Thumper 7/16 no real answers

Status
Not open for further replies.
Barbara

Barbara

Very Active Member
AMPS - 340
shot 1 unit
+2 - 362
+8 - 315
PMPS - 338
shot 1 unit

We went to the vet today after the +2 no real answers though. The vet I like the best was there & was shocked at what had gone on in her absence (but no comments on how the treatment went). I did talk to my favorite tech & she asked me not to repeat it but advised me to go to the other ER in town the next time I need it! She had a thorough exam, nothing and no fever. I asked her about the ER commenting on her knee & she said she felt some movement but didn't want to keep fooling with it & upset Thumper, she said there was a chance it could cause some discomfort that might mess with her #'s. She was gonna give me bupe but when she looked at the last bloodwork she noticed her thyroid was on the low side. She said that could be a U Thyroid (I think that's what she called it) reading, meaning the low # was due to everything else that was happening (I think that was the bloodwork done at the ER). She gave me Tramadol instead until we get this bloodwork back. I had noticed last night her stools were black so she gave me Carafate saying she could possibly have some ulcer type thing (geez I forget exactly what she called it). She said the only way to know for sure about that was to look internally. I am going to hold off on the Tramadol for now so I can tell for sure if this Carafate does anything. That is if I can get it in her! I have to cut this monster pill in 1/4 & it won't fit in my pill splitter then crush it & mix with a little water to shoot in her mouth. That was not successfull ohmygod_smile Any suggestions on how to get liquid down without choking her? So now we are just waiting for the bloodwork. She's not back in until Wed. so unless something dramatic happens I guess I'm waiting till then. She said the other vet could call me before then but we'll see about that. I'm not calling him. Another 230.00 and still no answers!

How long should I hang in these 300's before I increase? I think Joanna adressed that but now I can't remember for sure. I'll have to go back & read it.

On a positive note I didn't post all day cause we ended up going for a ride on the Harley, that's the first time I've been on it (just a rider) since last fall. It was nice getting out of here for awhile. Now I need to go catch up on Kim...looks like she's been busy today! She loves this dance. :lol:
 
Glad you had some fun today, Barbara. We do need to take some time for ourselves. Hope the tests reveal some clear-cut answers.
 
Interesting the vet & tech reactions! At least you got some confirmation that they s*ck, and got to see the vet you like. Not real shocked on the no answers though ohmygod_smile but hopefully at least they won't add any new problems!!!

I'd consider raising if the numbers aren't better by morning. She did get a decent drop last night. Possibly it was a little steep and that's why she ran high all day today? I'm not sure, but I think you may see some drop tonight, so see how it goes.
 
Joanna & Bix (GA) said:
Interesting the vet & tech reactions! At least you got some confirmation that they s*ck, and got to see the vet you like. Not real shocked on the no answers though ohmygod_smile but hopefully at least they won't add any new problems!!!
Click to expand...

Yeah, like "lets shoot some lasix & see what happens" ohmygod_smile That's the one she said might call me. I'm not gonna put a lot of stock in how he interprets the blood work.

Joanna & Bix (GA) said:
I'd consider raising if the numbers aren't better by morning. She did get a decent drop last night. Possibly it was a little steep and that's why she ran high all day today? I'm not sure, but I think you may see some drop tonight, so see how it goes.
Click to expand...

I wondered how much the stress of the vet played into that also. Does stress play into the #'s the rest of the day or when she gets back home is it an immediate drop? I can tell you she was noticably scared.
 
Glad to hear from you and Thump!

Hopefully you will get some answers soon. I normally take carafate and crush it-- add water and pull it up in a syringe and squirt down the back of the mounth---Don't know if that would work for you.

Good for you riding on the Harley!!!!

Since you, Denise, Donna, Angela and Ginny weren't around, I opened a thread for each of you to keep everyone busy!!!!

Hope Thumper has a good night!
 
So does Kitty take it? Do you have a pill splitter that big? I tried cutting it with a knife & it crumbled. I did try squirting it but I choked her...poor thing.

Yeah, I was trying to figure out which thread you were on so I could comment! :smile:
 
I think your pink day was a combo of her drop last night and vet stress today. I was really hoping her vet visit would reveal something.

