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Grace+Deacon

Grace+Deacon

Member Since 2016
Hello, I have zero experience with message boards so hopefully I'm posting this in the right place.

My name is Grace and I have a 13 year old neutered male indoor (perfect recipe for diabetes) cat named Deacon. Quick history on Deacon: I've had Deacon since he was about 7 months old and fed him cheap dry food for most of his life because I had no idea that it was so bad. He is the only cat I've ever had and I've learned a lot from him. About 5 years ago he went to the vet for three days due to urinary blockage. They recommended the dry prescription royal canin UT food so that's what I fed him for the next few years.

Three years later I noticed he was drinking and peeing a LOT and was having more and more trouble with his back legs. He also trembles a lot and has for years (sometimes I call him my little bobblehead due to the head trembling). I took him into the vet, a newer much better vet, and he was diagnosed as diabetic with blood sugar numbers upwards of 500-700. We started him on Purina DM wet food and insulin (Prozinc) twice a day. This worked well to control his blood sugar and after about a year his insulin production kicked back in and we took him off the insulin and kept him on the DM. His legs/gait didn't improve much, his trembling got better but never went away (I suspect there may be other factors contributing to these two issues).

Fast forward to a few weeks ago (about a year being off the insulin with occassional blood sugar checks via home test meter to make sure he was maintaining) and his high blood sugar is back. It was the drinking that tipped me off. He had actually stopped drinking water entirely when he was off the insulin and the vet said it was good news as cats really should get most if not all their necessary water from the proper food. So, when I saw him drinking I was concerned. I got out the meter and sure enough he was in the high 300s. Over the last few days I've done a few more checks (I only have a few test strips left) at various times of the day and he's consistently in the mid to high 300.

Okay, so now the problem, I can no longer afford insulin, I can barely afford the DM. I cannot let him suffer but also can't bear the thought of putting him down when he can be treated, I would feel like I was murdering my dearest friend. I have tried rationalizing that he's had many good years, but that just doesn't seem to justify denying him a few more. I tear up just writing about it.

Thanks to this site I have already found lots of good food alternatives that will be cheaper than the DM. But, I am curious about anyone's experience with any possibly less expensive herbal/naturopathic alternatives to try instead of insulin shots. I know one bottle will last a long time, but I'm struggling to make rent and have no way to afford the $100 cost for a bottle of insulin.

Apologies for the long post. Any thoughts and ideas are greatly appreciated. Also any direction as to where or how to post certain questions, etc would be most welcome.

Thank you all.

-Grace and Deacon (aka Deaky)
 
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You don't have to buy the most expensive insulin. Talk to your vet about him writing a script for a less expensive insulin. Just be honest about not affording expensive insulin. Also, you don't need to buy prescription cat food. There are lots of low carb cat foods, like Fancy Feast or 9 lives. Just be sure it is a pate type without gravy. 'There are groups that help diabetic cats in financial need. Someone here can give you more information

We have a forum called The Supply Closet. It has people who have extra supplys because they have lost their kitty or someone who just is selling it cheap

Please don't put your kitty down. Their are people who will help to rehome diabetic cats.
 
Thank you for your reply. Don't worry, I certainly won't put him down, I don't think I could even if I wanted to, he is too precious to me. It's just that feeling of worrying if he is still enjoying life and the panic that comes with not having the finances to deal with medical issues, worrying if I'm making his life worse or if he is in pain. Just one of those horrible thoughts that seep in. I will check out the supply closet forum. I'm not giving up yet :) Rehoming will always be an option before anything irreversible, I just didn't think anyone would be willing to take on a diabetic 13 year old cat with mobility issues who is aggressive to strangers (He has always been very fearful and can be aggressive as a defense, but with those he knows well he is a very sweet boy). I took him in as a stray and when I first brought him home he was so skittish that if I even cleared my throat too loud he would bolt clear to the other side of the house. Thank you again for the information and positive support.
 
