New to Cat Diabetes

Discussion in 'Feline Health - (Welcome & Main Forum)' started by heymickey, Jul 11, 2017.

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  1. heymickey

    heymickey New Member

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    Jul 11, 2017
    Hello everyone!

    This is my first post, although I've been lurking for the past month, trying to get as much information as I could. My tuxedo kitty, Mickey, was diagnosed mid-June and have been treating him with Insulin (caninsulin) for almost a month now. We are on a bit of a rocky road atm but my boyfriend and I are trying to stay positive.


    Mickey is a 9 year old male cat that I adopted at the SPCA when he was a few months old. I remember seeing him climbing all over his cage, just so estatic to see us! I picked him up and he climbed right on my shoulder/head, and I thought, "This is the one!" We've been best buddies since.

    Last year my elderly cat (and Mickey's friend) had to be put down, as he was having TIAs every day and would not eat, drink, or move. The vet offered costly treatment, or the option to euthanize him. My whole family made the latter decision but I have never felt more guilty in my life. I felt like we could have done more, but decided to call it quits while we were ahead. This is relevant later.

    After his friend passed away Mickey became depressed: looking for his friend, less social and lethargic. Soon after this we also moved, creating more stress for him. Then we got a kitten (Puma), which was stressful at first, but seemed to get Mickey out of his funk. We slowly introduced them and they are good buddies now. Mickey became more social, put on some weight he had lost (originally 15lbs, then down to 13lbs) and all was normal again. However in May, it all changed again when I started noticing he was losing weight again for no apparent reason. On one day it was particularly bad when I noticed that he wouldn't come when I shook the treat bag. He looked thin and half awake. We rushed him to our (new) vet and hospitalized him for 3 days. They ran IVF and did multiple tests to try and find out what had gone wrong. This was very costly for us, but the only other option was to leave him untreated, or put him down. I already put one cat down without closure, and I could not bring myself to do that to my best friend. If we eventually HAD to put him down, I needed to know why he had become sick, and I needed to know that I did everything in my power to make that the last option.

    Mickey ended up having extremely high blood sugar reading (18) and we did a second blood test to confirm the diagnosis. We took him home and started giving him insulin shots of 1.5ml twice daily. We also changed our kitty's diets to wet food only. The initial couple weeks worked wonders on Mickey; he had energy back, and though thin, was eating normally. My Mickey was back!

    Unfortunately, less than a week ago Mickey started behaving "odd" at night. He would become tired, lose all energy in his limbs, pupils were dialated, and face was twitching. This would usually clear up in a few hours and it would be like nothing happened. We brushed it off to him just being hot, but my gut told me it was something else. That gut feeling turned out to be right; he had a full on grand mal seizure at around midnight on Friday. His "odd behaviour" turned out to be auras. The vet warned us about the possibility of a seizure and told us to give him honey if that ever happened. We did that and he recovered quickly. He was back to walking, running, eating within 10 minutes after the seizure ended.

    We took him to the vet the day after and they advised we take a day to monitor his blood sugar. Since then he seems to have Auras every night (no seizures) and occasionally during the day. I'm thinking it has something to do with the insulin dosage, since they start shortly after I give him his shots. Once I have the full chart I will consult with my vet.

    So that is where I am at now. This whole thing is extremely stressful and trying. Just a long emotional roller coaster. Sorry if this got long, or isn't the right place. I just needed a place to get this off my chest. Does anyone have any advice, or happy stories of their own diabetic kitty? I could really use positivity. Thanks :)



    TL;DR My 9 year old cat was recently diagnosed with diabetes. We are treating it but still have a long way to go until we are out of the danger zone. Advice or happy stories welcomed (and needed)!
     
  2. Tracey&Jones (GA)

    Tracey&Jones (GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2016
    Just to confirm - was your Mickey diagnosed with epilepsy or was he diagnosed as being hypoglycemic? I ask because it sounds like Mickey is having hypoglycemic events - (not enough blood sugar). Are you home testing?

    If Mickey is being given insulin and it is too high of a dose it will cause him to go hypoglycemic and may have seizures. You also started insulin and changed to wet food (which will be lower carb then dry) which is almost doubling down right out the shute.

    What insulin are you using?
     
    Last edited: Jul 11, 2017
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  3. heymickey

    heymickey New Member

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    Jul 11, 2017

    He was actually diagnosed (to my knowledge) with being hyperglycaemic. So the seizures are a surprise. Shouldn't he be normal with the insulin, not hypoglycaemic? I am home testing. Today's result so far is
    7AM tested 9.3
    7:30AM Mickey fed wet food
    8AM Mickey given insulin
    8AM tested 9.0
    10AM tested 1.7
    *Mickey exhibited hypoglycaemic symptoms and possible Aura. Was given honey and recovered.
    12PM tested 5.8
    2PM tested 7.8


    I realized after switching the diet and starting insulin at the same time that I probably shouldn't have done that at the same time. I think I just wanted him to get better asap, without considering other effects. But I'm thinking it is too late to gradually introduce his dry food diet to wet food? He eats only wet food now already and has no qualms about it.
     
