SICK BIG HEAD

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BigHeadTodd

BigHeadTodd

Member Since 2013
Increased Big's Lantus 2u because tonights reading was 548. Tried to desperately get a reading +2 but could not it was a horrible struggle... now Big's is dry heaving... did not throw up his food but was hiding in the litter box... his breath is strong metallic smelling as well... SHOULD I BE TAKING HIM TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM... he is lying on my bed and is purring now... but something is not right... could it be just the stress of trying to get the reading? We gave him a spoon full of food at 10pm to entice for reading... he did eat it... and I bet he would try to eat more if I put more in front of him now... is this typical?! DO I NEED TO TAKE HIM TO EMERGENCY?!
 
calm down ok. i know, easier said than done but you have to keep your head about you for kitty.

metallic smell? would you say it smells like nail polish remover or acetone? if so, yes, ER. that's ketones.

do you have pepcid ac? the regular pepcid ac, not pepcid complete. if so, you can give him 1/4 of a 10mg pill to help settle his tummy. if he wants to eat though, that's a good sign.

do you have ketostix? if so, when was the last time you tested for ketones? try to get a test if he goes pee anytime soon.
 
Bigs is bright eyed and bushy tailed... rubbing up on me purring and stomping his tail because he knows it is close to feeding time. Thank you for asking and more importantly thank you all for being here. I will not stick him this morning it has just been way too stressful for us both and I am concerned that this level of stress is really hard on his HIV. I will have to do the next best thing and test his urine. Will keep you posted.
 
Special thanks to you all for you care and support! It was such an upsetting night. Bigs seems better than ever! No I will reduce the Lantus back down to 1u and I WILL NOT INCREASE for 5 days... and will try to keep everything on a tight schedule... will also try to figure out this sticking problem... the stick isn't the problem its getting the blood out... will purchase neosporine w/pain and heat up a rice sock next try!

With the most sincere appreciation.

-Big Head and Jenny \M/
 
Thanks for the words of encouragement... last night was tough as I am sure you all know! Bigs ate like a champ he is back on the Friskies classic pate turkey and giblet dinner I put 4oz or more in his food and he eats and drinks it all... Great thing about Bigs is that he is very routine immediately following his meal and injection he urinates... Glucose is well above 200 and only a slight trace of Keytones. I will try to get a +6 reading today after I sleep a little and get over the shock of this entire weekend. I will post a pic of BIg Head so you can see just exactly how he earned his name.

Thanks again for everyone's support!

-Bigs and Jenny
 
Sorry I am tired... the 4oz or more is water in 3/4 can of food... He is very happy with the canned food... should I never give him hard food if at all possible or is there a dry food he could eventually snack on in between meals or as a treat?!
 
Please refrain from dry food - very few have a decent nutrient profile (way too many carbs), plus, it puts tremendous workload on the kidneys which may induce renal damage.

Its OK to leave wet food out for 12 hours; I do that for my clouder of 15.

As far as testing goes - if you absolutely must get blood, you may aim for the vein directly. When you hit the vein, it is more likely to bleed profusely, so be prepared to get a drop on a clean fingernail for testing and to blot the hole with tissue or a cotton ball for a few minutes to reduce scabbing and bruising.
 
I looked at your spreadsheet and here are the immediate problems that I see.

1) you changed the lantus dose from 1 to 2 units - based on only 1 test. This is not how to change doses. You need to get mid-cycle tests in (yes I understand you are having testing issues), but the only way to know how the insulin is working is to get mid-cycle tests - Lantus dose changes is based on the nadir (or lowest point in the cycle), not just one test at the end of the cycle.

2) When changing doses, NEVER increase by full units. We recommend changing doses by 0.25 or 0.50 units at a time. NEVER by 1 unit at a time.

3) Please read the lantus protocol and other starred information on the lantus forum: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1581

It is important that you understand how Lantus works and the proper way to handle it, dosing, etc.

4) While in the beginning of this process, please feed the cat as much as he wants. He is not processing food correctly and therefore, needs more than normal in order to maintain. As he settles into to the insulin and dose, the need for food may diminish to what is considered normal. But for now, in order to keep him safe, please feed him.

