Diabetes + Hiccups?

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

Marcia - 29 Mar 2005 18:10 GMT

Does anyone else's diabetic cat get hiccups? Mine gets them quite
often, sometimes just for a few minutes, sometimes for ages. He looks
OK while he's hiccuping (I can only describe it as hiccuping - no
sound just jumping a little at regular intervals), and sometimes
afterwards he looks disorientated, goes round sniffing things and
doing strange things like trying to climb a wall. I asked the vet and
he hadn't heard of it but said it could be he's having minor hypos and
said if I saw him doing it I was to rub a little honey on his gums,
which I did and it stopped after a few minutes but sometimes it does
anyway. The only thing that worries me is if I'm out and it happens
he could injure himself when he's disorientated. The other day I
caught him round the back of the computer with a wire wrapped round
him - he could have strangled himself. I've tied the wires up so he
can't do it again, but I can't predict what other trouble he could get
himself into!

Reply to this Message

zuzu22@webtv.net - 29 Mar 2005 18:41 GMT

>He looks OK while he's hiccuping (I can
>only describe it as hiccuping - no sound
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>which I did and it stopped after a few
>minutes but sometimes it does anyway.

If you're not home testing your cat's blood sugar ( and it sounds like
you aren't) you should be. A diabetic cat having hypo episodes all the
time is getting too much insulin and the dose needs to be adjusted
immediately. Frankly, if I had a vet that was so nonchlat about
reocurring hypo episodes and gave me the advice yours gave with no
concern about finding out *why* it's happening, I would be looking for a
new vet PRONTO!
You should be doing curves at home in order to get an accurate picture
of what the insulin is doing so you can make educated decisions about
insulin dose adjustments.

Learn to test blood and do curves at home so your cat doesn't die
unnecessarily.
You will find this page helpful:
http://community.webtv.net/getcathelp/diabetes

Megan

Signature

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray

Reply to this Message

Elle - 29 Mar 2005 20:56 GMT

> Does anyone else's diabetic cat get hiccups? Mine gets them quite
> often, sometimes just for a few minutes, sometimes for ages. He looks
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> doing strange things like trying to climb a wall. I asked the vet and
> he hadn't heard of it but said it could be he's having minor hypos

FWIW: I saw this
hiccup-a-symptom-of-low-blood-sugar-after-insulin-overinjection at some
feline diabetes web site last week.

Have you tried the online forum
http://www.felinediabetes.com/phorum5/list.php?8 yet? The expertise there
is amazing. You might want to ask there. (All credit to someone here who
recently told me to look at this site.)

Otherwise, what Megan (zuzu) said.

> and
> said if I saw him doing it I was to rub a little honey on his gums,
> which I did and it stopped after a few minutes but sometimes it does
> anyway.

Reply to this Message

Marcia - 29 Mar 2005 23:28 GMT

> > Does anyone else's diabetic cat get hiccups? Mine gets them quite
> > often, sometimes just for a few minutes, sometimes for ages. He looks
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
> > which I did and it stopped after a few minutes but sometimes it does
> > anyway.

Thank you both SO much. I am going to go back to the vet, he has
recently decreased his insulin dose and he doesn't seem to be having
the "hiccups" quite so often as he used to, which is good, but I AM
going to insist on home testing in future and try to get him on better
food. I was feeding him Felix as he wouldn't eat the food the vet
gave him, and as he's a relatively old cat I thought it was kinder to
keep him on his old food and the vet said it was OK, but now I'm not
so sure. Unfortunately there's only 1 vet in the part of London that
I live, and I don't drive. Otis isn't supposed to go back to the vet
til June but I'm going to make an appointment and ask about all these
issues, thanks again for the information, much appreciated.

Reply to this Message

Larry - 30 Mar 2005 02:52 GMT

You do not need your vets approval to home test. I also recommend that you
go out and buy a meter and start testing ASAP. You already go links to the
Feline Diabetes Message Board and other sites. BTW I have four diabetic
kitties and each has there own meter.

Signature

Larry - Owned by nine cats

> > > Does anyone else's diabetic cat get hiccups? Mine gets them quite
> > > often, sometimes just for a few minutes, sometimes for ages. He looks
[quoted text clipped - 31 lines]
> til June but I'm going to make an appointment and ask about all these
> issues, thanks again for the information, much appreciated.

Reply to this Message

Phil P. - 29 Mar 2005 22:37 GMT

> Does anyone else's diabetic cat get hiccups? Mine gets them quite
> often, sometimes just for a few minutes, sometimes for ages. He looks
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> said if I saw him doing it I was to rub a little honey on his gums,
> which I did and it stopped after a few minutes

Your cat is having hypoglycemic episodes - could be caused by too much
insulin -- or overlapping of insulin doses -- or he's receiving insulin on
an empty stomach or before or after the insulin is active -- or his insulin
requirements are waxing and waning.

If you're monitoring his urine glucose with dipsticks, *do not* rely on
them -they *cannot* detect hypoglycemia - the lowest they go is simply
"negative". *Never* make adjustments in insulin doses based on a dipstick
reading and without consulting a vet. Dipsticks should only be used to
monitor for ketoacidosis -- which can quickly become life-threatening.

You *must* monitor his *blood* glucose *at home* and generate a glucose
curve so you'll know how fast or slow he's metabolizing the insulin.
Insulin needs *change* in cats over time - some require more insulin and
others require *less*. Home blood glucose monitoring is the *only* way to
keep a cat regulated.... and alive.

The glucose curve *must* be generated *at home* in his normal environment,
with his normal food and feeding times. Curves generated in a vet's clinic
are not reliable due to stress which can raise blood glucose physiologically
and lead to erroneously high insulin doses.

Home monitoring is very easy. Here's a video about it.

http://www.maxshouse.com/bgtest.rm

http://www.maxshouse.com/bgtest%5B1%5D.mpg

I strongly suggest you learn home BG monitoring quickly. I also suggest you
find another vet ASAP. He should want to find the *cause* of your cat's
hypoglycemic episodes rather than simply treat the symptoms. Hypoglycemia
in cats can result in a very complicated syndrome called the Somogyi
Overswing.

Phil

Reply to this Message