Jill & Alex (GA)
Member Since 2009
Hello LL! It's been forever and a day since I've posted an Alex update. However, I do skim posts & spreadsheets everyday and am also in touch with Sienne, Marje, and Dyana to provide an extra set of eyes when needed. I see lots of new faces in LL. Welcome to the group! :mrgreen:
Alex WAS doing very, very well. So well that I thought she might even be trying to go OTJ for the third time in the last 6.5 years. I was able to take her dose down to 0.1u BID towards the end of October before she began to experience pancreatitis flares again. So, up went her dose!
Things came to a head on Thanksgiving Day. She started out the morning in green and by evening her numbers had risen considerably. I'm pretty sure the stress of having a house full of family staying with us complicated matters. Over the next 5 days she saw more 400s than she had seen since being diagnosed and in DKA. Of course things always happen on the weekend... and a holiday weekend at that (my vet was out of town)! :roll:
Luckily, I was able to get all the supplies I needed from my vet's office to get her through the weekend... sub-q fluids, cerenia, bupe, antibiotics, and cypro. By Monday morning she was doing very well, but took her in to get checked out and have an ultrasound done. DX was exactly as I thought: severe pancreatitis attack with probable liver involvement. Feeding raw food along with low carb canned food appears to have cleared up the diarrhea she was experiencing from the antibiotics. Incorporating the use of R insulin in combination with levemir helped to bring her number down considerably.
She was doing pretty good with treatment and increased amounts of insulin up until the last couple of days... which brings me to the primary reason for opening a condo today... other than to say hi! Alex's appy was *off* the last two days and she bordered on what I would describe as almost lethargic. BG numbers weren't too terribly high (overall less than 200)... not high enough to be alarming. However, she was throwing trace ketones in her urine! Now that I'm aware I'm pushing fluids, both sub-q and orally. A second ketone test last night was negative for ketones in her urine. Alex seems back to normal this morning. Appetite has returned and the pep in her step is back, but I'll continue to stay on top of this. Looks like another vet visit is in our immediate future!
The recipe for developing ketones is an inadequate supply of insulin + decreased appetite + infection OR other systemic stress. Ketones can develop quickly, can be very expensive to treat, and if left untreated can be fatal. If kitty is off in anyway (behavior, appetite, etc.) please, please, please take the time to check for ketones. Contrary to popular belief, BG numbers do NOT have to be high for ketones to develop! Alex's ss is a perfect example!
Hope all is well with you and your kitties!
Have a great weekend! :mrgreen:
Alex WAS doing very, very well. So well that I thought she might even be trying to go OTJ for the third time in the last 6.5 years. I was able to take her dose down to 0.1u BID towards the end of October before she began to experience pancreatitis flares again. So, up went her dose!
Things came to a head on Thanksgiving Day. She started out the morning in green and by evening her numbers had risen considerably. I'm pretty sure the stress of having a house full of family staying with us complicated matters. Over the next 5 days she saw more 400s than she had seen since being diagnosed and in DKA. Of course things always happen on the weekend... and a holiday weekend at that (my vet was out of town)! :roll:
Luckily, I was able to get all the supplies I needed from my vet's office to get her through the weekend... sub-q fluids, cerenia, bupe, antibiotics, and cypro. By Monday morning she was doing very well, but took her in to get checked out and have an ultrasound done. DX was exactly as I thought: severe pancreatitis attack with probable liver involvement. Feeding raw food along with low carb canned food appears to have cleared up the diarrhea she was experiencing from the antibiotics. Incorporating the use of R insulin in combination with levemir helped to bring her number down considerably.
She was doing pretty good with treatment and increased amounts of insulin up until the last couple of days... which brings me to the primary reason for opening a condo today... other than to say hi! Alex's appy was *off* the last two days and she bordered on what I would describe as almost lethargic. BG numbers weren't too terribly high (overall less than 200)... not high enough to be alarming. However, she was throwing trace ketones in her urine! Now that I'm aware I'm pushing fluids, both sub-q and orally. A second ketone test last night was negative for ketones in her urine. Alex seems back to normal this morning. Appetite has returned and the pep in her step is back, but I'll continue to stay on top of this. Looks like another vet visit is in our immediate future!
The recipe for developing ketones is an inadequate supply of insulin + decreased appetite + infection OR other systemic stress. Ketones can develop quickly, can be very expensive to treat, and if left untreated can be fatal. If kitty is off in anyway (behavior, appetite, etc.) please, please, please take the time to check for ketones. Contrary to popular belief, BG numbers do NOT have to be high for ketones to develop! Alex's ss is a perfect example!
Hope all is well with you and your kitties!
Have a great weekend! :mrgreen:
But she couldn't be in better hands. 
