Chester and Rita
Member Since 2018
So sorry to hear that! I know what you mean by the "money" thing. I'm getting a second job to afford this and I wouldn't have it any other way. They're our children!
Seizures
- Thread starter Mags920
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We are home, Houston has been fed & after acting strange - like he wanted to go outside which he hasn't done in nearly 7 yrs, he is now laying under a chair in the living room. I ended up buying the ReliOn Confirm. We tested his blood with both meters, the AlphaTrak read 255 & the ReliOn was 167 - big variance. I'll check him at 9:45 to see where he is at. Apparently the 2nd enema had quite results, lol & boy does he stink! Needs a bath but I think we have had enough stress the past 36hrs. Here's to a good night & getting back to normal.
Chris & China (GA)
Member Since 2013
there's really no reason to use the DM no matter what your vet says. The problem is that vets don't get hardly any education on nutrition except what they get from the pet food salesmen (who naturally, want to sell product!!)
There's absolutely nothing in a "prescription" food that requires a prescription (or any other special thing)…..if you check the ingredients, you'll see they're really pretty lousy.
Fancy Feast is a lot more affordable and the ingredients are actually better than DM's!!
There are lots of choices for foods.....don't let your vet buffalo you on the need for "prescription" foods! As long as they're under 10% carbs, they're fine for our sugarcats!!
P.S.....you can return the DM.....just say your cat refuses to eat it. It has a 100% guarantee (and that's usually not a lie either....most cats get tired of it quickly and stop eating it)
Olive & Paula
Member Since 2015
For the constipation, you can give pure pumpkin in his food during the day and miralax at night. Give both daily and it should keep him going. Daily prevention is the best way to keep things moving.
Tried pumpkin several years ago none of the kitties would eat it, so Miralax it is. All vets who have seen him believe it could be megacolon, oh well, another issue for another day.
JanetNJ
Member Since 2016
I've discovered when I put FortiFlora on the food with the pumkin cc wolf's it down.
Olive & Paula
Member Since 2015
That's to bad. I see a lot of people say cat won't eat it. I guess I have weird cats. None of them mind it. I put a very small amount (what fits on end of butter knife) in each meal. Mix it in very well. Olive is the only one who gets miralax in addition.
FortiFlora is so expensive (used to get a case of 6 for $5 when I worked at the animal ER) and my "wild child" turkish angora is addicted to it so he gets a little most days but I have to stretch out my supply & adding another to the distribution would be costly. At this point Houston is eating everything so maybe I'll give pumpkin another try. Stay tuned..............
I have plenty of the acceptable food so I'll just alternate with the DM until it's gone. Don't plan on keeping him on it after the 1 case. The main reason I did order it is to get the $35 discount they offered & get my Denace his "kitty crack" (FortiFlora).
JanetNJ
Member Since 2016
I get it from Adwdiabetes.com with a 10% off coupon. It comes to about $75 for 90 packs. It's definitly pricy.
Let me clarify, I used to pay $5 for a case of 6 boxes that had 30 packs each. Ordered some yesterday on Chewy.com, my order came to about $57 for 2 boxes (60 packs) of FortiFlora & 1 case of Purina DM wet. Had a $15 coupon & got another $30 for signing up for auto ship which I'll cancel in a few weeks. That wasn't bad.
Chris & China (GA)
Member Since 2013
Where?? I'd love to get in on that kind of price!!! I paid like $27 per box last time I bought some!!
Sandi and Toby
Member Since 2015
I am so glad Houston is home. I saw your reference to the ER in Raleigh, which I assume to be NC, and then either NCSU or VSH - Ha, lots of assumptions there! But if so, we are in N. Raleigh near Falls Lake and I wish I had seen your postings before now as I have a couple of extra brand new ReliOn Confirm meters (got free with strip purchase) and I could have met you at the ER to get it to you 
If there is anything that I can do to help you and Houston, please let me know.
Sandi&Whisper
If there is anything that I can do to help you and Houston, please let me know.
Sandi&Whisper
That was when I worked at the animal ER & employees only pd $5 for Purina products. That benefit has since ended.
Yes I went to VSH in N Raleigh, I used to live on Durant which is why I went there, knew how to get there. Now in Louisburg. I ended up buying a ReliOn Confirm before I picked him up yesterday. That would have been great, appreciate the thought. I have been checking him every 3 hrs today just to create my own curve with this meter. Having the worst time getting blood. Had to skip the last test because it was too soon after he ate. Thanks again for reaching out, appreciate it.I am so glad Houston is home. I saw your reference to the ER in Raleigh, which I assume to be NC, and then either NCSU or VSH - Ha, lots of assumptions there! But if so, we are in N. Raleigh near Falls Lake and I wish I had seen your postings before now as I have a couple of extra brand new ReliOn Confirm meters (got free with strip purchase) and I could have met you at the ER to get it to you
If there is anything that I can do to help you and Houston, please let me know.