Yes, you can leave canned food out for 12+hours at a time. Because he has trace ketones, add a lot of water to the food (ie. one can of water to one can of food). Ketones need to be flushed out the body and if you can get him to drink lots of water, this will help to eliminate the need for an ER vist.

Dry food - honestly - forget it even exists. If he never eats dry food again, that is best for him and any cat.


5) Speaking of ketones - please read this about ketones and DKA - http://petdiabetes.wikia.com/wiki/Ketones

It is important to continue giving insulins when ketones are present, so as not to blow up into DKA.

6) You say you are struggling with home testing. Can you tell us what you are/are not doing and maybe we can help make it easier for you.

I see you are in Wilmington. Venita (from DCIN ) is local to you and if you need in person assistance, she may be able to help. WE can alert her if you like.
 
Hi. I am in North Wilmington, near Mt. Pleasant HS. I have Georgie, my GPS, in the car and I can get just about anywhere around here with just an address.

I can work with you on the blood glucose testing, if you like. I have a few years' experience and with various cats.

Please send me a private message here or email Venita@dcin.info. I am free most of the week. I just try not to drive at night.

Thanks for the head-up to those who let me know about this situation.
 
You all are so amazing!!!

BIGS and I live at [removed address] right across from Mt Pleasant HS!!!!!! I work from home so I can be available at your convenience... Honestly if you can come over and calm me down and get readings from BIG I would be forever in your debt...

PLease call ASAP: [removed phone number]

I learned that you are supposed to copy the links to any other correspondences that I started. Please forgive my poor forum board ediquett since this is my first!

Not sure if the link works or not but BIGS is at +6 and doesn't look good. Suspect that he is crashing with the Lantus... Please help... will feed him and keep food out for him... just difficult with 6 other fosters in the house... one who is Hyperglycemic and an other with interstitial cystytus... hence the total stress I am feeling.

viewtopic.php?f=32&t=89117
 
Venita is truly our guardian angle! I am much calmer and hopeful for getting Bigs healthy and happy!!! Words can not express how grateful I am for everyone's help and support... you are all our new family now and I hope that some day we are able to return the favor!

Bigs and Jenny
 
The best way to return the favor - is to "pay it forward". In a couple of weeks when this becomes routine for you, come back to the Health Forum, reread your first posts, then look for a newbie and tell them your story. You don't have to be an expert or anything, just tell your story of home testing, insulin types, food, etc and help a new person get through their fears and first few days/weeks in this process.

We all have our angels who help in so many ways, either with in person support, on the phone or just being a cheerleader. That is what this board is about. People thrown into the same situation, learning how to deal/cope with it, learning the techniques and reaching a point where we can help others.

We all started off the same way. Diagnosis, fear, acceptance, learning.......
 
Hillary & Maui said:
The best way to return the favor - is to "pay it forward". In a couple of weeks when this becomes routine for you, come back to the Health Forum, reread your first posts, then look for a newbie and tell them your story. You don't have to be an expert or anything, just tell your story of home testing, insulin types, food, etc and help a new person get through their fears and first few days/weeks in this process.

We all have our angels who help in so many ways, either with in person support, on the phone or just being a cheerleader. That is what this board is about. People thrown into the same situation, learning how to deal/cope with it, learning the techniques and reaching a point where we can help others.

We all started off the same way. Diagnosis, fear, acceptance, learning.......
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Just a note of encouragement..Yep you hit gold with Venita. Just want you to knowe there are others following your story and wishing you and "Todd" all the best.
BTW I fell madly in love with "Big Heads" picture. ;-)

jeanne
 
Please everyone--more healing vines for Bigs. In case you didn't see it--here is an update on Bigs, from DCIN FB page, an hour ago today:

I told you all about my time yesterday with BigHead Todd (I didn't know he was named after a band--BigHead Todd and the Monsters). I was able to spend more time with him and his Mom today, and it was touch and go. His foster Mom wanted to take him to see my vet because, besides high BG levels, he just seemed "off." I was going to the vet anyway to pick up supplies, so Mom and Bigs rode along. We were most of the way to the vet (a 45 minute drive) when BigHead started serious open mouth breathing--200 respirations/minute.