You deserved a day out for a ride. I'm soooo envious. I swore that I was going to get out my sporty this summer but still havn't. I havn't ridden it in 2 years, I keep hoping that things would settle down around here but they don't. :sad: I wonder if I still remember how to ride it. :shock:
 
So they did a urinalysis and saw nothing then? What other tests did they do? I'm sorry you still are no where closer to what is going on with her! Your vet doesn't have a machine in his office? They sent out what kind of bloodwork? I assume they did a CBC? If so, do get the HCT reading to find out if she's gotten anemic. If her stools are black, that suggests a GI bleed in the lower intestine. The question is why. Did this vet offer any ideas about that?

Carafate is a pain to dose, but you do need to cut up those mongo pills into quarters, so a pill splitter is necessary. Some people crush and syringe, but I managed to stuff the quarters into gelcaps and pill them. I sometimes have to cut the quarters into two slivers to fit, but it works. Shaikha hates the gritty powder so I find I get more into her by pilling than syringing the liquid/powder mixture. Give the liquid in the side of her mouth so she can swallow it. Don't shoot it into the back of her throat. Carafate works well to control bleeds, but you do need to give it three times per day and preferably an hour before a meal or two hours AFTER one. Do not give it at the same time you give pills like Zantac or Pepcid as it requires stomach acid to activate it.

Tramadol is okay for pain, but unless Thumper seems to be having issues I'd hold off. It can make some cats wonky. Why did the vet give it to her? Did she think she was in pain from her knee or something else? Pain could be making her glucose higher, but usually you see other symptoms like appetite loss with that.

With numbers like you are getting for glucose, doing another tiny dose increase makes sense. You may be seeing a bit of a bounce, but it does seem she needs a little more insulin.

Erythroid sick syndrome basically means the cat looks hypothyroid but really isn't. Hypothyroidism is rare in cats from what I understand (hyperT is more common) but some cats develop a low thyroid as a result of another disease process in the body like renal failure or ... diabetes! It basically is a false positive result but the only way to be sure is to test free T4 if your vet is concerned. Here are two articles on it:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/phorum5/r ... ?8,1802097
http://www.vetinfo.com/cathorm.html (scroll down to hypothyroidism and cats)
 
Wendy, no urinalysis I think due to the fact I was telling them I saw no symptoms of urinary problems at all. When she has had problems in the past she would pee on my bed or on a plastic bag if she could find one (weird!).

They do some bloodwork in house but the last was sent out & she mentioned wanting to do this the same so they would be consistent. She mentioned a CBC and the receipt says IDEXX Total Health Plus with Free T4. Thumpers sister is hyperthyroid & I mentioned that I thought it was rare that a cat would be hypothyroid but she's just checking since they got that low reading. She did not mention what the cause of a GI bleed might be, just when I asked how is that diagnosed for sure she said something about looking internally.

I asked her if the rising BG could be due to some kind of pain (like her knee hurting) & asked if she could give me some kind of pain med as a trial to see if that helped BG. She said until we get the free T4 she didn't want to give bupe so she gave me tramadol to use if I felt it was necessary. She only gave me 4 pills.
 
Barbara said:
Wendy, no urinalysis I think due to the fact I was telling them I saw no symptoms of urinary problems at all. When she has had problems in the past she would pee on my bed or on a plastic bag if she could find one (weird!).

They do some bloodwork in house but the last was sent out & she mentioned wanting to do this the same so they would be consistent. She mentioned a CBC and the receipt says IDEXX Total Health Plus with Free T4. Thumpers sister is hyperthyroid & I mentioned that I thought it was rare that a cat would be hypothyroid but she's just checking since they got that low reading. She did not mention what the cause of a GI bleed might be, just when I asked how is that diagnosed for sure she said something about looking internally.

I asked her if the rising BG could be due to some kind of pain (like her knee hurting) & asked if she could give me some kind of pain med as a trial to see if that helped BG. She said until we get the free T4 she didn't want to give bupe so she gave me tramadol to use if I felt it was necessary. She only gave me 4 pills.
Click to expand...

Shaikha and Tabriz often had UTIs with no symptoms at all. It may not be an infection, but a urinalysis is easy and cheap to do in-house usually (assuming you don't send out for a culture). The CBC will show if there is an infection though. The free T4 (active form) is because they are checking to see if your cat does have thyroid problems. That will tell you for sure since the total T4 reading can be thrown off with ESS.

The post I pointed you to previously on the old forum mentioned another member's cat who tested low but who actually was hyperT. The latter is a more common condition so it is good they are testing for it just in case.
 
Rob & Harley said:
You deserved a day out for a ride. I'm soooo envious. I swore that I was going to get out my sporty this summer but still havn't. I havn't ridden it in 2 years, I keep hoping that things would settle down around here but they don't. :sad: I wonder if I still remember how to ride it. :shock:
Click to expand...

