Theresa&Bashful...back....again....darnit - HELP NEEDED

Hi gang,

Well, some of the folks on here may remember me from way back when. My boy Bashful was diagnosed with Diabetes about 4.5 years ago and had ketoacidosis (sp?) and almost died from it. I had him on PZI for a while and was able to get him diet controlled by switching to an all wet diet and he was off insulin totally within 3 or 4 months, I think.

I have spot checked him twice a day for a long time and then more periodically over the last couple years and his numbers were great for a long time. He was generally 80-100ish whenever I tested his BGs.

Over the last week or so I noticed he seemed to be drinking more and it looked like he was loosing weight. I had misplaced my BG meter, so tonight I picked one up and he was at 288 (ack!). I immediately took him to the vet. On the good news front he tested negative for ketones.

The vet gave me glipizide (liquid) to try out for a couple days and to monitor his levels closely and come back in a couple days if they didn't come down. Of course, AFTER I gave it to him I got on here and some negative stuff. I was wondering if anyone knows the scoop on this stuff?

I am guessing from what little I read that I am going to need to go back tomorrow and ask for the insulin or take him to a different vet. I was willing to try it when he first suggested it because, as some of you may remember, Bashful is VERY sensitive to insulin. He was only getting .10 to .25 of the PZI when he was on it and I wouldn't shoot if he was under 200.

Thoughts? Advice? I was concerned that maybe something else was wrong with him that was causing this, but since he is acting normally otherwise he didn't order a blood workup...suggested I try this first and then do a workup in a couple days if the numbers don't come down soon.

He is on a totally low carb wet FF diet (from Janet&Binky's list). The only thing I've been doing that I'm going to stop immediately was giving him(them) some temptations treats everyday (not a ton, but probably more than I should have).

Help? Again?

Hugs,
Theresa

 

p.s. He's an older cat, about 16-18 I think?

I was also wondering about insulins. I understand that PZI isn't really available now. Vet suggested Lantus?

 

It is possible that he has returned from the Falls. That does happen to a lot of kitties.
Sometimes it is temporary - due to infection, stress, constipation, nasty mouth, etc.
And once the underlying issue is treated, they go back to the Falls.

Other times, the return is longer term - sometimes permanent, and kitty needs to go back on insulin. I would def. not give him the glipizde, but I would have a full work-up done to see if there is an infection going on in his body somewhere. If he needs insulin - he needs insulin. You may have to learn to give one drop injections - hard to do, but it can be done.

~M

 

Thanks Mary - I had a feeling that was the case. Okay, so I'll take him back in the morning and ask for a full blood workup. It's been so long since I've done this...do the results come back quickly? Do I wait to find out what could possibly be up? Or should I just ask for the insulin tomorrow and start him on it asap? (in very low doses, of course).

?? It's been so long I feel like I'm starting all over here.

 

First, ditch the temptations treats, they are chock full of things a sugar cat does not need:

Ingredients

Chicken Meal, Ground Corn, Animal Fat, Dried Meat By-Products, Rice, Wheat Flour, Natural Flavors, Brewers Dried Yeast, Corn Gluten Meal, Dicalcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Salt, Taurine, DL-Methionine, Calcium Carbonate, Vitamins (dl-Alpha Tocopherol Acetate [Source of Vitamin E], Vitamin A Acetate, Niacin Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement [Vitamin B2], Thiamine Mononitrate [Vitamin B1], d-Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Biotin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride [Vitamin B6], Folic Acid Supplement), Minerals (Zinc Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Potassium Iodide), Natural Wild Alaskan Salmon Flavor, Mixed Tocopherols (A Natural Preservative).

re test results: Some can be done in house and the results will be available there at the office before you leave. Others will have to be sent out to a lab and you will have to wait for the results to come back to the vet, tho that should not take more than a week.

If the office results tell you what the issue is and it is immediately treatable - personally,
I'd treat the issue and THEN see if he needs insulin so long as he is not going over 200 on a consistent basis. You can get the RX and get it filled when needed.



~M

 

Okay, thank you so much. Going back for the full blood work up in the a.m. Will be checking his BGs throughout the day...he was 313 when we got home from the vet, but part of that was probably vet stress. No more kitty crack..lol : )

 

Do not give glipizide. Oral insulin will not help the cat and in many cases can harm the pancreas as it causes it to work harder.

You need to stick with injectable insulins. Also, there are newer insulins being used on many cats today, insulins called Lantus (glargine), Levimer (Determir). These are long acting insulins and work very differently from the others.

Please don't allow the vet to sell you vestulin - it's been recalled and should be off the market (but sadly it's not) and some vets are still distributing it.

Please go to the board index and look at the section for insulin support groups - it lists ALL the insulins and within the group provides information on each type so you can make an informed decision.

But don't give the glip.

 

Lantus is an excellent insulin choice. Many, many cats are on it, with good results - Maui included.