2 weeks post Hypo, need advice please

Hey all I am back.

Two weeks ago I gave my Cleo too much insulin. It's a long story but bottom line is I screwed up and have to live with that. At her low that day she was testing at 30. She was drooling and staggering but did not pass out. I rubbed honey into her mouth and rushed her to the emergency vet.

They put her on a glucose drip and flushed her with fluids. I took her home the next day. My regular vet took her for 2 days and did IV fluids on her. This seemed to help quite a bit. When she started IV fluids her BUN was 140. 2 days later it was 80 so that's an improvement.

I have been giving Sub-q Saline 100 ml twice a day for a week now. I have also been doing AM and PM tests and her sugar is fluctuating between 150 and 300 for the highs and lows. I am ok with it being a little high right now. She is eating a bit (Hills KD) but not nearly as much as she used to. I had to take her on Wednesday for an enema as she had a dry stool blocking her up and she stopped eating.

She is urinating in her litter box but is also sometimes peeing on other things (towels, sofa). She has not pooped today yet (Friday) so I'm worried she is getting dried out stools again. I have been mixing miralax into her food but she's not eating much so I don't know how effective that is. Her energy is not bad for her and she is at her best after her fluids. She also has bad breath. It was really really bad when I first got her home so it has improved.

Is there anything else I should be doing? Can anyone give me advice on what to expect? I know every cat is different but I need some encouragement. I really hope I didn't destroy her kidneys.

These past two weeks have been a nightmare so I'm reaching out to you all for a little help.

Thanks!
AndrewB and Cleo

 

Welcome .
You said you were testing . Are you testing any during the cycle or just at shot time?
Cats that have hypo'd can become sensitive to insulin. Fluids can also drop numbers temporarily.

What does her breath smell like? If it smells at all like acetone ( nail polish remover) than you could be dealing with ketones. Those can get dangerously
serious very quickly.
Do you have any ketostix? You can buy them at any pharmacy.
You will need to catch urine samples ( we have many tips) and test . ( fresh urine)

Was she tested for a UTI? peeing outside of box can be a symptom of diabetes but that's often when their numbers are so high and they are feeling their worst.
It's also a symptom of having a urinary tract infection.


Hills is an unfavorite around here. The ingredients aren't quality, too many byproducts. ( vets don't learn enough about nutrition)
A better diet choice would be any of the fancy feast classics or we have food lists if you want more info.

 

Hi Riannon!

Thank you so much for responding! Here are some answers.

I am testing at shot time and again at the low this week as I am off from work. The most Lantus I have been giving is .5 units when necessary but it's not always necessary. Tomorrow I will do a curve.

My vet tested for Keytones and they were negative. Her breath most definitely does not smell like nail polish remover. I will get some strips to test her though. I don't know if she was tested for a UTI. I do know her white blood cell count was sky high when she went to the ER but she was hypo at the time. Her latest blood work showed high phosphorous which I think explains the lack of appetite and perhaps missing the box?

I have had her on Royal Canin kidney food for the last year or so but she is not very interested in that at the moment. I am giving the KD simply because she will eat it. I am also giving her a bit of baby food etc. You know how it goes.

I did not know that hypo can lead to insulin sensitivity. I'll read up on that. Do you know how long that might last?

Thank you again so much!

 

I was syringe-feeding my cat baby food for a while after he had a HYPO episode. He was not eating by himself. So in addition to his Sub-Q fluids I was giving him about 3 teaspoons of turkey or chicken baby food every couple of hours. Don't know if its something you need to do but it did help my cat to get some food into his tummy while he was too weak to eat by himself.

 

do you have current data on her BG? What is she acting like now?

Peeing outside the box can definitely be a sign of UTI and elevated white cell count is definitely a sign of infection, which can also raise BG. Is her pee pinkish? That indicates blood and a probable infection. They need to take a sterile sample by cystocentesis, they draw a sample w/ a syringe. they can check to see if there is an infection in house. to be really sure and to know what is causing the infecton the sample must be sent out for C & S, Culture and Sensitivity.

There are several better foods that are both low carb and low phosphorus. Take a look at Tess's SS. there is a tab marked LC/Low Phos. and has a list of foods good for both FD and kidney disease. For phosphorus look for a food lower than 200mg per 100 calories of food.

 

Morning everyone. Thanks for the replies!

This morning her high was about 200. I gave her .5 units. I'm doing a curve today at 3 hour intervals so I will get a better picture of how it's going.

She is now using her litter box and hasn't had an accident lately. She does appear to be constipated though again. I definitely saw her straining to poop and nothing came out. Is there any kind of food I can give her that can help that unblock? (She won't eat pumpkin.) If not we will have to do another enema Monday.

Ann thank you so much for the food list! I have seen similar things but yours is more up to date. I will see if she will start eating they Royal Canin again since it seems to have the lowest Phosphorous.

After several days of intense fluid therapy I think the constipation problem is the biggest issue. She had an enema Wednesday and she is blocked up again already. She is drinking water and eating pretty well again.

Thanks all. I'll post her curve results at the end of the day.

 

MiraLax may help. Start low with 1/8 teaspoon.

Also go read Feline Constipation

 

If she won't eat pumpkin you could try a little psyllium husk powder mixed in her food. Slippery elm bark may help too. There is some good info on constipation on Tanya's site and then there is http://www.felineconstipation.org for more detailed information.

 

Update on Cleo.

She is blocked up again big time. I'm taking her tomorrow for another enema. Other than that she is doing well. I've been having difficulty lately doing fluids but I have some variations on techniques I'm going to try. Her glucose levels are floating between 150 and 300 but I won't be doing fluids twice a day starting tomorrow so that will change.

Onward towards full recovery!

Happy new year everyone.