Sept. 4th Blaze and Paola

Blaze and Paola

Blaze and Paola

Member Since 2020
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/sept-3rd-blaze-and-paola.234563/

@Critter Mom

Good morning everyone,
Blaze didn't eat much this morning, just a little bit. I gave him the usual 0.25. His BG was 14.2 this morning for his AMPS.
I will take the treats to our shelter yes, they are not interested in eating the freeze dry at all. They think it is a toy.
The vet office has been calling every morning to see how Blaze is doing. I told them I have been keeping a spreadsheet of his progress. They asked for it so I just sent it to them but they want me to use the Alphatrak 2 from now on.
 
Morning, Paola. Just picked up your tag.

The vets may want you to use the Alphatrak but they're not footing the bill for the test strips.

We're not talking rocket surgery here. Your vets have degrees so they have brains in their head. They are more than capable of understanding a spreadsheet populated with human glucometer readings and applying the reference range appropriate to it. I've attached the journal article covering the TR protocol. ALL of the criteria for dose adjustments are written for use with human meters. It might be helpful to refer to this document when consulting with your vets: it provides solid evidence from veterinary professionals that it is perfectly acceptable to monitor a feline diabetic using a human glucometer.

(And relax...)


Mogs
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Attachments

I would tell them you can’t afford the strips and you have to use the human meter. My vet never used a human meter for years before I started. He’s an internal Med vet. He was fine with my decision and told me I did better with Max than any other client.
 
Sorry to hear Blaze's appetite is a bit off again this morning. Are you keeping track of the total amount he's eating every day? Sometimes when they're grazing here and there it can be difficult to judge whether they're getting enough grub by eyeballing it.

Is Blaze still showing any nausea behaviours? If yes, it would be a good idea to ask your vet about a prescription for anti-nausea meds (and possibly an appy stimulant) that you could give him as and when needed so that you can make sure he is able to receive his insulin regularly and safely.

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Thank you Mogs,
I will read and use as reference.
Blaze is not showing any nausea behaviors...he actually started to act like his old usual self...cuddly, happy and playful. I hadn't seen that in a while.
The automatic feeder turned to an empty bowl at 5 am today and the feeding was done at 8. He had not been grazing for 3 hours at least...ash ate a little as well. I think they are just not that hungry, I don't know...
 
Critter Mom said:
Sorry to hear Blaze's appetite is a bit off again this morning. Are you keeping track of the total amount he's eating every day? Sometimes when they're grazing here and there it can be difficult to judge whether they're getting enough grub by eyeballing it.

Is Blaze still showing any nausea behaviours? If yes, it would be a good idea to ask your vet about a prescription for anti-nausea meds (and possibly an appy stimulant) that you could give him as and when needed so that you can make sure he is able to receive his insulin regularly and safely.

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Click to expand...
Ask about cyproheptadine, a human antihistamine. Vets like mirtazapine which I’m not as fond of although the transdermal might be okay, as an appy stimulant. I gave Mocha 1/4 a Zyrtec to see if it would prevent her scratching her ears to the point of bleeding and it stimulated her appetite as well. I used for Max too if his appetite was off and it worked too. My vet said it was fine.
 
Ok thanks Tiff,
They are supposed to call back after they review his spreadsheet.
I also thought that it might be better for me to switch to Alphatrak because the boys have insurance. I had put them under insurance as soon as I got them, when they were kittens. Thankfully I did because Ash is on chemo drugs for life and they are very expensive and 80% is covered.
Now Blaze...The strips are covered under his plan, I can buy them and have 80% reimbursed. As long they are vet required they can be claimed.
The other strips I bought them myself and paid in full. I am going to see if they are willing to prescribe them for Blaze...not sure if they will.
 
I used my Alphatrak exclusively for Saoirse - but only because I suffer from a constellation of major anxiety disorders and, thankfully, at the time I had the financial wherewithal to indulge my neuroses and Saoirse was insured up to the hilt for everything else.

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tiffmaxee said:
I prefer ondansetron and cyproheptadine.
Click to expand...
Again, second this recommendation.

A single injection of Cerenia can help give a bit of a leg-up at start of treatment for more pronounced/severe nausea, followed by ondansetron later that day. I have found ondansetron to work better than Cerenia once it gets into the system.

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My cats have taught me about pancreatitis, CKD, high blood press, uti, CHF, and of course FD. I’m now learning about EGC and mi,utary dermatitis.
 
The wealth of info is truly overwhelming. Like you said, I need to breathe and relax. I have anxiety as well...i am so grateful to myself that I had decided to insure or I would not have the means to provide the care that my boys need. I am divorced.and I support myself...it is very difficult to provide for everything on 1 income.
 
:bighug:

I'd be willing to adopt a sugar again some time but I'd never be able to because I wouldn't get insurance cover for the condition, and it would shrivel me up inside if the cat needed help but I couldn't access the necessary treatments because money (or rather, lack thereof).

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Critter Mom said:
EGC? Wot dat?

