3/24 Sid yucky AMPS 481-hopefully I didn't jinx us!!

Mr. P has left the house Sid is having a bit of a bounce from that 68 yesterday. I probably should not have given him the drops of karo at that point. Next time I will just try the gravy to see what that does. You will notice I did not reduce his dose this morning. I am going to try it for a couple more days to see how he does.

@Michelle I remember you mentioning how well Pru did on Special Kitty turkey. I checked the food lists and believe the special kitty selects of chicken, turkey, and turkey and giblets are 3% carbs. I think you said you gave Pru turkey and giblets but Sid is not a real fan of the giblets - I tried it last night. I alsoI got him the chicken variety and the turkey variety. He likes both.

I'm not going to jinx myself or Sid by saying anything more than I don't think we'd be where we are if it weren't for everyone here on FDMB. I made a little photo album of Sid those 3 times he was hospitalized for DKA to show everyone how far he has come since then.
DKA Photos

Last condo http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/posting.php?mode=reply&f=24&t=66969

Re: 3/24 Sid yucky AMPS 481 but coming down

Looks like Sid was BG108 at +9 back on Feb 29.. that's kind of funny :smile: Hopefully, you can catch him before he's too high and stay at 1.6 again. Yeah, just a tiny drop of HC can throw those numbers out of wack, but it's all a learning experience. You're doing a great job, Lydia!!! I am glad to hear he's liking the Special Kitty. You can also try to mix the Chicken with the Turkey Giblets? Hope you are having a good weekend.

Oh yeah, I love the photos!!!!

Re: 3/24 Sid yucky AMPS 481 but coming down

Photos are wonderful Lydia - I especially like the one where he's playing under the cat tree. Goes to show - you can't keep a good kitty down!

Go Sid!

Despite Sid having some not too bad numbers today, he is showing an increase in ketone level of 0.7 on the ketone meter tonight :sad: I gave him 60 ml of SQ. Not sure why he would be doing this? Maybe he isn't eating enough calories? The strip shows negative but with a tiny hint of pink or at least I think so.

I've ONLY used the strips, although I've ordered one of the ketone meters. Probably a week or two before it'll be here. The fluids are good. As long as he's eating, that's a good sign too. Any glimpse of a sneeze or sniffle or runny eye or UTI???

He gets a LOT of mileage out of his dose - 300-400 point range blows my socks off, but the high numbers are really high. Scary high. Based on what I was advised and have done, and your high numbers, I would want to say you should increase the dose..... BUT, with those ranges, there's no way I'd feel comfortable suggesting that.

Only wisdom I can share is to stay on top of the ketones. Maybe someone w/ more experience, or someone who's dealt w/ such large ranges can advise. My little pancake eater rarely moves more than 100 points. Sid is a WHOLE NOTHER ball game! Good luck! Wish I could be more help.

Lu-Ann

I don't see any evidence of an upper respiratory infection. The ketones can come on so quickly. It's good you are getting a meter. Which one are you getting? Sid's is a nova max plus. I know what you are saying about increasing the dose - I'm not at the point I feel comfortable doing that but even though he got down to 68 the other night I'm not reducing the dose either. I will just keep monitoring the ketones - that's all I can do. I may begin giving him a bit of SQ fluids every day though.

Lydia, I will mention this but only because I keep thinking of it... Have you thought about giving Sid just a small dose of ProZinc at PM before you go to bed? Looking at his SS. He's definitely on the rise by +9 which is probably 2am for you :shock: , then give just a little bit less for his AM shot. I was thinking like maybe give 0.3 late night if he's on the rise, then 1.3 for the AM shot. Just trying to figure out how to keep him out of those reds/blacks. He definitely needs insulin during those 5 plus hours since he climbs so high. I am not familiar with R, but I know I had done this with Prudence when I saw her climbing too fast, so for me I only had to give her 0.1 until her AM shot which held her over about 6 hours. I came up with this dose for Sid by what he's getting now.

AMPS 1.6 then 0.3 +1.3 =1.6

Let me know your thoughts.

Again, far be it for me to hold tight to protocol... but have you considered something like Angela & Big Henry's 14/10 schedule? Maybe something like that would help w/ the rises? She said yesterday that she went to it because one preshot was always markedly higher than the other - it was a means to bring them both down to manageable numbers and avoid the severe spikes.

It's amazing how different our cats can respond to basically the same treatment. I used to joke about Grayson sniffing the bottle while Kim's Kitty guzzled. Now Grayson is guzzling, and Cathy's Kitten is just hours away from celebrating the big event!!! And she was barely inhaling when she was sniffing! Welcome to the dance - no to steps are alike! ;-)

Michelle & Lu-Ann, I think what you are saying makes sense and might be the answer to keeping him from spiking. I will think about it for a day or so - only because sometimes he is still dropping like today at +12 he was 74. There have been a couple of other times he has done this. But I do agree it would ideal if a small amount of insulin at +10 would help avoid the spikes.

Are you thinking R? Or Prozinc? ...or even going back to TID?

I would highly suggest staying away from R... only because I've seen what happens to Sid with the smallest amount. At least with ProZinc, it's the same family Sid does look like a good runnerup for TID, but with your schedule, Lydia.. I'd try to figure this out by possibly doing the small dose of ProZinc since you're so close to good numbers and you can't afford to figure out TID with the weekday coming up.

No I'm not thinking of using R - I only use R if his numbers stay HI and he doesn't come down for several hours. That hasn't happened lately. Tonight if he is above 200 at +8 - +10, I will try giving him 0.3 to see what happens. Right now at +5 he is at 102. Ive been seeing an increase in his thirst tonight though even though his numbers are lower and I think that is concerning.

Regarding R, I forgot to add if he is high and not coming down for hours AND has ketones over trace.

I rechecked his ketones and he was 0.2. His bg at +6 is 77. However he was walking between water dishes for much of the evening as if he is super thirsty. I was panicking thinking what do you do to get rid of ketones when their numbers are low and you can't give R to bring them down? That would not be good at all. While R does make Sid drop pretty steep, it also does a very good job of getting rid of the ketones. :YMSIGH:

I'm not quite so panicky now after checking his ketones on the meter and getting a 0.2 and he is now sleeping on the couch and no longer walking between water dishes.

I am taking in a urine sample next week to have a culture done just to make sure he doesn't have a kidney infection and also talk to the vet to make sure there isn't any other chance of any infection somewhere else. Maybe the pneumonia isn't totally gone and he needs more meds.

I am here to support you whatever you decide, Lydia. I am glad to hear that ketones went down. You are doing great. I wish there were a FD handbook that showed play by play strategies. We can just do the best we can. I hope whatever results from the urine test next week aren't serious at all.

My Bobcat stopped eating for 3 months. I did every test and couldn't never figure out why she had stopped eating, but she drank like a fish. I had to force feed her everyday then all of a sudden she started eating again, but then she stopped drinking :YMSIGH: It was crazy and I will never know why this was going with her :cry: sorry about that.... was having flash backs.

Sending good vibes your way!