Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat Health & Behaviour => Health & Behaviour General => Topic started by: Lindsey (thefunkyinuit) on June 12, 2010, 17:35:33 PM
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Hi everyone, I haven't been on here for absolutely ages!
Lacie was diagnosed with diabetes a few days ago, we took her to the emergency vet on Thursday night because she was weeing alot/it was very urgent and then she wet herself while sitting on the windowsill. The vet said that it could just be cystitis but to get her into my normal vets the next day and to take a wee sample. Her glucose levels were high in her wee so she had a blood test which showed very high glucose and ketone levels, confirming that she has diabetes. :(
It was a massive shock to begin with and the treatment sounded very daunting, I was really upset but I'm feeling a bit better about it now. We've started her on a prescription diet and started her on insulin yesterday evening. She seems to like the food, which is good because she can be pretty finicky! Still drinking loads but thats to be expected. I did her insulin injection at the vets this morning, I'm ok at the actual injection (I need to be a bit more confident and push the needle in harder though!) Its preparing the insulin that i'm struggling with! Getting rid of the little bubbles is difficult, but hopefully I'll be able to do it soon. We're going back to the vets tonight and probably tomorrow morning and evening until i'm confident with giving her the injections on my own.
Lacie is a little more quiet than usual but she seems to be getting used to the frequent vet trips and seems unfazed by the injections, I think shes also loving all the extra attention! :Luv:
Any advice would be welcome :) thank you in advance!
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Sorry to hear about Lacie's diagnosis, hope you manage to get her stabilised on the insulin. I think diabetes in cats is not as common as other illnesses but I know we have a few members on here with long term diabetic cats so hopefully they will be along shortly with tips and advice :hug:
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Iv not had a diabetic yet but found a website called sugarpet a very interesting read
http://www.sugarpet.net/ (http://www.sugarpet.net/)
Im sure you will soon have the technique just right :hug:
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Sorry to hear this and hopefully you'll get her stabilised soon. I'm sure that you'll get the hang of things and thankfully she's getting the treatment now she needs :hug:
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It can be pretty daunting to begin with. Did the vet teach you to tap the needle gently to get rid of the bubbles? Don't worry, if you're relaxed about it, Lacie will be too. :hug:
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Sorry to here that she is diabetic and believe it takes a while to get the right amount of insulin, so work with the vets and they will help :hug: :hug:
I had to give abs injections to one of mine and was surprised how tought the skin was, last time I think I finally got it right by getting the needle in properly, cos was hurting him by just pricking the skin.............I am sure you will get it sussed :hug: :hug:
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Thanks everyone :Luv:
I did well with her injection tonight, got my drawing up technique sorted now, a little differently from what the vet told me (The way she told me to do it, I kept getting a little bubble that just wouldn't budge no matter how hard I flicked the syringe!) I read about drawing a little air in the syringe first before putting it into the vile and pushing the air into the vile, I still get a bubble in it but it disappears with a light flick! I'm getting better at 'tenting' her skin but I still need to be more forceful with the needle (I did apologise profusely for poking her twice!)
I'm going back to the vets tomorrow for her insulin but hopefully after these next two injections, I'll be able to do it at home on Monday, If I can't i'll have to take her to the vets in the morning and leave her there until after work which I know she will hate! She going to be in all day Friday though so they can monitor her glucose levels throughout the day.
Shes a little trooper, bless her :Luv:
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Give her a little treat after the injection if possible. That way, they associate the injection with a good thing.....Tobes always got a very small piece of ham and he'd actually come and wake me up and then sit on the counter waiting for his jab so he could get his reward. :Luv:
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I have a diabetic cat and use a protocol called Tight Regulation formulated by an American vet. You can get LOTS of information and support on www.diabeticcatcare.com
We test blood glucose ourselves, at home, before every insulin shot and that way aim to give precise doses of insulin as needed rather than a guestimated dose which most vets advise. Using the correct insulin....PZI by Insuvet and NOT caninsulin is very important as is feeding the lowest carb foods possible....NO dry food and not even the vet prescribed foods.
Please feel free to get in touch with me if I can be of any help at all.
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Can I ask why you think PZI is the only thing that can help a diabetic cat? Caninsulin can have pretty good results too.
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Caninsulin is formulated for dogs...hence the name, it is very different from a cat's own insulin. It's effect in cats is very harsh, sharp drops in BG with an asociated risk of dangerous hypoglycaemia. It leaves the system very quickly so that the BG is not kept under control. High BG continues damage to the pancreas whereas the tighter control of BG given by PZI allows the pancreas to heal and allows the good chance of remission.
Caninsulin has actually been withdrawn from use for cats in USA.
Several research papers have been produced with more detail...I will look for a link but the one that comes to mind is by Rand, although it discusses Lantus/Levemir which are not normally available in UK
http://www.diabeticcatcare.com/protocol.htm
This link outlines the protocol devised by Elizabeth Hodgkins DVM which prescribes PZI as the insulin of choice
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There are a lot of meds used for dogs that can have positive results in cats too. Toby was on caninsulin for about two years and seemed to cope with the situation really well. I have seen Elizabeth Hodgkins forum and actually joined it; the people on there are terrifying if not informative. I personally did not want to change Tobys entire lifestyle after his diagnosis - he was a happy, loving , content cat and the idea of changing everything didn't sit right with me. I'm fairly certain he wouldn't have wanted that. I have read a little on the PZI and it's not as readily available in the UK as the US. (I don't have much respect for the US with regards to animal welfare, it has to be said!)
