? 1/4 Yum AMPS 653 does increased 0 carb food increase BG?

Yum spiked higher last night and this morning. I made the unapproved aggressive dose increase to 5.5 units yesterday morning. The only other thing different yesterday is I skipped her Animal Essentials prebiotics/probiotics last night.
I added that back this morning, although I doubt that is the problem. Fingers crossed though.
She drank 15 oz of water yesterday. Her water consumption has been elevated for a while.
She has not tested positive for a UTI since November, but I have to suspect that and of course high dose conditions.
This spike is so sudden. My poor girl.

 

Hope she is feeling better soon.

To be sure about the dosing try to always get that before bed test. (at any point in that pm cycle) With taking the dose up so quickly missing out on that could mean you miss seeing pm cycle lows which result in bounces giving you a skewed picture of how low the dose is getting yum.

 

That was a before bed test last night!!! After dozing off on the floor waiting for PMPS+3.5!!! I guess I could feed and shoot her in the morning before I shower and get dressed. That would give me an extra half hour every day for an insulin curve. I decided when we started that I would shower first, to maximize my alertness. Maybe I could do the routine in my sleep now. I don't think she went low last night, but that would be a good, positive explanation. It is so frustrating when they don't respond to the insulin as expected. I might try an 11 hour schedule instead of a 12 hour schedule.

 

I agree I doesn't look like she did last night. That's where those before bed are so helpful, It's when you aren't able to get them that doubt starts creeping in.

 

Yum is eating almost twice as much food as she was a few weeks ago. It is zero carb radcat raw chicken. I have increased it to help her maintain her weight. She is ravenous. Could this be increasing her blood glucose and insulin requirement? She also drinks almost 2 cups of water a day.

She lost 4 oz over Christmas at the vet. I had pre-measured out her food for them just as her appetite took off---and it probably wasn't enough.
When I gave her more food at home, she regained the 4 oz quickly and then another 4 oz. Now she seems plateaued. She is eating 66% to 100% more calories. It is cold here and the civvies are eating a bit more too, but not 100% more.

 

As long as she's reached a good weight and is holding then that is what she needs. If she is putting weight on and is overweight then you need to look at what you are feeding.

The high numbers will likely make her feel very hungry. That was my experience with George.

 

I noticed.

Here is your previous post where both @Marje and Gracie and I suggested you hold the dose a bit longer. Not sure what I can do to help you develop patience at this point. Other than that we both have seen many cats in higher numbers and rushing dose increases is not a good solution.

How many total ounces of raw is Yum getting per day? Neko did fine with 1/4 lb or 4 oz a day of raw. Hers was often zero carb and it didn't do anything to her blood sugar. Gill is right, it's the high numbers probably making Yum hungry. Especially since she's drinking buckets. What is Yum's weight now? Acros tend to also be always hungry (excess growth hormone), but it doesn't usually come with a corresponding thirst unless in high numbers.

 

I've been following Yum but haven't chimed in, also understand your frustration. When Doodles became the mystery cat after being well regulated, I thought every little thing I was doing contributed..i.e. food (nope, not the food), tossed out multiple insulin viles thinking they were bad (nope, just tossed over $700 in the trash instead). Nothing showed on his BW or x-rays but we gave a convenia shot anyway....basically just beat my head against the door. Got the Acro/ IAA test and he was 84% IAA (negative Acro) ....but also came a dx with advanced HCM & CHF at the same time only because I asked for an echocardiogram being that he was MaineCoon and it was suggested here on the board to do so.

I'd encourage you to get the IAA/ Acro test done to relive your mind. Also agree with Wendy & others....please be careful with raising the dose as you have been.

 

The vet and I like Yum to be just under 10 lbs. She was 9 lbs 14.5 oz before everything went bad in November. She was 8 lbs 12 oz when she came home from boarding last week. She has been steady at 9 lbs 4 oz for 5 days. She was eating a bit more than 6 oz of raw food a day, at 33 kcal an ounce (198 kcal a day). Now she is eating 10 or 12 oz a day, almost twice as much. (It's chicken, so lower calorie than red meat.). I've started estimating kcal consumed on her spreadsheet. She was stealing food from the civvies (who are now also on radcat raw, just to be sure she only sneaks the good stuff), but I think I have that stopped for now. She tries to steal my food too, which is a new behavior. Since she is underweight, fingers crossed her hunger is due to high BG and not Acro.

 

Thank you Karen. I emailed my vet today about the IAA/Acro test. No response yet.

I think Yum did have a real UTI in November (although they didn't culture it), which took her out of regulation. Then she had a bad reaction to the antibiotic. She's had 2 negative urine cultures since then. She has a heart murmur, but when she had an echocardiogram in August, the cardiologist said it was just due to her heart dropping in her chest---which is normal for older cats. She has CKD. The raw food has finally brought her phosphorus down. My one success of the last few months.

Okay. Okay. I will hold 5.5 for at least 5 and probably 6 cycles. I just worry about all the damage the high BG is causing.

 

Glad the echo was "normal" and good that the P level is down....celebrate the small things. Yes, I've been following Yum's UTI/ antibiotic issues. While no expert, to me.....there is something else causing her numbers and there is a resolve soon.

Good, I know it's hard but think safety. I thought Doodles was going to get neuropathy again with the horrid numbers but luckily he didn't. Soon after the IAA positive test we did switch to Levemir and it made a big difference. Take one thing at a time though.

 

Since Wendy has already said what I would have said, I won’t go there. But, we’ve talked about it before and I agree with Karen that it’s really time to get her tested for IAA/Acro. While the increased BG can cause her to be hungry and drink “more", eating double is beyond “more” IMHO. Trying to steal food from the other cats and off your plate is also more than just these high BGs.....again in my personal opinion.

Does she have a pot belly?

 

No pot belly. Now that you asked about the pot belly: her sister might have passed from Cushing's 5 years ago. She became ravenous; she had polydipsia; she developed a huge, round pot belly that eventually spread out everywhere. Her fur from a shave for blood work never grew back. The vets just had me put her on a diet! When her back legs were collapsing she went in to a famous surgical specialist for "knee" surgery and died on the operating table. Her blood sugar was over 500. I'm not sure he checked it before he operated: the time stamp on the analysis was after her death. Incredible incompetence from the professionals. And I was a trusting, clueless idiot.

Yum doesn't have the weight gain or the fur loss.

I am so grateful for the expertise in this forum.

 

I am so very sorry. How horrific! I can’t imagine a vet that would not check the BG before anesthesia. That is certainly malpractice but there’s nothing that can be done for your grief.

You know, Mary Ann’s Tuxie had Cushings and his sister appeared to be fine but later also developed it, and diabetes. I’d just keep an eye on Yum for those symptoms.

 

That's an unpleasant surprise.

 

Yes, being awake enough to do the testing is pretty crucial. I waited a whole 2 years, before I tried it! You're right to wait until the whole process becomes something you can do, literally, when half asleep.