URGENT IS we still don’t know what’s going on with Sebastian

[Sebastian’s mom (Lauren)]

Someone asked me to upload his blood work. The vet said his platelet count looks low just because of the way they do the samples. And that his cholesterol was probably high just from stress of the visit.
She told me she is worried about him now and that she thinks his symptoms are due to just the diabetes. I told her I don’t think it makes sense that he was fine one hour and not the next instead of it being gradual. She still thinks diabetes is the sole reason for everything he is dealing with now. She was suspicious of it being neurological/ seizure activity after i brought it up. She suggested I have him hospitalized to receive IV insulin for a few days to regulate him and then see a neurologist, but between the two I would be looking at over 8k.
He got iv fluids, medicine to help him poo cause the constipation and she suggested I got him .25 ml of gabapentin to see if it helped since it’s possibly neuro/ seizure activity.
I had to sign a paper saying I wasn’t taking him to an ER and it could be detrimental to his health. I have never sobbed so hard. His dental surgery was WEEKS away. I can’t help but be mad at vets for missing his diabetes for a year, not pulling all of his bad teeth and now myself for being too mentally ill to help the love of my freaking life.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Here's your previous thread. We like to add the link to your most recent post so people can easily go back and see what's been going on and what advice you've been given.

@Marje and Gracie is really good at reading labwork so hopefully she'll have a chance to take a look.

I also sent you a private message on Facebook so we can get your Signature set up here. It's important that you keep your spreadsheet up to date so we can help you with dosing decisions. If your vet is so sure it's the diabetes being uncontrolled that's causing all this, we need to know what's going on.

Here's her current spreadsheet. I have talked to her about the importance of keeping it up to date so we can help her with her dosing.

 

[Basic's Mom]

Lauren, I'm sorry you and Sebastian are going through this.

I didn't have 10k to leave my cat either. He's still here and doing better. While I have no idea what is going on with your guy, I'm hopeful someone here can help you. I don’t know enough about labs to look at anything for you. I just wanted you to know you aren't alone. How you feel right now, we have all felt.

 

[Rebecca & Max (GA)]

I am by NO means a pro at anything lab related, but from what I can find/see is that your boy is dealing with hyperlipidemia (which can be due to the diabetes), and an infection or some inflammation somewhere. Pancreatitis can be seen as inflammation and affect blood glucose, but the ALT and AST levels are normal. High albumin can also indicate inflammation, but it can also be indicators of cancer, or kidney issues (NOT saying it’s either of those). So, I don’t really have anything concrete to offer.
You mentioned a needed dental, and we have seen the effects of bad teeth in cats- high glucose is very common. I hope someone with more expertise chimes in and can help. Right now, testing, keeping him eating, and comfortable would be what I would do. Any kind of stress will drive up glucose. Pain can too, so pain meds may be of help. Gabapentin is a common drug for seizures, but it has also been used to help with pain. My dog tolerates it very well when his IVDD flares up, but my CKD kitty (not diabetic) gets hit hard with even a small dose. If you are giving it, check glucose levels often to see if it seems to be helping. It is usually given every 12 hours, but with the my dog, it works better dividing the total daily amount into three doses (every 8 hours) rather than 2 doses (every 12 hours). I ran the dose by my vet to make sure I had calculated it correctly, though.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

I know you've spent a lot of the money you had saved for his dental. You might try looking into Care Credit which offers 0% interest from 6-24 months depending on the amount I think. There's also a new place that only offers help with vet bills (where Care Credit also covers human doctors/dentists). It's called All Pet Card and according to the vet that my Cheaser went to, if Care Credit denies somebody, All Pet Card had been easier to get help with (but I think they only allow 0% for 6 months).

Be sure you check before the dental if the vet has a dedicated anesthesiologist whose only job is to deal with the anesthesia and watch his vital signs the entire time. A lot of vets try to do both but when there's a "fragile" cat, a dedicated anesthesiologist can help make you feel better having one person doing just that.

The next time you post, I'm inviting you to start posting in the Lantus forum. Everybody there uses Lantus, Levemir or the bio-similars so you'll get the most experienced help there.

 

[Sienne and Gabby (GA)]

Before you post to the Lantus forum, your spreadsheet needs to be up to date.

Also, I suspect it is malpractice to tell someone they cannot take their pet to an emergency clinic. If your cat was hit by a car at 2:00 AM or if your cat is vomiting uncontrollably, I doubt your vet is going to be available to help. If this was a child, a pediatrician would be sued if a parent didn't take their child to an ER if the child was ill. (Especially so because many people use the ER as their primary care doctor.) Not to be snarky but this is the dumbest thing I've ever heard especially since there is a holiday approaching.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

your spreadsheet needs to be up to date.

She just started re-entering test numbers so has the last 6-7 days. I'll try to work with her on getting at least the previous week entered too.

I suspect it is malpractice to tell someone they cannot take their pet to an emergency clinic.

From what I understand, she wasn't forbidden to take him to an ER. The ER she was at made her sign something that protected their liability if something happened since she couldn't afford the 8K estimate they gave her. It was more of a "leaving against medical advice" type of thing.

 

[Sebastian’s mom (Lauren)]

Before you post to the Lantus forum, your spreadsheet needs to be up to date.

