New to this forum and have a few questions

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I’ve just done a +4 reading of her pmgb and i got 3.6. Is there any danger of a hypo without insulin? I just tested her again as she’s eaten a good amount tonight.
 
Also, I totally agree with what you all said about the home testing. When I told my mum about this forum and my findings, she said, “why wouldn’t you test an animal before giving insulin when humans do?”. So it makes complete sense. It would be great if there was a way to get more people onto this forum...
 
Fiona1 said:
I’ve just done a +4 reading of her pmgb and i got 3.6. Is there any danger of a hypo without insulin? I just tested her again as she’s eaten a good amount tonight.
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No, as Kris said, Tinkerbell can't hypo if you're not giving insulin (and she hasn't had any for a while now). The numbers you're getting are perfect and many people on this board would give their right arm to be doing so well!
 
Yes I actually can’t believe my luck (so far).
Tinkerbell has a vet appointment on Monday which was made the day I collected her. Do you think I should take her? Or could it be stressful and potentially bring back the high levels?
Another option is, I have a vet in my area who I have had an appointment with before, called Vets 2 You, who comes to your house.
 
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Fiona1 said:
Yes I actually can’t believe my luck (so far).
Tinkerbell has a vet appointment on Monday which was made the day I collected her. Do you think I should take her? Or could it be stressful and potentially bring back the high levels?
Another option is, I have a vet in my area who I have had an appointment with before, called Vets 2 You, who comes to your house.
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How about if you ring the vet and say Tinkerbell is doing really well and ask does she actually need to be seen? It may be that the stress of being at the vet for so long added to her bg levels, so you're right to consider that. If there are no other issues that the vet needs to see her for then I would definitely try to avoid taking her. But in that case why would you need a vet to come to you, either? Tinkerbell isn't unwell as such, she has been successfully treated for diabetes which by the look of it was probably steroid-induced as opposed to lack of pancreatic function. I think vets like to see their patients at intervals but few are treated so well or so successfully at home as you have done.

Maybe wait until Monday morning to decide, going on her general behaviour, eating etc. If she is generally ok and there seems no obvious reason to be seen by a vet, maybe hold off? But maybe you'd like the reassurance of a quick check-up to make sure she's ok, in which case get the vet to come to you if you think that's a better bet.
 
Here’s Tinkerbell from today.

I’m going to stick with the appointment at my regular vet as he has the history and can weigh her on the exact same scales.
 

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Fiona1 said:
Here’s Tinkerbell from today.

I’m going to stick with the appointment at my regular vet as he has the history and can weigh her on the exact same scales.
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Good thinking, Fiona. Let us know how it goes and if the vet awards you a gold star!!
 
Hi, just got back not long ago. My vet seemed very surprised and said it’s an interesting case study.

He only actually weighed Tinkerbell and she was 3.6, down from 3.75kg when she left but this was to be suspected seeing as she lost her appetite at the start of when she came home. Didn’t check her in any other way.

Other than that, we were just going through her figures and he told me to keep it up.

He prefers to see a hand written copy of the BG levels rather than the spreadsheet so I’ve agreed to send him this. Hopefully it could help other cats?

He said he thinks it was steroid induced which I think too.

He didn’t charge me for this visit, perhaps he will find the figures helpful.

He’s asked me to bring her back in a week.
 
So the vet is "very surprised" and says this is "an interesting case study"... that suggests to me that he is out of his depth and didn't really know what else to say. And what could he say, as his prescribed 5u dose was so clearly way off the mark.
Don't want to get into vet-bashing as such - it's not his fault that he didn't get much training in FD - but it does make me sad that an awful lot of vets are like this - fairly clueless when it comes to FD. I think it's up to us as individual caregivers to educate our vets as best we can with the information we've taken it upon ourselves to learn, and if by doing so we save just one kitty's life and one owner's heartache, then it's worth our while.
 
Diana&Tom said:
So the vet is "very surprised" and says this is "an interesting case study"... that suggests to me that he is out of his depth and didn't really know what else to say. And what could he say, as his prescribed 5u dose was so clearly way off the mark.
Don't want to get into vet-bashing as such - it's not his fault that he didn't get much training in FD - but it does make me sad that an awful lot of vets are like this - fairly clueless when it comes to FD. I think it's up to us as individual caregivers to educate our vets as best we can with the information we've taken it upon ourselves to learn, and if by doing so we save just one kitty's life and one owner's heartache, then it's worth our while.
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Very well said @Diana&Tom - my thoughts exactly..
 
