Tigger Diabetes, Heart Failure, Thyroid Disease & Cancer

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sarahbera1

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Hello All,

I was a previous member of the old site, for a very short time. Tigger was diagnosed with Diabetes in late October/early November. When I first went on the old site, I was overwhelmed and quickly stopping posting. Tigger's Diabetes is NOT under control. He was diagnosed with Heart Disease on 12/29 and 2 1/2 weeks ago diagnosed with Thyroid Disease. Needless to say I am very overwhelmed now. He has been to the ER Vet 2x since his 12/29 visit. His BG is a "little" better then when we started, but we still have been bumping up the dose. He is now @ 5 units of Insulin 2x a day, Lasix (for heart) is 1 1/2 pills every day and his thyroid meds 2x a day oh and he has a "gel" I have to put on his food for his potassium 2x a day. I'm getting exhausted. I believe his diabetes is not under control due to his heart disease and we thought that with the increase in his Lasix and the introduction of his thyroid meds it would get better, but no (not yet anyway). Oh I can't forget to tell you that he has nodules on his lungs, which look like cancer and we don't know where that stemmed from. I'm giving him about 2 months before I have to make that tough decision. Basically it's his heart that will give out before the diabetes impacts him. Anyone else have any similar situations. I'm looking for some support and an ear or two to talk to.

Thanks,
Sarah & Tigger
 
Oh how overwhelming! I cannot offer advice on the other conditions, but I'd like to try and help you manage the diabetes. First question would be, are you testing blood glucose levels at home?
 
I was testing all the time, but I can't do it. It's too much for me. It was driving me crazy. I do a curve myself @ home every 2 weeks and the vet and I decide what the next step is from there. My ER vet is pretty big and he says that Tigger is one of the only cats there that is this high on his insulin injections (5 u 2x/day). I really don't think his diabetes will be under control unless his heart disease is(which is unlikely to happen). The vet only gave him 6-12 months and that was on 12/29. I guess my main focus is his heart then his diabetes. He is on fancy feast about 2 1/2-3 1/2 cans 2x a day). Insulin 5 units 2x a day. He still is soooooooooooo hungry though. The 2nd time he was at the vet, he went for routine bloodwork and was admitted with a heart rate of over 60. Last time (this past Sat) he went for a check up w/his doctor and was freaking out, but I calmed him down (still there for over 3 hours though). I have decided that he won't be going back to the vet as he exacerbates his heart condition when he is there. So the next time he will go to the vet is when I put him down. I am just going to manage him at home and was hoping to find someone out there in the cyber world that I could talk to.

Thanks,
Sarah
 
Ok, gotcha. 5 units BID is a lot, and I've no idea how his heart condition might affect it, so hopefully Jess/Jojo/Dr Lisa can see this soon.

THere are many cats here with heart issues/hyperT and cancer, but not many all at once :cry: What does your vet say about the first 2? Is his heart condition managed reasonably well by the lasix? what are you doing for the hyperT (I assume tapazole pills twice a day).....

I can't tell you what is doable and what isn't. I can tell you though that sometimes it is very overwhelming but then someone comes along with some advice that makes things doable again, and I hope that is the case for you. And if it isn't 'doable' to turn all these things around, then you do what you can to make him comfy and you let him know that he can tell you when it is time for you to help him go....

Big hugs

Jen
 
First, I want to let you know how sorry I am you and Tigger have to go through this. I do know certain things trump diabetes when needing to be treated...heart problems for sure. But that doesn't mean you still can't get a better handle on his diabetes and treat that accordingly. It will take time.
I know hyper-t can make the other organs work faster thus wearing them out quicker. Has he been seen by a cardiologist to confirm heart disease?
My Remi(GA) had cancer and diabetes and crf all at once. It was a balancing act. He got to eat whatever he wanted and I gave his insulin based on that. I had to moniter him well.
I can only imagined how overwhelmed you are and I really hope sweet Tigger will get better. But if not...he knows you love him and will do your best for him.
 
> He is now @ 5 units of Insulin 2x a day, Lasix (for heart) is
> 1 1/2 pills every day and his thyroid meds 2x a day oh and
> he has a "gel" I have to put on his food for his potassium
> 2x a day.

Gwyn is on 19 different medications. The only way I can handle it these days is to get as many meds as possible in pill / gelcap / powder form. I have ten tiny bowl-things and every ten days I sit down and put all the appropriate pills for a day in a bowl and then crush them all into a powder, open the gelcaps and pour them over the pills, and then measure and sprinkle the powders over everything. Then I stack the little bowls on top of each other and, each evening when I open a new can of food, I sprinkle all of the meds on top and mix it in thoroughly.

There're still injections and stuff, but being able to set up the majority of the meds for ten days in advance and mixing them into Gwyn's food is the only way I have the energy to deal with them. I don't have the energy to pill her multiple times a day, and Gwyn doesn't have the lingual strength and dexterity to really handle it either. I used to get a lot of her meds compounded into liquids, but that became extremely tedious somewhere around medication #10. I'm all about the pills and powders nowadays. Not sure if that helps or not, but it's how I handle things.


If the gel is potassium gluconate, you can get that in powder or pill form as well (and can even pick up the human form in local vitamin / health food stores).
 
Hi Sarah

I'm sorry to hear how much you and Tigger have struggled. Is Tigger under the care of a cardiologist? As his heart might be his most pressing issue, I would meet with a cardiologist if there is one in your area. A listing by state and country can be found at http://www.acvim.org . If there are several in your area, I can let you know if I am familiar with any of them (I am a veterinary cardiology nurse). It sounds like you've been given an overwhelming amount of rather frightening info and could use some help slogging through it. With the hyperthyroidism, diabetes, and the unknown lung stuff, an internist wouldn't be a bad idea either.

I know you said that the frequent blood testing was driving you crazy, but from what I'm reading from your post, I wonder if it isn't worth the hassle to start documenting his BG twice daily because it may help you both to wrangle one condition under control (which I think will make you *both* feel better). Also, for cats with heart disease, dehydration can become a problem so being better regulated can help indirectly. This board has terrific insulin support groups that are active and can walk you through the process of closer regulation. I don't think that cardiac disease precludes having good control of the DM, if the cardiac disease itself is well-managed. A cardiologist can make all the difference in the world here (the more complicated the case, the more need there is of expertise) so if there is one available to you, I'd make an appointment asap.

Hang in there, and keep posting. We're all here to help each other.
 
Did you know that lasix can cause hyperglycemia (according to Plumbs Veterinary Handbook)? I have had diabetic cats on lasix for CHF and they also had cancer and found that the bg's were very difficult to control. I don't want to discourage you but to let you know it's not your fault if you aren't getting the bg where you want it. Don't know what insulin you are using but you might consider an insulin you can dose more frequently (like BCP PZI) although I know you didn't want to test as often. Just some thoughts and my experience with 3 diabetic cats (2 with cancer) on lasix.
 
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