Should I give or skip insulin tonight?

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Amy and Stormy

Amy and Stormy

Member Since 2021
Hi! I've posted here a lot lately lol. My cat Stormy(18yo male) just started insulin last week (1u of Lantus twice a day) and then on Friday was diagnosed with pancreatitis. He stayed at the emergency vet from Saturday until this afternoon. The internal medicine specialist said if he's not eating that I should syringe feed him, which I have been doing. He said to give 1unit insulin with a meal. I just tested Stormy's BG and it is 395 (I syringe fed him 2.5 hours ago). However, as I have only had one day of BG testing before he was hospitalized, I have no idea what BG he normally gets down to with the Lantus. I am SO nervous to give him insulin tonight and then go to sleep in a couple hours because I KNOW he won't eat on his own. And I won't be up to feed him or see if he's low. I obviously plan on syringe feeding him 20mL if I give insulin but I know his lowest BG will be when I'm asleep. Do you think I should skip his insulin just for tonight and then start again tomorrow when I can monitor him better?? This all just seems so overwhelming right now. I am honestly wondering if he is going to make it because he seems exactly the same as he did before he was hospitalized. Thanks in advance! :)
 
I would hesitate to skip insulin while he's got pancreatitis and not eating - that's just a recipe for ketones and DKA, which is far more expensive to treat than pancreatitis. He is certainly high enough for insulin. Can you set an alarm and test him in a couple hours?
 
Panic said:
I would hesitate to skip insulin while he's got pancreatitis and not eating - that's just a recipe for ketones and DKA, which is far more expensive to treat than pancreatitis. He is certainly high enough for insulin. Can you set an alarm and test him in a couple hours?
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I know and the first emergency vet I took him to stopped insulin completely. I went to a different vet real fast lol. But you're probably right. I will be up for maybe 3 more hours so I will probably give it and then test him again before I go to sleep. I might even set an alarm in the middle of the night to test again. If he had to go to the emergency vet again I literally wouldn't be able to afford it, I maxed out my credit card from this past stay :(
But thank you for your quick response!!
 
Amy I said:
I know and the first emergency vet I took him to stopped insulin completely.
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:eek: Get out!

Totally understand - we want to keep those ketones at bay so that doesn't happen! Get a test in a couple hours after you give insulin - if it's noticeably lower you'll know to post on the forum (use a 911 to get eyes on it quickly!) so they can walk you through keeping his BG up. If it's about the same or higher it usually means he won't be making any big dips. Not a hard and fast rule though.
 
Panic said:
:eek: Get out!

Totally understand - we want to keep those ketones at bay so that doesn't happen! Get a test in a couple hours after you give insulin - if it's noticeably lower you'll know to post on the forum (use a 911 to get eyes on it quickly!) so they can walk you through keeping his BG up. If it's about the same or higher it usually means he won't be making any big dips. Not a hard and fast rule though.
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Awesome, thank you so much for the information!!! I'm going to test again in a couple hours but also set an alarm because I'm paranoid thanks again!
 
Hi Amy,

Did the vet prescribe any supportive meds for you to give Stormy at home? (Anti-nausea, appy stimulant, pain meds.)


Mogs
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Critter Mom said:
Hi Amy,

Did the vet prescribe any supportive meds for you to give Stormy at home? (Anti-nausea, appy stimulant, pain meds.)


Mogs
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Hello again! Lol. They did not today but I have some buprenorphine and cerenia tablets my vet gave me on Friday. I accidentally left the buprenorphine out in the light for a few days though so I'm not sure if it's still good. And I can't give more cerenia yet because he just had it today at the vet and they said not to give it again tonight. I will be calling my regular vet tomorrow and I'm hoping she can prescribe possibly some more buprenorphine and some mirtazapine (or whatever it's called. The appetite stimulant). They were going to give me some entyce but they said he used up all of it with their last dose they gave right before he left.
 
Amy I said:
Hello again! Lol. They did not today but I have some buprenorphine and cerenia tablets my vet gave me on Friday. I accidentally left the buprenorphine out in the light for a few days though so I'm not sure if it's still good. And I can't give more cerenia yet because he just had it today at the vet and they said not to give it again tonight. I will be calling my regular vet tomorrow and I'm hoping she can prescribe possibly some more buprenorphine and some mirtazapine (or whatever it's called. The appetite stimulant). They were going to give me some entyce but they said he used up all of it with their last dose they gave right before he left.
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Even if the bupe lost a little potency it would not be dangerous to give. Id have given the shot of insulin.
 
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I’m sorry to hear Stormy is so I’ll. Here is some helpful information on pancreatitis. Perhaps you can use it to have discussions with your vet. Seems to me they aren’t doing all they could to support him.
 
Amy I said:
And I can't give more cerenia yet because he just had it today at the vet and they said not to give it again tonight.
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It might be worth asking about ondansetron for the nausea. At a suitable dose, it can be administered every 8-12 hours so may give better continuous anti-nausea support. (Note: It can take 24-48 hours for the full anti-nausea benefit from a given dose to be achieved, but it has worked well for my cats.)


Mogs
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JanetNJ said:
Even if the bupe lost a little potency it would not be dangerous to give. Id have given the shot of insulin.
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I called the emergency vet and they said they didn't think he needed pain meds, that he seemed pretty comfortable while he was with them. I'm nervous to give the bupre I have, I don't know why. I tried to call my regular vet to talk about everything today but she is not in the office. So I will try again tomorrow. He is still hiding but seems a little more alert.
 
Marje and Gracie said:
I’m sorry to hear Stormy is so I’ll. Here is some helpful information on pancreatitis. Perhaps you can use it to have discussions with your vet. Seems to me they aren’t doing all they could to support him.
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Thank you!! I've been having a lot of issues this past week with various vets that don't seem to know what they're doing or not doing all they can for him. I have been trying to get in touch with my reg vet but she has been out of office. So I will try her again tomorrow. She is the only one who knows his full history and really knows him. So I'm hoping we can talk soon. Thanks again!
 
Critter Mom said:
It might be worth asking about ondansetron for the nausea. At a suitable dose, it can be administered every 8-12 hours so may give better continuous anti-nausea support. (Note: It can take 24-48 hours for the full anti-nausea benefit from a given dose to be achieved, but it has worked well for my cats.)


Mogs
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I just gave him half a cerenia tablet an hour or so ago. Hoping it helps. He is still hiding and not eating on his own. But he did drink some of his favorite cat milk this morning so maybe he is on his way. We will see. Thanks for the suggestion!! Cerenia has always seemed to work for him in the past so I'm not sure why he isn't eating still.
 
Amy I said:
Thank you!! I've been having a lot of issues this past week with various vets that don't seem to know what they're doing or not doing all they can for him. I have been trying to get in touch with my reg vet but she has been out of office. So I will try her again tomorrow. She is the only one who knows his full history and really knows him. So I'm hoping we can talk soon. Thanks again!
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You’re welcome. I would try to get an ondansetron prescription. It works much better than cerenia for nausea and can be given 2-3 times a day but the best thing is use them in concert as they address nausea from different modalities and work well together. You always want to address nausea before you give appetite stimulants.
 
Amy, I rarely visit the Lantus board so I've only heard the sad news about Stormy. I am so sorry for your loss.

:bighug::bighug::bighug:


Mogs
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