If your vet prescibes Lantus or Levemir, ask your vet to write a prescription for the pens instead of a vial. Many pharmacies will sell individual pens. Depending on your dose, one pen will be enough insulin for at least 2 months or more. If you can afford a package of pens, buying it from Canada is cheaper than US prices.
 
My cat has had good results with vetsulin. She's actually very close to a remission. While some people don't get great results with it there are currently several of us whose kitties are doing very well. Vetsulin costs about $50 and lasts about 2 1/2 months. Very affordable.
 
Hello Grace and Deacon, and welcome to FDMB! :bighug:

There are many people here managing feline diabetes on a tight budget. There are way and means of saving money.
There is no need to feed expensive prescription food, for example. Most of us feed ordinary low carb wet cat food.

However, it is very important that you don't switch your kitty to lower carb food unless you are routinely testing his blood glucose at home. That's because lowering the carb content of the diet can lower the blood glucose levels quite a bit, and the insulin dose may need reducing accordingly in order to avoid hypoglycemia.
Grace+Deacon said:
But, I am curious about anyone's experience with any possibly less expensive herbal/naturopathic alternatives to try instead of insulin shots.
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Nobody here has ever come across anything that works, Grace. There is no substitute for insulin. The only time insulin isn't required is in the small minority of cases where the blood glucose is only borderline high; and in those instances a switch to a low carb diet has sometimes obviated the need for insulin.

You can post any questions you have on the Main Health Forum here:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/feline-health-the-main-forum.28/

Eliz
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images
 
JanetNJ said:
My cat has had good results with vetsulin. She's actually very close to a remission. While some people don't get great results with it there are currently several of us whose kitties are doing very well. Vetsulin costs about $50 and lasts about 2 1/2 months. Very affordable.
Click to expand...

Thank You, JanetNJ, for sharing your experience with Vetsulin. Deacon was on Prozinc before, but I'll ask my vet about Vetsulin, hopefully it will work for Deacon.
 
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
Grace if you can't afford insulin at all you could consider BCP PZI, as your vet may well be able to get you an initial free sample.

Eliz
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Awesome info, thanks! I noticed Larry's mention of the long time it takes to acquire but will still pursue that free sample. In the meantime while we wait for the next non-rent check I'm looking into local organizations for possible help with the initial bottle of insulin we need. My biggest concern is what waiting a few weeks will do to Deacon. I've been checking his levels to see if they are steadily increasing, so far he seems to be holding steady in the 300s, of course this is still too high, but my main concern right now is just maintaining for the next week and a half until I can get his insulin. Today is a holiday (Labor Day) but tomorrow I'll be calling my vet for more info on what I can do for Deacon while we wait for insulin.

Again, thank you to all for the information and suggestions.
 
If you are not giving insulin at present, I'd suggest going with low carb, over the counter, canned food asap. Also, remission is often lost when an infection is present - when was the last time he had a dental cleaning?
 
BJM said:
If you are not giving insulin at present, I'd suggest going with low carb, over the counter, canned food asap. Also, remission is often lost when an infection is present - when was the last time he had a dental cleaning?
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He's on the Purina DM wet food right now, I have about two weeks worth left so I'll be using that to help transition him to a lower cost lowcarb canned food.

I'm ashamed to admit that he has never had a dental cleaning. I am glad you brought this up though and mentioned infection as a possible trigger, bit of an aha moment for me. I was just checking his teeth the other day and noticing that they aren't looking great, one had light bleeding near the gum, yikes :( I also recently noticed a very small lump near the base of his ear which has me concerned. Lots of questions for the vet tomorrow. Might even mean switching to a vet that accepts CareCredit or something similar.
 
Given what you're seeing, a dental is definitely needed. He may lose the tooth which is bleeding near the gum line. The lump near the base of the ear could be an enlarged lymph node from infection (if it is, it may be warm, squishy, and possibly tender) - ask the vet.
 