No vet was in yet, so the techs gave him some O2, inserted an IV catheter, and sent us to the emergency vet 10 minutes up the road. Within moments of us getting to the ER, Bigs got X-Rays showing an enlarged heart and a large amount of intersistial fluid in his lungs. DX--congestive heart failure. He was put into an Oxygen chamber and given lasix (a diuretic to remove the fluids). He will be having a cardio consult late this evening and then started on medications appropriate to his heart condition. Those heart meds, we were told, will quickly improve his condition.

Please keep BigHead in your thoughts. He was a very very sick boy when we got him to the ER. Recumbent. Nonresponsive. He was better when it came time for Mom and me to leave, but still huffing to breathe. None of this has, in my opinion, anything to do with Bigs being diabetic. However, his Mom is thinking that because he is FIV+, the stressful attempts at hometesting his BG levels stressed him to heart failure. Mom--please know that you have done nothing but lovingly care for Bigs. Many of us are a bit awkward with hometesting at the beginning, even on FIV+ cats. This heart condition is something that Bigs has that has nothing to do with your treatment of his diabetes.

And the good news was that after days of being in the upper 4 and 500s, when he got to the first vet today, his BG level was 281.
 
oh no! I am so sorry and how scary is that. It was great that Venita was with you, so you did not have to go through it alone. and please don't feel guilty or bad about testing, you are doing everything you can for him and you didn't do anything wrong.

sending good thoughts for his recovery.
 
Lots of healing vines for Big Head :YMHUG:
Hoping everything turns out and his heart issues are resolved with the meds.

I know they will test for everything. When my Monster had an enlarged heart(no fluid), open mouthed panting and heart rate at 280 p/m - it was hyperthyroidism.
They put him on 1/4 tab atenolol per day - that seemed to help (as well as the hyper-T meds).
 
Big long healing vines for Big Head Todd and his momma bean too. Because when our babies are sick so are we with worry. Thankfully Venita was with you and got you and him quickly where you needed to be.

You did absolutely nothing wrong with the testing, sure it is stressful on everyone but it is also so necessary to keep him safe and that is all you have ever done is try to keep him safe, protected and loved.

Everyone in my house will be keeping their fingers, toes, paws and tails crossed that he will recover quickly and be home to you soon.

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang
 
Jenny and Biggie too,
Lots of thoughts and extra prayers here too - I KNOW how scary CHF is but let me assure you it's treatable! You didn't cause this by testing, it was already happening, you just didn't know it. The fluid builds up slower than that so PLEASE don't blame YOURSELF for it, it would have happened whether you tested or not. The lasix will help draw off the fluid, the fact that it's around his heart, lasix works best when it's there rather than in the abdomen area. One of my civies was in CHF when I took him in over a year ago. His fluid gathered in his belly area rather than his chest which didn't respond very fast to the meds. Sir Scruffy as well as my elderly ShihTzu with the same condition both took enalapril and lasix. Sweet Scruffy lived another year, he was 11 years old already when he was dx'd, his health was always frail - he did well. Lacey was also old and had lots of other problems plus her breed only normally lives to 10-12 years...she was with us almost another year too!

BIG HUGE HUGS! You got him to the vet quickly, I truly believe you'll have him back home with you soon!
 
Update on Facebook DCIN...

Venita Wood I heard briefly from Bigs' Mom. Cardio consult does reveal heart disease and he is responding well to the heart meds. Bigs gets to come back home today. YEAH!!
8 hours ago
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BigHead Todd is home. I saw him for a bit this afternoon and he is SOOOO much better. Normal respirations at 20/minute. He purred, let me pet him, even showed me a happy tail. But you can tell he's tired from his ordeal, and his Mom is too. She finally got a full night's sleep last night, after little sleep since last Thursday, but she needs more.

Bigs is on three meds for his heart condition--lasix (the diuretic), Enalipril (an ACE inhibitor used for hypertension and some types of chronic heart failure), and another med the name of which I did not recognize.

