? Still at a Loss w/Minnie’s BG

I know we’re suppose to look for trends in the ss and I’m at a loss when I look at Minnie’s for the last few weeks. It’s hard not to feel pretty hopeless

Just to recap, she’s still fighting pneumonia although 50% better as of last week’s check up. Still on doxycycline 2x a day and Veraflox 1x a day. Also still on diuretics and the dose had to be upped because she continued to having shortness of breath so on 1.4ml 3x a day. Amidst all of this, I also started her on the IBD steroid budesonide 1.5 ml 1x a day. I don’t think I’m forgetting anything. It’s quite a lot. The only pattern I see when I look at her ss is that her BG levels seem to just go up during the day cycle never coming down at +6 as it should as opposed to the night cycle when it seems to go down. I give her the steroid about 3 hours prior to pmps so if that was affecting her BG levels, wouldn’t it make her numbers go up at night instead of down? She’s obviously getting the bulk of the meds during the day and I give her the Veraflox at Noon.

I guess my question is:

Is this just something I have to resign myself to until she’s healthy again and the pneumonia is competent gone or am I missing something that I could be doing to help keep her diabetes regulated?

I had her at the 2.75 dose for a number of days and it didn’t seem to be working, so aí just increased her to 3. Her amps number was lower this morning but it was back up to the 400’s at +6. I’d really love it if you guys could take a look at her ss and let me know what you think @Nan & Amber (GA) @Deb & Wink @JanetNJ @tiffmaxee

Thanks!

 

I don't think you should expect the bg to be ok until the pneumonia is resolved.

I had a kitten with pneumonia and one thing I did was a nebulizer treatment every 6-8 hours. I would put her in a carrier and put a towel over the top and put the nebulizer tube into the carrier.

If you don't have a nebulizer I would put him in a room with steamy shower or a small room with a vaporizer going.

 

She’s getting rechecked Tuesday so I’ll ask the vet about that.

do you think it’s was okay to up it to 3 units in the meantime? It’s hard impossible to tell if it’s the pneumonia or the steroid or both

 

Looks like you are already giving 3 units. If correct I would increase to 3.25 but not for 6 cycles. You don’t want to go faster than the protocol. I know people who have had budesonide increase the bg. You are giving it for pancreatitis? If it’s needed for awhile you will just have to adjust the insulin as needed. I’m sorry she has so many issues. Steroids bring with them a risk of infection so you and your vet need to decide if the cost/benefit is worth it. Is it helping?

 

I think its the steroid. I bet once they stop, her numbers will be more trendy. Course I dont really know that, its just the feeling I get.

 

I just increased to 3 last night.

It’s for her IBD which is why she got aspiration pneumonia with all the vomiting that it caused. So yes, it’s worth it I think. It has helped already with her apetite and not being nauseated and also it’s regulating her stool. Budesonide is prescribed because it’s a localized steroid designed to work on the GI tract only.

thank you

 

Yep that’s all true. What dose have you been giving of insulin? It can raise bg though so don’t worry about that.

 

The only thing that will not stop is the steroid because it’s for her IBD

 

It was 2.75 until yesterday before all this and the hospitalizations we were at 2.5

 

I dunno Ale. I just wish that darn PNEUMONIA would go away. sigh

 

Once everything else is normal you might be able to lower the dose of budesonide.

 

I see the 2.75 but the last few are 3.0 on the ss. So are you asking if you should stay with 3.0? I would.

 

Yeah petty much wanted to make sure I did the right thing given the many circumstances I guess

The vet lowered it already from 2ml to 1.5ml because I told her her BG levels were staying high. I’ll see if she thinks it can be lowered again

 

Hey Ale just wanted to say I hope that damn pneumonia goes away and the shortness of breath gets better. Why do our kitties have to get all these damn
problems. She is a fighter Ale. I'm always praying for her

 

You certainly don't want her to vomit again and aspirate it and get pneumonia on top of pneumonia.

Would it be possible, with all the other things you are doing for Minnie and for yourself, to get a +2 in the AM?

Minnie has not been at the 3U dose long enough, to increase the dose yet. 3 cycles is the minimum before you increase the dose, but she could be bouncing so 6 cycles would be better.

You're probably going to wish you never tagged me Ale, but would it be possible to make notes in the Remarks column on the SS, to say what times you are giving her her various medications. Not every single day, unless there is a change, but every few days, or at least once a week?

How are YOU doing Ale? Taking good care of yourself as well as Minnie? When was the last time you took a few minutes, 30 minutes for just yourself? To relax and rejuvenate your soul? What do you do for fun? Go do that, for just a little bit of time. Please.

