? Diagnosed this week, home testing not mentioned

arthur-kitty

arthur-kitty

Member
I am new. I've read the beginner posts, but please let me know if I missed a rule.

I noticed my cat urinating more than normal and drinking a lot of water, so I brought him to the vet immediately. Arthur tested at 400 mg/dL at the vet. We had the insulin demo on Friday 07-19-2024 when he was diagnosed. We've been giving him 1 unit ProZinc AM & PM.

At the insulin demo, I started crying because I knew wet food was better but I chose the dry food due to cost. I am really ashamed right now. They told me not to switch his food yet until the first in-office glucose curve.

I am concerned because they didn't mention doing any at home testing. My cat means a lot to me, and I don't want to accidentally overdose him.

Question -
- I'm emotionally overwhelmed right now. I know a human glucometer is OK, but I don't know which one to get.
- I know I'm not supposed to change his food yet, but I am worried about the Temptations treats. The whole Insulin experience is vastly improved because of the treat and he gets excited after his shot because of this. Is there a low carb treat I can give safely? Is that too big of a change right now?

Claire (Caregiver) & Arthur (Cat)
DX: 07-19-2024
Insulin Type: ProZinc
Meter: Seeking Glucometer
Diet: Cat Chow Indoor Hairball & Healthy Weight Dry Cat Food
Treat: Temptation (2x per day after insulin)
Dosing: 1 unit on U-40
Condition/Symptoms: Actively Polyuric & Polydipsic, No Other Conditions
Spreadsheet: No home-testing data (yet)
 
Hello there, Claire and Arthur. Welcome to the ProZinc Forum. I totally understand what you’re going through right now — we’ve all been there at the beginning. Be patient with yourself.

You are right that it is safest to test him at home. It’s the way you can keep him safe and we can also adjust his insulin dose safely. I can really help you with that. Most of our members get a ReliOn blood glucose meter from Walmart. They are very reliable and you can get 100 test strips for $17.88. I have a couple of different ReliOn models. The Premier is good

As for food, yes, I don’t want you to change anything about his food until you start home testing. Switching to low carb food will lower his blood glucose and all transitions to lower carb food must be made slowly and when you are able to test him so that we can see how low the insulin dose is taking him (nadir.) You definitely don’t need your vet’s permission to home test. Most veterinarians will get on board once they see what a good job you are doing and how you are keeping your cat safe.

As for cost, many of our members need to feed some of the lower cost, lower carb wet foods like Fancy Feast Classic Pates and Friskies pates.

I am really glad you have found us (although I am sorry you need to be here.) Ask me any questions that you want to. We can get you set up with a spreadsheet and get your signature set up.

Oh, one more thing— do you know if the vet did a Fructosamine test and what the number was? A Fructosamine test tells what the average blood glucose level was for a period of about 2-3 weeks.
 
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Oh… I am glad you have created a positive environment for giving the shots by using the treats. You may need to do that while you learn to test his ear. We can eventually switch those Temptations treats over to a low carb treat. Cats love Pure Bites pure meat freeze dried chicken pieces. Some people will boil up some chicken on their own and cut it into bite sized chunks. The Pure Bites can also be crumbled onto your cat’s wet food (when you eventually get there) and they love it. I grind mine up in a little electric mincer.
Don’t worry too much. It takes a little time, but now that he’s started insulin he’s on the right path. You will also save money by not having to pay for the vet to run a curve for you anymore (not to mention stress on Arthur!)
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Oh… I am glad you have created a positive environment for giving the shots by using the treats. You may need to do that while you learn to test his ear. We can eventually switch those Temptations treats over to a low carb treat. Cats love Pure Bites pure meat freeze dried chicken pieces. Some people will boil up some chicken on their own and cut it into bite sized chunks. The Pure Bites can also be crumbled onto your cat’s wet food (when you eventually get there) and they love it. I grind mine up in a little electric mincer.
Don’t worry too much. It takes a little time, but now that he’s started insulin he’s on the right path. You will also save money by not having to pay for the vet to run a curve for you anymore (not to mention stress on Arthur!)
Click to expand...

I don't believe she did a Fructosamine test. We did a broad multi-panel diagnostic when I brought him for the excessive urination and thirst. I received the diabetes diagnosis when the results came back.

Is this something I could or should ask the vet about if he already started insulin? Thank you
 
arthur-kitty said:
I don't believe she did a Fructosamine test. We did a broad multi-panel diagnostic when I brought him for the excessive urination and thirst. I received the diabetes diagnosis when the results came back.

Is this something I could or should ask the vet about if he already started insulin? Thank you
Click to expand...
It’s the best test to diagnose diabetes, but don’t worry about it now. He’s on insulin and your best move is to home test and you won’t need to pay for BG lab tests anymore. :)
 
I’m glad you posted over here on the ProZinc forum! I never would have had time to find your post over on Feline Health. I will be off the Board for a few hours until later in the afternoon, but I will be back this afternoon (I am on Eastern time, what is your time zone?) later on.
 
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