amps 245- not eating- looking for future dose advice

Hello,
I posted last night about my cat Tennessee, who was diagnosed yesterday with pancreatitis. He has been able to keep down small amounts of syringe fed chicken and rice - up to 8ml. I am hoping to keep increasing amounts fed.
How much insulin should I give him this am? He was getting 2.25 u BID before the pancreatitis.
I cannot be home today to watch over him. The vet suggested no more than 1 unit- but I am leaning more towards .5 or .75.
Any advise would be appreciated.

Oh and apparently my spreadsheet is not linked correctly. Any advise about that would help too.

Thanks,
Andrea

 

Re: amps 245- not eating

Well I decided to go with just .5 units considering he was not really that high.
I will be expecting a higher reading tonight though.

 

Re: amps 245- not eating

Hi Andrea.

I am sorry that no one answered you post. You might like to edit your title so people know you are after advice about dosing.

What are you giving Tennessee for the pancreatitis? You could ask your vet about trying him on ondansetron if he is feeling nauseous or cerenia if he is growing up. Either way you want to get him eating and these drugs do help with that.

 

The vet gave me Buprenex for his pain and Ondansetron for the nausea. I also asked her about an appetite stimulant and she gave me mirtazapine.
I asked her about the other one (begins with a c?) and she said they don't have it in the office and that she has had excellent results with the mirtazapine. I am hoping to try it tonight if he seems to need it.
I am just not sure what does to give him. The vet said keep it no more than 1 unit because of the decreased eating.

My fingers are crossed that he starts to eat better soon.

 

I am sorry I can't advise on dosing as I am still a newbie myself. Are you able to monitor him?

Hopefully he will eat normally again soon with the ondansetron. Are you giving a 1/4 tablets every twelve hours? Make sure you give it about 30 mins before food so that it can get into his system. I have never used the mirtazapine but I know you shouldn't really use it without an antinausea med such as ondansetron as it can cause a food aversion to what you are feeding him.

Water also helps with nausea. Have you tried carefully syringing water into him? This needs to be done very slowly and the water should not be aimed down his throat but from one side to another.

With regards the chicken and rice I wonder if the rice is raising his blood glucose? Have you tried watering down his normal wet food in a food mixer so it can be syringed?

This post on pancreatitis might help

www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=83108

 

Yes, I monitor him when I am at home. The vet said that his glucose may be wild for a while.
I have been giving the 1/4 tablet of ondanestron every 12 hours. It is a fight getting him to take it though. I ended up putting it in a gel cap then coating it with a pill pocket (not the most diabetic friendly flavor- but better than nothing). It went down much easier this AM.

I have been giving him a small amount of water also by syringe after I feed him. He seems to also be drinking by himself- but hard to tell how much.

I decided to take the rice out of his mashed up food this AM, and just blenderized chicken and some Friskies pate and water. He took it well, and even licked a little off his paw at one point. He still has no interest in eating by himself, but at least he sniffed the food this AM instead of just turning his head away.

I am still holding on to hope that we will decide to eat on his own!

 

Sounds like your getting a schedule worked out for him. Keep monitoring the glucose to see how the 0.5 units is doing. If, after 2 full days of that, his glucose is above 200 mg/dL at nadir, I'd go up 0.25 units as it may help him to eat if the glucose gets down to better ranges.

 

I always use a gel capsule. I syringe a little water into the mouth to wet it. Then pop in the gel capsule and then slowly flush it down with at least 3 ml of water. As I am sure you know you have to be careful not to shoot the water down their throat in case it goes down the wrong hole but i aim it from one side of the mouth to the other and as they swallow down goes the capsule.

 

Last night he decided to eat on his own. Yea!
Of course I got home 1 hour before his shot. So I would normally not have given him food, but he asked for it so I gave him some. He is continuing to eat, a little at a time.
He went to the vet today and got some IV fluids, he also ate there. He seemed much better when we got home. Sleeping now.

The vet said to keep him eating and then worry about the insulin.

He was pretty high today, still in the 300's at Nadir. Maybe because he has been eating? I am going to up him to 1.25 units tonight, as the 1 is not really doing much anymore.

 

As the food intake increases, of course you'll need to adjust the Lantus to compensate for the increased work needed to process the food. You're taking this as it comes and that is fine. Go with what works for you.