Having a little control over his health issue was important to me, but so was his quality of life remaining the sort of life he was happy with. People are made to feel bad for not immediately changing everything to "make the animals life better." If your animal is already a happy individual are you making it better for them or for you?
Does that make sense? Regardless, I hope the situation with Lacies BG levels is assessed very soon and daily treatment is stress free.
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Jackspratt...please don't think I am sitting here thinking how great I am for doing more than the vet advised for my cat...honestly that is not my intention at all! It is just that on this question I really do not think that standard vet procedures are satisfactory for a lot of cats And I do agree that sometimes we can do things to our cats that are not in their best interests.
TR is very easy...it did not involve 'changing everything' for my cat....ok I came to realise that feeding dry food was akin to adding petrol to a fire, so I changed to Bozita and/or raw meat. Easy. I do a quick test to check his BG level, it takes a few seconds and he gets a treat after so comes and sits in place when I ask him to. Easy. Then I give a precise dose of insulin which varies according to his current BG. No stressful vet visits for expensive glucose curves needed and NO risk of clinical hypo attacks which every owner dreads.
Anyone who has seen a poorly regulated cat will be overjoyed to see that cat regain health and condition once BG levels are closely controlled. And with TR the chances of remission are very high...up to 80% of newly diagnosed cats. I achieved remission in around 6 weeks of treatment. ( Paddy has other health issues so is currently using insulin again, hopefully only short term )
UK vets have a choice of 2 insulins...either Caninsulin or PZI, so PZI is readily available
You may have joined the original forum set up by Dr Hodgkins...but please have another look at the site I now use...it is a very friendly and knowledgable bunch of people.
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Having had a diabetic feral may I recommend extra meals when you do the injection - our late great Tiger of the Clan cats was so text book he even surprised the vets when he was back maurading the neighbour hood after 3 weeks and was back by his evening shot every night - he was very food driven so made it so easy for us :shocked:
If you want some help feel free to pm me
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paddypaws, I'm really sorry I didn't realise it had come across that I thought you were being smug; I genuinely don't. What I was trying to get across is that yes, Lacie has an illness that needs to be managed but this doesn't mean a complete and utter life change if that makes her unhappy. It's my opinion that quality of life is really important and if (for instance) the special food isn't liked you find the next best thing. (Toby hated the food he was given after his diagnosis and he always had a really good appetite so a compromise was made with Felix senior, if I remember rightly, due to the content being slightly better than standard meats for his condition.)
I hope this makes sense and you know what I'm trying to say - sometimes I'm not so great at putting a thought into words. Sadly, I don't need the site; Toby developed other unrelated issues and we had to let him go a couple of years ago. I miss him very much, he was a wonderful cat.
Hope things are going well with Lacie. :hug:
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Jackspratt...I think you and I are in total agreement...do what is best for the cat! ( And yes, sometimes it is hard to express things properly in email format :))
When I first thought Paddy was diabetic I was in pieces...by the time the diagnosis was actually made a few months later ( Yes, the vets missed it ) I was SO happy that it was something that I could manage rather than CRF or a cancer which they had first suspected.
I am sure that Lacie will make a great recovery and bounce back from this illness restored to her full health.
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Definitely.....am in total agreement with that. :) :hug:
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Hi everyone, thanks for all the advice. I'm doing ok with the injections but getting her to eat her new food is really stressing me out! The vet said she should have a tin of the wet food and 50g of the dry food a day, she likes the dry food but won't hardly touch the wet food. She ate it the first couple of days but now she completely ignoring it, she wouldn't really eat anything this morning so I was worried about giving her her insulin. I rang the vets for advice and they said just to give her half a unit instead of 1. She ate a bit more tonight so I gave her 1 unit tonight. We just have to muddle through tomorrow as she is in the vets all day Friday. I'm gonna ask some advice on different food. I'm not sure about TR, I might mention it to my vet but its alot to take in at the moment already, without that on top! I'll keep you all updated :) x
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To be honest we never changed Tigers food - bit difficult with the then other 40 odd cats and found that the "normal" food never affected him - he was on 6 units twice daily and was textbook diabetic till heart failure robbed us of this darling boy
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I dont know much about it but feeding wet food which is low carb is meant to be as effective if not better than the purpose made dry so maybe she would be happier eating a 100% normal wet diet?
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I agree totally with Milly's mum....look for a wet food with les than 10% carb content....Bozita, Animonda Carny, Butchers clasisic or whiskas/felix jelly (not gravy ) versions at a push. Feeding ANY dry food is like pouring petrol on a raging fire and then trying to put it out. Meanwhile the pancreas is being damaged further by the high glucos levels.IT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE. Dry foods are high in carbohydrate which raise blood sugar....which you then try to bring back down with Insulin. Doctors don't tell diabetic patients to eat kitkats for breakfast do they? Most vets have limited experience in dealing with diabetes and will not understand TR....or will not think that an owner would be willing to take responsibility in that way.
Sorry if I am going on rather but I am passionate about this and really really want to be of help.
I know it is all very daunting at this stage....but do ask about changing food to regular low carb wet, and please do consider at least some home testing, it will put you much more in control of what is going on and will help you avoid the dreaded hypo attack.
