Sasha PMPS 107, too scared to shoot.

Status
Not open for further replies.
Melinda and Sasha

Melinda and Sasha

Member Since 2011
Sasha's feeling rather poorly today - she didn't eat anything while I was at work, and as a result her BG barely inched up over the afternoon. I also had to skip her morning shot because of her low BG, I just don't have enough data to know what to do yet, and I've only been tracking her for one week now after a massive overdose that sent her to the hospital. Her numbers right now are within the realm of normal, but I'm very bothered by why she's acting so blah - doesn't want to eat, doesn't want to hang out or have a cuddle, she's just hiding in her box in the corner.

I'm going to skip her dose tonight as well, but I've skipped three doses in the last 3 days and this makes me extremely nervous about leaving her in the care of a friend next week while I'm out of town. I've considering having her boarded at the vet, but not only is she petrified while there, I'm worried they'll overdose her because they keep giving me recommended dosages that are way too high, especially considering these numbers I'm seeing.

Ugh. Sorry. I'm not really here for advice this time, there's no way I'll dose her with these numbers. I'm mostly just here to vent. Thanks for listening :)
 
You still don't have data to shoot this low. It's really OK.

Just as a precaution, are you testing for Ketones? If not, pick up a pack of Ketostix at the pharmacy. You dip the stick in Sasha's urine stream -- yes, you have to stalk her to the litter box.

Chances are that Sasha is not yet completely used to hanging out in lower numbers. Until her body adjusts, she may feel a bit punk.
 
I agree with you and Sienne. After what you and Sasha have been through - this number is too low to shoot. It is a normal number (between 60- 120 are the numbers I use as normal).
You didn't give a shot this morning, Sasha didn't eat much... massive overdosing earlier this month. No, I wouldn't give a shot either.

Just encourage her to eat if you can. She needs food for energy. Best of luck.
 
Hi Melinda & Sasha, I've not visited your condo yet and just wanted to drop by and say welcome. I hope that things will settle down for Sasha soon. It's good to skip the shot tonight. Especially since Sasha isn't eating. Is there a favorite food that you could entice her with? Lots of the kitties here really like the Fancy Feast Elegant medelys (Chicken Florentine, etc.). They are a bit higher in carbs (11%), but to get her interested in food again it might be worth it.
Hang in there. It will get easier.

Ella & Rusty
 
Thanks everyone, it helps just to have people listen. And yes, I am testing for ketones, so far so good and the reading has always been at negative/trace (hard to tell, the colors are very similar).
 
Hi Melinda - I can't remember if I've visited you guys before (memory is an unpredictable thing sometimes :lol: !) I don't blame you for not shooting today, either...you definitely don't have the data and it sounds like you have been through so much. Hopefully you guys can get things settled down/figured out before you go away.

BTW - Sasha is such a pretty girl!

Amy
 
Hi Melinda - I just wanted to say welcome! I don't blame you for not shooting either... it was a wise decision. Sasha has already been through so much. I hope she feels better soon. And that things settle for her before you need to be away. I don't blame you either for not wanting to board her at the vet. I wouldn't either. Good luck with everything!
 
Thanks everyone, this is so nerve wracking! nailbite_smile She spent most of the night feeling terrible and hiding, but early this morning around 5 or 6 I hear her get up and eat food from one of the many bowls I had put out before going to bed. I thought to myself "Awesome, she'll be back in numbers I can understand by the time it's time for her BG at 7:30..." and then her AMPS was 84 a half hour ago. Again, I can't and won't shoot this number, but why aren't they going up?! I should be happy she's in a normal range, but it's stressing me out that I don't know what to do.

I guess the good news is when she's in these low number you can really tell from her behavior, so I can instruct her caregiver to skip her shot. I'm thinking of also giving instructions for .5u instead of 1u while I'm away, just to be on the safe side. I'm only gone for a week and I trust my friend with Sasha's care, if her numbers jump when I get home I can deal with it then.

Deep breath. I'm gonna get through this.
 
Hi Melinda

This is my first visit I think, so Welcome :-D

I completely sympathize with "numbers I can understand" - sometimes they're few and far between.
But, Green numbers are great even if you can't understand them, Sasha's at a good healthy/healing level, even if it's puzzling.

Deep breaths are always a good idea too ;-)
 
There are any number of possible explanations.

Sometimes, when a cat has a serious hypo event, it "shocks" their system back into normal numbers. If you think about it, compared to where her numbers were, this is much higher. That's one possibility. (As you can imagine, this is not the recommended path to remission!)

Sasha may have needed a change in diet. Getting her into LC food may have brought her numbers down. There are any number of cats that we've seen go quickly into normal ranges once they are on a proper diet.

Also, the reason that Sasha's number were lower a few hours after eating is a very good sign. When our cats (or any animal, human or otherwise) eats, the pancreas responds by releasing endogenous insulin. This insulin brings BG numbers down. What this translates to is that Sasha's pancreas is working.
 
I'm going to keep tracking and waiting then... I've got until Tuesday, when I drop her off at my friend's house. I will make the instructions for her care on the extremely conservative side.

WOW does this make me nervous! If I didn't know better I'd say Sasha is doing it on purpose!
 
I'm going out on a limb and going to say that I 'think' that Sasha will not need as much as 1 unit again.... and maybe not any insulin. As Sienne told you we have seen cats shocked into remission due to a serious overdose. It is a harsh and scary thing to happen but if/when the cat survives, sometimes he/she doesn't need insulin anymore.

Plus the diet change is always good thing too! We've seen kitties change their diet and boom... they don't need insulin. They are the lucky ones!

And to re-enforce Sienne's comment about how eating triggers pancreatic action... my kitty's BG is usually a bit lower a few hours after his meal because his pancreas is working. For example in the mornings before he eats I test him - his BG is around 100 - he gets fed - I test again in 3 hours and he's in the 80's. (He has just stopped using insulin so this is his body's natural reaction to food.)

Let's all hope that your friend and petsitter will not need to give Sasha any insulin next week. All fingers and paws crossed here!
 
If I had already made the transition to wet food I would find this easier to accept, but we're still early in the process. Using Dr Lisa's guidelines I've started to establish regular mealtimes and will present wet food before the dry. But that only worked once - she ate a decent amount of wet food which was a big step forward, but she's still 90-95% dry.

This is all super confusing, made even more so by the fact that my work schedule lately has prevented me from going home at lunch to test midcycle. I guess all I can do is watch her and keep monitoring. If those numbers stay where they are until Tuesday I'm going to have the kittysitter not give her any insulin at all, but test for ketones while I'm away.
 
Hi Melinda and Sasha!

I'm so glad to see that Sasha survived. Is she still acting blah? I know some cats feel blah for a couple of days when they adjust to a new dose, including mine.

When you leave for vacation, it might not be a bad idea to have your friend to come to this message board if she has any questions. It may give you both a peace of mind knowing that there's usually someone around to help.

Bonnie
 
She has been acting EXTREMELY blah. Nothing that would warrant a trip to the emergency, but she was lethargic, not interested in eating, and didn't want to leave her box. She wouldn't come out even when I shook the treat bag, which is a first for her. Even when I reached inside the box to give her chin scritches she wasn't purring. I was very concerned, but then she ate very early this morning, and again with a lot of purring and enthusiasm (dry food, lame) just before I left for work.

It's my fault, really, for not teaching her how to talk when she was younger. It would be so much easier to care for her even if she knew a few basic words! ;-)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top