Am I Right To Feel Annoyed?

[Cherish4]

So Little B was due to go back to the vets tomorrow morning for his second blood curve. Unfortunately I've had to rearrange it for next week, due to unforeseen circumstances. However when I phoned the vets to rearrange it, the receptionist got really funny with me, she said that the vet had put that it needed to be done 14 days after his last one so I really should bring him up. I explained the situation and she asked when I wanted to rebook it for, so I asked for the same time Friday next week. She said it couldn't be left that long and could I bring him in Monday? Again I explained that I couldn't, that I was working and the earliest I could get him there was Wednesday. Then she went quiet. I told her that I was happy for her to speak to the vet if she wanted to and then call me back but that Little B was doing fine and I didn't see any problem with it being delayed for a few days. In the end she agreed to book it for next Friday but said she would talk to the vet and they'd call if they were concerned. Now I understand that she probably meant well, as I think they all do there but she made me feel like I was putting him in danger by not getting him there sooner. It left me feeling slightly shaken, angry and annoyed.

Honestly if I could, I'd change vets but as his treatment is currently being paid for by a local charity, I have to stick with them.

So am I being unreasonable in my reaction or are they? Am I putting him in danger by delaying it?

I have enough insulin and syringes until next week so he won't be without any, both my brother and I keep an eye on him when we're home and I test his urine daily for ketones and glucose. We're also slowly getting somewhere with the home testing. He's actually been tolerating the whole process much better than previously and I would have had a reading every day for the last four days if I wasn't struggling to get his ears to bleed. It's slow but it's a start.

Obviously we all want to make sure that our cat is safe and receiving the right treatment and the right dose but life doesn't just stop and sometimes things happen that require adjustments. If I thought for one second that it was dangerous to leave it a few more days then I would find a way to get him there but I don't feel that a small delay is going to do that.

Am I wrong? I'd be interested to hear other people's thoughts on this.

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

I don't think you are wrong to be miffed but I'd try not to be too upset with the vet. The reaction you got may not have been appropriate but there could be any number of reasons for it. Perhaps the receptionist had just dealt with several other rescheduling issues or something else had her upset. Perhaps they have a lot of folks who don't bring their kitties back for curves at all and out of habit/concern she became a little "difficult" because not monitoring at all would be dangerous.

While I don't think you are putting Little B into any undue danger pushing the appt. back a few days, it is important to do some kind of monitoring and I am delighted to see that you are learning to home test. Does the vet know you are trying to home test? If not, perhaps that info would have stopped some of the pushback.

Their seeming lack of consideration for your "needs" may not have been totally appropriate but it may have been more from general concern than anything else.

Keep working on the home testing as that is by far the best way to keep Little B safe and get his BG under control. Curves at the vet are fine when testing is still a bit problematic but the readings taken at the vet's office are usually elevated due to vet stress which means they are not as accurate a picture of how kitty is doing as the readings you take at home. Try to get a test before every shot to make sure it's safe to give insulin and when you can, grab a test sometime during each 12 hour cycle to see how low the dose of insulin is taking BG. At night, because we all need our sleep, we recommend getting a test before bed to fill in a bit of the picture of what kitty is up to at night.

 

[Cherish4]

I don't think you are wrong to be miffed but I'd try not to be too upset with the vet. The reaction you got may not have been appropriate but there could be any number of reasons for it. Perhaps the receptionist had just dealt with several other rescheduling issues or something else had her upset. Perhaps they have a lot of folks who don't bring their kitties back for curves at all and out of habit/concern she became a little "difficult" because not monitoring at all would be dangerous.

Yes, I suppose you could be right.

While I don't think you are putting Little B into any undue danger pushing the appt. back a few days, it is important to do some kind of monitoring and I am delighted to see that you are learning to home test. Does the vet know you are trying to home test? If not, perhaps that info would have stopped some of the pushback.

Yes they are aware I'm trying to test but that it's been a bit of a struggle.

Keep working on the home testing as that is by far the best way to keep Little B safe and get his BG under control. Curves at the vet are fine when testing is still a bit problematic but the readings taken at the vet's office are usually elevated due to vet stress which means they are not as accurate a picture of how kitty is doing as the readings you take at home. Try to get a test before every shot to make sure it's safe to give insulin and when you can, grab a test sometime during each 12 hour cycle to see how low the dose of insulin is taking BG. At night, because we all need our sleep, we recommend getting a test before bed to fill in a bit of the picture of what kitty is up to at night.

