Bama
Member Since 2014
I made an introductory post earlier today since I was mostly a lurker in 2014 and only recently came back. This forum was responsible for Bama's 1.5 year honeymoon and I am thankful for all of the help you unknowingly provided me.
Quick history:
Diagnosed with DM and started ProZinc on 3/12/2014
Food changed to FF classics - 2 cans/day (previously fed Purina DM dry)
OTJ 4/14/2014 - 9/1/2015
Dental cleaning 8/4/2015 (probably unrelated but time relevant)
Restarted ProZinc 9/2/2015
Hospitalized for pancreatitis 9/5/2015 - 9/7/2015
Recovered from pancreatitis with no signs of chronic pancreatitis
Blood work on 1/4/2016 showed elevated BUN and creatine
*I included a more detailed history below as it was turning into a wall of text
Current status:
I am still struggling to get Bama regulated. Her numbers seem to be all over the place and can change quickly. How her body reacts to a dose seems to change day to day. At the end of November her numbers went wonky so I got a new vial of insulin to see if it was her or the insulin... it was her.
Bama had a follow up appointment at the vet on Monday 9/4. Our vet suggested increasing the number of feedings per day and/or switching to another insulin (most likely Lantus). We decided I would try increasing her feedings to 4/day and if I didn't see any change we would switch the insulin. He also mentioned he could refer me to an internist or endocrinologist to look for possible underlying conditions.
Yesterday I got the results of her blood and urine tests and her BUN and creatine levels are elevated. (actual numbers are in tabs in my SS) The vets notes are as follows: "There is no evidence from the urine of any infection, but diabetes makes some of the normal inflammatory pathways inoperative, so that is why the internists recommend a urine culture to check for any bacteria in the bladder (should be none) It is impossible to get a sterile sample from a pet with a free catch, so we need to do a cystocentesis, culture and MIC. ... More troubling to me is the increase of BUN and CREA which indicates significant loss of kidney function. This could be due to a UTI."
He said he can do the urine test to check for a UTI or he can refer me to an internist to complete the tests.
Actual Questions:
Does it make sense at this point to check for a UTI at my vet's office or should I skip straight to an internist to rule out kidney problems? Does anyone have experience with UTIs that would be applicable here? Could a UTI be responsible for the loss of kidney function or could it be CRF? If it is a UTI could the kidney function return to normal after treatment?
If I do see an internist should I try to see one at Michigan State? The recommended internist is at an animal hospital but the endocrinologist is at MSU. The recommended internist is closer than MSU to my vet's office but far enough from me that it might make more sense to try to go to MSU. (My vet is ~30 minutes away. The recommended internist is ~45 minutes in good traffic but ~1.25 to 1.5 hours in bad traffic. Michigan State is ~ 1 hour or ~1.5 hours in traffic.)
Extended History - stop reading now if you don't want/need more details than what was already provided:
Bama was diagnosed with diabetes on 3/12/2014 and started on ProZinc. She was eating Purina DM dry which was prescribed in 2011 for colitis. I made the switch to low carb wet food and the only food I could get her to eat reliably was FF classics. Between the insulin and diet change she was able to go OTJ on 4/14/2014.
Bama had a dental cleaning on 8/4/2105. The cleaning was done by a veterinary dentist and there were no complications or extractions. Her BG was a little elevated due to the stress and fasting. Unfortunately I was out of town 8/9 through 8/20 and was unable to monitor her BG. A few days after I returned she was starting to show classic DM symptoms and she restarted ProZinc on 9/2/2015. A few days later she was barely eating, starting to become lethargic, and acting like she was in pain. She was admitted to the animal hospital on 9/5/2015 for pancreatitis. She was discharged on 9/7/2015 to be syringe fed at home and was on clavamox (antibiotic), buprenorphine (pain killer), cerenia (anti nausea), and mirtazapine (appetite stimulant). She has recovered from her bout with pancreatitis and it does not appear to be chronic at this time.
Bama's numbers have been all over the place and I have been having more trouble regulating her over the past month. I feel that I should have posted here for help earlier but I can't dwell on that thought. I have been having health issues of my own which has made caring for her and tracking her diabetes more difficult. My husband has been helping with testing, injections, and feeding but we have found some alarming differences between our procedures in the past. One of these differences was we were reading the syringes differently which led to varying doses which doesn't seem like much but currently a small change in dose for Bama can have a big impact.
