? When did you decide it was time for a new vet?

[MayL]

Hi all,

I've been home testing my cat Milo and this is the advice I got from my vet: "I don't want you to spot check BG. Not super helpful and will stress out Milo." While I find her knowledgeable, responsive, and professional, I also feel like she's not up to speed on the food options and the bg testing guidelines. Are comments like this signs I should consider a new vet? She is an internal specialist so I appreciate that since Milo has several conditions going on, but.... any thoughts?

If anyone has a vet in the Los Angeles/Pasadena area that has been supportive with home testing, please share!

 

[Squalliesmom]

Since she is an IM and is successfully treating several other of Milo's conditions, this may be one of those cases where it's best just to smile and nod, and keep doing what you're doing. Conversely, you could also schedule a time to just sit down with her and explain your position and why you want to handle some of the diabetes issues your way. If you go that route, spends a couple of days looking online for all the supporting information you can find, preferably from vet/med sites, and print it up so you can show it to her to back up your position. Ultimately, it's your cat and she can't tell you not to test, or to use Brand X food, but she can drop you from her practice if she thinks you and she can't come to a working agreement. Which also serves to answer the question of whether or not you should look for a new vet, lol. (Sorry, not laughing at your situation, just amused by the irony there!) I had to find a new vet after Squallie was diagnosed, his former vet and I were too many miles apart on his treatment, and when she and her tech girl both screamed at me, in front of a waiting room full of other owners, that I was killing my cat by testing, and feeding Fancy Feast instead of Science Diet dry food, I knew I was never going back.

 

[Kris & Teasel]

@FurBabiesMama has a link in her signature to AAHA guidelines written by vets for vets that promote home testing, etc.

 

[FurBabiesMama]

The vet who diagnosed Mia said all the vets at her office strongly recommend against home testing. She said it damages the animal/human bond (which I can now tell you is completely false). That was the final straw for me (she had also given bad food recommendations which, I must say, she at least apologized for after she went back and did some research based on what I told her). The second vet we tried was not against home testing, but she was not willing to work with me. Her attitude was 'do exactly as I say or I will not be your vet'. She told me to give Mia her full insulin dose regardless of her pre-shot glucose level - she went to far as to say, 'Even if it is 100, give the shot.'. It was absurd to me that she did not 'believe' in any no-shot number at all. I could not reason with her. I had data to show her a situation where Mia was not even as low as 100, but I reduced her dose and she still went too low, and I had to intervene with Karo syrup and high carb food. So on to the third vet... we then went to an internal medicine specialist who had much more knowledge/experience with diabetes. The conversation during our first visit was so refreshing. Finally! Nothing he said - unlike the other two - was out of line with what I had learned on my own. He was accepting of the fact that I had educated myself and that I was taking an active role in managing Mia's care - he was even complimentary.

What I want in a vet is someone who has a reasonable degree of knowledge about feline diabetes AND who is willing to work with me. So, my answer to when it is time to change vets is when you come to the point that it is clear that you do not have one or both of those things. If your vet seems great in regards to everything except her opinion on home testing, I think it is absolutely worth a try to reason with her on that point. As Kris said, I have a link in my signature to the AAHA Diabetes Mgmt Guidelines. They indicate that home testing is the best way to go because the results are not impacted by the stress of vet visits. They even caution against vets increasing dosing too much because of skewed test results taken in-clinic. Maybe you could read over them and highlight points you want to share with her. If she sees that you are taking your information from such reputable sources, maybe she will be more likely to cooperate. I hope it works out for you, because it really is a pain to have to start over with a new vet.

 

[Sean & Rufus]

She said it damages the animal/human bond

That must be in a book somewhere. Why do so many vets use this line? I know my Rufus is pretty docile, and some cats may not like being "restrained", but I wonder how many cats that never wanted anything to do with an owner after testing.

