I am happy to report that I switched our Cooper cat from the harsh Humilin N to Lantus and I am seeing an improvement. He went from being almost unresponsive and headed downhill with frequent vomiting to bright and perky and little vomiting or dry heaving. We are however still concerned as he has no appetite so I still have to force feed him the A.D. twice a day. The vet also did a full blood panel and found his biliruben count to be high so this is definitely an issue. With the proper nutrition and the stabilization of his bg, we know the liver function can improve but we are still very concerned at his lack of interest in food and the dry heaving/vomiting. Any advice or suggestions for this? Also regarding Lantus I am reading that if it is properly stored it can be used for longer than the recommended 28 days. Saw some posts on this board about that but was wondering if anyone has any personal experience? TIA! :smile:
Switched to Lantus.. improving but still having issues..
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Denise & Honey
Member Since 2012
Sorry, I can't comment on the loss of appertite/dry heaving ...
But, regarding the lantus, most of us use 'expired' lantus.
My vial was opened in October and I still used in Feb.
As long as its stored in the main part of the fridge, not rolled/shaken/warmed etc.., doesn't look cloudy or have crystals, it should be ok.
It may lose potency after x months but you would see that in increasing bg numbers.
Apparently, as lantus is made for humans, the 28 days exp. is put on because it may not be refridgerated or may be warmed as the large dose is uncomfortable if very cold.
Also, I guess its probably almost all used up in the 28 days so they use the 4 weeks as a general guide.
Also, a lot of people use the solstar lantus pens - some members have managed to buy 1 pen at a time but not sure where.
But, regarding the lantus, most of us use 'expired' lantus.
My vial was opened in October and I still used in Feb.
As long as its stored in the main part of the fridge, not rolled/shaken/warmed etc.., doesn't look cloudy or have crystals, it should be ok.
It may lose potency after x months but you would see that in increasing bg numbers.
Apparently, as lantus is made for humans, the 28 days exp. is put on because it may not be refridgerated or may be warmed as the large dose is uncomfortable if very cold.
Also, I guess its probably almost all used up in the 28 days so they use the 4 weeks as a general guide.
Also, a lot of people use the solstar lantus pens - some members have managed to buy 1 pen at a time but not sure where.
BJM
Member Since 2010
jenn377 said:
Vomiting may be due to an upset/acid stomach, liver inflamation, or pancreatitis. Folks here report using 1/4 of a regular Pepcid 10 mg strength before the meal to help calm the stomach.
Elevated Bilirubin may happen when there has been a lot of fat broken down for calories. There are some nutritional support products for cats to help with this; check our shopping partner Wag.com for products such as Denmarin or Marin.
KPassa
Member Since 2012
Hi and it's great that you were able to get him switched off Humulin!
Since I know others are probably going to ask: What food(s) are you feeding Cooper? Just the Purina(?) AD? How much and how often? Did you change him recently from dry to wet food or from a different type of wet to that food? I'm wondering if it might possibly be a food allergy, but other than that, I don't have much knowledge in this area, so I'll let others more experienced respond.
Regarding Lantus longevity, I opened my current vial on October 11th last year and am still using it. I also happened to "roll" it the first two months before I realized you're not supposed to and I keep it stored in the door of my fridge; it might lose potency faster there, but living with roommates at least I know it won't break as easily there!
Once this vial starts going bad, I'll probably go for the pens. As Denise mentioned, getting the Lantus Solostar pens is more expensive up front, but cheaper in the long run. I've heard from a few people that a mom-and-pop pharmacy is more likely to sell them individually, however, I've called around locally trying to find somewhere that sells one at a time (vs. the box of 5) and I heard from a couple of the local pharmacies that the bigger pharmacies are the ones more likely to sell individually. Still haven't found one, yet.... :YMSIGH:
Since I know others are probably going to ask: What food(s) are you feeding Cooper? Just the Purina(?) AD? How much and how often? Did you change him recently from dry to wet food or from a different type of wet to that food? I'm wondering if it might possibly be a food allergy, but other than that, I don't have much knowledge in this area, so I'll let others more experienced respond.
Regarding Lantus longevity, I opened my current vial on October 11th last year and am still using it. I also happened to "roll" it the first two months before I realized you're not supposed to and I keep it stored in the door of my fridge; it might lose potency faster there, but living with roommates at least I know it won't break as easily there!
