*HYPO EPISODE*

Hi everyone. I can really use some support here I am hurting so badly. My nina girl is 9 recently diagnosed with diabetes around december or january. She was doing fine we seemed to get her regulated, we had upped her insulin dose to 5 which seemed to keep it at bay. She was gaining weight eating and looking great. My parents went away last week she suddenly stopped eating her dry food (we never switched her to wet as she liked dry so much the vet believed this was ok) i rushed her to the vet as i didnt want her getting insulin with only a few pebbles of food in her that day. He said she looked great, took her sugar and it was almost perfect. He couldnt believe it maybe she was improving and needed less. we switched her to some wet food they had in the office Hills and then to purina dm she went home and was acting fine. She savagely ate the wet food she seemed to love it! All was going Ok until Monday night i was getting ready for bed and noticed she seemed a bit off. Sluggish not alert and eyes very wide. She did not look steady. I decided to stay awake and watch her. Within the hour at about 10 pm she looked weaker, she then tried to go down the steps and slipped she couldnt stand right. I immediately called the emergency vet line because at this time it was about midnight. He said it seemed like a hypoglycemic episode and watch her closely. He said try to feed her and have honey handy/something sugary if she seems off and go to an open emergency vet immediately if she does not seem right. Well, she ate about a half a can. She was laying down relaxing for another hour when all of a sudden she woke up abruptly.. she was having a seizure. Spinning so hard she slipped down the steps. I ran to get honey rubbed it in her mouth (she bit my finger and her poor tongue) nervously i rushed her to emergency care as quickly as i could. Within hours (i spent the night there) levels were rising. By yesterday she was stabilizing . Still not very high but it was rising. She was IVs the entire time and given glucose. I visited with her, she ate from me and seemed alert and okay. Things were looking UP. This morning they called to tell me they were going back down again her sugar levels.. but not to a point where it was a very big concern. From what they said this can stay in her body for quite awhile, she may have even gone in to remission without knowing hence an insulin overdose. They let us take her to our vet and said we could even take her home and just watch her closely. The vet said she looked very alert he did an ultrasound everything looked great. Although he was worried about the drop in sugar he thought it would be good to get her home with some TLC feed her and she could relax. Her breathing had been elevated since being in that hospital. She doesnt like being around animals much. So longg story short (im sorry im so upset!) she cAme home. She looked okay.. ate half a can. She was sniffing around trying to get acquainted to being back home. Within the hour she seemed alittle off . She was acting not as alert .. me and my mother gave her some liquid sugar from the vet we were nervous it was dropping again. She seemed okay for about a minute then she did a twitch and was drooling out the liquid. That was it into the car and back to emergency care for me. Since being there the sugar has risen. She is back on IVs and they agree the twitching could have been levels dropping and onset of another seizure on the way. She was through alot the past few days. My poor cat. Since then, it has been stabilized . Me and my mom went in to try and feed her as its very hard for them to get her to eat but she seems to with us.. she was out for about 5 mins no food and a shake/twitching started that she did not have. She was very tense and twitching. I was so nervous i ran to get the vet he took her sugar and it was Ok. He said this could all be residual shes been through so much. She is back on IVs for now (this all happened Monday 2 am) i am hoping and praying she pulls through this. I am so stressed and so heartbroken. She is such a good cat who doesnt deserve this. Has anyone been through a similar episode. Holding on to all the hope i have left in me. Thank you to whoever reads this!!!!


Prozinc is the brand. She started at 1 cc went up to 2 cc within her next visit (a few weeks) went up to 3 within another 2 months or so she was on 2 and 3 for a bit. and as it wasnt getting regulated we upped it to 5. (This past month or so) she was eating Iams Proactive health for this whole time until just this past week i had her on Hills emergency care wet food from the vet and then to purina DM monday i got from the vet. I was not told or taught to test the glucose however the emergency clinic has now told me how to do it for future reference. She isnt on any other meds and has never had a health issue until the diabetes. All of her xrays and ultrasounds have been good. Though there is a small marking on one of lung areas that the vets were however not alarmed by. No fluid anywhere was seen as of this afternoon. Her breathing is elevated, as she is nervous. This wasnt the norm for her breathing though at all by any means. They have toyed with the idea of asthma now still we dont know being she is so nervous.
UPdate: emergency clinic just called the twitching seems to have stopped levels are staying the same. She is alert.

Praying she fights this!

 

I'm glad you posted here. I answered again on the other thread in the welcome forum. I hope others see this soon.

 

Thank you so much for the support!

 

Nina yesterday evening in good spirits hoping we can get her back to this state.

 

Might i add on top of being stressed and unable to sleep .. i myself had to go get a tetanus shot and antibiotics as the dr was afraid my bite during her seizure could get infected. Its been a tough few days !!

 

Please do post here to learn more about helping your lovely kitty. There's a lot to learn but you'll be glad you did after the awful scare you've had. There's a very good info stickie about how to use ProZinc if you go look on that forum.