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I have an update on Lacie. She had her glucose curve monitored yesterday, we've increased her insulin from 1 unit twice a day to 2 units twice a day as her glucose levels were still very high and the insulin wasn't bringing it down enough. I had a good chat with the vet regarding food, decided that we weren't going to get anywhere with the prescription wet food (she had lost weight during last week - probably because she was hardly eating anything!)
I bought her a couple of different food to try - I got some Purina One Natural Balance & Felix Marinades, I've only tried the Felix so far (Its proper flakes of meat, looks really good quality - I could've eaten it myself!) She really enjoyed it and polished off the lot! She still eating the hills dry for now, I just want her to get some weight back at the moment.
She's got to go to the vets again a week on Monday to check her glucose levels again so I'm going to mention TR then.
Thanks for the support everyone, its been quite a week! (an expensive one too, good job we're insured!)
Edit: I also bought her a nice new collar with the words 'Diabetic - Please Do Not Feed' printed on it - I'll have to get some new pics of her on here :Luv2:
xxx
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Im glad your feeling more control with her condition, fingers crossed the increase will get her sorted
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Great that you are figuring things out. I think part of the problem with this sort of diagnosis is that it can make you panic. (I know it did me!) But luckily my partner (who adored Toby too) was the voice of reason. He volunteered to do the injections if I felt I couldn't and talked to me about how once a medication level is sorted it's a controllable illness to a degree. He was right, and Toby was such a calm cat that he made it so much easier, bless him. :Luv:
The odd thing is the number of people I knew who looked at me gobsmacked - a lot of them said things like "I didn't know cats COULD be diabetic." (They say it about dementia too, not sure how they think cats work.... ;))
Looking forward to pictures of Lacie modelling her new collar.
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Hehe, yeah, I'm a born worrier so panic at the little things, never mind this diagnosis!
Yesterday I was worried because she hadn't been for a poo in about 4 days, I rang the vet to arrange her next appointment to check her glucose levels so thought I would mention it, they said it was a bit worrying and ended up making an appointment for this morning.....half an hour later I took her out in the garden to encourage her to poop and low and behold she did a normal but MASSIVE poo, no wonder she was reluctant to go! :rofl:
I've asked my mum if she can be Lacie's secondary caregiver, for when I go on holiday e.t.c, she said she would but when I took the needles and the little bottle of water for her to practice drawing up with she kindly informed me that she has a needle phobia! :innocent: Shes gonna try and get over it for us though! I'm going to have to get my hubby involved with the injections too, I've not pushed it too much just yet because he nearly fainted watching me do it for the first time...pfft good job I don't have a problem with needles isn't it?! x
Lacie wasn't in a modelling mood this evening so I took a pic of her snoozing instead! :Luv2:
(http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c22/thefunkyinuit/Lacienew.jpg)
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Glad to hear things are going well :hug:
that's a beautiful photo of her :Luv2: :Luv2:
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Lacie is lovely! :) :Luv:
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Lacie went for a check up today, the vet thinks she defo seems brighter in herself but she has lost a little bit more weight (prob due to the heat this week!) She said not to worry too much because we're still trying to get the right balance of food, excercise and insulin. She tested her blood glucose and its still pretty high so shes going in for another glucose curve on friday. She also checked her kidneys and liver and all are functioning fine which is great ;D I think she is feeling a little better, shes eating more and has ventured outside and had a tiny bit of a play so i'm feeling optimistic at the mo! :Luv2:
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Feeding a cat a low carb wet diet can lower BG by around 5 /6 points.
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I agree totally with Milly's mum....look for a wet food with les than 10% carb content....Bozita, Animonda Carny, Butchers clasisic or whiskas/felix jelly (not gravy ) versions at a push. Feeding ANY dry food is like pouring petrol on a raging fire and then trying to put it out. Meanwhile the pancreas is being damaged further by the high glucos levels.IT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE. Dry foods are high in carbohydrate which raise blood sugar....which you then try to bring back down with Insulin. Doctors don't tell diabetic patients to eat kitkats for breakfast do they? Most vets have limited experience in dealing with diabetes and will not understand TR....or will not think that an owner would be willing to take responsibility in that way.
Sorry if I am going on rather but I am passionate about this and really really want to be of help.
I know it is all very daunting at this stage....but do ask about changing food to regular low carb wet, and please do consider at least some home testing, it will put you much more in control of what is going on and will help you avoid the dreaded hypo attack.
I've only read bits and bobs about feline diabetes but would look to cut out carbohydrates if Noah were diagnosed as cats have no dietary requirement for carbs. The low carb approach also sounds sensible based on what I know about human diabetes - lifestyle modification is far more important than medication in delaying progression of the condition and development of co-morbidities (e.g. eye and heart problems). It is excess sugar in the blood which damages the tissues, better never to allow that to build up than to treat with high doses of medication. In humans the best diet is low GI not low carb and obviously type 1 diabetics always require medication as well.
Sorry if that sounds preachy when it is not intended, human healthcare is what I do for a living so it's the way my brain thinks. :-[
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I had to rush Lacie to the emergency vet last night, she was refusing food, drinking alot of water, she vomited and was very lethargic and wobbly on her feet. :'(
The vet said that she had become ketonic and she was very dehydrated, so was put on a drip and kept in overnight. She is at my regular vets now, still on the drip, but she has had some food now and they have said she seems quite bright and happy, so thats a good thing. I'm just so worried about her though. :scared:
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Sorry to hear about Lacie, so worrying :hug: - but it sounds as though she's a bit brighter today, hope she can come home very soon. :hug:
Thats a lovely picture of her by the way :Luv: :Luv:
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How scary - hope Lacie is massively improved today. :hug:
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Really sorry to hear that Lacie has DKA, I hope she is recovering well.
