Remission ended?

It's been awhile since I've posted & was looking forward to posting 12/22 that it has been 6 mos since Houston went into remission. All good things must come to an end. A few days ago I noticed he appears to have lost some weight & he is ravenous. It's been about 1 mo since I last tested him so I decided it was time & his # was 168 so I decided to ck again 12/17 am & # was 248 then 254 that afternoon & 265 later in the evening. This morning he came in at 301. I've been preoccupied with his sister Olivher who was diagnosed with tongue cancer 11/15 & put on a feeding tube. Needless to say she has been my main focus, sorry Houston. Miss Ollie went back to the vet this am due to a clogged feeding tube. I'll ask the Dr whether or not to start him back on Lantus w/o bringing him in for a visit. My girl has cost me a lot of $$$ the past several wks & I am currently unemployed. Fortunately I have an unopened bottle of Lantus in the fridge. It never seems to end. Vet just called & I have to let Ollie cross the bridge the cancer is too bad. :-(

 

I am so sorry you have to say good bye to Miss Ollie.
Fly free Miss Ollie

It does look like you need to start Houston back on insulin again. If you are testing the BSLs I can't see much point in going back to the vet at the moment as you have insulin in the fridge. How much does Houston weigh?
I would start back on a small amount of Lantus 0.5 units twice a day and see how he goes on that for three days.
You don't appear to have a spreadsheet. Would you be able to get one started?
Here is the link. If you have trouble setting it. Up, post and ask for help.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

 

I do not have a spreadsheet for Houston as he was off insulin as fast as he was on. Right now I am heartbroken over losing Ollie so the others are on the back burner (as the saying goes). His # tonight was way down to 192 as I'm trying to get him back on a regular feeding schedule. Miss Ollie was my priority (cancer trumps diabetes) & now that she is gone Houston will get more of my attention. Going to give him a few more days on a reg schedule before insulin comes back into play.

 

I’m sure you are heartbroken at the loss of Ollie. And of course she was your priority.
Good idea to wait a few days especially if the BSL was back down some. Let’s hope she responds to the feeding schedule.
Please keep us posted.

 

I have given Houston my full attention the past 3 days feeding him at least 4x a day & testing him 3x a day. His # remains in the mid to high 200's so I'll be starting him back on Lantus tomorrow am @ 1 unit BID as initially prescribed. Not looking forward to this as the constant pricking makes him afraid of me. Hoping the return to insulin improves him all around. I've also started him back on fluids. It was a good 6mos w/o insulin.

 

Do you give him a treat when you test

 

No

 

You can give him a small amount of low carb food as a treat while you test. Just a drop and he will soon associate the test with a treat.

 

I usually feed him right after I test hoping he'll associate food as a reward after the ear prick. He hasn't been himself the past few days, doesn't really fight me or run to far anymore. He's hasn't inhaled his food like he usually does. Tonight I gave him some Sheba & he was a little more enthusiastic about that than the Friskies.

 

He is probably missing Miss Ollie.
Could he have an infection of some kind making him feel off.?

 

Several of my babies are a little off since Miss Ollie crossed the bridge even though they didn't really like each other but they sense something is off & have either been hanging on me or hiding from me ever since. Houston does also have Megacolon & hasn't been pooping as much & his belly is getting hard again despite me giving him MiraLAX BID. He also seems a little dehydrated which is why I started him back on fluids tonight. I'm sure a few days on fluids will perk him up along with the insulin. I see you lost your girl to pancreatic cancer, sorry to hear that. I had an American Bobtail named Daniel who was diagnosed with aggressive pancreatic & kidney cancer on 11/25/15, just lost him 12/5/17. He was known as the "Miracle Kitty" at my vets' office. I'll let you know how Houston does over the next few days.

 

Houston's 1st # of the day was 282. I gave him 0.5 units after his food. I watched him & noticed he seems to have trouble getting the food. Gave him treats & it took him many tries to pick 1 up. I checked his teeth & he does need dental work but also noticed he has smelled lately. I just spent some time picking at him , cut his nails, checked his # which was 295 3+ after feeding & noticed his nose is very dry & there appears to be a sore or infection of sorts. The vet is closed for the day so will have to wait until Mon but until then I started him on Olivher's leftover Amoxi drops to see if that helps his nose.

 

So sorry for your loss.

 

Since my last post Houston had a normal reading Christmas am, all other testings have been mid 200's to high 300's. He's been getting 1 unit BID & today I upped it to 1.5. We saw the vet Wed, going to continue antibiotics & need a biopsy to determine the cause of his nose being eaten away. Of course cancer came up & that is the last thing I want to hear. Going back to the vet Wed for a follow up & possible biopsy & in the mean time trying to get his #'s down. On a haha note, when I told the vet what I have been doing since I noticed his problem she asked what I needed her for, to which I responded just some meds, lol. I am already doing everything she would have recommended.

 

We recommend increasing the dose by only 0.25 units at a time to be safe and not go over the best dose.
Are you testing mid cycle?The dose is decided on the nadir.. the lowest point in the cycle, not the Preshot.
Cats can be high at Preshot and drop very low mid cycle and be up high again at the next Preshot.
Have you set up the spreadsheet yet?
I hope kitties nose is ok.

 

My syringes do not allow for .25 increments. Yes I am testing mid cycle & 6 of the 7 days he has been back on insulin it has been higher than preshot. I have not set up the sheet online but I am tracking on paper which is easier & quicker to access. Hoping the nose issue is just a bad infection

 

There are no syringes with quarter unit marks. We recommend getting those that have half unit marks and then eyeballing to the best of your ability if a quarter unit is necessary.

 

No syringes have 1/4 unit markings. We have to eyeball them. Half way between the zero insulin and 0.5 dose line is the 0.25 measurement.
I think you are upping the dose too fast. He has only been back on insulin for 7 days and he has gone from 0.5 to 1 unit to 1.5 units. He should have stayed on 0.5 for at least 3 to 5 days to fill the depot and then if necessary gone up to 0.75 units and stayed there for 3 days unless he dropped low.
Dosing is decided on the nadir not the Preshot.
If his BSLs are going up instead of down during the cycle it is possible he is getting too much insulin.
I would strongly advise you to set up a spreadsheet so we can help you. I know it is extra work but it will take the guesswork out of figuring out the dose and it is the only way we can advise you if that is what you would like to happen

 

RE spreadsheet: the one we use here is viewable by all members once it's set up to be shared. It's a little more work for you than using a notebook but if you need advice at some point we can't give it without seeing the BG numbers in context. We try hard to give good advice and we rely heavily on the patterns showing up on the spreadsheet to do that. Otherwise, it's a shot in the dark that might do more harm than good. That's why we're very reluctant to advise if the poster doesn't have a spreadsheet.

 

Just wanted to let you know I met with the vet today & she doesn't agree with the .25 increases, she told me she usually recommends 0.5 or 1.0 and to continue what I am doing. I know you are trying to help but she's the one with a degree so I have to follow her advice. Thanks for your replies.

 

Watch for BG numbers to possibly drop after your cat no longer has the stress of a sick cat in the house and lack of attention and he is done mourning. The insulin in the meantime should get his BG down and hopefully he'll go back into remission. Extra attention will help, too.

Hugs and prayers

 

I've been checking him 3-4 x a day, every few days he has a normal reading, today 2 in a row. His infection has cleared up so I think he may be going back into remission. Of course he is because I have spent a small fortune on Confirm Micro test strips which fortunately don't expire until Dec. I do make a point of picking him up & holding him not followed by an ear prick, needle or pill.