911 please help

hello everyone! I am new here and really need some advise... My cat Sam was diagnosed with diabetes after two years of my neighbors feeding him kibble despite the many attempts and request to ask them to not feed him...

Anyways, i’ll get to more history later.

After he was diagnosed I was able to maintain his blood sugar by changing his diet to Fancy Feast classic’s. He was doing well and every time I checked his BS he was within range. I finally stopped checking. Then he started having all the symptoms again...increased thirst, urination, and appetite. Started to check his BS again and it was in the 300’s range. Started to give him some insulin again and then he looked really lethargic, not eating etc...took him to vet. When they checked his sugar it was over 500 they said. The gave him insulin and told me to continue giving him 2units in am and 1 unit at night.

He is still losing weight and this morning he ate only half a can of FF. I checked his BS prior to giving him his morning dose and it was 377. I gave him his 2 units. This glucose reading was after the half a can. Then he was just sitting by sinking requesting more water. He drank a bunch of water and about 15 mins later vomited most of the water he drank out. He now has been moping around really lethargic. Has not wanted to eat. I went to drug store to buy ketone test strips, but he has not peed yet. I retested his BS at 11:55 this morning and it was 345. We are using the prozinc insulin.

I’m not sure if I should just give him more insulin now or wait. I don’t want to bottom him out of he is not eating.

Also, when the vet checked him he thought everything else looked good, as far as possibly needing antibiotics. So, he didn’t take any. He thought is was most likely the uncontrolled BS.
Here we are again..seemingly same scenario basically.

Sam is 9 years old. Any urgent advise would be greatly appreciated. His vets office is now close and I would have to take him to emergency vets. I don’t want to send him to emergency vets if he just needs more insulin.

 

Welcome! This is the introduction/welcome forum. For questions about ProZinc dosing, it is best to post on the ProZinc forum: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/prozinc-pzi.24/ Other questions can go on the main health forum: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/feline-health-the-main-forum.28/

I am unclear on what the '911' situation is right now. Are you asking about whether to give an additional insulin shot? You definitely do not want to give the shots any more often than once every 12 hours. You want to make sure Sam does not have access to any food two hours prior to his shot time. Then, before you feed him or give the shot, you should test. So, the order is: 1) Test, 2) Feed, 3) Give shot. Then, you will want to get mid-cycle tests in to figure out how the dose is impacting him.

If he is acting strange right now, please test him to see what his current glucose level is. We are all on different time zones, so it is best if you put how many hours it is since the shot that you get a certain test result rather than giving us your local time. (For example, how many hours after his shot was the 11:55 test?) It is good that you got the ketone sticks. Hopefully, he will pee so you can test soon. Have you tried to get him to eat some different foods? Or maybe tried warming up his food and/or adding water or topping it with something like parmesan cheese?

Please post on one of the appropriate forums with specific info regarding the situation/emergency so we can help ASAP!

 

Good that you are testing at home. Sounds like he will need a dose change.... We can help with that. Can you set up and share a spreadsheet of all test results from the past couple of weeks? Also you will want to test before feeding so the preshot number is not food influenced. No food at least 2 hours prior to the preshot test.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

 

Thanks for your reply..i am new to the forum and couldn’t figure out how to post. The instructions said to look for orange icon. Couldn’t find one. I am about to recheck his BS in 15 mins.

I understand that the right order should be test, feed and give shot. My husband fed him before i woke up this morning and I needed to see where he kind of was even if he ate. The 345 BS reading was about 3 hrs from his insulin dose. In 15 mins. I will recheck and that will be 6 hrs peak time. He still has not eaten and is lethargic.

The 911 is if I should be running to vets with him or just try more insulin??

 

You do not want to give any extra insulin between the normal shots.

If he is lethargic, I would probably get to the vet to be on the safe side, especially if you have been unable to test for ketones. He may need fluids. I have not had to deal with ketones but have seen enough to know they can be serious.

This post really needs to be in the main health forum... you will get a lot more attention there. Emergencies do not belong in the welcome forum. Please click here then click on post new thread and post: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/feline-health-the-main-forum.28/ Let me know if you cannot do that, and I will post there on your behalf.

 

So what was the +6 number

 

Thank you..i figured out how to post on other section. Apologies ❤️

 

So, is he okay? I didn't see any other posts.

 

Hi! Thanks for being concerned with Sam! I ended up taking him to the emergency vets. His blood sugar in his CBC was 400, at home for me he was 230 about an hour prior to this blood work. He ended up getting some SubQ fluids and some antibiotics, some pills for nausea and appetite stimulants. Just got home not to long ago...we were there 5 hours mostly waiting.

He did eat a little bit when he got home and I gave him his 2units. He did have some ketones in his urine and they wanted to keep him overnight etc...but that would have been 1500-2000 dollars. I can’t afford that! The bill ended up at almost $500. I think the fluids made him feel better and he seems to have pepped up a bit. I think there was a little bacteria in his Urine sample but honestly they are not exactly what is going on..

 

keep an eye on the ketone levels. Go back to the er if it's more than a trace. You can get ketone strips at any pharmacy.

 

Welcome to the board, I hope all will be well. FurBabiesMama has already provide the links to the Prozinc forum and the Main Forum. Keep us posted please.