03/08/20
Good with testing and injection. Another green PS, full dose given. He ate his snack sometime last night as his bowl was licked clean. Good appetite this morning, pretty much ate all of his breakfast. He's doing really great so far. Going to get some play time in with him today.
I was wondering if there were any questions regarding his surgery on Thursday that I might not think to ask myself, I figured you guys would probably know. Or is there anything I should expect after surgery or should know that would help me?
Hope everyone can have a great Monday, I believe it'll be a good week ahead.
I presume they know he's a diabetic? If not, you'll want to have that discussion. Then the matter of what time is the surgery? And when he'll be able to eat so he can have his insulin.
I presume they know he's a diabetic? If not, you'll want to have that discussion. Then the matter of what time is the surgery? And when he'll be able to eat so he can have his insulin.
Yes, they know. The surgery is some time after 9 a.m. we drop off between 8-9, they said they usually finish with surgery before 12 p.m.
I had conflicting answers with the vet and vet tech the other day regarding whether to give his insulin or not that morning and they didn't tell me if he could eat or not so I already know that's a question I need to ask although the answer is usually no food. The vet said no insulin but the tech said yes or half a dose. Another vet is doing the surgery than the one I spoke to so we'll see when she's back in this week.
They said leave his food, insulin, syringes, with directions. I made a point to ask if they'll be fine with the Lantus since it's not something they use there, they said they will look it up on the computer for directions but I could leave my own directions which I definitely will. I said I asked since you aren't supposed to roll Lantus and I want to make sure you knew if you didn't already.
They said they will give him sugar through IV during surgery to keep his numbers elevated. They will feed after surgery when he's awake and alert and will syringe feed if he won't eat for them then wait 30 minutes before giving his insulin. They also said they usually do a couple of glucose tests as well to monitor him. I always worry but I believe he's in good hands.
If the vet gives his insulin, his shot time will be off. You'll need to shoot 12 hours after they shoot. It may be best to let them give a shorter duration, fast acting insulin and you keep the lantus so your shot time won't be off. Anethesia can make some cats not want to eat afterwards. He may or may not want to eat for you that evening. You'll want to make sure he is eating before you give insulin.
If the vet gives his insulin, his shot time will be off. You'll need to shoot 12 hours after they shoot. It may be best to let them give a shorter duration, fast acting insulin and you keep the lantus so your shot time won't be off. Anethesia can make some cats not want to eat afterwards. He may or may not want to eat for you that evening. You'll want to make sure he is eating before you give insulin.
I'd rather not use a different insulin that he's not used to and they never mentioned it, feels like an additional cost that's not needed as well. Especially when they're only giving it so that he doesn't miss a dose. I'd rather just give him his insulin that morning since they'll be giving him sugar during surgery anyway or just skip a dose. I'm not sure how doing 2 half doses work and when I'd give his evening dose if I do that. I know he doesn't usually eat when he's stressed at the vet unless it's very tempting.
Thank goodness Thomas woke me up by scratching my door. For some reason my alarm didn't go off. Almost missed a +6 or +7. Still floating in the greens surprisingly enough, thought the HC would've made him rise higher but I'm not complaining.
I mostly played it by ear with the morning shot before anesthesia, based on whether I thought Neko's nadirs were dancing a little low and how much monitoring she was going to get. Given Thomas's number, I really wouldn't worry if you had to skip. And I wouldn't leave the insulin or syringes either. Even when Neko had to stay overnight in ICU, I came in and gave shots, provided she wasn't too low. Some cats won't eat much, if any, at the vet. I would leave food, so they don't find some nice high carb food to give him ins
The question on how late you can give food the night before, or even in the morning, depends partly on the type of anesthesia drugs they are using. I would go by what the vet says, and of course keep reminding them he is a diabetic.
Also ask about what pain meds you'll get, and if he'll be on antibiotic.
See if you can leave a towel or old T-shirt, rubbed with your scent in his kennel so he has something comforting with him.