Have you thought about getting a human blood glucose monitor such as the Freestyle Lite and testing her at home? That way you know for sure that her BG is in safe range and need never gain worry about DKA or Hypo attacks.
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Lots of love tp Lacie :hug: :hug:
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Sending healing vibes Lacie's way :care:
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Hi everyone, its not good news i'm afraid :(
She has been at the vets all day today, she had a glucose curve but had to be on a drip again. Her glucose levels were at 23 this morning, it was at 11 before her insulin at about 7:30 last night and she hadn't eaten much at all so it should've been low. They gave her 3 units of insulin this morning and for some reason her glucose levels went UP to 28, the highest its been. She also had some ketones in her urine. She has eaten 3 saucers full of tuna and some ham today, her glucose levels went down to 15 and then 14 and then 10 by 6pm. It was suggested that she would need to be kept in overnight on a drip so we transferred her to the out of hours vets. She will probably need to be there all weekend. I just rang them for an update and she has had some food and has settled in but her glucose levels have gone up a bit again. I had a very long talk with my normal vet and she explained that the prognosis wasn't good and that at some point we have to draw a line so that she doesn't suffer. I made the decision to give her the weekend and if she doesn't respond to the treatment I will have to make the hardest decision of my life and have her put to sleep. I'm in tears while typing this, I can't believe I might have to say goodbye to my best friend, I can't imagine my life without her. I love her so much and only want whats best for her. Some kind words and advice would be greatly appreciated right now. :'(
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So sorry to hear this :( Really hope she can pull through and you don't have to make that agonising decision :hug:
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Oh, I'm so sorry :hug: I'll keep everything crossed that she responds to treatment over the weekend, sending lots of positive vibes for you and Lacie. :hug:
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I am so sorry that she is not doing so well and hope that things improve for her over the weekend :hug: :hug: :hug:
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Thanks everyone, I really appreciate the support x
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I was just replying on the insurance thread but lost the post again!
But was just typing that 3 weeks is not long to stabalize a diabetic cat I believe,,,,,,,,,,,,,,just sending loads of good wishes for her :hug: :hug:
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That update is so not what I was expecting. I'm so sorry and really hope Lacies levels return to normal REALLY soon. Sending all the get well vibes I can muster. :care:
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Hi,
I am so sorry to hear about Lacie. :(
I adopted a diabetic boy, Sweep, last year in May 2009 and it's been very stressful: we nearly lost him once (he was on a drip at the vets for 3 days after a hypo attack).
I just wanted to say that cats are notoriously difficult to regulate so please don't blame yourself: Sweep was in the vets for a fortnight being stabilised after his initial diagnosis, and he went back regularly for glucose curves for a few months until I felt confident to do them myself at home.
Sweep is not a typical diabetic in other aspects though, as his body seems to tolerate high glucose levels (he is suspected of having acromegaly: a condition which makes his body insulin resistant) and quite often we get readings in the 20's or sometimes even 30 plus, and he has never been ketonic.
Anyway, what I wanted to say is, that any change in the insulin dose (up or down) does take a few days to take full effect, so I'm really hoping that Lacie will respond to the 3 units and overcome this crisis. :wish:
Thinking of you
:hug:
Nicky
X
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Any news on how she's doing today? :hug:
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I've just got back from visiting her and she seems pretty bright, there are no ketones in her urine and she is eating.
They said they were going to keep her on the fluids but try her back on her caninsulin tonight, her glucose levels wern't too bad at 16 when they last tested it.
She was alot more stable on her legs, she went for a little walk around the room and did a little wee wee in the corner.....oops! At least they got a sample! :innocent:
I'm not going to get my hopes up too much because its still touch and go with her recovery and I don't want to set myself up for even more heartache.
We will just have to see how it goes with the regular insulin now. I'm going to phone for an update later tonight. x
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:care: - for you, :care: - for Lacie. Glad she seemed a little better.
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:hug: fingers crossed
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This sounds a bit more positive and hope that your vet is patient and gets her properly balanced before trying to make any heavy decisions.
Lots of love to both of you :hug: :hug: :hug:
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Any updates on Lacie? :hug:
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Hi everyone, the vets decided that Lacie was well enough to come home tonight, shes so much brighter and they were happy that she doesn't need to be on a drip anymore. Her glucose levels are still high though so she needs to go for a glucose curve tomorrow at the regular vets. She has been put on 4 units of caninsulin, they have said they need to see if the dose is correct or if she might need a different insulin. I'm alot happier but know shes not quite out of the woods yet.