Hi, I'm new to the forum. I have a 12 yo outdoor cat- she showed up as a feral cat around 2007... anyway, just recently diagnosed with diabetes. I originally thought I would try treating her just dietarily since she's an outdoor cat and monitoring her with insulin on a regular basis might not be very practical, but she has been so ravenous, I thought I should give insulin a try. Started it a few days ago, and this morning found her in almost a coma on the driveway. Rubbed maple syrup on her gums and raced her to the vet. She was given IV drip etc, I think I was lucky to get her there just in time... Poor baby. Anyway, she's home now, but she could have easily have died. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this diabetic shock, or hypoglycemia to this extreme, and how long it took for their cat to recover. I don't ever want to give her insulin again.... I almost lost her... Thanks...
 
reluctant cat said:
Hi, I'm new to the forum. I have a 12 yo outdoor cat- she showed up as a feral cat around 2007... anyway, just recently diagnosed with diabetes. I originally thought I would try treating her just dietarily since she's an outdoor cat and monitoring her with insulin on a regular basis might not be very practical, but she has been so ravenous, I thought I should give insulin a try. Started it a few days ago, and this morning found her in almost a coma on the driveway. Rubbed maple syrup on her gums and raced her to the vet. She was given IV drip etc, I think I was lucky to get her there just in time... Poor baby. Anyway, she's home now, but she could have easily have died. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this diabetic shock, or hypoglycemia to this extreme, and how long it took for their cat to recover. I don't ever want to give her insulin again.... I almost lost her... Thanks...
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Hello, I’m sorry to hear that! I hope your cat will be ok.
I have no experience of this I’m afraid. If I were you, I would start a new thread on this board to ensure you get as many views/help as possible. Also please let us know which insulin you are using, how much was used, if it was on the advice of your vet. Also let us know if you’re home testing. It’s vital to do this and specifically before each shot.
 
Fiona1 said:
Hello, I’m sorry to hear that! I hope your cat will be ok.
I have no experience of this I’m afraid. If I were you, I would start a new thread on this board to ensure you get as many views/help as possible. Also please let us know which insulin you are using, how much was used, if it was on the advice of your vet. Also let us know if you’re home testing. It’s vital to do this and specifically before each shot.
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Hello! Sorry to hear of your experience. Fiona is right, please start a new thread asking for help with your situation.
 
Hi everyone :) please take a look at Tinkeebell’s levels and let me know if you think this is concerning. I know one of you said they could rise but I’m dreading tomorrow mornings result.
Tinkerbell has seemed quite agitated today. We have been packing and also our landlord arranged a viewer, so it could have been a bit stressful for her but it had still risen this morning, from the other recent mornings.
 
Almost certainly stress related but numbers aren't very much higher than of late so don't panic! Keep her - and yourself - as calm as you can.
 
I’ve just tested Tinkerbell and she’s 9.4. We have been at my mums for around an hour and a half and we just did a 2 hour car journey before that. Do you think it’s normal that it could be raised that much?
 
Fiona1 said:
I’ve just tested Tinkerbell and she’s 9.4. We have been at my mums for around an hour and a half and we just did a 2 hour car journey before that. Do you think it’s normal that it could be raised that much?
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It's very possible, yes - that's quite a lot of stress for a kitty. Hopefully numbers will settle back. Keep an eye but don't panic too much, this really is to be expected. Have you now semi- permanently relocated? - if so Tinkerbell will need to adapt to her new routine, so stress will almost certainly affect her bg. As long as she doesn't sky rocket and stays in single figures, that's ok. You may need to test more frequently for the moment whilst things settle down.
 
Fiona1 said:
I’ve just tested Tinkerbell and she’s 9.4. We have been at my mums for around an hour and a half and we just did a 2 hour car journey before that. Do you think it’s normal that it could be raised that much?
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That number is atypical for her so it may well be that it's stress induced, given the circumstances. This seems most likely....
Or, any chance she could have got into any food that she shouldn't have...?
Or, maybe she has a furball. Or maybe she's just 'being a cat'....?
Lots of things can cause numbers to spike. Don't worry. Chances are things will settle down again. :bighug::bighug::bighug:
.
 
Diana&Tom said:
It's very possible, yes - that's quite a lot of stress for a kitty. Hopefully numbers will settle back. Keep an eye but don't panic too much, this really is to be expected. Have you now semi- permanently relocated? - if so Tinkerbell will need to adapt to her new routine, so stress will almost certainly affect her bg. As long as she doesn't sky rocket and stays in single figures, that's ok. You may need to test more frequently for the moment whilst things settle down.
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I’ve just dropped the cats at my mums. We are now on our way back and are moving down tomorrow, so yes she will need to adapt. I agree about testing more frequently.
 
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
That number is atypical for her so it may well be that it's stress induced, given the circumstances. This seems most likely....
Or, any chance she could have got into any food that she shouldn't have...?
Or, maybe she has a furball. Or maybe she's just 'being a cat'....?
Lots of things can cause numbers to spike. Don't worry. Chances are things will settle down again. :bighug::bighug::bighug:
.
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No chance she has had any other food so I’m hoping it’s just the stress. She was open mouth breathing a bit on the journey for the first half hour.
 
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