 

Omg thank you for asking that. I feel like I’m just going from one medication to the next and whatever I can manage to do in between is a bonus. It feels a little like not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and I just keep hoping she’ll continue to put up with all the liquid meds I have to inject into her pink little mouth I’m trying to watch Netflix’s Originals to relax. It’s a vampire show so it’s appropriate lol

I don’t want to up more than 3 just wanted to make sure upping it to 3 was the right choice.

it’s not a problem I can enter the meds schedule into the ss and it’s the same everyday, but here it is in a nutshell:

7:30am - test, feed, insulin
8am - doxycycline
9am - furosimide
12pm - Veraflox
1:30 or 2:30 - midday test
3:30pm - furosimide
4 pm - budesonide, probiotics, potassium paste
7:30pm - test, feed, insulin
8pm - doxycycline
9:30pm - furosimide
10pm - clopidogrel

I feel tired just writing it ha! I’ll try to get the +2 in the am. It may not be every day but I’ll do my best

 

Thank you so much I know you are

 

Your cat is so lucky to have you. Hopefully the condition will resolve and that routine simplify.

 

Thank you and I’m lucky to have them too

it’s a bit crazy right now but believe it or not, when I tried to combine the meds and give her 2 or 3 at the same time it stressed me out too much because it’s quite a bit of liquid for her to swallow. Breaking it up like that calmed my nerves and gives us both a break in between them

 

Oh my gosh!!!!! Do you have a schedule posted on your fridge or someplace, to help keep you on track with all those meds and the times? I'd certainly need a written schedule of what is being done.

I only asked about the possibility of a +2, because that can often tell you which direction the BG levels are headed for the rest of the cycle. When you can Ale, when you can.

p.s. How in the world do you have any time to take care of YOU? Or do the grocery shopping? Or anything else you need to do in a day?
What did you do TODAY for relaxation? More Netflix's Originals?

You need some meditation, or yoga, or SOMETHING to relieve the stress.

 

I do and I wrote on the bottles too ha!

grocery shopping/errands between noon and 3:30pm. Netflix between 5 and 7:30. I don’t do yoga but I do meditate some, or try to, in the morning and siting outside with the cats reading is relaxing for me too. I would just like one of these days to be able to sleep in or take some naps but that’s not going to happen in this lifetime lol

I know I’m right there with your thinking also because I wanted to see if it would go down like it does at the +2 at night. I did that on 6/18 but it was going up not down. I’ll try again this week probably not tomorrow because we have the vet appt and that takes up anywhere from 3-4 hours

 

Have you ever investigated gel caps? I got good at combining up to 3 meds in one gel cap - depending on which ones and pill sizes of course. Budesonide helps by being small, though I eventually got it compounded into a liquid which was easier to give. Of course, you have to check with the vet if there are ones that can't be given together. Gel caps allowed me to have a lot fewer pilling sessions.

 

Good suggestions. My cat Zimmy had to take Benezapril and amlodipine and I combined in size 5 gel caps from Amazon.

 

The amounts won’t fit into a gel cap or it would take many and it’d a much worse process. She’s taking 1.4 ml of furosemide and 2.2 of veraflox. I’m also afraid I’d waste a lot of it trying to get it in the gel caps and she might spit them or bite into them and burst them open like she used to do with the antioxidant. This is not pleasant but it’s working. Thanks for the suggestion anyway

 

The budesonide is definitely the easiest one before she realizes what’s happening it’s over!

 

ooooh it's liquid. Never mind. the gel cap thing works for pills though so they don't taste them as much.

 

It’s liquid 7 times a day. The only pill is the clopidogrel and that is a 1/4 so I wrap it with a thin lawyer of pill pocket and it slides down the back of her throat. The probiotics and the paste I mix with a little of baby food and she eats it up without a problem. Yes liquid sigh....

 

Back from the vet checkup and the pneumonia has finally cleared up!!!

I just have to finish the week of antibiotics and then we’re done with that. Will continue the diuretics because there’s still residual fluids in her heart and she’s adding some other heart med and I don’t know the name because I haven’t gotten the notes emailed to me yet. I have to take her back to reassess in 3-4 weeks

 

so glad she's doing better!

 

Thank you and me too! Plus 3 less liquid meds a day makes us both very happy

 

Yeah for the pneumonia clearing!

I remember what it was like to give a cat multiple medications each day, several times a day. Plus, having to hand feed to get him to eat was a challenge.

You are doing a super job Ale!

 

Oh well that's fantastic

 

The vet keeps saying that too. She said she has 2 cats and would have to hospitalize them because they would never let her medicate them ha! Thank you aunt Deb, but it is truly a team effort. Minnie is also doing a super job at letting me take care of her. She moves her head around but never walks away or even gets up from where she’s at. She’s been a trooper

 

Ale how is Minnie doing today ? Her Aunt Roe is thinking about her and that cute pink nose

 

Minnie says hi auntie Roe, thank you for thinking of me and for all the love!!!