JanetNJ said:
My cat has had good results with vetsulin. She's actually very close to a remission. While some people don't get great results with it there are currently several of us whose kitties are doing very well. Vetsulin costs about $50 and lasts about 2 1/2 months. Very affordable.
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Can i ask how you have had good luck with vetsulin? We've been on it a short while. I cant stop so far mr b from going up into the 300's, sometimes 400's before the next dose. If i increase dose he dips too fast and comes back up even faster. He nadirs around +3 in the 100's.. and by +8 he's in 300's again.
 
Misterbeesmom said:
Can i ask how you have had good luck with vetsulin? We've been on it a short while. I cant stop so far mr b from going up into the 300's, sometimes 400's before the next dose. If i increase dose he dips too fast and comes back up even faster. He nadirs around +3 in the 100's.. and by +8 he's in 300's again.
Click to expand...

I can't speak for JanetNJ's experience, but I spoke with my vet about the difference between Vetsulin and ProZinc as I was debating about whether to try Vetsulin this time. He said that Vetsulin is an intermediate acting insulin and Prozinc is long lasting, meaning the Vetsulin may not maintain as consistent a level as ProZinc. Apparently it works great for canines but not always for felines. Although a lot of kitties have had good luck with it, it may not work for everyone. I ended up sticking with ProZinc because after factoring in the cost of cold shipping for Vetsulin vs buying ProZinc from my vet (who does not mark up the price thank goodness), the Prozinc works out to about $10 more per month than the Vetsulin so I decided to stick with what worked last time (my kitty recently came out of remission after a year of no insulin). But again, I do not have experience with Vetsulin, this is just the way the vet explained the difference to me. I am fortunate to have a vet who is fairly knowledable and experienced with feline diabetes and after reading about some others' not so great vet experiences I'm very thankful for him. Hopefully some of the more knowledgeable and experienced members here will be able to give you more info, I'm very new here.
 
An update....I applied and was approved for CareCredit. Not thrilled about more debt but if that's what I gotta do to take care of my best buddy then so be it. I've got his insulin now, but stuck waiting for strips I ordered. Even checked several local vets but no one had any in stock, I was even willing to pay the ridiculous markup just so I could get my boy started again. So, step 1) get the strips and get his BG under control and do a curve, step 2) once his BG is stabilized we go in for pre-dental cleaning bloodwork , if that goes well then step 3) Deacon gets his first and much overdue dental cleaning with the possibility of removing any bad teeth (I think there's at least one, hopefully it's the only one), step 4) have the vet examine the lump behind his ear while he's under for his cleaning and then go from there depending on what we find out about it.

But man it's killing me now that I finally have his insulin and syringes but not being able to safely treat him because I'm waiting on strips. I've got a call into my vet about possibly giving Deacon a low dose as long as I am home with him to keep an eye on him, but the strips may still take another four days to arrive so idk, it's like trying to determine which is worse, no insulin or a little bit of insulin with no strips to monitor his BG. For now I wait for the vet's opinion on this.
 
Grace+Deacon said:
I can't speak for JanetNJ's experience, but I spoke with my vet about the difference between Vetsulin and ProZinc as I was debating about whether to try Vetsulin this time. He said that Vetsulin is an intermediate acting insulin and Prozinc is long lasting, meaning the Vetsulin may not maintain as consistent a level as ProZinc. Apparently it works great for canines but not always for felines. Although a lot of kitties have had good luck with it, it may not work for everyone. I ended up sticking with ProZinc because after factoring in the cost of cold shipping for Vetsulin vs buying ProZinc from my vet (who does not mark up the price thank goodness), the Prozinc works out to about $10 more per month than the Vetsulin so I decided to stick with what worked last time (my kitty recently came out of remission after a year of no insulin). But again, I do not have experience with Vetsulin, this is just the way the vet explained the difference to me. I am fortunate to have a vet who is fairly knowledable and experienced with feline diabetes and after reading about some others' not so great vet experiences I'm very thankful for him. Hopefully some of the more knowledgeable and experienced members here will be able to give you more info, I'm very new here.
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Sorry i hijacked your thread a bit. I'm struggling with the vetsulin these past couple weeks after doing poorly on lantus for 10 months so trying to get others feedback. In meantime i have asked my vet for bcp pzi, which she has ok'd. The vetsulin with us wears off after 4-6 hrs, with kitty seesawing from 100's to 300's, which just isnt good. Thank you for responding.
 
