Update on Shaikha - still >600 :(

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wombat88

wombat88

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We increased her dose to 2.8 units this AM, so am hoping the big bump will make her numbers budge down. She's been over 600 AM & PM PS since the evening of 5/9. :sad: We increased her dose by 0.2 units yesterday, but it didn't make any change that could be measured. Her mid-cycle was 443 at +4.5, so though she's comes down a little with insulin she's still awfully high. My vet concurred with the higher dose. He thinks stress may account for some of this, since she's had a change in environment with my being gone and with her companion dying a few weeks ago, but doesn't think that's the whole story. She started to get sick when he did and got worse after he died, so I do think that's part of it since they slept together, played together, etc. Poor little thing. She is very sensitive and timid, so that may be complicating matters.

Will let you all know how she does this PM. At this point I'll be doing somersaults if she gets into the reds or even a low black PMPS. Vet is concerned about ketones, so if she doesn't come down he wants to do a curve and check her again later this week. Am praying we get a drop in BG tonight.
 
Fingers and paws crossed that the new dose will make a difference. I am so sorry you are having to deal with this long distance. I imagine that Shaikha is not the only one who is stressed. ((Hugs)) for you both - and your petsitter!
 
So sorry you're having to try to deal with all of this from so far away! Just letting you know I'm thinking of both of you & hoping BG comes down! Where in Alabama are you? I'm visiting Ft Walton Beach, FL next week and going over to Orange Beach on Sat. Wish there was something I could do for you while I was there but it looks like she's in good hands. :YMHUG:
 
If this new dose doesn't work, what do you all think about a "shock" dose like 3.5 or even 4 (on a day when he can be closely monitored, obviously) - something to really push his numbers down? I thought I'd read about that somewhere. If that's completely off base, please ignore.
 
I know you are very stressed as well as Shaikha with the high numbers.I hope the higher dose will start bringing her down. It sounds like she is being well taken care of by the sitter, but I bet she is missing you and confused still missing her feline companion that went to Rainbow Bridge recently.
Sending prayers and good vibes.
)))HUGS(((
 
Barbara said:
So sorry you're having to try to deal with all of this from so far away! Just letting you know I'm thinking of both of you & hoping BG comes down! Where in Alabama are you? I'm visiting Ft Walton Beach, FL next week and going over to Orange Beach on Sat. Wish there was something I could do for you while I was there but it looks like she's in good hands. :YMHUG:
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I'm several hours north of there, basically in the middle of nowhere (turn at the cow pasture...). Not much here except farms and trees. Enjoy those lovely beaches! I used to live near Destin so I miss that area greatly! Thanks for the thoughts and prayers! I sure hope the dose change budges her numbers. Am on pins and needles waiting for the next update.
 
KristenP&Sam said:
If this new dose doesn't work, what do you all think about a "shock" dose like 3.5 or even 4 (on a day when he can be closely monitored, obviously) - something to really push his numbers down? I thought I'd read about that somewhere. If that's completely off base, please ignore.
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We do talk about a BAM dose sometimes - I'm not really sure what the level is though that you increase. I'd be hesitant to increase by that much at once, but I do agree with raising in 0.5 increments rather than the 0.2. I don't think it's a terrible idea given it's dry food, but I'd be hesitant to really advise it to anyone, and yes you would definitely need to monitor if you did something like that.
 
Well, the last reading hasn't changed. She was still over 600 tonight. This is discouraging, but not knowing how high she really was since the reading is off our scale, who knows whether she dropped a lot or not. My friend will take her to vet tomorrow if she reads over 600 again so he can check for ketones and do a curve, and if need be, administer an insulin that would bring her down some under their supervision. I think that is best at this point since she doesn't appear to be budging. Other than the high numbers, she's eating and drinking, so no signs of ketosis like lethargy, vomiting, etc.

Will let you all know what the morning brings.
 
Maybe the vet will be able to give her some short acting insulin like R that will help her out of these high numbers. Thinking about you both and hoping things improve.
 
Sue and Oliver (GA) said:
Maybe the vet will be able to give her some short acting insulin like R that will help her out of these high numbers. Thinking about you both and hoping things improve.
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I just sent him an email asking what he thinks we should do and suggesting something like that. As long as she's at the vet and can get continuously monitored that should be an option I'd think. Not sure how well he's set up to do that sort of thing, but hopefully he is.
 