Heres a pic of her, I think she's pretty glad to be home! :Luv2:
(http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c22/thefunkyinuit/laciehome.jpg)
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Yes! Much better news, I'm so pleased. She does indeed look happy to be home; bet you're pretty glad too. ;) :hug:
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Lacie is gorgeous :Luv2: :Luv2:
So pleassed the emergency vets have helped her and now its time for your vet to do the same :hug: :hug: :hug:
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:Luv2: aaawwwww bless her little paws....hope she conitinues to make good progress :Luv2:
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Oh thats good news :hug: - she looks happy to be home. :)
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Very encouraging, hope she continues to improve :hug:
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Great news, I hope her recovery continues ;D
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Well, she was all bright and quite happy last night, she had a little bit of food but was drinking and weeing alot still, the vet said that that would happen because her glucose levels were still high. I got woken up at 1am this morning, she was sleeping in the bedroom window as usual and just had a wee where she was sitting :( I rang the out of hours vets and they said that as she was still bright and alert, just to keep an eye on her but that she had done it several times over the weekend too. This is so out of character, she has never been like that, she has always been so clean, its like she didn't have the energy to get up and go downstairs to her litter tray. I took her to the normal vets this morning for her glucose curve and she did another wee on the way there. I explained how she had been and about the wetting herself and the vet said it wasn't a good sign and she didn't seem to have had the improvement she was expecting. Its not looking good. I was sent home from work again today and advised to take a few days off because of stress and getting upset and stuff. I'm waiting on an update from the vets now, they said they would ring around lunch, haven't heard anything yet but no news is good news.
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What a worrying time :hug: I have absolutely everything crossed that she can get through this and become stabilised :hug:
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Poor Lacie. I always think that with things like that the situation must feel so undignified for such an independent animal. Sending you lots of hugs. :hug: :hug:
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Thanks, I really need the hugs right now :(
I had an update around 1:30pm, her glucose levels were 25 this morning, then went down to 20 an hour after her 4 units of caninsulin and then back up to 25 and hour after that.
Shes gone back on the drip, good news is that she has no ketones in her urine and her electrolytes are almost back to normal.
The vet has given us one last thing to try, which is to change her insulin to PZI. I think they are planning to send her home again tonight and try the PZI to see if that works and she can be regulated at home, if not then they said that they've done all they can do. :'(
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Really hope Lacie is more responsive to the PZI. I've heard good things about it, although we never had any real fluctuations with Tobes on caninsulin. Topping up the hugs. :hug: :hug: And for Lacie too: :catlove2:
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:( poor you and poor dear lacie....im so sorry to hear that she is having a hard time...Are your workplace quite good like that? I knoiw that some have no empathy atall!
I will pray for happier tidings tomorrow.....heres to a happier lacie and a calmer you! :hug: keep us updated! :hug:
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This is so sad and dont understand why the emergency vet seems to be able to help but not your own vet.
I do hope the new insuline helps :hug: :hug: :hug:
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Lacie is home again tonight, she hasn't been drinking or weeing quite as much, with the special insulin they managed to get her glucose level down to 15, then 10, then 8.
We have started her on 3 units of the PZI tonight and told that we really need to get her eating more. She will eat tuna and usually ham but the vet said she needs to be eating regular wet food and her prescription dry too, I tried mixing tuna in with her normal wet food and putting tuna juice on the biscuits but she wasn't having any of it, so a trip to tesco was in order. I bought some fishy flavour food - Whiskas Simply steamed fish and some Gourmet fish flavours. I thought i'd try the gourmet first as it is in small tins and I didn't want to waste yet more food, I tried her on the tuna and shrimp (its 54.5% tuna & 5% shrimp) Its only a complimentary food I know but I think its better than eating JUST tuna. I managed to sneak in a few of the tuna juice soaked biscuits too but she wolfed 3/4 of the tin, so thats good. :)
I also have tomorrow off work so I can keep an eye on her throughout the day and keep my vet updated. Fingers crossed that we can get her regulated on the PZI and that we don't have anymore little wee wee accidents! I'm trying to be positive but not getting my hopes up too much.
Work is ok with me having time off at the minute because we are not very busy this week and I have holidays to use up still.
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This sounds positive but remember it takes a while to get things regulated :hug: :hug: :hug:
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Brilliant reduction in levels. REALLY hope Lacie continues to go from strength to strength. :hug: :hug:
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Thanks guys, I don't know what i'd do without this forum at the moment, its been a great help :Luv2:
Shes just eaten the rest of the gourmet tin by the way! Think I'll try the whiskers tomorrow morning. x
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I do hope her eating will help stabalize her :hug: :hug:
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Such a roller caoster :hug: If you can get just through this crisis and get her stable :hug:
Here's some tips on persuading cats to eat, it's on the CRF site but most of the tips aren't CRF specific - http://www.felinecrf.org/persuading_cat_to_eat.htm
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Good luck - you could try something like HiLife Tuna - it is complete, so better than eating human tuna, and you could try gradually mixing it with other foods then. Feline Fayre do some complete fishy foods, you need the tins rather than the pouches.
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I think Lacie is feeling much better today, we had no little accidents during the night and she ate some whiskers simply tuna during the night too.
Shes been brighter still and ate most of her whiskers simply this morning before her insulin, shes also got her purr back and has been rolling of her back to get her tummy tickled!
I'm going to keep getting her to eat little bits throughout the day and keep a close eye on her for any changes. :)
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Fingers & paws crossed she is going to stabilise now - sounds hopeful!
:wish:
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:Luv2: glad t hear that she is perking up!! fingers, toes and legs etc crossed for her and postive prayers for stabilisation! :Luv2:
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Sending loads of keep improving Lacie vibes :hug: :hug: :hug:
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Any Lacie update today?
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She's been bright and alert again today, has eaten plenty and not been drinking loads but she did have a little accident on the living room floor while I was taking a nap :-[
Shes not at all wobbly or anything and is still bright and alert, I spoke to my vet and she said that she wasn't overly concerned as she is probably just still quite weak.