The internist at the emergency clinic recommended that Mom hold off on the blood glucose testing for awhile, a way for everyone to de-stress, and I agree with that. Mom will be using KetoDiastix to check urine. I suggested that is OK as long as the stix are showing fairly high urinary glucose. Once the urine glucose starts getting to lower levels, though, it would be time to go back to the glucometer. And by then, maybe a week, Bigs and Mom both will be feeling a lot better and ready to get back to the challenge of the sugar dance. Bigs will continue on 1.5U BID of Lantus.

I know that Mom really appreciates all the support (I told her about the messages here and on FB), although right now she is just too exhausted, physically and emotionally, to get onto the Board. She just wants to sit on the bed with Bigs and give him love. And both she and Bigs need that. Yesterday's crash on the way to the vet was quite upsetting for them both.
 
Venita - since you are in direct contact with her, please let her know that we are here supporting her and big head and when she is ready, we are also here to help. of course your help to her has been invaluable and I am sure will be going forward as well....
 
Please give her hugs from all of us and scritches to Big Head....we will be here for her and her best friend when they are ready to start dancing again.

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang
 
Thanks Hillary and Mel. I am pretty certain Mom will be back. The vet said that BH's heart is job #1, and I am sure that will be very influential for awhile. But diabetes is job #2, and she is still working that. She is transitioning all the cats in her home to wet food. Still giving insulin. Still concerned about glucose levels.
 
Venita, you are quite an incredible and compassionate woman and I just wanted to say "thank you" and that you are an inspiration to me. :YMHUG:
 
Just wanted to reach out and let all of our new friends know that Bigs is doing well at the moment. He has been diagnosed with congenital heart failure and in the emergency room 3 times over the past two weeks so his diabetes has become the secondary focus at the moment. I am increasing his Lantus to 3 units tonight his BG is still in the 500's... once we get a few days on the increased units I will begin building a new curve.

Thank you all for your advice and caring efforts to help Bigs.

I am keeping updates on his BG sheet and the url is in our signature. So please do not think that we have forgotten you all. We just have to get his heart regulated first and then focus on the BG. Good news is that he is showing no signs of Ketones so at least we have that going for us while we take the time to get him strong enough to work on getting him OTJ!!! I just can't wait for the day to enter a number that is in the green on our chart!!

Hugs out to all!!!

-Jen and BIgs
 
sending healing vines to Bighead and to bean
Venita-one word.....HERO....you are an angel to us and our kitties. A true inspiration. Thank you for being you and sharing yourself with us
 
Big Head Todd had another cardio event on Monday, combined this time with acute renal failure. His family had to let him go on Tuesday. :cry: Big Head had only found his family in December, but had a lifetime of love in those short months. He was a happy boy when he felt well.

All my sympathy. Fly free, dear Bigs, and land softly back in your Mom and Dad's hearts. wings_cat
 
BIG HEAD TODD

Jenny, this is so heartbreaking to read and my deepest and most heartfelt sympathy goes out to you. You did everything you could to help him and even though his time with you was short.....to you......to Big Head it was a lifetime and he felt and knew love. I'm sending my sympathy to you too, Venita because I know only too well how quickly we become attached when we are helping another kitty and the owner. I know how many times over the years I have sat at my computer and bawled over a kitty, cried for the owner because you can feel their hurt and pain, and yet I never even met them. Big Head Todd was another who grabbed so many hearts and was just a beautiful big pussycat that we all prayed for to be okay. He was loved and he had a home...... wings_cat rb_icon
 
Poor Big Head...He is at peace, in eternal love an happiness, surrounded by all the other beloved kitties who have gone ahead. I know he will be playing with Booda and Toby and Baby and Gus and Mr. Precious and Sherman and all the others. He lived his last days with a loving family, and will carry that love with him.
 
I am so sorry for your loss...But in that short time that Big Head was with you he lived a lifetime of love.

Fly Free Big Head Todd.

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang
 
Oh my gosh...what a roller coaster of emotions.
Jenny I am SO very sorry for your loss. Big Head loves you forever now in a different form. My heart just goes out to you.

My sincere condolences,
jeanne
 
Jenny, I am so very sorry for your loss. I'm sure Big Head knew that he was loved, and I hope the good memories you've shared with him will help to comfort you in your grief.

(((Jenny)))

Eliz x
 
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