Sandi&Whisper
Sandi and Toby
Member Since 2015
Yes, very familiar with VSH N Raleigh. We used to live a stone's throw from Durant and Six Forks, but now we live near Hwy 98 west near the Durham county line rather than towards Wake Forest.
Make sure that the ear is warm...you can make a little heat packet by putting rice in a thin sock, knot it and put in the microwave. Test it on your wrist to make sure it isn't too warm. Then hold it on his ear. It will help the blood flow. Also, the lancets that came with the meter might be too thin. They are probably 30-33 gauge. Instead look for the ones labelled "alternate site testing" or 26-28 gauge. That is a slightly thicker needle and that will help a lot at the beginning.
Nice to meet you both
Sandi.
Yes, very familiar with VSH N Raleigh. We used to live a stone's throw from Durant and Six Forks, but now we live near Hwy 98 west near the Durham county line rather than towards Wake Forest.
Make sure that the ear is warm...you can make a little heat packet by putting rice in a thin sock, knot it and put in the microwave. Test it on your wrist to make sure it isn't too warm. Then hold it on his ear. It will help the blood flow. Also, the lancets that came with the meter might be too thin. They are probably 30-33 gauge. Instead look for the ones labelled "alternate site testing" or 26-28 gauge. That is a slightly thicker needle and that will help a lot at the beginning.
Nice to meet you both
Sandi.
Hey Sandi, nice to meet you as well. I've been rubbing his ear until it gets warm & pink but I think he's tired of being pricked. The tech at VSH showed me her trick which I don't really care for. She told/showed me to basically scratch the ear with the lancet & just pick the scab next time you want a read. The poor little guy's ear looks so bad I ended up putting some neosporin w/pain relief on it. I had success last night using a pad on a paw but not today. I don't plan of checking him as often but just wanted to get an idea of how he's running w/this meter.
Any experience w/VSH?
Marianne
JanetNJ
Member Since 2016
Holy cow that's an awesome price
JanetNJ
Member Since 2016
You aren't hitting the vein, right
FurBabiesMama
Member Since 2017
What in the world?! No.
You mentioned that you rub the ear to get it warm. I would imagine that all the rubbing might be a bit irritating. You could try a different method. Some people put rice in a sock and microwave it to heat it up (not TOO hot) then hold that to the ear. I wet the corner of a washcloth with hot water and wring out the excess. I hold that to Mia's ear for a few seconds to warm it up then use it to wipe/apply light pressure to the spot after. Be sure you are hitting the area between the vein and the edge of the ear and not the vein itself.
tiffmaxee
Member Since 2013
I gently would massage Max’s ear to get it warm. I’m just now reading what you have endured. I’m so angry for you that after all this you were still being advised not to test at home. They should pay the vet bills. I’d be looking for a new vet. Chewy.com is great. They refunded money for food I couldn’t use even when I could have sent it back. Just would say to donate it which I did.
Sandi and Toby
Member Since 2015
It's been 10+ years ago so my experience is not recent,but we had good experiences most of the time. For the last 10 years we've just been going directly to NCSU, and have had a good experience every time. They have absolutely every but if equipment there, and I like that it is a teaching facility, but that would add a good 30 minutes to your trip on top of what it already takes you to get to VSH N Raleigh. I've heard good things online about https://wakevetandurgentcare.com/ near Knightdale. They are a 24 hour ER as well, and depending on where you are in Louisburg, it might be about the same distance as VSH for you if you want another option.
Be sure to press pretty firmly on his ear after the prick. We test at least 4-5 times a day, sometimes more, and Whispy's ears barely look touched (but he has so many capillaries from regular testing that we always get blood easily even with a thin gauge lancet). I've never heard of picking off a scab, that sounds not ideal, plus Whispy never even has a scab since I press on his ear for several seconds afterwards. It'll get easier, hang in there Marianne!
Tanya and Ducia
Member Since 2017
Good grief- I wish more vets would stress home testing. I had a similar thing happen when my cat went into a hypo at home after he left the vet from a week long curve. The insulin dosage was too high and I was not yet home testing. Even after I took him back to the vet with the minor hypo they told me to skip a dose and then resume a lower dose the next morning- without home testing him first!!! Thank God I tested at home first that morning because his BG was only 85 (alpha trak pet.) He since went to remission and has remained there without insulin.
I hope Houston is still doing well and you have since started home testing.
I hope Houston is still doing well and you have since started home testing.
FurBabiesMama
Member Since 2017
A new thread was started with an update about Houston: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/houston-update.197701/
The vet initially wanted me to go to Knightdale but that is even further & after speaking to them on the phone I decided I would never go there. One of the techs at my local vet told me that the person I spoke to has since been terminated.
As for picking the scab I could not do it. It started to look like it was getting infected from them repeatedly picking so I put some ointment on it & let it heal. I prefer to just prick him - poor little guy. I've been testing 3x daily & had a few nights where his # was pretty low - 59, 69, 68. I put out the dry which he eats & his # usually goes up within a few hours.
I'm testing 3x daily & he hasn't had insulin in 2 weeks & I have a brand new bottle of Lantus in my fridge.
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