Quintus: post-insulin worries (old thread)

I'm posting here because this isn't an insulin-specific (or maybe even diabetes?) issue anymore. I'm worried about my old boy and wondering if there are any bright ideas out there.



I previously posted about his spasmy movements here: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/quintus-digestive-spasms-when-resting.189535/ (you will find a link to his condo on the LL forum in that post).

Quintus went off insulin 01.01. His BG has been decent since then. I changed to a new meter which reads 20-40 points above the old one based on half-a dozen comparisons. (This is not helping my nerves.)

I feel that he is going slowly downhill, but for the moment there is nothing "alarming", so all I'm doing is observe him and worry. We did some labs 10 days ago, some numbers are high of course, but there is nothing that seems immediately alarming. I had the osteopath vet come in for a session, she was able to seem his little spasms and confirmed they didn't seem immediately alarming, or of great discomfort.

Here's why I worry:
- he's purring less
- he's maybe grooming a little less
- he's drinking a little more
- he has those spams and tends to rest a bit "hunched", like on the photo
- even though it could be chalked up to measurement issues or normal variation, his BG does look like it may be creeping up

Here's the "not worrisome" stuff:
- he's eating fine, peeing, pooping
- he's reasonably playful and asks to go out
- he's walking better after the osteo session, and I've seen him sit (he normally always lies)

I've put his latest labs in the SS. I mainly wanted his kidneys and fPLi checked. Urea is high but crea is not too bad and SDMA is just in normal range. Globulin is high. fPLi is still high but nowhere as high as it was (off the charts). Sodium and calcium are low-normal.

My mind keeps wondering back to the Convenia injections he had through Nov and Dec. There was a marked improvement after each injection. And I can't help wondering if that was keeping an infection in check, which is now creeping back on us since the last shot wore off, about 10 days ago.

I'm trying to figure out if there is anything more I can do at this stage as his clinical signs are so "subclinical". If anybody has bright ideas or hypotheses I'm all ears.

 

It's so very difficult to know what's really going on with an elderly cat, Stephanie. I've been there. The simplest answer could be the one you're speculating about - ie., there's some low grade infection somewhere that's beginning to ramp up and it's having a small but noticeable impact on his BG, meter notwithstanding. The various other biochemical indicators are hard to evaluate, especially in an older cat who has the normal compromised physiology of an aging organism.

Would it be worth trying another Convenia injection to see if it helps, given his ability to tolerate them so far?

 

Yeah that's what today's mulling over the situation yielded. If he doesn't seem better tomorrow I'll ring my "holiday vet" (I'm at the chalet, temperature has just crawled up from 4 to 8°C) and tell him I have a panc'y cat who likes convenia, and would they give him his shot. I'll be curious to see if there is an impact on his BG (it went down since this morning, and the glucometer battery has given up the ghost, the cold here probably. will buy one tomorrow.)

 

So, an update: during my holiday week (which was spent down with another bout of giardia, I'm telling you folks, don't catch this thing), his spasms almost disappeared. Environmental factor? Osteopath session? Walking about more? (it's more "sporty" at the chalet as he has to climb around stuff, which he never gets to do here on the flat tar road). The spasms did gradually come back and two days ago I decided that between that and the fact he was back in his "pain position" (or what I interpret as that), it was time to try Convenia. Injection a little less than 24 hours ago. He was purry as crazy last night (just wouldn't stop) but this morning he is still spasmy and in the same position. But it clearly seems Convenia might be doing something. Next days will tell. His BG is also slightly lower, but again, just one data point, will see next days.

 

Another update: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/quintuss-otj-bg-chart-and-musings.191268/