Tell me if I’m crazy

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Esperanza's Mom

Member Since 2019
Diagnosed with diabetes Jan 28. Been on insulin since then with no effect. Hospitalized Feb 8 to Feb 10. Looked better on release but declined within a day.

NEVER has anyone done a blood glucose curve. I asked for her numbers and curves on release and they just told me “oh we can’t do curves on hospitalized cats - they’re too stressed.”

This is supposed to be the premier 24/7 animal hospital in my area that we’ve been to for 8 years. Should I scream???
 
we're cat people so yeah you are a crazy one too ;)

your signature says no meter yet, so you really cannot be sure the insulin was having no effect..
what was issue that required kitty to be hospitalized? was she unreponsive?
how much insulin is she getting? since i don't know why she was hospitalized, the decline within a day after being better makes me wonder if she is getting too much insulin and crashing.

well if hospital staff in charge of your cat's care didn't do basic pre-testing before injections i would want to scream at them too for not at least doing/having her regular pre-shot numbers and nadir ones! as for them not doing a curve, she was being hospitalized for whatever issue you took her in and therefore they are right she was really stressed out, so you would of paid for an inaccurate curve had they done one so good thing they didn't do one.
 
Hospitalized for dehydration and lethargy. She was barely eating and just hanging out more and more at her water fountain to the point of staying there past bedtime.

Lantus doses: week of Jan 28: 1 unit 2x daily. Weekly checkup still had still high bg in 400s so upped to 2 units 2x daily. Then hospital that Thursday. Now she’s on 3 units 2x daily, but from Sunday release to this morning she’s dehydrated again and not eating.

This is all I can get off her paperwork as far as BG #s:
Fri
12:11 AM 664
4:00 AM 721
8:00 AM 566
1:55 PM 534
4:00 PM 423

Sat
3:30 AM 435
2:50 PM 259
2:00 AM 290

Sun
8:00 AM 602
2:00 PM 479
 
poor girl such high BG :( i think they upped the insulin too much too fast but, i am not one of the experts on the matter around here so who knows. do know they prefer we upped dosage by .25-.50 and not by a whole unit like that though and i do think them upping insulin by 2 units in not even 3 wks seems a bit much. for her safety you should get a blood glucose meter and check her blood sugar at home to be safe, having vet do it once a week is not enough to keep her safe, her numbers will be higher having it done at vet in first place due to the stress of going to vet and all that, so you are giving that 3 units of insulin based on numbers that may not be that high when she is at home not being stressed out..even worse she is not eating so her numbers will probably lower already because of that and you could end up having her blood sugar drop too low and not know it till it is too late since you are not testing at home yet.

am not vet but, IMO you are going to have to syringe feed her something even if she is eating a little bit, i would syringe feed my cat KMR replacement liquid milk a few times a day or the GNC weaning formula milk that i like to use when my cats get sick and refuse to eat for too long, it helps a lot to keep them from getting fatty liver and dehydrated.
you can go get it at petsmart (assuming you are in states) https://www.petsmart.com/cat/dental...rs/gnc-pets-weaning-kitten-formula-12341.html. also 2ml or so of unflavored pedialyte every couple hours would help keep her hydrated better too.

i cannot say if the gnc or kmr is good or not for diabetic cats blood glucose but, at this point you have to do what you need to do to keep her from getting worse.. if feasible, maybe you should consider going to see a vet specialist elsewhere that specializes in diabetes in cats, they will be able to help you much better than your regular hospital vet i think at this point.
 
Did they mention ketones at the hospital?
I would buy a bottle of Ketostix from a pharmacy and test the urine for ketones. It is a simple test.
Change your subject line to ‘sick cat, won’t eat, please help.’
Try and get some fluids into kitty with a syringe.he may need to go back to the vet.
 
Those symptoms that put her in hospital seem to be diabetic ketoacidosis or at least heading that way. It's very serious. I agree with Bron's advice to test urine for ketones ASAP. Here are some ways to do it:
  • put the end of the test strip right in his urine stream as he's peeing
  • slip a shallow, long handled spoon under his backside to catch a little pee - you don't need much
  • put a double layer of plastic wrap over his favourite part of the litter box and poke some depressions in it too catch pee.
Most test strips have to be dipped and allowed to develop for 15 seconds before viewing the colour change in very good light.
 
If your baby is comfortable with you you can use your hand too. For Fena, I keep a strip out on a sterile piece of gauze and an alcohol wipe - if I'm there, I can quickly use the wipe then slide my hand under in a "cup" - then grab the strip with my other hand to test.
 
Candy&Company said:
If your baby is comfortable with you you can use your hand too. For Fena, I keep a strip out on a sterile piece of gauze and an alcohol wipe - if I'm there, I can quickly use the wipe then slide my hand under in a "cup" - then grab the strip with my other hand to test.
Click to expand...

hmm okay i gotta say i don't think i have heard using your own hand as a cup before!
curious if you can get your hand near kitty's behind without them caring, why not just stick the strip in urine stream instead? what i do with tux and it sure is less messy lol
 
This won't cover everything but for now:
If there's even a hint of diabetic ketoacidosis you really want to get ahead of that. Treatable but the sooner the better.
It's true even the most relaxed cat will produce wacky curves at the vet.
Your profile should include more specific info. We can help you set up an online spreadsheet, pick a meter to use, what food to eat.
Your profile does say "any food he'll eat". Is he losing weight and/or picky? You should be feeding him something geared towards him, stay away from kibble and not get suckered into prescription foods.
No you're not crazy and screaming is allowed but not right now. We've all been where you are now, we just make it sound simple. Keep posting and remember that patience and information (numbers) are the key.
 
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