Misterbeesmom said:
Sorry i hijacked your thread a bit. I'm struggling with the vetsulin these past couple weeks after doing poorly on lantus for 10 months so trying to get others feedback. In meantime i have asked my vet for bcp pzi, which she has ok'd. The vetsulin with us wears off after 4-6 hrs, with kitty seesawing from 100's to 300's, which just isnt good. Thank you for responding.
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No problem :) You might get more responses if you move your post or repost it in a section specifically about insulin, if I was more familiar with the site I'd tell you where exactly but I'm still exploring and figuring it out myself.
 
Misterbeesmom said:
Can i ask how you have had good luck with vetsulin? We've been on it a short while. I cant stop so far mr b from going up into the 300's, sometimes 400's before the next dose. If i increase dose he dips too fast and comes back up even faster. He nadirs around +3 in the 100's.. and by +8 he's in 300's again.
Click to expand...
I got similiar results as you at first with preshots in the 300's, and dipping down to the 100's around +5 then back up to 300's. it was lasting about 8 hours.... Honestly I think it was the food that finally flipped the switch for us. After two weeks on Young Again food I was suddenly getting all blue preshots and the insulin seemed to last much longer..
 
My Callie has done well with Vetsulin. She had very high numbers when she was first diagnosed, her numbers were up in the 400's and 500. now I rarely see anything higher than the middle 200's. If you do some searching, you usually can find products at reasonable prices. There are lots of hints for managing a DM on a budget.
 
Grace+Deacon said:
An update....I applied and was approved for CareCredit. Not thrilled about more debt but if that's what I gotta do to take care of my best buddy then so be it. I've got his insulin now, but stuck waiting for strips I ordered. Even checked several local vets but no one had any in stock, I was even willing to pay the ridiculous markup just so I could get my boy started again. So, step 1) get the strips and get his BG under control and do a curve, step 2) once his BG is stabilized we go in for pre-dental cleaning bloodwork , if that goes well then step 3) Deacon gets his first and much overdue dental cleaning with the possibility of removing any bad teeth (I think there's at least one, hopefully it's the only one), step 4) have the vet examine the lump behind his ear while he's under for his cleaning and then go from there depending on what we find out about it.

But man it's killing me now that I finally have his insulin and syringes but not being able to safely treat him because I'm waiting on strips. I've got a call into my vet about possibly giving Deacon a low dose as long as I am home with him to keep an eye on him, but the strips may still take another four days to arrive so idk, it's like trying to determine which is worse, no insulin or a little bit of insulin with no strips to monitor his BG. For now I wait for the vet's opinion on this.
Click to expand...
Grace, I would suggest a human meter. I'm assuming that you are using a pet specific meter, with the expensive strips. Most of us use human meters. I personally used the Walmart brand Relion meter. Super cheap! Would allow you to monitor.

ETA: May we ask where you are at?
 
Shiloh & Rhonda said:
Grace, I would suggest a human meter. I'm assuming that you are using a pet specific meter, with the expensive strips. Most of us use human meters. I personally used the Walmart brand Relion meter. Super cheap! Would allow you to monitor.

ETA: May we ask where you are at?
Click to expand...

I've been using the AlphaTrak 2 and it's very expensive strips. I already ordered a box, but have been researching other options for when those run out. I have been nervous about human meters thinking I would have to do some sort of conversion when reading the numbers but it sounds like it's not as complex as I feared. For now my vet is giving me a couple of their strips while I wait for mine. I have a wonderful vet :)

I am located in Portland, Oregon.
 
donnalea said:
I wanted to mention that the FreeStyle Light strips work in the AT2. I have been saving a lot of money and they work great.
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Thanks! I was looking at a thread on here about those very strips just yesterday. Right now I'm debating/researching between the FreeStyle Lite strips or possibly switching to a human meter.
 
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