Robin, you have a sportster? That's what DH has....I just ride I'm too chicken to drive one! :smile: And I know what you mean about calming down. I thought life would get easier when the kids were gone but it has gotten more complicated & busy somehow!
 
Barbara said:
Rob & Harley said:
You deserved a day out for a ride. I'm soooo envious. I swore that I was going to get out my sporty this summer but still havn't. I havn't ridden it in 2 years, I keep hoping that things would settle down around here but they don't. :sad: I wonder if I still remember how to ride it. :shock:
Click to expand...

Robin, you have a sportster? That's what DH has....I just ride I'm too chicken to drive one! :smile: And I know what you mean about calming down. I thought life would get easier when the kids were gone but it has gotten more complicated & busy somehow!
Click to expand...

I do! An 883 low rider, I wasn't tall enough to get a 1200, my feet didn't touch the ground :lol: . I was always a passenger until my ex bought a new bike and they threw in a Harley Riders Edge class for free, he said no thanks I don't need a class and I said I'll take it. It was fun, we learned on a Buell Blast, and took the license test at the end of the class so everything was really easy.

But then life spun out of control for a while and I keep thinking that one of these day's I'll get my ducks in a row again and get back to living life.
 
Rob & Harley said:
I do! An 883 low rider, I wasn't tall enough to get a 1200, my feet didn't touch the ground :lol: . I was always a passenger until my ex bought a new bike and they threw in a Harley Riders Edge class for free, he said no thanks I don't need a class and I said I'll take it. It was fun, we learned on a Buell Blast, and took the license test at the end of the class so everything was really easy.

But then life spun out of control for a while and I keep thinking that one of these day's I'll get my ducks in a row again and get back to living life.
Click to expand...

Good for you! All I know about his is it's a Sportster and it's a 1997. His cousin owns a bike repair shop so he spends a lot of his time there now...like a kid...taking bikes apart & putting them back together! I haven't tried to ride a bike since I crashed my cousins mini bike when I was a kid! He was a dirt bike racer & I thought he was gonna kill me for crashing his bike...it was all ok though! :lol: OK....your mission is to get on that thing & go for a ride....do it tomorrow..even if it's around the block! BTW, is that where Harley got his name? :smile:
 
Barbara said:
Rob & Harley said:
I do! An 883 low rider, I wasn't tall enough to get a 1200, my feet didn't touch the ground :lol: . I was always a passenger until my ex bought a new bike and they threw in a Harley Riders Edge class for free, he said no thanks I don't need a class and I said I'll take it. It was fun, we learned on a Buell Blast, and took the license test at the end of the class so everything was really easy.

But then life spun out of control for a while and I keep thinking that one of these day's I'll get my ducks in a row again and get back to living life.
Click to expand...

Good for you! All I know about his is it's a Sportster and it's a 1997. His cousin owns a bike repair shop so he spends a lot of his time there now...like a kid...taking bikes apart & putting them back together! I haven't tried to ride a bike since I crashed my cousins mini bike when I was a kid! He was a dirt bike racer & I thought he was gonna kill me for crashing his bike...it was all ok though! :lol: OK....your mission is to get on that thing & go for a ride....do it tomorrow..even if it's around the block! BTW, is that where Harley got his name? :smile:
Click to expand...

Harley got his name because his purr is loud and his whole body rumbles.

My son has 4 motorcycles but crotch rockets and dirt bikes. He does endurence racing. He also takes them apart and puts them back together. We taught him to ride a mini bike when he was 6. He got my granddaughter a PW50 when she was 5. He is going to get her into racing soon.
 
+4 looks good!!!

I had a dirt bike as a teenager. We lived in the country in rural NC and there were farms all around us. I use to ride the paths to the joining farmland----drove my Mom crazy!!! "Be Careful.....Kim.,......KIM....are you listening to me!!" I can still hear her.
 
[quote="kse]I had a dirt bike as a teenager. We lived in the country in rural NC and there were farms all around us. I use to ride the paths to the joining farmland----drove my Mom crazy!!! "Be Careful.....Kim.,......KIM....are you listening to me!!" I can still hear her.[/quote]

My uncle & cousin were into racing big time. My cousin was good & evidently had a lot of potential, they traveled all around the country racing. Unfortunately he died in a car accident when he was 16. All that time he spent racing...and died on the highway 15 mins from home. You just never know!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top