At the moment I'm only managing one test a day, if I can get his ear to bleed. He's really been resistant to it so getting him to this stage has taken weeks. I hope to eventually get to multiple tests in a day but it may take some time. I can only really attempt a test if he's relaxing somewhere as he hates to be restrained and it takes about 30 minutes at the moment to get a test because I have to go so slowly with the process.

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

Testing can be challenging when you are starting out and taking it step by step will help Little B get used to the process. When I started out, I laid out the equipment and did a few "dry" runs without my kitty just so I was comfortable with the order of the process and how long it was taking me to get things organized that might interfere with how long my girl was going to be patient for me. Treats like freeze dried meat or small pieces of baked or poached chicken can be used as a bribe to get kitty to co-operate a bit better. Give Little B a treat whether you are successful at getting a sample or not. He will come to associate testing with the treat and not the fuss.
What size lancets are you using? If they came with the meter, they may be 30-33 gauge which are tiny. If you get slightly larger lancets 26 to 28 gauge, you may find getting a sample a little easier. With time Little B's ears will grow more capillaries and it will be easier to test. Don't give up. You'll be a master sooner than you think!

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

There's a lot going on here. Obviously the fact that you're here and are making progress shows you care. Eventually you'll have to test twice a day but I'm sure you already knew that. This was easy for me being at home on disability with the world's most agreeable cats and a great vet, we don't all get that lucky.
The vet. I love my vet, she is a close friend and most of her staff have known me forever. However, she has a hard time getting recently graduated techs to make decisions on their own, they keep clipping nails when my cat is mouth breathing and clearly in distress and recently they mangled up Noah's ashes order. Every time I think I've seen it all I'm disappointed by a new low in compassion and intelligence.
This new world order where cats need to achieve an "ideal weight", eat holistic food blessed by a minister and have a curve done EXACTLY every 14 days is just not going to happen. Is the receptionist a tech, someone who has animal training or just following office protocol? Maybe she's a control freak or maybe you caught her on a bad day. For now just roll with it, keep learning and be patient. This is a real sore spot with me so I can't go on.

 

[Cherish4]

Testing can be challenging when you are starting out and taking it step by step will help Little B get used to the process.

That was my thought as well. I tried going for multiple tests at the beginning and it just didn't work. Putting all that pressure on myself to get pre shot tests and mid cycle tests so that I could fill out my spreadsheet, ended up causing both of us so much stress that I decided we're going to have to approach this a different way. So now it's a bit at a time and if we get one test I celebrate.

When I started out, I laid out the equipment and did a few "dry" runs without my kitty just so I was comfortable with the order of the process and how long it was taking me to get things organized that might interfere with how long my girl was going to be patient for me. Treats like freeze dried meat or small pieces of baked or poached chicken can be used as a bribe to get kitty to co-operate a bit better. Give Little B a treat whether you are successful at getting a sample or not. He will come to associate testing with the treat and not the fuss.

I will go through the motions of testing sometimes without actually doing it to try and help him get used to the feeling of the lancet etc... I am also using treats and give him one after every stage of the process.

What size lancets are you using? If they came with the meter, they may be 30-33 gauge which are tiny. If you get slightly larger lancets 26 to 28 gauge, you may find getting a sample a little easier. With time Little B's ears will grow more capillaries and it will be easier to test. Don't give up. You'll be a master sooner than you think!

Yes I've got 30 gauge ones but I'll have a look at getting some larger ones. Thanks for the encouragement and for responding to this post, it's been very helpful.

 

[Cherish4]

There's a lot going on here. Obviously the fact that you're here and are making progress shows you care. Eventually you'll have to test twice a day but I'm sure you already knew that.

Thanks and yes, the hope is that eventually I can get both pre shot tests and at least one mid cycle test every day. It's really going to depend on Little B's tolerance to it all.

Is the receptionist a tech, someone who has animal training or just following office protocol? Maybe she's a control freak or maybe you caught her on a bad day.

I don't know for sure but I don't think she's a tech. Like I said, I think she meant well but she didn't put across her concern in the right way.

For now just roll with it, keep learning and be patient.

Will do.

 

[Noah & me (GA)]

Years ago our first sugar cat was not doing well at all, continued weight loss etc. My vet had the courage to break the "rule" and said "Clearly this isn't working, feed him as much as he wants all day long". There are plenty of guidelines and rules for a good reason but this is not a space launch. When things don't work out do what you just did, come here for some advice.