in insulin. Noah is a high dose bouncer ranging from 2 to 6 units. As a very general rule of thumb Noah gets about 1 unit for every "90" on his meter. For example, a reading of 180 divided by 90 would be 2 units (0.05ml) of Caninsulin. His curves never make sense and his nadir is never anywhere near the 6, 8 or even the 10 hour mark. I believe he is also becoming insulin resistant (at least to Caninsulin). In addition my medical problems are sudden on-set and Noah misses his PM shot maybe once every 10 days. He is very agreeable to being tested and injected, has never run off to the basement or bitten anyone. I try and keep his timetable to 9AM/9PM.
Thanks to all who have waded through this, I thought everything here was relevant.
Noah thanks you as well.
Noah is about 13 years old. These are Noah's preexisting medical conditions; (This is as brief as I can be)
> Noah has cardiomyopathy as did his brothers and parents. As I understand it there is no definitive test for cardiomyopathy, it's a conclusion reached by symptoms, reasoning and ultrasound tests.
From the Google drop-down list; (all italics are quotations with some editing for brevity)
"How long can a cat live with cardiomyopathy?"
Cats that develop congestive heart failure have reported survival times varying from 3 months to 2 years....Cats who's first sign is a blood clot require intensive care and may survive less than 6 months.
Noah has lived well past his best-before date. I have never seen him short of breath, mouth breathe or have trouble with the stairs. He has had three ultrasound tests (minimum $500 with diagnosis) and I don't want to put him through the stress of another test.
> Noah has an enlarged heart, so big it has partially torn through the cardiac sac. This has been confirmed with x-rays and two ultrasounds diagnosed by a feline internal medicine specialist.
From the Google drop-down list;
What are the primary symptoms of a cat with an enlarged heart?
>Listlessness and/or depression No, he just takes things easy like any old cat would.
>Lack of appetite. No, he eats the right food at the right times and maintains the correct body weight.
>Weakness/sluggishness. No, I've never seen this.
>Partial paralysis as blood clots become more common. He never favors one side over the other or shows any signs of partial paralysis.
>Abnormal heart rhythm. see footnote 1
Difficulty breathing, possibly with a cough. Never.
From the Google drop-down list;
What are the symptoms of congestive heart failure in cats?
Blue or gray gums or tongue.
Loss of appetite.
Weakness or lethargy (tiredness)
Hind limb paralysis.
Only these last three all describe what happened to Noah's two brothers and his Momma.
Difficult or rapid breathing / collapse / sudden death.
Zoe died in the back of the car, Simon died in the waiting room, Andrew died 12 hours after being admitted.
footnote 1 Abnormal heart rhythm Noah leaves the house for emergencies only. To say he is stressed does not begin to describe it. He has never been crated and is terrified of windows. I'm not dragging him to the vet to confirm a 13 year old cat has an abnormal heart rhythm.
Noah needed all his teeth pulled years ago but had only a 10% chance of surviving the surgery. That is why he gets transdermal BUPE.
FINALLY, the change in insulin. Noah is a high dose bouncer ranging from 2 to 6 units. As a very general rule of thumb Noah gets about 1 unit for every "90" on his meter. For example, a reading of 180 divided by 90 would be 2 units (0.05ml) of Caninsulin. His curves never make sense and his nadir is never anywhere near the 6, 8 or even the 10 hour mark. I believe he is also becoming insulin resistant (at least to Caninsulin). In addition my medical problems are sudden on-set and Noah misses his PM shot maybe once every 10 days. He is very agreeable to being tested and injected, has never run off to the basement or bitten anyone. I try and keep his timetable to 9AM/9PM.
Thanks to all who have waded through this, I thought everything here was relevant.
Noah thanks you as well.
Dickson, I hope whatever you decide to do with Noah's insulin gets him improvements and works well for you both. 