Gosh I hope they can get things figured out. It's scary how she could have gone so high, when you look at the SS just a few weeks back the #s are so completely different. confused_cat

sending hugs & good wishes :YMHUG:
 
Joanna & Bix (GA) said:
Gosh I hope they can get things figured out. It's scary how she could have gone so high, when you look at the SS just a few weeks back the #s are so completely different. confused_cat

sending hugs & good wishes :YMHUG:
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I'm beginning to worry we may have some sort of a tumor pumping out stuff that is causing this. I hate to even say that, but I can't think of what else would cause things to go so wacky so quickly. Her other bloodwork and physical exams don't suggest one, but the pancreas is so small and he doesn't have an ultrasound so hard to tell what is happening in there. So far the only good thing has been her liver values (normal). I do think this is her pancreas gone wild, but why is the question. Hopefully it is just inflammation, but in the past infections have caused values to go nuts. The vet can check urine to see if she's got a UTI or other issue. Don't know what else to think. We can also try dropping the steroid dose, but that can create other issues.
 
I think you can counter the steroids, it might just mean she needs more insulin. I wouldn't lower them if that is what is keeping her eating & such.
 
Hi - Sorry to see that you are having so much trouble. It's weird how bad her numbers got just recently. This is just speculation, but what about the possibility that she might be getting too much insulin? Your SS notes say that you were treating a UTI a while ago. If that cleared up, maybe her insulin requirement went down and now her dose is too high and you are seeing high BG numbers because of rebound. My cat, Argyle, seems to get diarrhea/vomiting when she gets too much insulin. Also, could the Flagyl be affecting her appetite? It's so complicated!! Good luck and hope things improve.
 
Joanna & Bix (GA) said:
I think you can counter the steroids, it might just mean she needs more insulin. I wouldn't lower them if that is what is keeping her eating & such.
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That's why I'm hesitant to change the dose. We've tried, and every time she simply got worse. She's got IBD and pancreatitis, and steroids seem to keep both conditions in check. When we drop it, even with the smallest change and longest taper, she gets worse and we have to go back up on dose. I think you are correct about needing more insulin. Wish we could figure out what that dose is, and quickly.
 
jackie said:
Hi - Sorry to see that you are having so much trouble. It's weird how bad her numbers got just recently. This is just speculation, but what about the possibility that she might be getting too much insulin? Your SS notes say that you were treating a UTI a while ago. If that cleared up, maybe her insulin requirement went down and now her dose is too high and you are seeing high BG numbers because of rebound. My cat, Argyle, seems to get diarrhea/vomiting when she gets too much insulin. Also, could the Flagyl be affecting her appetite? It's so complicated!! Good luck and hope things improve.
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We did try dropping her dose, but the consensus here was that she wasn't rebounding and that she needed more insulin, not less. She's had a number of UTIs. She tends to dump sugar in urine, which seems to make her more prone to them, plus she has very little natural immunity because of low white cell counts. I haven't seen flagyl impact her appetite. It has been good, actually. I think it has helped the IBD a lot. We will likely try reducing dose eventually, but my vet wanted to ensure the bloody stools were gone first.

She's got pancreatitis, so it tends to make blood sugar less predictable in her case. This isn't the first time I've seen BG go wild, but this is the worst, I admit.
 
She is at the vet right now. She was still over 600 this AM. They are doing bloodwork, etc. Will post when I have an update.
 
oh Wendy i'm so sorry all this is happening for both of you while you are away.
know you and Shaikha are in my...and all or our thoughts today.
 
The good news is that her electrolytes are great and she has no ketones!!!! The rest of her blood work looks good except for the unregulated glucose levels. I wasn't able to talk to the vet because he had an emergency surgery, but they are giving her some special insulin that is given into the muscle hourly and monitoring her until they can get her down to a level they are happy with. Once they have done that, they will work on getting a dose that will work for her. It is nearly midnight here and it will take a few hours before they know much of anything, so I'm heading to bed. The vet will email me in a few hours to give an update so I'll know more from him directly. Still not sure why her levels got to wacky but I guess it is just her pancreas gone mad. They work late tonight so she can get an extra long time in the clinic, which is good. Don't know if I can bring her home tonight or not, we'll know more I suppose based on how she reacts to the insulin I guess.

Prayers would be welcome. I'm so scared for her, but no ketones I think is a good sign. He also said she's ravenous, so that's also good too.
 
Prayers...
and peaceful, calming, loving vibes for dear extra sweet right now Shaikha. Be calm sweet kitty...mama is coming home before you know it.
 
Thank God no ketones,
I am so sorry you are both going through this while you are away
You are both in my prayers!

Denise and Shakes
 
Just a brief update, but they have finally got her to 300 after several doses of the special insulin every hour and were switching to insulin subQ. He told me not to worry that he thought we would get her regulated and verified no ketones. I plan to call the clinic in an hour or so to see how she's doing if I don't get another response via email from the doctor. Apparently they have been swamped today but it sounded like they were monitoring her very closely. Not sure yet what the treatment plan will be but wanted to give an update. Back to sleep for me for a little while.
 
Glad to hear they got her BG down at vet's and her bloodwork was good and no ketones.
Sending prayers and reiki, surrounding Shaika in healing pink light.
 
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