Salem 8/5 no AMPS 1u +7 552.6

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phedre

Member Since 2012
8/4

This morning did not go well in terms of getting his BG. I gave him his shot, made him eat about 35ccs of MD, and let him go for a bit. His poor ears are mangled from my efforts yesterday, so he's not happy when I touch them right now. I'm giving him a bit of a break, and just doing ear rubs without needles for today.

I'm continuing to watch his water and food consumption, he's drinking about 1/2 a cup of water a day, so he's doing well. He's going to the litter box normally and his legs are steadier. He's also perkier, and this morning had a big purr cuddle fest with me on the bed, so things are improving!

I've switched to the Purina MD for his syringe feeding as I know I won't be feeding that after he's eating on his own. I'm going to pick up some cases of Wellness (he's gobbled it up in the past) and stick with that as every day food, but the Purina will be his syringe food. He'll be getting at least one full can of that per day until he's eating on his own. His feeding this morning went well, we hardly got any on the table or the towel, though I am going through a LOT of laundry right now keeping up with his towels! It definitely gets easier with every try, and he doesn't seem to mind it much at all. He fusses towards the end, but I think it's more because he's getting as much as his stomach can handle.

Continuing to monitor for ketones in his urine for sure, and keeping an eye on his behaviour. Right now he's sleeping a bit more than he would normally, but he's walking around more and definitely more "up".

And in the realm of "it never rains but it pours", this morning I opened my window for some fresh air, and the handle broke. Sigh. Called the condo manager as there's a storm rolling in, and it won't go well if my window's stuck wide open!

I'm feeling less stomach sick about this whole thing today, especially now that I've had a clean ketone test. I doubt I'll be fully relaxed for a while yet, but I don't feel like throwing up constantly so far today.
 
Re: Salem 8/5 no AMPS 1u

Hi Phedre!

I'm so glad to read that Salem seems perkier and purrier today, that's wonderful! Great to read he's drinking too. Hope you keep having good luck testing for ketones! And HOORAY for you feeling less anxious and nauseous too! Wonderful progress :mrgreen:

I remember Karre also relaxed into the syringe-feeding as the days went on, and he started eating on his own quite soon, too. Fingers crossed for Salem on that count also!

His poor ears, many of us know what that's like! I understand your hating the idea of testing him despite the soreness and all. Still, it's really important to us all that Salem stays safe and you don't end up in an even more tight spot. Do you think you could get a reading a couple of hours post-shot?

We can take it from there. It's so hard to poke them when they're sore, I know. But I really wouldn't push this point if it wasn't essential.

Let us know what you think, k?
Jane
 
Re: Salem 8/5 no AMPS 1u

It really does get to be less overwhelming!

If you have any food you know Salem likes, I'd suggest leaving a bit in his bowl. At some point, he's got to start eating on his own and any way to coax him in that direction will be a good thing for your both.

I know you want to give Salem's ears a break. Please try to get even 1 or 2 tests this morning. As Salem feels better, his numbers may get lower. You don't want to be caught by surprise. That glucometer is your best tool for keeping Salem safe.

Are you using Neosporin with Pain Relief ointment on Salem's ears? (I think it's called Polysporin in Canada.) It will help them to heal and, if you use a tiny bit before you test, it won't hurt as much.

One other suggestion: if you are using a thin gauge lancet, it may be harder to get Salem's ears to bleed. It takes a few weeks to get the capillary bed in the ears to develop. It's easiest if you use a 28 or 29 gauge lancet in the beginning. Some people have even found 27 gauge lancets. I use a 30 gauge now. (The higher the number, the thinner the needle.) The thicker needle may annoy Salem but the trade off is you won't have to poke as much to get blood.
 
Re: Salem 8/5 no AMPS 1u

Honestly, the main problem I have with Salem is that he bleeds TOO much. It ends up running all over the place. I have to be careful to not let it run all over the place. Usually the reason I can't test is because the drop wells up too quickly.

I'm going to switch from the current needles (26g) to my lancets and see if they're ok for him.
 
Re: Salem 8/5 no AMPS 1u

We have that with Karre sometimes, too. Have you tried poking a fraction closer to the very edge of the ear? That helped with Karre. That way, you nick rather than pierce the capillary. Might be worth trying?

Also, if you dab a tiny bit of vaseline (or indeed Neosporin for pain relief) on the ear first, it can help the blood bead up rather than trickle.

Jane
 
Re: Salem 8/5 no AMPS 1u

The lancet may be too think. Jane's suggestion is also good. You want to try to poke as close to the edge of the ear as possible. Here's a photo of what's referred to as the "sweet spot" on a cat's ear. You want to try to poke between the edge of the ear and the vein. It sounds like you may be hitting the vein. I've done that, as well, and it does draw a lot of blood.

One thing you can do if you end up nicking the vein is to scoop a bit of the blood with your fingernail and test off of that.
 
Re: Salem 8/5 no AMPS 1u

The fingernail is a good tip.

In terms of testing, he just had a feeding so I can get as much into him as I can. He's almost all the way through a can (yay!), and it's going well. He's eating it fine, and protests a little towards the end, but not too much - it's definitely not a fight. I need to pick up more oral syringes though.

When's the best time to test after a feeding? Right now we're at +6 and normally I'd go for this time, but if he's just fed, maybe +7 is better?
 
Re: Salem 8/5 no AMPS 1u

When you get 'lots' of blood, just scoop some up on your fingernail and use it to test....same result!

HUGS! You're doing WONDERFUL!!!!
 
Ok he's up high again. I just fed him about an hour ago though, and it's the MD, so my assumption is that it's because of the food. I'm going to keep an eye on him and keep testing his ketones to make sure that's under control, and work on keeping him fed.
 
Great job, Phedre! Salem is a real trooper. I'm glad you're feeling better, too. I remember being so anxious that I couldn't eat - the only time in my entire life. :roll: It does get better. Eat yer fuds, Salem.
Liz
 
Yeah, I'm definitely having trouble eating myself. I managed a whopping 500 calories so far today, and that was by soaking my omelet in butter!

I'm going to continue feeding him though, and continue with the insulin. His ketones are good, so even if he's feeling like crap, he's still alive and able to move around.

It'll get better. I know it will. It's just going to take time.

I'm going to have a talk with the vet on Monday about microdoses of Humulin and about his feeding. I think he might be having some discomfort which is putting him off his food, you never know, and if it's something that can be managed, we'll take those steps.

I'm considering buying Merrick just in case he has pancreas issues as a low fat, high protein, low carb option too.
 
It's about 7% carbs from what I can see.

What's worrying me is that he just looks miserable. I'm calling his vet to see if there's anything they may have missed, maybe he's having some pain or something, because he is just not interested in eating at all right now.

I've managed to get over a full can into him tonight, and will continue to feed him, though I'm thinking I should go pick up a few cans of wellness and see if that helps bring him back down.
 
If he does have pancreatitis - it is extremely painful. Buprenorphine is prescribed for this.

Ask your vet if he's tested for this. Diabetic cats often have pancreatitis flares. It is a specific test called Spec fpl and can be run through idexx (spelling). I don't know enough about this test or the snap one - I hope others chime in about this.

Any meatloaf or sphynx position? Has this been since you started syringe feeding the MD? You may want to choose a food and stick with it to avoid stomach upset.
 
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