UP DATE ON MANGO

Now I know why Mango's BG has been so high. He probably has Pancreatitis which came on Wednesday evening with vomiting at his bedtime BG check. Didn't eat Thursday morning and after a sleepless night Headed to the Vet first thing. He didn't have a UTI and had a fever so Pancreatitis is suspected. I had tested his Ketones on Tuesday which was negative and Thursday morning sky high. He got fluids and all the drugs for inflammation, nausea etc. Keeping him on the 4 units of Prozinc for now. Our orders are to stay the course and call if his number's don't improve as I may need to go up in dosage for a time. I don't know what the future holds but I am grateful Mango is a willing eater and his Ketones are coming down. I also decided to switch to the Freedom Lite meter as the strips are cheaper and to be honest it's easier on my mental health to not see those 500 numbers he was testing at. In two weeks we will either do another curve or the fructosamine test. Mango is good at the vet as I believe he likes the attention he gets from the staff . I am feeling relieved that I may now have an answer to the high BG. Our vet did say it's hard to say if this will become a chronic condition or not. I will keep you all posted. I am sending a to all the great people on this message board.

 

Good luck and I hope Mango feels better soon. He’s lucky to have such a good caregiver.

 

All the best for Mango , I hope he starts to feel better soon

 

Glad to hear Mango is getting sorted out. Sending healing vines for Mango to get back to health very very soon! for Mango!

 

My Sheba used to get flares of pancreatitis. Pain can certainly raise the blood glucose levels. Sheba usually responded well to pain meds, anti nausea meds and subQ fluids during a flare. Sometimes it only took s few days to settle but it can take a week or two or sometimes longer. I’m glad Mango is eating. That is often the battle with pancreatitis.
You mentioned ketones. Does he have a history of DKA?
Sending many vines for a speedy recovery

 

Hi Bron and Sheba, I haven't seen any indicator that Mango is in pain. I pick him up many times a day and he never shows me he is uncomfortable. He has no problems with his bowels and this is the first time he has run a fever and vomited. He has had high ketones a few times since he was diagnosed back in May 2019.

You mentioned Sheba gets flare ups. Is she always on medication or just when she has a flare up? How often do the flare up happens for Sheba? I am fairly new to all of this and thought I was overwhelmed with the diabetes. Pancreatitis has me more worried as it has been a on going battle to keep his BG low. I have faith in the two vets we now see and was glad to hear that the one vet prefers not to put a kitty on steroid and will do that only as a last resort. Just hoping Mango is not a last resort! We will wait and see and thanks for sending your wishes for a speedy recovery. Means a lot to us.

 

Wishing Mango the very best

 

Sheba is no longer with us unfortunately, she died 2 years ago now from something unrelated to diabetes. She was 15.
In between flares of pancreatitis she was not on any medications related to it. When she first got pancreatitis, flares would happen about once a year then the last couple of years it was two then three times a year. Between flares she had no issues related to Pancreatitis. She was a very motivated eater so when she was not hungry I knew it was a flare starting and I immediately started the pain meds, anti nausea meds and subQ fluids. Getting on to it early is important.
As far as I am aware I have not seen a cat put on steroids for pancreatitis... unless it was a very severe initial attack. Others may be able to add to this.
Sheba’s BG would often go up with a flare but came down once things settled down.
There is a really good article on pancreatitis. I will find it and send it to you.
Quite a few diabetic cats get pancreatitis.

 

Here is the link to A Primer on Pancreatitis
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/a-primer-on-pancreatitis.83108/

 

Fructosamine test will just tell you the average for the previous few weeks. Your most accurate information will be a curve at home.