 

[LuanneP]

If you like every thing else about this vet just Smile & Nod, Smile & Nod I do that a LOT! I like my vet, her prices are good & I need her for diagnostics & she will usually do what I ask in terms of meds etc but once I have a diagnosis it's up to me on how I want to treat my furbabies. She can offer her advice/suggestions but I don't have to follow them. She didn't encourage home testing either but I do it because it keeps Merry safe & it's not stressful at all. What we do in our own home to care for our furbabies is up to us as their care givers. Actually, other than doing Merry's blood work, urinalysis & exam when he first arrived in rescue back in the summer of 2017 she hasn't had much to do with his Diabetes. When I was listening more to her, Merry had very high, flat numbers & was at risk for Ketones etc so I finally started to follow the methods on this board & that is when his numbers started to improve & my vet doesn't even know what dose he's on at his point or what his numbers are. That being said, I also know she's there for me & my dogs & cats when I need her even though she knows I do my own thing when it comes to caring for their health issues.

 

[Squalliesmom]

She said it damages the animal/human bond

I wonder what she would make of Squallie, who readily comes to me when I break out the test kit, lies down next to me on the sofa, and "presents" his ears for testing??? So much for breaking that bond, I guess Squallie didn't get that message, lol!
I am constantly amazed at how little most vets know about FD!

 

[cmonmiracle]

I actually just wrote a review about the vet who diagnosed Avery. It did not put them in a nice light but there was nothing false or misleading about it. They wrote me a formal letter today dumping me as a client. Not that I was planning on coming back.

If I hadn't found this site, Avery could have been put in a life-threatening situation due to their negligence and/or ignorance. Plus, Avery just didn't like them.

Avery has been super tolerant of the poking. If anything, this gives me an excuse for extra bonding time.

 

[Glassgoblin]

I switched vets at the beginning of this month and that is how we got our diagnosis for diabetes. Jaxa was first sick in Novemeber; she threw up and had diarrhea several times over night so I took her to the vet we were seeing with our new puppy. They threw all sorts of antibiotics, probiotics, cerenia, dewormer, etc. at it but didn't even ask to do a single test. Two weeks later she went in for her vaccinations updates and I mentioned that she was eating a bit less, but they kinda blew that off. Another week and a half and she was barely eating her treats so we went in and they finally did some blood work. That was when she was diagnosed with pancreatitis. They gave meds, but the buprenex made Jaxa stop eating completely and two days later she had to be at the vet hospital for three days on IVs and feeding tubes. I really thought that I was going to lose her then.

We went home and she seemed fine until about two weeks after her prednisolone was gone, and then she had another bad weekend. She didn't stop eating but she threw up once each morning and was eating less. Went back to the vet, refilled prescriptions, her glucose was high and that made the vet suggest cancer. I asked about diabetes and he insisted no, not diabetes, cancer, and suggested putting her down immediately without further testing (except for the ultrasound which they would have to send me across the state to do and he thought wouldn't be conclusive.) I took her home, we used the meds, and she seemed to have a flare at the end of February, and we were getting by on prednisolone, cerenia, and mirtazapine. I had been reading about meds though so when she seemed to be in pain, and the vet hadn't given anything for that I called. And it took him two days to get back to me about her, knowing she was in pain. He switched us to cyproheptadine and ondansetron, but still nothing for pain. So I called a different vet office; the vet called me back the same day and we had an appt set up three days later, and all her paperwork was sent to them. That is when we got the diabetes diagnosis and they started us on insulin that same day, set us up with needles/insulin, and showed me how to do the shots. We have been back weekly for her curve tests, and they check in with us often.

I had asked the first vet about diabetes three times when she had high glucose (over 300mg/dl twice) and every time they just acted like I was reading too much online and I should stop worrying about it. Switching vets probably saved her life this month. If your vet doesn't want to work with you, explain anything, or ignores your concerns they are probably not the person you want for your kitty. If Jaxa was a child she could say where it hurts or when she doesn't feel good; but with cats we have to be their interpreters.