My boss said that I could take the rest of the week off If I needed it, I might just take him up on that so I can keep an eye on her until she has her next glucose curve on Monday.
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I hope this is the start of her recovery :hug:
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Keep it up, Lacie. (One little accident's allowed. ;)) Hugs to you both. :hug:
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:) great news and waht a star boss! :Luv2:
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How's she doing today, any updates? :hug:
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Still bright and alert today, has eaten everything i've given her (1 sachet whiskas simply, 3/4 tin of gourmet, little bit of tuna and some m/d biscuits)
She went for a wee twice in the night and used her upstairs litter tray, shes had a couple of wees outside today but about 20mins ago I noticed a little bit of wee near where she was asleep, it was a tiny dribble-like amount (I think she is just doing it in her sleep, when she is fast asleep and not just cat-napping)
I'm going to just keep an eye on it and see what the vet says on mon (unless it gets worse of course)
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Sounds like she is vastly improved to how she was and hope things continue to get better :hug: :hug:
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fingers and paws crossed for our little Lacie! :Luv2: xxx
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Keep up the good work Lacie (minor wee dribble aside!) :)
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Good news today ;D
Lacie is brighter still & has been eating really well, I got a bit worried earlier as between 5:30am and 10:30am she had done no less than 5 wees, I rang the vets and they said she could have a bit of cystitus because of all the glucose that has been in her wee, took her to the vets tonight and her result from her wee sample were really good, except for some white blood cells so she had an antibiotic. There were no ketones and her ph was good. The vet said she is doing really well and is alot better. Shes also had no accidents today and has put on 200g since Monday :Luv2:
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Thats wonderful, long may it last ;D
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Glad to hear that things are improving :)
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:yayyy: Keep it up, Lacie! :hug: :hug:
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Excellent news ;D
Sweep seems to wee a lot, and not always in his litter tray.
I have all electric sockets and my lower book shelves covered in plastic. :Crazy:
He's been tested several times for any infection; so we think it must be partly the diabetes (and partly because he is a territorial male and a general 'B' :naughty:)
Lacie sounds far more refined and apologetic for any accidents!
I hope she copes with the hot weather we're having ok.
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Naughty Sweep! :naughty:
As for coping with the heat, Lacie stayed downstairs last night because it was cooler and now she's flat out on the laminate floor, all the windows are open and theres a fan on full blast about 4ft away from her! :Luv2:
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Hi I have been following this thread and pleased to hear that Lacie is doing better. :)
My neighbour's cat has been diagnosed with diabetes and they are still trying to get him regulated. He looks absolutely drained and lost 2kg in weight rapidly before diagnosis- was a 6kg cat. :( Sure this weather cannot be helping him also 31 degrees again today!!
People say diet can play a big part in helping diabetic cats and was wondering whether your vet talked about that at all - low carb I understand is good for them?
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We're still in the process of getting Lacie stable on her insulin, shes going in for a glucose curve on Monday so we will know more then.
As for diet, she was put straight onto Hills m/d Low carb wet and dry but hated the wet so as we needed to get her eating we put her on high quality regular wet food along with the m/d biscuits. Once she has put a bit more weight on I'm going to try her back on the m/d wet food but I doubt she will go back to it after the yummy stuff she's been treated to lately! :innocent:
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Hoping all is still well ;D
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Hope all goes well on Monday :hug: :hug:
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Hi everyone! Lacie's glucose curve is looking much better, its still starting quite high and isn't coming down as far as we'd like it to, so she's been put on 4 units twice daily and we'll see how she goes on that. :)
Shes nearly back to her normal self now, eating well, not weeing as much (her urine test looked even better today) and she's put a bit more weight on over the weekend!
Shes become quite well known at the vets and everyone has commented on how lovely she is :Luv: (they said she looks like shes smiling all the time!)
So, all is pretty good at the moment. She did however, decide to do a wee in her carrier on the way home and subsequently got covered in it :innocent: I tried to give her a bath but she wasn't having any of it and spent the next half hour sitting on the windowsill cleaning herself :evillaugh:
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;D keep it up lacie!
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Great news ;D
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Onwards and upwards Lacie ;D
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Well done Lacie...........more more ;D ;D
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Sounds like Lacie is feeling more like her old self; long may it continue! :hug: :hug:
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Well done Lacie! :Luv:
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HURRAHHH! :Luv2:
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I'm feeling so down at the moment. Just when I thought things were going well.
