Very High Blood Sugar

[JethrosMom]

Hi, everyone. I took my Sophie to the vet today because she's been lethargic & not eating, and she has lost 50g in the last 2 weeks. The vet felt something hard in her belly & did an x-ray that showed something, but he didn't know what. He said it could be some undigested dubias. He also did bloodwork, and all of it was great EXCEPT her blood sugar was 990 (he said normal was no higher than 150). He has not experienced this before....is anyone familiar with this type of scenario? I'm very concerned about my sweet precious baby girl.

 

[maxiesmom]

It's great that you have a vet you trust. 5 years ago almost to the day, our Maxie developed an upper respiratory infection with some kind of growth in his throat. Our vet had to do surgery and drew blood prior to the procedure. He never said the exact amount, but told us it was the "second highest blood sugar I've ever seen in a reptile." Long story short, he pulled through. We have been very careful since then to maintain an excellent fresh diet, baths, and water by dropper from time to time. Also to stay on top of fecal testing once or twice a year to head off problems. I hope you have a good result, too. Don't give up hope.

 

[JethrosMom]

Thank you SO MUCH for sharing about Maxie! I made the mistake of googling and read nothing but horror stories! I've been sobbing all night - thank you for giving me hope!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Goodness, were the liver enzymes normal on the blood test?
What type of diet is she eating currently along with her dubias?
Has Sophie ever laid any eggs before also? If you have a copy of the blood tests, could you post them so I could take a look at them if possible. Thanks!
Definitely keep her nice & hydrated to help flush out her system, daily as well.
Post pictures of her if you can.

Tracie

 

[JethrosMom]

When she was eating, she was getting Repashy Veggie Burger daily w/dubias 2x/wk

I have her test results, but not sure how to post them.....

 

[JethrosMom]

I'm just going to type them in:
EST. WBC 9400
HETEROPHILS 47
LYMPHOCYTES 47
MONOCYTES 5
BASOPHILS
EOSINOPHILS 1
PLATELETS
HCT 62
TOTAL PROTEIN 5.2
REMARKS no abnormalities noted


AST 71
BA <35
CK 4420
UA 1.2 low
GLU 990
CA 11.8
PHOS 7.1
TP 5
ALB 3.7
GLOB 1.3
K+ 5.9
NA+ 153

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Thanks for posting them! Let me review them & will do an analysis tomorrow for you.
How is she doing tonight?

Tracie

 

[JethrosMom]

She drank a little in her bath ladt night and then slept on me for a few hours (normally she would have been running around exploring). So obvious she doesn't feel well. Doc has me giving her liquid calcium by syringe 2x a day. I'm wondering if I should be feeding her anything by syringe....

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is she doing today? That is great she is drinking in her bath then. The liquid calcium should help out. Is she still losing weight?
Has she ever laid eggs before?
Her UA (uric acid) for renal function is a bit low. She may have a mineral deficiency such as a B vitamin, or could be slightly dehydrated also.
The Albumin is not terribly high & it is in range but it is towards the higher end. That "can" indicate follicle production in some cases.
The AST (liver enzyme) is within range so I don't think there is anything going on with the liver, at the moment.
The K+ or potassium is a bit elevated which indicates renal function or issues.
She could just be dehydrated which can cause a lot of problems & readings that are higher than normal on blood tests, too since that can throw off the electrolyte balances. The sodium levels are in range but on the higher end.
The calcium levels are fine but the phosphorus levels could come down slightly.
I don't see any indication of infection, did they?

You could get some critical care or carnivore care from the vets to give to her for supplemental feeding or make a baby food slurry out of chicken or turkey baby food. Then mix in fresh greens blended, or squash & or sweet potato baby food to help also.

Let us know how she is doing!

Tracie

 

[JethrosMom]

Hi, Tracie! Thanks so much for taking the time to look over the test results for me. I really appreciate it. I don't know about eggs - we adopted her from someone so I don't know her complete history. The vet said no sign of infection or parasites and he did say she was dehydrated, so I've been soaking her daily & letting her drink as long as she wants to. She actually surprised me last night by running around a little bit - she hasn't done that for over a week. She immediately crashed right after, but I'm choosing to believe it's a good sign. I'm taking her back to the vet Monday morning for a re-test on the sugar and to get some Carnivore Care. I'm going to try to figure out how to post some pics so you can see my beautiful girl - she really is exquisite!! (In my humble opinion!)

 

[JethrosMom]

Here's my beautiful girlie! The 1st pic is older when she was well; the other 2 are recent.

http://s262.photobucket.com/user/edgotbait/media/monsters/imagejpg3.jpg.html?sort=3&o=2

http://s262.photobucket.com/user/edgotbait/media/monsters/imagejpg2.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1

http://s262.photobucket.com/user/edgotbait/media/monsters/imagejpg1.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

She is beautiful, indeed!
I am glad to hear that she did run around some & was a little more active. I guess she wore herself out.
The carnivore care should help her out to keep up the nutrition in her. Is her weight stabilizing any yet? Let us know how she is doing.

Tracie

 

[JethrosMom]

Hi, Tracie! Weighed Sophie again tonight - she's lost 1g in 5 days...I guess that's an improvement. She didn't drink in her bath tonight, but she was more active, so I'm hoping that's a good sign. We'll see what the doc has to say in the morning.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That sounds good, like she had a good day. I am glad she was more active!
At least Sophie hasn't lost much then. Let us know how things go at the vets.


Tracie

 

[JethrosMom]

Well, Miss Sophie is staying at the vet's for a while. Her blood sugar was still off the charts. The doc found a hard lump in her belly ( ) that he thinks might be a tumor on her pancreas causing it. But he wants to try to strengthen her before putting her under anesthesia to remove it. So she's staying there while they try to determine the right dosage of insuln for her. They're also feeding her a mix of carnivore care and critical care. I miss my girlie!! But they are being wonderful - they called me twice since I left her to let me know how she's doing.