Also, I suspect it is malpractice to tell someone they cannot take their pet to an emergency clinic. If your cat was hit by a car at 2:00 AM or if your cat is vomiting uncontrollably, I doubt your vet is going to be available to help. If this was a child, a pediatrician would be sued if a parent didn't take their child to an ER if the child was ill. (Especially so because many people use the ER as their primary care doctor.) Not to be snarky but this is the dumbest thing I've ever heard especially since there is a holiday approaching.

They weren’t telling me I couldn’t, they were suggesting I hospitalize him to get iv insulin and then see a neurologist and when I told them I couldn’t afford the insane estimate, they made me sign papers basically stating I refused care to cover their butt. Which only gave me extreme anxiety and guilt thinking my cat won’t make it because I can’t afford this. Because why else have me sign this?
It’s also just weird to me because the day prior he was seen by the same vet and she wasn’t concerned and then suddenly is after I pay more to come back the next day.. symptoms hadn’t changed. He was doing poor both days.

 

[Sebastian’s mom (Lauren)]

Lauren, I'm sorry you and Sebastian are going through this.

I didn't have 10k to leave my cat either. He's still here and doing better. While I have no idea what is going on with your guy, I'm hopeful someone here can help you. I don’t know enough about labs to look at anything for you. I just wanted you to know you aren't alone. How you feel right now, we have all felt.

I’m glad your cat is doing better! What was going on with him?
Thank you so much! <3
Honestly it’s just really hard being alone with him right now. My mind keeps thinking of the worst. I had a cat pass away in my arms while I was home alone a few years ago. He suddenly got saddle thrombus at 1 after showing zero signs of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. I can’t go through something like that again and every time Sebastian sleeps it’s super triggering and worrisome for me. I hope this nightmare ends soon and he improves somehow. I just don’t know where to find answers or how to afford those answers.
I also hope someone here can give some insight. I can’t be the only pet parent who has seen this. /:

 

[Sebastian’s mom (Lauren)]

I know you've spent a lot of the money you had saved for his dental. You might try looking into Care Credit which offers 0% interest from 6-24 months depending on the amount I think. There's also a new place that only offers help with vet bills (where Care Credit also covers human doctors/dentists). It's called All Pet Card and according to the vet that my Cheaser went to, if Care Credit denies somebody, All Pet Card had been easier to get help with (but I think they only allow 0% for 6 months).

Be sure you check before the dental if the vet has a dedicated anesthesiologist whose only job is to deal with the anesthesia and watch his vital signs the entire time. A lot of vets try to do both but when there's a "fragile" cat, a dedicated anesthesiologist can help make you feel better having one person doing just that.

The next time you post, I'm inviting you to start posting in the Lantus forum. Everybody there uses Lantus, Levemir or the bio-similars so you'll get the most experienced help there.

I was denied care credit when I actually had a pretty good job, I no longer do. I’ll have to look into that other one though if all else fails! I’ve never heard of that so thank you!
I just feel like I’m in a tough predicament because I’m wondering if getting those bad teeth removed can help everything else improve (including the weird things going on now) or if these symptoms are something else completely and need to be resolved before the dental. Like do I put a cat deemed high risk through a surgery that could potentially fix everything or do I hold off on that because of possible complications and then the dental disease start to affect other things. It seems like an impossible decision to make. Even more so now that this vet is telling me he should absolutely not have that surgery and that it wouldn’t even make a difference.

 

[Sebastian’s mom (Lauren)]

I am by NO means a pro at anything lab related, but from what I can find/see is that your boy is dealing with hyperlipidemia (which can be due to the diabetes), and an infection or some inflammation somewhere. Pancreatitis can be seen as inflammation and affect blood glucose, but the ALT and AST levels are normal. High albumin can also indicate inflammation, but it can also be indicators of cancer, or kidney issues (NOT saying it’s either of those). So, I don’t really have anything concrete to offer.
You mentioned a needed dental, and we have seen the effects of bad teeth in cats- high glucose is very common. I hope someone with more expertise chimes in and can help. Right now, testing, keeping him eating, and comfortable would be what I would do. Any kind of stress will drive up glucose. Pain can too, so pain meds may be of help. Gabapentin is a common drug for seizures, but it has also been used to help with pain. My dog tolerates it very well when his IVDD flares up, but my CKD kitty (not diabetic) gets hit hard with even a small dose. If you are giving it, check glucose levels often to see if it seems to be helping. It is usually given every 12 hours, but with the my dog, it works better dividing the total daily amount into three doses (every 8 hours) rather than 2 doses (every 12 hours). I ran the dose by my vet to make sure I had calculated it correctly, though.

My vet told me those slightly raised numbers were just due to being at the vet and being stressed. He did attack me getting him into the carrier, cry the whole way there and hide under the chair. I’m not sure she’s right, but I’m just stating what she said when I brought up those numbers.
I hope someone with more info can chime in too! yes I’ve been testing him more often now, he’s been eating just fine and I’ve been keeping him as comfortable as possible. I did give him the gabapentin lastnight and this morning, but I’ll also reach out to the vet about every 8 hours instead of 12 because I too think 12 is far too long and doesn’t last. Thank you for your advice

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Even more so now that this vet is telling me he should absolutely not have that surgery and that it wouldn’t even make a difference.

Well as far as the "won't make any difference", he's just showing how little he knows, because even if it didn't improve his diabetic control, there are lots of other reasons for a good dental like keeping bacteria from getting into the bloodstream and attacking the heart (just one of the good reasons for keeping the teeth healthy)