Around 2:30am this morning Lacie woke me up scratching in her upstairs litter tray, I thought she might need a poo so took her outside (shes a bit funny about pooing in her litter tray, seems to only do poos outside) She did a poo outside but when she came back in she went to her litter tray and had a wee and then a few mins later went in again (no wee this time) This went on with her going to the tray and passing very little or no wee at all pretty much every few minutes. She was then sick, then she kept wandering around, sitting down and cleaning her back end, wandering around again, going back and forth to her tray, then trying to wee in strange places like on a carrier bag on the floor, on the settee, on a footstool, in the corner of the room.....It got to around 4:30am and I decided enough was enough as I noticed she had some blood in her wee and there was no sign of her settling down. I took her to the emergency vet again and they said it was probably cystitus......but she was given an antibiotic on Friday so surely that should have helped ??? So she gave her another antibiotic, anti inflammitary and painkiller and advised for me to take her for a check up at my normal vets today. I can't take her myself as I have had alot of time off work lately so my mum is taking her at 3 o'clock. I'm exhausted, worried sick about Lacie and now I have the added worry of lack of money. Last nights trip to the vet cost another £184, thats on top of the £186 the vets cost me on Monday and another £80 last friday. We've gone way past our insurance money now, we've had no money back from the insurance company yet, our credit cards are maxed out and I have very little left in the bank. I'm at a loss of how I can keep this up. I can't bring myself to stop treating Lacie because of the cost but It can't carry on the way it is. I just don't know what to do. :'(
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:scared: oh Lindsay im so sorry that poor Lacie is not so well again. This may sound harsh, but what is her prognosis? is she likey to continue having problems??? if so its going to be a very costly ongoing heartbreaking situation.....what are the alternatives?
On the other hand she may perk up and feel a whole lot better in a day or so and it will all make it worth while.
Is your vet being honest with you? are they sure that she wll improve? or is this just another money extracting exercise...sorry if i sound cynical but thats my expereince. £ 500 and a dead cat is not much fun :( particuallry when you have asked the vet to put the cat down as she was in such a state!
If she does stand a chance of a fairly good quality of life, then maybe you could speak to your family or a freind or even the bank manager to help out over this rough period.....
ITs a horrable situation to be in and i feel for you
i dont know what else to say.... :hug:
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Lindsey, I am so sorry to hear that poor Lacie is having more problems. :(
My vet has told me that diabetic cats are more prone to cystitis and she has been through a lot of stress recently, which can't have helped matters. Maybe she just needs a longer course of ABs?
From my own personal experience, I can vouch that having a diabetic cat can be very costly and emotionally draining - especially during the first few months. I was initially fostering Sweep for my local CP, and after he racked up over £2,000 in vets bills in 5 months, they 'pulled the plug' so to speak. However, we negotiated a discount with the vets and began to perform glucose curves at home - emailing/ringing the results to the practice for interpretation and advice on the correct insulin dosage.
If you can get Lacie over this initial ordeal, I believe home monitoring will be the answer to many of your problems:
Firstly, it reduces the stress on the cat
ie no travel, no vets etc.
(and stress can elevate glucose levels)
Secondly, it can be done relatively cheaply.
The glucometer I use only costs £10 to buy, the strips £25 for 60 individual tests, and needles £5 for a box of 100.
(You can also buy 'ketastix' for £6 to test for glucose & ketones in the urine.)
This literally saves £100's on veterinary bills, and if your cat shows any stange symptoms, a quick test can alert you to often remedy the situation before a life-threatening problem arises.
In turn, this also gives you more peace of mind.
I know how shattered and overwhelmed you feel at the moment, but providing a trusted vet thinks Lacie will overcome this, then you can cope with this I'm sure. :hug:
(And please don't hesitate to PM me for info - or if you just want a chat.)
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if she has stress-related cystitis Abs won't help
but Cystease would, and can be purchased quite cheaply on line, and given indefinitely
although I don't know if being diabetic would rule it out
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Oh Lindsay. Poor Lacie and poor you. Cats with ongoing health issues are indeed pretty costly family members.
I gave away my glucometer literally a few weeks ago; I posted on here first but nobody wanted it. Typical timing on lifes part. Really hope Lacie picks up soon. Sending you both big hugs. :hug: :hug:
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I'm so sorry but it will probably be a bit of a rollercoaster and hard for you at first :hug: I would imagine the cystitis would probably be related to the sugar in the urine and stress?
I hope that things settle down for you all :hug:
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I feel for ypu so much ands do hope it can be resolved. :hug: :hug:
Were all these costs out of hours costs cos they seem very high?
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Hi everyone, sorry I didn't update again yesterday, I was pretty stressed and exhausted!
We had a mix up with the vets appointment too :tired: I made the appointment for my local surgery but it was actually made for the one a bit further away, so my mum took her to the local one only to find out she couldn't be seen. I ended up taking her to the other on at 6:15 last night instead. Our vet said that it was cystitus probably caused by both the glucose in her urine and stress (shes had a lot of it of late, poor baby) :( She's been put on Metacam and Cystease and hopefully that will clear it up!
As for the vets bills, I got last fridays wrong, it was actually £58, not £80, that was for a follow up consultation, convenia antibiotic and urinalysis.
The £184 one was the Vets Now Emergency which included a standard consultation, OOH fee, blood sampling, glucometer gluocose test, baytril injection and metacam injection.
The £186 one included urinalysis, hospitalisation and board, blood sample, glucose curve, M/D dry and syringes
Last night cost £77 which included follow-up consultation, urinalysis, cystease caps & metacam.
All very costly when added to the massive bills when she went Ketotic :(
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do keep us informed of how you and Lacie are doing...sending healing thoughts and wishes and huge hugs!xx :hug:
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Our vet said that it was cystitus probably caused by both the glucose in her urine and stress (shes had a lot of it of late, poor baby) :( She's been put on Metacam and Cystease and hopefully that will clear it up!
I thought so, poor Lacie :(
As for the vets bills, I got last fridays wrong, it was actually £58, not £80, that was for a follow up consultation, convenia antibiotic and urinalysis.
The £184 one was the Vets Now Emergency which included a standard consultation, OOH fee, blood sampling, glucometer gluocose test, baytril injection and metacam injection.