She’s doing well. She’s up and out in the am and has been eating super well too. I think still a bit low on energy in the day as she’s still fighting the cardiomyopathy, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now! The furosimide, which is the diuretic, has literally saved her life by getting her to drink and pee and get rid of all this excess fluid trapped in the lung and heart muscles. I highly recommend for anyone who ever has any cat issues like these and it’s $9.99 at CVS!!!!

anyway, here’s the photo of the day for all her aunties who have been praying for her and sending her so much love. I couldn’t thank you ladies enough

 

OMG! WONDERFUL! (((((Ale)))))

 

I've been off line since Sunday or was that Saturday. Sigh I just thrilled the pneumonia is gone! Whew

 

Me too!!! Oh and her numbers have been down to 300’s since last night so YAY!

 

wooo hooooooooooooo!

 

Go Minnie! Go lower Minnie! We want to see blues and greens please!

 

My 2 favorite colors yes please!

 

Aww just look at this little love bug, glad to hear she's doing better Ale, give her a kiss for me

 

Ale you totally made my day with these pictures Minnie is just Beautiful ! Ale can I just take a moment to say I’m by no means kissing up Iam way to honest . You are such a selfless dedicated Mom . You Never think twice about her needs , Minnie is such a love and a priority to you and it shows . Yet you still make time to help other people on this forum .
Just know what a Great Mom you are ! Feel better Minnie your Aunts Love you

 

Your comment made me cry. It’s my most important job but sometimes it’s easy to feel I’m not doing enough so thank you for your kind words and thank you for the love! I love my babies, but when she was a kitten and got spayed she had a really bad infection and it was touch and go for a bit there. I promised her that if she got well I’d take care of her for the rest of her life. That’s when they officially became foster fails ha! And before my mom passed, she made me promise I’d keep that promise. A promise is a promise but this one is an easy one to keep because I love them both so much. Not literally easy with all the meds, but emotionally easy

here’s today’s glamour shot because sometimes even a dog bed is not large enough

 

Once again Minnies picture made my day Ale if you ever doubt yourself just look how Happy Minnie looks All of her pictures are of one Happy Pink Nose Kitty Lol Feel Better Minnie you are so Loved

 

I’m going to PM you some pics of her as a kitten for the weekend

 

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww thats one hapeee kitieee

 

Hi Ale didn't know where to post this only because I didn't see any recent ones from you about Minnie, I just wanted to know how she's doing,
I think about her often and hope she is doing ok and you also

 

I'm curious, too. That was quite the emotional ride just reading! I'm hoping "no news is good news" or we get new news! I'm so glad she kicked the pnu \./

well wishes and love to you both.
ana

 

Thank you ladies!

No news is good news!! She’s been doing great. Following me around the kitchen asking for food, demanding to be brushed which is her favorite thing in the world, and hanging out outside in the sun. Next check up is Tuesday and I’m hoping to be done with the furosemide then

 

that's a nice bask ya got going on there, lil lady! Fingers crossed for Tues

 

Just looking at her pic put a smile on my face, Sending good vibes for her check up
I'm glad she's doing well

 

brushing new fave? Can I bring Zoe over so she can catch that???

 

Sure! Both and her Bobo love it. And they love it even more when I use the flea comb! They roll over so I can do their bellies and stick their necks out so I can do their chin and the sides of their faces. Don’t know what it is about it, but they’ll let me do it until my arm starts to hurt ha!

 

OK I OFFICIALLY HATE YOU.

JK of course

 

Ale is an official "cat whisperer" if she can get TWO cats to not only like brushing, but like the flea comb too!

 

okay I’m done now. Just call me cat whisperer now

 

How cute is she, Minnie is lovin life , wow she will let you comb her any where.
Ale you will just have to keep combing Minnie, we don't care if your arm gets tired lol
Have a good night

 

AGREE! If I tried that my hand would be burger meat.

 

LOL neither do they! I get an upset meow when I stop and then she walks away as if she’s saying

 

LOL

 

Not to mention that when I’m done with her Bobo is like, my turn now meow meow!!!

 

That's so funny, she's a smart kitty

 

I know we've been chatting over in the gabapentin thread but yay for hopefully being done with the furosemide!! I didn't even know what was a possibility! My vet hasn't let on... I really hope my boy can get off of it sometime too! How long was Minnie on it? (You might have already told me this).

 

Feels like forever, but probably close to 2 months. Just remember about the potassium deficiency issue which is more likely the longer they’re on it. Luckily Minnie likes the RenaPlus paste and licks it off my finger. 1/4 teaspoon x2 a day

 

I'm not familiar with that. What does RenaPlus do?

 

I thought I mentioned before. It’s a potassium paste for the potassium deficiency that continued use of furosomide can cause.

 

Ah yes, thank you!