Daphne and Aida
Active Member
A quick update: we went to an internal vet for Aida's potential IBD/SCL, and they didn't seem too overwhelmed by her multiple health issues (the previous 2 vets won't answer my emails anymore, hot potato!).
Apart from a seriously wrong claim outed by one of the nurses (hyperthyroidism is good for senior cats because it helps their kidneys) and a mildly wrong testing schedule by the IM (retest T4 levels after 10 days from initiating methimazole, all feline endocrinologists say retest 3 to 4 weeks after), it went well.
The IM was more concerned about the diabetes though, and the fact that her BG drops when she's not well.
He questions whether she truly has DM or if it isn't secondary to something else. He proposed that, once her hyperT is regulated, we'll put on a freestyle libre and monitor her BG for 2 weeks. Also, he wants me to switch her to Purina DM canned food and he wants her to lose weight
Aida isn't obese, she has a pot belly but no fat around her ribs, so I'm not really sure about that. Senior cats shouldn't be skinny as per the AAHA senior care guidelines, so I don't plan to follow his advice. I don't know about the Purina DM either, it's so high in phosphorus, at her age she should have a reduced P food. So, if I do introduce it, it'll be with a phos binder. Again, I'm not planning on informing him of that, I've ruffled too many ego-feathers already, would hate to be sacked by a third vet.
He's dead serious about home testing not being reliable, almost amounting to torture (you have to prick the poor cat's ears so many times a day) and with devices that aren't made for felines. When I said that the same applies to the freestyle, he responded that it has been tested and we approximately know how to read the readings.
Ok, overall not a bad idea to put it on and see how her BG is on a continuous reading device. BUT he wants the first week to be with no insulin at all. And back to insulin after 7 days, to a dose that is appropriate to her.
Unfortunately, I didn't think to ask him to include a fructosamine test…
Oh, I forgot, according to him, we make 1U changes. The 0.5U change amounts to zero change. And there is no 0.25U change.
Anyway.
He's an internal vet, not an endocrinologist. He sent some blood to test for her GI function, that's what I was expecting him to do.
Thinking of bringing her to a 4th vet that specializes in endocrinology, specifically DM. That would make more sense to me to follow their advice. Because there's clearly something wrong, you don't drop BG when sick!
Previous thread: https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/11-29-aida-amps-133-2-67.296104/
Apart from a seriously wrong claim outed by one of the nurses (hyperthyroidism is good for senior cats because it helps their kidneys) and a mildly wrong testing schedule by the IM (retest T4 levels after 10 days from initiating methimazole, all feline endocrinologists say retest 3 to 4 weeks after), it went well.
The IM was more concerned about the diabetes though, and the fact that her BG drops when she's not well.
He questions whether she truly has DM or if it isn't secondary to something else. He proposed that, once her hyperT is regulated, we'll put on a freestyle libre and monitor her BG for 2 weeks. Also, he wants me to switch her to Purina DM canned food and he wants her to lose weight
Aida isn't obese, she has a pot belly but no fat around her ribs, so I'm not really sure about that. Senior cats shouldn't be skinny as per the AAHA senior care guidelines, so I don't plan to follow his advice. I don't know about the Purina DM either, it's so high in phosphorus, at her age she should have a reduced P food. So, if I do introduce it, it'll be with a phos binder. Again, I'm not planning on informing him of that, I've ruffled too many ego-feathers already, would hate to be sacked by a third vet.
He's dead serious about home testing not being reliable, almost amounting to torture (you have to prick the poor cat's ears so many times a day) and with devices that aren't made for felines. When I said that the same applies to the freestyle, he responded that it has been tested and we approximately know how to read the readings.
Ok, overall not a bad idea to put it on and see how her BG is on a continuous reading device. BUT he wants the first week to be with no insulin at all. And back to insulin after 7 days, to a dose that is appropriate to her.
Unfortunately, I didn't think to ask him to include a fructosamine test…
Oh, I forgot, according to him, we make 1U changes. The 0.5U change amounts to zero change. And there is no 0.25U change.
Anyway.
He's an internal vet, not an endocrinologist. He sent some blood to test for her GI function, that's what I was expecting him to do.
Thinking of bringing her to a 4th vet that specializes in endocrinology, specifically DM. That would make more sense to me to follow their advice. Because there's clearly something wrong, you don't drop BG when sick!
Previous thread: https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/11-29-aida-amps-133-2-67.296104/
) but that she was going to be in the mid blues. I'd tested her right before we left for the vet and it was a flat blue day. I was right - he stopped bugging me about the diabetes. And discovered she had SCL and congestive heart failure. Which explained the appetite issue.