Eppie & suspected insulinoma

Hi. I used to post on this forum quite sometime ago. It's been a while since I lasted visited, so apologies for that.

Eppie was diagnosed diabetic in 2007, fortunatly she went into remission after only about 3 months of insulin treatment. I have since controlled her diabetes by diet changes.

Her blood glucose on average has been between 5.5 mmol/L & 7.9 mmol/L

I have never been too concerned about this, as I assumed it was ok, but low, but managable without insulin.

However, I took her to the vets today and he suspects feline insulinoma. He rekons that her BG is quite low overall and that she maybe producing too much of her own insulin. I have quickly checked information & it does appear that he could be correct. He intends to do a range of blood tests tomorrow to try and determine if there is a problem. In the meantime, I'm obviously very concerned & am looking for other owners whose cats have been diagnosed with this condition & whether they can offer more information on this illness.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I would multiply the two numbers you posted by 18 to get the type of numbers I'm used to seeing in the US?

5.5 would be 99 and 7.9 would be 142.2. Those numbers don't seem low to me.

Are there any other symptoms of low blood sugar?

From Winn Feline Health, the article mentions "seizures, weakness, collapse, muscle twitching, etc."

http://winnfelinehealth.blogspot.com/20 ... n-cat.html

 

She has had a twitching problem for quite some time, but I didn't put it down to anything other than old age (she is 18).

I think the vet is concerned because her BG didn't rise much after food & when she was examined she mewed everytime he touched her in a certain place on her tummy on her right side. She also could have had slight seizures in the past that I haven't recognised.

I have to take her back tomorrow morning for blood tests & hopefully a diagnosis & treatment.

I just feel totally confused and quite upset about the whole thing. I thought all this time I had her diabetes under control, but now I'm not so sure.

 

Do the bloodwork, but also get some xrays if you can. We could be looking at athritis pain or something else going on. Xrays may help.

The vet is going to run a fructosamene? Maybe full bloodwork? Electrolytes, kidney, liver, thyroid values? Check blood pressure also?

Don't beat yourself up about anything. Eighteen is amazing. You are definitely doing something very right :mrgreen:

 

Thanks for the kind words :smile:

Yes, the vet has said he's going to do the bloodtests you mentioned & take things from there.

He gave her a dose of Metacam painkiller also.

Fingers crossed for tomorrow.

 

Just checked Eppie's BG & it's 7.7 after food.

However, I've read bad things about Metacam & am hoping Eppie dosen't experience any negative side affects.

 

That's not a terrible number after eating, some food spike, maybe. I still don't think you have low numbers.

But, if you do think there's been some seizures, definitely check the blood pressue tomorrow.

You only used the Metacam the one time, right? If so, I wouldn't worry.

If your vet suspects pain and wants to continue with pain meds, then you may want to look into other pain meds.

 

Yes only one dose of Metacam given. I will ask about other pain relief medications tho'.

I'm now thinking I may have opened a can of worms by taking Eppie to the vet. I'm thinking now I shouldn't have bothered as it's stressfull for Eppie & I'm not sure it's been one of my better decsions.

 

Sorry to butt in but what's the problem with Metacam? LB has just been given it for general unwellness. I haven't given it to him yet as we were also given antihystimine and I didn't want to start two new meds at the same time.

As for Eppie's numbers? They sound great to me.

 

Took her tot he vets this morning & had to leave her there. Unfortunatly, due to her agressive behaviour, they telephoned me and asked whether they could sedate her as they couldn't take bloods any other way. I was very hesitant, but in the end agreed. I now wish I had just said leave her and I'll bring her home :sad:

 

You took Eppie to the vet for a reason, something worried you. I know this is not what you wanted today, but maybe you can get some answers, either way. Please don't beat yourself up for being a concerned momma bean

Regarding LB and the metacam question, I believe you may have found your answers. I have used Metacam for very short term use. My neuro kitty took it after her dental, she can't take some other pain meds, so the Metacam worked for her. As with any pain med, don't over do it, if you can find pain relief other ways, add that. Heated bedding, ortho beds, natural remedies.

But, if you do have a pancreatitis cat, Bupe is a good choice. Tucker takes that quite often and does very well with it.

 

I decided against sedation & take the risk of not knowing.

She is too old to tolerate sedation just for blood tests & the vet and already said whatever the outcome, there wouldn't be much he could do except prescribe pain relief if needed. He told me to continue for a couple more days with Metacam. However, I did voice my concerns over the drug & he didn't offer any alternatives.

I will ask about the painkiller you recommend & see what he says. I guess it depends what is available in the UK.

 

What is your kitty doing that you suspect pain? Is it just when he palpated her belly? Does she seem to be in pain at home?

Like I said before, 18 is amazing.

 

I never actually suspected any pain, the vet just pointed it out when he was examining her and touching a certain area of her underside.

I initially took her because she appeared to have glassy eyes & I was concerned due to her diabetic history. The vet examined her eyes and said everything was fine. It kind of escalated from there really.

She has eaten well today & I intend to check he BG later.

 

Hi

I don't see a reason to be concerned about an insulinoma. They are extremely rare in cats and are diagnosed because a cat has hypoglycemic seizures while not on insulin. When the hypoglycemia is treated with IV glucose, the seizures often worsen because the glucose makes the pancreas secrete even more insulin (that is a hallmark of insulinoma, hypo seizures that worsen with treatment)... so as you can imagine, these cats don't usually do well.

I would ask your vet if he would prescribe some kind of oral sedation (like Valium, Xanax, etc) for you to keep at home to give before vet appointments. It is much, much easier to prevent the cat from revving up than it is to sedate them once they are in a full blown fury. Besides that, of course, it is easier on the cat.

 

I've been feeding her wet cat food in gravy & tested her BG today & it was 8.4

To be honest, I'm of the same opinion, her numbers look fine and although they go up and down, I always thought they were within a healthy range.

I think vets unintentially scare owners especially when it comes to diabetic related illnesses.

I'm just going to leave her alone and see how things go. She seems ok at the moment :smile:

 

Most of these gravy laden foods are higher in carbs than regular wet food. A lot of times people will feed the gravy from these foods to bring up blood glucose levels when they are too low. Which food are you feeding? Have you checked the carb levels on Janet and Binky's food chart?

 

I have been feeding her Felix in gravy and Butchers Classic in jelly.

No I haven't checked the carbs chart, not sure where it is.

 

Hi Hissie and of course Eppie
I remember you so well - It's Patti from the catacro board where you first posted and then we referred you here.

It's amazing to hear how well eppie is doing at 18yrs old. Everyone has given you great info so I really don't have anything to add except a warm HELLO.

http://binkyspage.tripod.com/nonusfd.html
Above is the link to Janet and binky's food charts for european/canadian foods. Hope this helps you a little.

 

You must be in the UK

I think those foods are fine...Janet and Binky's food charts are located at her great page http://binkyspage.tripod.com/