Steroids & Diabetes

[hissie]

My kitty has been in remission now for about 4 yrs. However, she has been not quite herself & I have taken her to the vets on numerous occassions over the past few months.

She has had a few courses of antibiotics & up until very recently I have been giving her Metacam.

The issue I have at the moment is she was giving an antibiotic injection & a steroid injection less than a week ago & I checked her BG yesterday & it was 5.4. Checked twice today & first test was 12.7 & second test 16.4.

Could it be the steroids that are raising the BG levels? & if so, what should I do?

Her usual BG levels are no higher than approx 6 & never really go much lower than this.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Yes, steroids tend to raise BGs. To maximize the possibility of going back into remission I would start insulin.

 

[Michele and Peeps]

Depending on the type of steroids, once it wears out of the system the BG should drop drastically. My experience is 4-9 weeks.

 

[Kelly & Oscar]

Yes, those numbers are more than likely due to the steroids. I am guessing the shot was depo medrol - a long acting steroid. If that is the case, then the higher numbers will probably last for at least a month. You might consider giving a token dose to help her system out (0.25u or so)

On another note - do you know about the black box warning on metacam for cats? It is well known to cause issues with cats and vets are now advised to not use NSAIDs with cats.

 

[hissie]

Thank you for the replies.

Here in the UK, Metacam is the vets drug of choice when it comes to pain relief. I don't really like using it, but unfortunatly, the vet didn't offer an alternative.

As for insulin, due to my kitty being in remission for last past 4yrs, I don't have any insulin available to give her. When she was first diagnosed, I managed to get her into remission less than 3 months after diagnosis. The last time she had high numbers, it was caused by stress from me taking in a stray. However, she didn't need insulin & the numbers settled back down.

Yes, the steroid is a a long lasting steriod. It was a 2 week dose as well as an antibiotic jab.

To be honest, due to her old age (19 years old), her health has been a constant concern, especially the joint stiffness & pain. She has been on 3 lots of antibiotics over the past few months. Two lots for urine infection & a third for gingivitis. I am now starting to think, even tho' up until the steriod injection her BG numbers were relatively stable, that many of her health concerns are due to being diabetic, even in remission.

I don't think the vets in my town ever see many diabetic cats & I have always found it very difficult to build up a rapport in order to work effectively to manage her diabetes. Should I contatct the vets & ask about prescribing some insulin short term? Also, is there a point when I should be seriously concerned about her numbers? As a rule she usually ranges between 5.4 & 6.7.