Tuesday, July 16, 2019

Nahum's diabetes update

We took Nahum to the vet on Saturday to get the urine test (lots of sugar in the urine) and to talk treatment. The vet's goal is getting the diabetes in remission - I like that goal. She instructed us on insulin dosage and administration technique as well as diet management. Taking in all of that information helped make the whole process feel less overwhelming.

We switched his food to DM over the weekend, blending it with his other food. Monday we switched completely to DM. Monday evening I gave the first insulin shot. That all went fairly well. I am pleased the insulin needles are so tiny and the dose small, so it goes quick and I don't think he even felt it.

Tuesday morning was a mess. The new food messed up his system and he had massive poopy butt which meant impromptu bath. Diarrhea + long furs = huge nasty mess. Realizing it would probably take his system more time to adjust, I ran him to the vet for a butt shave. He only ate half his breakfast, I figured because his tummy was still upset, so we halved his insulin dosage as we were instructed to do. He seemed uncomfortable, like he looked the prior evening after eating, which looked like tummy upset.

Now comes the heart wrenching part of this. We came home from work and found him completely unresponsive in a coma. In one swift motion, overwhelmed and terrified, we gathered him up ran him to the emergency vet as fast as we could. They took him back and started treatment giving him dextrose. Before we left him for the night, we visited with him and he was able to stand like a statute but wasn't moving nor acknowledging us - this was improvement from his initial condition.

The plan is for him to stay at the emergency vet overnight for stabilization and then transfer over to normal vet Wednesday morning to figure out next steps.

The evening update from the vet: he's a lot more responsive, eating, meowing, wanting attention. That sounds like really good news.  Thank God!

Theo, our very sensitive boy, has been anxious mess since we got home from the vet. He and Nahum are best pals. I imagine Theo seeing Nahum struggle and suffer as he slipped into coma must have been very upsetting. Theo's been very unsettled, tonight, wants to be glued to a human, and even peed on the bathroom floor. Poor guy, misses his best friend. Cuddling him close - loving on him like there is no tomorrow.

Seeing him completely unresponsive was so, so scary - it totally triggered the trauma of finding Willow in that condition 15 months ago. I'm still working on settling and breathing. I'm going to be terrified leaving him unattended again- not sure how I will navigate that just yet.

Prayers and purrs appreciated.


14 comments:

  1. OMC, how awful! What caused the coma, was it the insulin dose? I assume it was related to the Diabetes somehow. Tons of purrs and purrayers and Light from us to him, and to you all. Hugs.

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  2. I can't believe the vet had you change food and then give insulin without testing him again, that is.. um.. well.. that makes me angry.. I am so so sorry.

    I hope you get better news this morning..

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  3. I agree with Connie, home testing is critical and can me life or death. How scary.

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  4. oh my - how seriously scary. please know that several bloggers have gone through this and would be great resources as well

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  5. This is frightening and I hope to goodness that you are able to get some sense out off the vet when you ask.

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  6. Sending you a double dose of purrs and hugs! C'mon, Nahum...come home soon!

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  7. we bee troo lee sorree nahum N send st francis' blessingz two see ewe thru thiz N we hope dad & mom get honest answerz ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    ♥♥♥

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  8. Oh prayers and purrs coming your way. It is so hard when our babies are sick and we do what we can but the unresponsive part is super scary. Annie Belle is snuggling just now with me and I'm so thankful for her good health so far. Hugs!

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  9. We are sending purrayers and POTP to Nahum - and you - and Theo - and the vets caring for him. How scary ! We are glad he was able to come out of it. Hope you can strike a treatment balance soon. (We have no experience ourselves in this area, but it looks like several friends have good advice to offer you !)

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  10. We're sending lots of purrs to you and Nahum and hope he will be okay.

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  11. Such a terrifying thing for all to go through. Do hope Nahum will be okay and home soon.

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  12. I've had two diabetic cats for some years (one, Parker, recently succumbed to cancer). Have you been instructed in how to test his glucose yourselves? That's essential. I didn't read anything about performing curves. As for food, from DM's own site, I read that the carbohydrate content of the dry variety is 18 per cent. That is too high. I feed ordinary wet food to mine, but make sure it is always under ten per cent carbohydrate content. I have a chart that describes the break-down of all major brands, and have found it very useful in managing diabetes. ALWAYS have some corn syrup on hand for emergencies; when they are in a diabetic shock, rub some on the gums. It absorbs faster than honey or maple syrup. If management is difficult, it is always better to have a blood-glucose number that is too high than too low. Testing is essential, and can be done easily at home.

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  13. How traumatic for your whole family--human and feline. Prayers for getting Nahum's diabetes under control ASAP.

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