Quick history:
Diagnosed with DM and started ProZinc on 3/12/2014
Food changed to FF classics - 2 cans/day (previously fed Purina DM dry)
OTJ 4/14/2014 - 9/1/2015
Dental cleaning 8/4/2015 (probably unrelated but time relevant)
Restarted ProZinc 9/2/2015
Hospitalized for pancreatitis 9/5/2015 - 9/7/2015
Recovered from pancreatitis with no signs of chronic pancreatitis
Blood work on 1/4/2016 showed elevated BUN and creatine
*I included a more detailed history below as it was turning into a wall of text
Current status:
I am still struggling to get Bama regulated. Her numbers seem to be all over the place and can change quickly. How her body reacts to a dose seems to change day to day. At the end of November her numbers went wonky so I got a new vial of insulin to see if it was her or the insulin... it was her.
Bama had a follow up appointment at the vet on Monday 9/4. Our vet suggested increasing the number of feedings per day and/or switching to another insulin (most likely Lantus). We decided I would try increasing her feedings to 4/day and if I didn't see any change we would switch the insulin. He also mentioned he could refer me to an internist or endocrinologist to look for possible underlying conditions.
Yesterday I got the results of her blood and urine tests and her BUN and creatine levels are elevated. (actual numbers are in tabs in my SS) The vets notes are as follows: "There is no evidence from the urine of any infection, but diabetes makes some of the normal inflammatory pathways inoperative, so that is why the internists recommend a urine culture to check for any bacteria in the bladder (should be none) It is impossible to get a sterile sample from a pet with a free catch, so we need to do a cystocentesis, culture and MIC. ... More troubling to me is the increase of BUN and CREA which indicates significant loss of kidney function. This could be due to a UTI."
He said he can do the urine test to check for a UTI or he can refer me to an internist to complete the tests.
Actual Questions:
Does it make sense at this point to check for a UTI at my vet's office or should I skip straight to an internist to rule out kidney problems? Does anyone have experience with UTIs that would be applicable here? Could a UTI be responsible for the loss of kidney function or could it be CRF? If it is a UTI could the kidney function return to normal after treatment?
If I do see an internist should I try to see one at Michigan State? The recommended internist is at an animal hospital but the endocrinologist is at MSU. The recommended internist is closer than MSU to my vet's office but far enough from me that it might make more sense to try to go to MSU. (My vet is ~30 minutes away. The recommended internist is ~45 minutes in good traffic but ~1.25 to 1.5 hours in bad traffic. Michigan State is ~ 1 hour or ~1.5 hours in traffic.)
Extended History - stop reading now if you don't want/need more details than what was already provided:
Bama was diagnosed with diabetes on 3/12/2014 and started on ProZinc. She was eating Purina DM dry which was prescribed in 2011 for colitis. I made the switch to low carb wet food and the only food I could get her to eat reliably was FF classics. Between the insulin and diet change she was able to go OTJ on 4/14/2014.
Bama had a dental cleaning on 8/4/2105. The cleaning was done by a veterinary dentist and there were no complications or extractions. Her BG was a little elevated due to the stress and fasting. Unfortunately I was out of town 8/9 through 8/20 and was unable to monitor her BG. A few days after I returned she was starting to show classic DM symptoms and she restarted ProZinc on 9/2/2015. A few days later she was barely eating, starting to become lethargic, and acting like she was in pain. She was admitted to the animal hospital on 9/5/2015 for pancreatitis. She was discharged on 9/7/2015 to be syringe fed at home and was on clavamox (antibiotic), buprenorphine (pain killer), cerenia (anti nausea), and mirtazapine (appetite stimulant). She has recovered from her bout with pancreatitis and it does not appear to be chronic at this time.
Bama's numbers have been all over the place and I have been having more trouble regulating her over the past month. I feel that I should have posted here for help earlier but I can't dwell on that thought. I have been having health issues of my own which has made caring for her and tracking her diabetes more difficult. My husband has been helping with testing, injections, and feeding but we have found some alarming differences between our procedures in the past. One of these differences was we were reading the syringes differently which led to varying doses which doesn't seem like much but currently a small change in dose for Bama can have a big impact.