Once this vial starts going bad, I'll probably go for the pens. As Denise mentioned, getting the Lantus Solostar pens is more expensive up front, but cheaper in the long run. I've heard from a few people that a mom-and-pop pharmacy is more likely to sell them individually, however, I've called around locally trying to find somewhere that sells one at a time (vs. the box of 5) and I heard from a couple of the local pharmacies that the bigger pharmacies are the ones more likely to sell individually. Still haven't found one, yet.... :YMSIGH:
terri1962
Member Since 2011
I just google high biliruben count in cats and here is what it says, if it were me I would take him to another vet that can find out whats wrong with him and why he won`t eat. All of what you have written is of utmost concern vomiting, not eating, can be pancreatitis, hepadic lipidosis among other things.
Terri
http://pets.thenest.com/dangers-high-bi ... 10159.html
Terri
http://pets.thenest.com/dangers-high-bi ... 10159.html
Thanks so much for all the great posts. I am looking into all the links provided and will post an update soon. To answer some previous questions, we are feeding Cooper Science Diet (prescription) A.D. It is a wet food and unfortunately, all Cooper has known prior to his diagnosis was dry food. Had we been aware of what dry food does for a cats diet we wouldn't have had him on it but that was what our previous vet had him on. I have wondered if perhaps he is experiencing a reaction to the difference in food plus he is still recovering from a critical case of ketoacidosis and was on the awful Humilin N for almost 6 weeks. I am still new at this and learning as I go but I really also wonder if the Humilin N could possibly be a part of the culprit in his not eating since I am now seeing slight improvements since he's been on the Lantus. Today I increased his force feeding and very slightly decreased the Lantus and no vomiting so the vet feels we may finally be onto something! Keeping our fingers crossed.... Thanks so much everyone! :smile:
jenn377 said:
I am not sure why you are feeding the A/D food but my cats tried to cover any vet food up.... let me know what they thought of it.
Can you not just feed Fancy Feast or Friskies pates? There may not be a problem with the cat, but rather with your choice of wet food.
Look at this list from catinfo.org and pick some foods under 10% carbs.
http://catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf
KPassa
Member Since 2012
How recently did you switch him from dry to wet? Was it immediate (i.e. removed all dry and fed only wet) or did you transition him to the wet (mixing the wet into the dry and slowly increasing the wet while decreasing the dry over a period of days)? Depending on your answers, that might be why he doesn't want to eat.; he might not be familiar enough yet with wet food actually being what he would consider "food" after being fed dry for so many years. :lol: Don't worry if either of these are the case. You'll simply experience exactly what you saw: vomiting and/or diarrhea. For poor Cooper's sake, I really hope that's all it was from and nothing more serious! :YMHUG:
One trick that might help is sprinkling the food with Parmesan cheese. This works like a charm on my cats whenever they're being finicky and don't want to eat their food. Here are a few more suggestions: http://www.catinfo.org/docs/TipsForTransitioning1-14-11.pdf
I second Blue's recommendation to find a different food than the Hill's Prescription A/D. At 12% carbs, this is too high for diabetics who need less than 10% carbs (the lower, the better; my own cat needs less than 5%). It is also expensive vs. cheaper options like Friskies, Fancy Feast, Merrick's, ProPlan, Tiki, etc... Check the link from Blue for some other low carb options that won't break the bank; it contains all the nutritional information of most commercial cat foods and not just the vague "guaranteed analysis" that they print on the cans.
Let us know how it goes regarding the elevated biliruben because that is worrying. nailbite_smile
One trick that might help is sprinkling the food with Parmesan cheese. This works like a charm on my cats whenever they're being finicky and don't want to eat their food. Here are a few more suggestions: http://www.catinfo.org/docs/TipsForTransitioning1-14-11.pdf
I second Blue's recommendation to find a different food than the Hill's Prescription A/D. At 12% carbs, this is too high for diabetics who need less than 10% carbs (the lower, the better; my own cat needs less than 5%). It is also expensive vs. cheaper options like Friskies, Fancy Feast, Merrick's, ProPlan, Tiki, etc... Check the link from Blue for some other low carb options that won't break the bank; it contains all the nutritional information of most commercial cat foods and not just the vague "guaranteed analysis" that they print on the cans.
Let us know how it goes regarding the elevated biliruben because that is worrying. nailbite_smile
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