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Click to expand...
Something I hope you never have to deal with. Eosinophilic granulona complex. Another allergy. Mocha managed to have both. Her body reacts to proteins and gets sores on her mouth but they can be all over. For all I know it’s dust mites or environmental but when i change to a new one she’s ok. I’m going to run out at this rate. :banghead:
 
Yes he is paddling ..and so am I today.
I just finished some prep work for next week and now i have physio.
Gonna check messages in a little while....that condition sounds horrible. Ash used to get mouth sores when we started the chemo...now he is ok
 
It doesn’t hurt and so far only on her.io and one sort of inside lower lip. The dermatitis is making me worried though because she scratchetd aNd made her ear bleed.
 
well, they have been sleeping mostly today, we played a bit and they "assisted" me while I was getting stuff prepared for next week. Blaze had a few pieces of dry food here and there, but nothing much. Ash a little more but the 2 containers are pretty full still. in 12 minutes the tray will turn to empty. So...not a lot of eating around here. I actually forgot to eat too today at all. When I went to physio I was on the treating table for 25 minutes straight and when I got up I was dizzy. I have now been catching up on work emails and still haven't eaten. Gonna get on that...boys need to eat more though. I hope tonight is a good eating night. I have not heard from the vet yet regarding the spreadsheet. I think it's looking pretty good today!
 
I am just about to feed the boys...fingers crossed they eat properly, especially Blz.
My boyfriend is coming over and staying over tonight.
I will continue to post test results when I have them. We are going to watch a movie. If anything out of the ordinary happens, I will come on in SOS mode. Otherwise I pray it will be a calm feeding and night. I don't want you to worry if you don't hear from me...I won't be on the computer as much since Lucius will be here.
:bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
I gave them their dinner, I had to follow Blaze around again for him to eat...but he did eat a little bit.
Ash....I think he is nauseous now because (this is already the second time)...he gets so hungry I think that he can't take waiting. He threw up stomach liquid before eating today...And this is the second time. This happened yesterday too. Blaze does not look nauseous today. He ate a little but at least he ate.
And this is were I am mad at myself. I thought the vet closed at 8 pm tonight but it closed at 5. I was waiting for them to tell me about the spreadsheet but they never called, I wanted to ask for the meds. I figured I had time to call them myself before 8. My fault. I am an idiot.
Now...Ash hardly ate...he threw up. I don't have the anti nausea meds or the appetite stimulant.
If I were to go to the emergency vet services tomorrow (a different place than my vet), will they prescribe them to me if I ask?
 
I don't know if someone mentioned this in an earlier post, but in a pinch you could try famotidine - it is OTC for humans (pepsid) and can be good for short term treatment of acid reflux in cats. If you aren't able to pick up an anti-nausea med tomorrow, it can help with the kind of vomiting you described.

The recommended dose of Famotidine to be administered to pets is 0.25 to 0.5 mg per pound (0.5 to 1.0 mg/kg) every 12 to 24 hours.

https://www.petcarerx.com/medication-guides/famotidine-for-pet-stomach-ulcers/1116

Best of luck to you!
 
Blaze and Paola said:
He threw up stomach liquid before eating today
Click to expand...
Stomach acid.

Try to make sure he eats something every three hours. (I've had exactly the same issue with Saoirse and Lúnasa.) Maybe the same for Ash. If you can keep doing that it should help a bit.

Also have a look at the following pages:

Nausea Symptom Checklist - use this as a basis for providing details to the ER vet if you need to go. Tell them that you've had to change diet for both cats because of Blaze's diabetes diagnosis and that they're having a little trouble adjusting to the new food. Tell them about the vomiting (both cats). Stress that the appetite and nausea problems are interfering with Blaze getting his insulin.

Persuading Your Cat to Eat - Look at the section on baby foods and try to pick up some of the ones recommended. Sometimes cats will eat that when they're off their main nosh.

Let us know how you get on.

Nite, nite.

:bighug:


Mogs
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Last edited:
If you're looking for famotidine, Paola, be careful of which version because not all versions are safe for cats. I'm not sure if Pepcid AC is still available but if you ask at a pharmacy they may be able to give you generic famotidine. See the NAUSEA link above for details of which famotidine to use.


Mogs
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Critter Mom said:
Stomach acid.

Try to make sure he eats something every three hours. (I've had exactly the same issue with Saoirse and Lúnasa.) Maybe the same for Ash. If you can keep doing that it should help a bit.

Also have a look at the following pages:

Nausea Symptom Checklist - use this as a basis for providing details to the ER vet if you need to go. Tell them that you've had to change diet for both cats because of Blaze's diabetes diagnosis and that they're having a little trouble adjusting to the new food. Stress that the appetite and nausea problems are interfering with Blaze getting his insulin.

Persuading Your Cat to Eat - Look at the section on baby foods and try to pick up some of the ones recommended. Sometimes cats will eat that when they're off their main nosh.

Let us know how you get on.

Nite, nite.

:bighug:


Mogs
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Click to expand...
This is what I did...i sprinkled some human tuna (from a can, under water) on the FF wet food. He is eating like a champ right now....should I try it with BLZ tomorrow morning?
 
Just a heads up that you want to get nausea under control before adding an appetite stimulant. Do you think for Ash it’s the chemo making him nauseous?
 
Critter Mom said:
If you're looking for famotidine, Paola, be careful of which version because not all versions are safe for cats. I'm not sure if Pepcid AC is still available but if you ask at a pharmacy they may be able to give you generic famotidine. See the NAUSEA link above for details of which famotidine to use.


Mogs
.
Click to expand...
Yes. It must be regular strength.
 
No....I think waiting to eat makes him throw up...he likes to graze...but because of Blaze i set up the automatic feeder to turn to empty bowl 3 hours before dinner...maybe i can do that but take ash to a room 1 hr before dinner and give him some food
 
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