 

Wow how scary!!!! Have you gotten all the supplies you need to test her now? 5 units is a HUGE amount. Double what most cats get. I can't believe your vet suggested you dose such a high amount blindly without daily testing. And raising the dose by full units was also not a good idea.

Start over at 1 units and test and then we can help you figure out the best dosage. Testing isn't difficult. I have a video in my signature showing how I test my cat CC.

 

This ^^^^^^^^ times 1,000. My vet also had me giving too much insulin and causing Sam to bounce all the time. Since coming here and getting everyone's help, Sam is down to .25 of a unit and doing well.

Take the time to learn to test your cat and start a spreadsheet and things will get much easier.

 

Unfortunately she is still in the hospital today ! So not as of yet. What supplies would I need? I rather ask someone here who does it. I am thinking 5 was way too much also. She was doing great and then all of sudden things went horrible. Even after her levels were ok and she was eating the wet food it brang down to 3 last thursday twice a day. It is taking awhile for this to leave her system. She is on no insulin right now. But she is alert and sugar was 101 this morning ! I Am hopeful. Thank you for your advice! If you could inform me what i should get to prepare

 

Aww my tabby girl is 9 also. I am so sad now that i looked here id wish id known to home test. She is taking awhile to come off this insulin. I will do whatever it takes to have her watched more closely! Thanks so much

 

Don't beat yourself up. Most vets send owners home with generic instructions and increase dosage with no testing information.

All you need is any human blood glucose meter, the test strips to go with it, and the lancets to prick her ear. It sounds like a lot but they are fairly cheap to get started and keep buying. Also, get her on low carb wet food id possible and that well help her glucose levels.

Set up your spreadsheet here so you can track her Glucose levels daily and be able to make dosage adjustments if necessary. Also, set up your signature here with all of your cat's information and her insulin etc. That way experienced people here can see what food, insulin, and dosage she is on and make well informed suggestions. It is overwhelming at first but gets much easier after a few weeks.

Here is a link to help you learn to test her glucose
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dagron-help-with-bg-test-at-home.178821/

Link to help you set up her spreadsheet
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

 

This bit right here tells me that the 5 u dose was far, far too high. She might need a very small dose or, better yet, be diet controlled with no insulin.

 

Ok here's what you need....


1. Go to Walmart and get a relion confirm or micro meter (not the prime model as you need a bigger sample) $17
2. Box of 100 extra test strips $35
3. Box of 100 28 gauge lancets ($4-$10 depending on the brand)
4. Cotton round pads to go behind the ear $3
5. Neosporin ointment with pain relief

 

Quite a few scary days you've had! Ask us anything, the majority of us home test to avoid such situations. Still baffling how many Vet's actually say there is no need to home test your sugar kitty. We'd like to ask them "would you blindly administer insulin to a human baby?" Probably not . Our fur kids are no different for us.
Her doses were definitely increased too much and sadly we see that way to often. So her dose was going up too much and in addition, I think I read she was starting to eat the wet food and getting off dry. That alone can drastically impact BG (blood glucose). Vet's seem to like increasing by whole units, while that works for people, it doesn't work so well for kitties (even the big kitties ).

I hope your bite is OK but you know she could not help it, so do not think she was mad at you in any way . Janet gave you the supply list for home testing. I'll just add to pick up some higher carb foods like Fancy Feast Gravy lovers Beef or FF grilled gravy and cheese flavours. Just a few cans for now for your Hypo Kit

And instructions for setting up your Signature: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/editing-your-signature-profile-and-preferences.130340/
And while we're hoping to avoid another hypo at home, you can read over this: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-treat-hypos-they-can-kill-print-this-out.15887/

Feel free to ask us any questions!

 

Thank you so much. I am a mess over and certainly think the dose was way too high as shes been off insulin 3 days now in the hospital and this morning was at 117 on her own (they were giving her glucose for awhile to bring her up) i an hoping she stays this way and i can bring her home soon. I miss her so much . Thanks for all the advice!

 

Yes as of this morning she was fluctuating between 117 and 120 they havent administered glucose for awhile now so she is producing it on her own which I am happy about. She doesnt have much of an appetite, but the twitching/trembling she was doing seems to has come to a stop now. She has been insulin free 3 days now. I am for sure certain that dose was too high. I am just happy its rising and hoping I can take her home soon. Thanks again.

 

So glad to hear Nina is doing better!

 

Nina is home ! She is out of it a bit and weak but certainly responding to us all and relaxing. Hoping for lots of improvement. Thanks everyone!

 

Nina home

 

She sure looks like a happy camper being home and I'm sure you're smiling now too! Fingers crossed she continues to improve and no longer requires insulin!

 

I was going to say that Nina might do well with plain canned food and no insulin. Kris & Teasel mentioned that a few posts above. Your poor Nina. And you! You have both been through a lot! Just breath. My thoughts are with you both.

 

That is the plan going forward. for now no insulin.. we will see how it plays out. I am watching her like a hawk she wasnt eating much so we are offering her any food at this time. She seems to be regaining an appetite.