  4. Tracey&Jones (GA)

    Tracey&Jones (GA) Well-Known Member

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    Dec 12, 2016
    Been there and done that!:blackeye: I am not experienced enough to give dosing advice but I am thinking that dose is too high now for Mickey especially in light of the food changes.

    Seizures can occur during the hypo. Have you read this thread on Hypos? If you haven't already, I would print this out and have it handy.

    Ok, that 1.7 is a very low number. What meter are you using a human or pet meter? And what insulin are you using? For me, using a human meter - anything under 2.7 is considered a possible hypo situation and the high carb gravy food, honey or syrup is out and I would be testing every 20 minutes until his numbers are up above that number.

    If I were you - I would copy your thread over to the Main Forum and post for some dosing advice. When creating your thread put the ? on it so we can get some eyes on it. See if we can get you a better dose to try.

    Do you keep a spreadsheet of your testing and doses? We do have the spreadsheet we use here and ask for when giving dosing advice.
    http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
    http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/understanding-the-spreadsheet-grid.156606/

    As well, when you have a moment you may want to put some pertinent information in your signature so you don't have to keep answering the same information over and over.:)

    http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/editing-your-signature-profile-and-preferences.130340/


    ETA - just realized you said the insulin - so yes, please post to that specific forum for some experienced advice on dosage per Yong's advice below.
     
    Last edited: Jul 11, 2017
  5. Tracey&Jones (GA)

    Tracey&Jones (GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 12, 2016
    BTW - Hi! I am from Canada as well. I think it is great you are home testing, that is the best way to keep Mickey safe and to help him the most with the FD dx.

    And just a note - diabetes is a heartbreaking diagnoses when it is first given but it is in no way a death sentence. He will just have special considerations going forward.

    And here is a couple of these..:bighug::bighug::bighug:.
     
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  6. Yong & Maury GA

    Yong & Maury GA Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2017
    Welcome Mickey and his Mum!
    Sounds like he was diagnosed diabetic via Hyperglycemic event but not quite DKA and after diet change and insulin is experiencing Hypoglycemic events. Come on over to Main Health to ask any general questions or you can post on Caninsulin/Vetsulin forum directly :)
     
  7. MrWorfMen's Mom

    MrWorfMen's Mom Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2015
    Welcome from another Canadian. It must be terrible seeing Mickey feeling so bad and having seizures. I seems from the BG readings that these episodes are a result of symptomatic hypoglycemia. Episodes like this can make Mickey even more sensitive to insulin. You mentioned a dose of 1.5ml which would be a huge dose of insulin! I presume/hope you meant 1.5u.

    I would caution you NOT to give Mickey that dose of insulin again as it is obviously too much for him and is dropping his BG far too low. The diet change no doubt has lowered his insulin needs. We do not recommend giving any insulin unless pre-shot BG is over 11mmol and at this point in time, it appears a dose of 1.5u may still be too high for Mickey. Hypoglycemia can be fatal and repeated episodes could lead to more long term health issues.

    I do hope you will post over in Health so we can help you get on a better path for both you and Mickey.
     
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  8. heymickey

    heymickey New Member

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    Jul 11, 2017
    Thank you everyone for your help and suggestions!
    First things first, I did mean 1.5 u! Sorry for the confusion! Still getting used to all this terminology. And yes I am using a human meter.

    I read that link on Hypo and it has some great information. I've booked marked it for easy access!

    I'd be nervous to not give his Insulin Shot... I already gave him his nightly dose and he seems to be doing ok. But maybe I will only do one dose a day until I see my vet. Would that be a dangerous thing to do? I don't want to give him too much insulin but don't want him to be deprived of it. I have more questions than ever. I'll post something in those threads mentioned by you guys (and will edit my signature) later. I have to get up early for work tomorrow :/

    Thank you once again!
     
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  9. MrWorfMen's Mom

    MrWorfMen's Mom Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2015
    Once a day dosing is NOT the answer to stopping hypoglycemic episodes. I understand your desire to make sure Mickey gets the insulin he needs however, it's better for his BG to be too high for 12 hours than it is for him to be too low for even a moment. Will be watching for your post in Health! You can use the link link "Main Health" provided in message # 6 in this thread for a quick link to that forum! :)
     
    Yong & Maury GA likes this.
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