Newly diagnosed

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Stephanie Grant

Member Since 2017
Hi, all. Unfortunately, I've been a member here before (2002-2005) and know how vital this forum was to me then. My girl, Genevieve was just diagnosed with diabetes today. Does anybody know of an online deal for a cheap and good glucometer and strips , as we are stationed in Germany (with a US APO address). I cannot do the deals in person, but can order things online if they ship to an APO.

Has anyone noticed a connection between crystals in their cat's urine and diabetes later? Genevieve has had crystals for about three years or so. Also, we just moved to Germany six months ago and the army requires us to live in an apartment on base here. I've noticed my cats are both more stressed and jumpy since we have loud neighbors. Any connection to stress and diabetes? I am sure diabetes was in her future, but she is so much younger than our last cat who had it. Genevieve is just five years old.

I remember the basics of how to do blood glucose curves at home and I'm hoping to find a vet here to work with me on that. I am not as shocked or scared this go around since I've had a diabetic cat before. I'm just sad that her life will require insulin and that she will have bad days where we work to get her glucose levels straightened out.

Ok, now to find her some diabetic cat food and see if I can figure out how to get a glucometer and find a new vet here (the vet I took her to is at another base and recommended I find a german vet).

Thanks for any positive thoughts for us.

Stephanie and Genevieve
 
Welcome Stephanie and Genevieve.
With Janet, sorry you have to go through this again but the plus side is you bring your previous experience and won't be going in blindly :cat:. Pretty sure you can get the Google Sheets app on iPhone. We do have a newer member doing this all from her phone as well.
Not sure if this Signature option was available when you were first here but it's helpful when you start posting: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/editing-your-signature-profile-and-preferences.130340/
 
I took her to a german vet on Thursday and he didn't feel 100% confident that she had diabetes because her fructosamine levels were not where he would expect a diabetic cat to be. They want me to bring her in tomorrow after fasting overnight to redo the test. They gave me something to help with the crystals and the ph level of her urine.

I've already ordered the test strips and had my mom get a glucometer to send me. It's just a waiting game until that makes it to Germany. I've been beside myself since the diagnosis last week, but now I'm anxious to get her back in for the new blood test. I'm really hoping the first vet was wrong. She isn't lethargic, she's playful. She hasn't lost weight, she's gained. The only symptoms she has are the frequent peeing and peeing small puddles, but she gets crystals and that's been a symptom of the crystals in the past. I was so shocked by the diabetes diagnosis but now I feel hope for tomorrow. I should also mention that she hates leaving home and we drove over annhour to get to the first vet on the autobahn and she cried the entire time. I am sure that stress contributed somewhat to her glucosamine being so high.
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Yong said:
I can tag @Marje and Gracie and hope she can read the images. Marje, I can read them if you need my help relaying :)
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I should be able to read them from my iPad where I can expand them. But the glucose is telling me she is likely diabetic. However, it is smart to get more than one test and see where she is. They should be able to just take her blood in their office and test it on a glucometer like you would. She does not need a blood draw and have it sent to a lab.

Where are you in Germany? We lived at Ramstein for six years and I have a really good German vet south of Kaiserslautern.

We are shortly sitting down to dinner so I’ll take a peak at the labs. You’re sleeping now anyway :)
 
The only thing that leaps out is the high serum and urine glucose. The fructosamine is an average over a few weeks.

It is possible for the trip to cause high glucose from stress. I think if you have a glucometer on the way, you can easilyntest her at different times of the day and see where her BG lies.

Her cholesterol is high which we often, but not always, see in diabetics.

Any repeated chronic inflammation can potentially trigger diabetes. Has she been eating dry food?
 
I am in Wiesbaden... the original vet who tested her was at Pulaski barracks (Ramstein). We are over an hour from there, though. The local vet tried to get blood this morning and could only get enough for a glucose test. It was in the normal range (after fasting). He believes that she does not have diabetes but that the stress of our living situation (we are required to live on base in an apartment and have loud neighbors) is causing her to constantly stress. I explained how jumpy both of my cats are here. They are prescribing a food for crystals that also calms them. My glucometer is on the way. I will do a few tests at home once I get it.

She does eat dry food for urinary care. She snubs wet food and literally refuses to eat if it's all that I put out for her. I bought several different cans to try again. I am going to try giving her that mixed with her dry food once I get a urine sample. The vet has me keeping her in her kennel now until I get a sample (and they gave her an iv over an hour ago to try to speed that up).
 
Stephanie Grant said:
I am in Wiesbaden... the original vet who tested her was at Pulaski barracks (Ramstein). We are over an hour from there, though. The local vet tried to get blood this morning and could only get enough for a glucose test. It was in the normal range (after fasting). He believes that she does not have diabetes but that the stress of our living situation (we are required to live on base in an apartment and have loud neighbors) is causing her to constantly stress. I explained how jumpy both of my cats are here. They are prescribing a food for crystals that also calms them. My glucometer is on the way. I will do a few tests at home once I get it.

She does eat dry food for urinary care. She snubs wet food and literally refuses to eat if it's all that I put out for her. I bought several different cans to try again. I am going to try giving her that mixed with her dry food once I get a urine sample. The vet has me keeping her in her kennel now until I get a sample (and they gave her an iv over an hour ago to try to speed that up).
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are you able to buy a product called feilway there? They come like plug in's in the wall and release calming phermones the cats can smell. one of my cats is very high strung and it helps my girl relax.
 
Stephanie Grant said:
I am in Wiesbaden... the original vet who tested her was at Pulaski barracks (Ramstein). We are over an hour from there, though. The local vet tried to get blood this morning and could only get enough for a glucose test. It was in the normal range (after fasting). He believes that she does not have diabetes but that the stress of our living situation (we are required to live on base in an apartment and have loud neighbors) is causing her to constantly stress. I explained how jumpy both of my cats are here. They are prescribing a food for crystals that also calms them. My glucometer is on the way. I will do a few tests at home once I get it.

She does eat dry food for urinary care. She snubs wet food and literally refuses to eat if it's all that I put out for her. I bought several different cans to try again. I am going to try giving her that mixed with her dry food once I get a urine sample. The vet has me keeping her in her kennel now until I get a sample (and they gave her an iv over an hour ago to try to speed that up).
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Many, many of our members here make the switch from dry to wet. You can try such things as crumbling up the dry as a topper and then slowly decreasing it. I would encourage you to get her off all dry food. Prescription diets have very little basis in science and a cat with crystals should not have dry food.

Here are some interesting reads for you from Dr. Lisa who is a feline veterinary nutritionist who posts in FDMB and has helped many members:
Transitioning Dry food Addicts to wet food
Prescription diets and urinary crystals
 
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