The £186 one included urinalysis, hospitalisation and board, blood sample, glucose curve, M/D dry and syringes
Last night cost £77 which included follow-up consultation, urinalysis, cystease caps & metacam.
All very costly when added to the massive bills when she went Ketotic :(
:( It does add up doesn't it, hopefully things will start to pick up for her now :hug:
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Just sending a big :care: to Lacie and a :hug: to you.
I don't have any experience of diabetes in cats but feel that once you can get her stable then the stress side of things will surely disappear for both of you :hug:
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Do hope that things will start to even out now and emergencies will not happen allowing only your normal vet bills. :hug: :hug:
It just goes to show how at any age a cat can need lots of treatment and how the costs rise so quickly and as you posted on the insurance thread, a good insurance is soooooooo necessary from the time you first take on a cat.
I moan about the cost but when Franta became so ill last year and was possibly going to have an MRI scan, I was looking at 3-4 thousand for this and without insurance it would have been imposible.....we didnt go this route in the end but his bills were still about £2000 .
Sory to haver gone of topic a bit and send loads of good vibes for Lacie :hug: :hug:
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Thanks everyone :Luv: I do hope theres no more emergencies, I can't believe we're only half way through this month - bring on pay day!
Lacie seems to be handling everything pretty well, its like she understands we're only trying to help! (Doesn't stop her trying her best to not let me get her tablets down her though!) :innocent:
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Lacie is being such a good girl with her medication :) I'm so proud of her for being so brave! :Luv2:
She had a little play today, pretty much the first time since she was diagnosed just over a month ago
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:Luv: I am glad to hear that.....I hope she keeps improving!!!...how are you? have you got any rest with all this worry going on??? :( well done for being so strong for her :hug:
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Playing is a good sign but I think you will have to remember, if diabetic cats atre like humans, their sugar levels will drop with stress and excercise, each one that is ansd as she eats more, the sugar will go up. so thats why it takes so long to balance them.
I am so pleased that things are looking more positive and sendin more good vibes :hug: :hug:
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I managed to get a full nights sleep last night :) it was lovely!
I've eaten well today too, the stress really affected my appetite - I have lost around 5lbs though, which aint a bad thing! :rofl:
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:Luv: good for you! thats great! lets hope yo are both feling better and better! :Luv2:
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Glad you're both turning the corner :) Onwards and upwards :hug:
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That's lovely to hear :)
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:wooooo:
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Hey everyone! The last few days have been drama free - fingers crossed it continues! ;D
She had a check up tonight and her glucose levels were spot on for 2 hrs before her insulin and she'd put more weight on so is now 4.5kg
She's eating well, drinking normally & weeing less, oh and shes starting pooping in her tray again (It means I don't have to take her outside every time she needs a poo!) :innocent:
We couldn't test her urine today though as I think she must've done one before I got home so I have to get one and take it to the vets for testing later this week.
Then barring any dramas (touch wood!) she will only have to go back for a fructosamine test in 2 weeks :)
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:hug: :hug: great stuff! Long may it continue. :)
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:catlove2: that is fantastic! im sooo pleased! :Luv2:
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:wooooo:
Go Lacie :wow:
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Took a wee sample to the vets last night to mainly check up on her cystitus, the results were good on both her cystitus and diabetes ;D
It was negative for glucose and negative for blood! Yays!
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Great ;D
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:wow: woooohoooo!!!!
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Good girl, Lacie. :) Keep it up! :hug:
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After over a week of struggling to get Lacie to take her cystease capsules, I decided to wrap them up in small pieces of ham.....absolutly no more fuss, they went down straight away! :innocent: :rofl:
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:rofl: :rofl:
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How's Lacie been this week Lindsey?
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She's been really good thanks :Luv: She's got alot more energy now!
She's going for a check up and fructosamine test on Monday x
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Hi everyone, Lacie had her fructosamine test today, her results were smack bang in the middle of normal ;D
She's now 5.1kg (little fat bum!) :evillaugh: we're going to carry on with her food as we are for the next couple of weeks and if she's put much more on we'll have to cut her food down a bit!
Her eyes have been a bit weepy and her ears a bit dirty so she also had some dye in her eyes to check them, they're fine, probably just blocked tear ducts but she does have a bit of an ear infection :tired: so has drops twice a day for two weeks....shes not too happy about it!
She also has a little lump on the side of her face which we're gonna get checked out properly a week on friday (they didn't want to mess her about any more today!)
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What brilliant news and what a turnaround! Hope she tolerates the drops OK and that the little lump turns out to be nothing untoward :hug:
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Great stuff!
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Just a quick update! Lacie went for a check up today, alls well ;D
Her urine is normal, her ear infection has cleared up and the lump appeared to be just a cyst.
We wanted the lump checking out so they took a sample but it was just full of fluid and has gone now but we're having the fluid sent off for testing just in case. :Luv:
She's put a little bit more weight on since our last visit (only 0.6kg) so we're looking at cutting her food down a bit.
If the results from the cyst fluid come back clear, she will hopefully only have to go back to the vets for a fructosamine test in 3 months!
Myself, my hubby and most of all Lacie are very happy about this!
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:wooooo: :wooooo: :wooooo:
So pleased she has well and truly turned the corner, just a few weeks ago it really was touch and go so that's such a brilliant turnaround :)
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So pleased for you all. :hug: :hug: