Canada- Newly diagnosed - food help

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Mrsrich07

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My name is Christine and my baby, Phoenix (13 yrs) was just diagnosed. I am still trying to wrap my head around it. It's very new to me and I have zero experience. I read somewhere that she shouldn't eat dry food and my vet prescribed her Purina DM. Is this bad? I have always trusted my vet. He has assured me that she will be fine. She is middle range and shouldn't need to be on caninsulin for very long. That it can be controlled with food.?? What do u recommend for food as now I am a bit worried. I will keep reading but this is very overwhelming. I love my cat dearly and want her better as soon as she can be. Help.
 
Re: Newly diagnosed - food help

Welcome Christine and Phoenix,

Will it help to know we were all overwhelmed and scared when we first came here? And then we got help and support and learned how to treat our sweet kitties.

Purina DM wet isn't an awful food. It isn't terribly high in carbs but the ingredients are no better than grocery store brands. It is more expensive (there is nothing "prescription" about it except the cost) and is liver based, which many cats won't eat. Most of us feed Friskies or Fancy Feast. If you don't want to pay for it, you can return for a full refund, just saying Phoenix won't eat it.

Canninsulin isn't a preferred insulin here. We like milder, longer lasting insulin like Lantus, Levemir and ProZinc. Are you in the UK? Vets there always prescribe it first and won't prescribe another kind until Canninsulin doesn't work. It does work for some cats, if you monitor and dose carefully.

That brings us to the most important part of this sugar dance - home testing. We test our cats at home (it is much more accurate than numbers under stress at the vet) to be sure it is safe to give the dose we are planning on, and midcycle to see how low the insulin takes her. We'd love to help you learn how.

Keep reading and ask questions. We're here to help.
 
Re: Newly diagnosed - food help

Yes, it totally helps! Thank you so much. This is so foreign to me and all I did last night when we got home from the vet was cry! My poor pumpkin. My husband has a human glucometer (if that's what's its called) from his grandmother who passed away last year. Are they universal? Can I use the same machine to monitor my cat? If so, that will save me huge because the cost of the glucose testing was quoted at over $400 and my husband was not a big fan. He is not a cat person at all and grew up on a farm so we are already in disagreement for me administering insilin. How often do I need to check her? Her levels were 18.9 and the vet assistant said normal is betwen 2 and 6 so her sugar was very high. To be honest, my vet wasn't in last night so I was planning on going back tonight to get more info. I was questioning the food after reading on your website that it wasn't good. It was the Purina DM dry food that they gave me. My cat loves it but if it's not good for her, I'd like to change that. Do I need to worry about giving her insilin in the morning and going to work all day? If she goes into insilin shock is it immediate or graduate? Sorry, you see....so many questions. To answer your question, no I'm not UK, I'm Ontario - Canada. I will check the insilin bottle again tonight to make see what type as I realized it was just the box of seringes that said for "Canninsilin" so she might not actually be taking that. I have to give her 3 IUC in the am and 2 units at night for the time being and bring her back to vet in 1 month. Is there any type of treats I can give her? We used to dehydrate fish and venison (our own beef jerky) for our pets. Can she still have her fish or nothing?
 
Re: Newly diagnosed - food help

The old meter might work - what brand? (there are some we think may be more accurate/ take a smaller sample and be easier to use than others.). Most people in the US use a Walmart brand that has the cheapest strips (they are the expensive part) but you can buy strips on ebay for other brands at half the price of drug stores. The amount your vet is quoting is probably the pet meter. It is expensive to buy up front and then the strips are expensive. We find human meters work fine for our purposes.

On the forum, we use US measurements. Here is a conversion chart:

https://www.joslin.org/info/conversion_table_for_blood_glucose_monitoring.html

So your kitty was around 342 at the vet. That isn't bad considering most vet numbers are higher due to stress. Some cats test 100 points lower when at home. Your vet is quoting non diabetic numbers as his standard (2= 36 and 6=106) and pretty low ones at that.

We think a cat is generally regulated on insulin if they range from mid to low 200s at preshot and double digits at midcycle but above 40 which is approaching hypo range for a diabetic cat. Non diabetic cats, off insulin, generally range from 40-120.

So I would suggest your kitty isn't terribly high. You might start testing and see what she runs at home. Then Change her diet to wet low carb. (You want to be testing first as wet low carb can really send the numbers down). You may have to adjust those doses down pretty fast or even restart at one unit. (our usual suggested starting dose)

Let us know the insulin type. You might also go back to your first post on this thread, choose Edit and add Canada to the subject line. We have lots of Canadian members and they can help with food and meter brands.

And take some of the best advice I was ever given - breathe deeply and often. You can do this and we'd love to help.
 
Re: Newly diagnosed - food help

Hi Christine

Yes - freeze dried treats are okay as long as there is nothing added. I use the Orijen original treats for my sugarcat. It is so overwhelming at first - to get a grasp of this disease but two important things - 1) you have found the FDMB where you will get massive amounts of help and 2) FD is totally manageable!

Most of us use a human meter because the strips are less expensive. In fact, a lot of us get the Relion meters for $15 at Walmart where the strips are just 36 cents a piece. So if you already have a meter then you are way ahead. What kind is it?

Also, you do not have to spend $$$ for testing bg. In fact we recommend that you do it yourself at home because the stress of the vet experience will raise bg numbers.

We prefer that you not feed dry food for a whole host of reasons including the fact that it is not low carb enough. If you can transfer to low carb canned food, it would be better for managing the disease. We use this list for food suggestions:
food list

Welcome to the sugar dance. You will be well taken care of here with tips on testing and shots and food transitioning.
 
Hi Christine;

I am in Ontario as well........down by Niagara Falls. It's much cheaper to buy the test strips and meter at Walmart, USA as they are only $15 and the test strips are $9/50 pcs, then there are the Lancets for about $6/210 pcs - all in US Dollars. It's overwhelming for sure, but there are TONS of people on here that will be more help them most Vets combined as it pertains to FD (Feline Diabetes) and I too was shocked when my first Vet prescribed dry 'prescription' food they sold only to find out it made Davidson worse. Toss out the dry and bring in the Wet........Fancy Feast Pate and Friskies are the best and ironically the cheapest.

Home testing is easy after the first few tries and at times depending on the situation your cat is in, it could be every 30 min. - but it is ALL for your cat and you will have to change some of the timing of when you do personal things if you want your cat to get better and possibly reach remission. Human test strips are far more expensive here then from the USA........it does get easier as we have ALL BEEN in your shoes...........

I'd switch to Lantus which is cheap at Shoppers Drug Mart and if you get an Optimum card and say it's for your mother then they give Seniors 20% off on Thursdays...........the insulin will cost $98 for 5 pens of Lantus and the syringes will be about $32 for 100. You'll have to match both products and others will fill you in if you decide to change.

IMO - switch asap and tell your Vet you are getting your info here on this site..........they should support you and read up on the topics that are provided here, otherwise they are not looking out for your best interest. I switched Vets right away back in Jan when my Vet prescribed the dry food and Caninsulin.........then on wet food alone Davidson's BG test results dropped almost 50%. After 2 weeks people here directed me to the Lantus Land and it's been uphill since........Davidson is pretty much in remission and look at his Spread Sheet and you will see his progress.

You can do it............just read lots, take deep breaths and LISTEN to the good advise you read and get on here. We are all in the same position as you are, different stages, but we all know what it is like since we've been there and that's why we can give first hand experience and direction.

Where are you located?

Shawna
 
Thanks Shawna for your information.
I think I need to wrap my head around all the lingo, surrounding diabetes so I can understand fully how to track Phoenix's progress.
I'll check out some fact sheets or data posted on this site so I know what AMPS are and OTJ etc.
Lantus, I'm assuming is another brand of insulin? How do you get it at shoppers for your cat? Is it the same for humans as it is felines? I'll have to look into it as right now, my cat is on caninsulin which isn't supported here so it makes me nervous using it. Some nights I don't sleep, just starring at her making sure she doesn't go into shock. I'm sure she looks at me like I'm nuts! LOL

I will talk to my vet again about some of the information I've read here over the last few weeks and take it from there.
I'm in Milton, Ontario so just north of Oakville/Burlington area. I guess I'll have to get my passport so I can shop for the strips in the states! I'm still waiting for my father in law to find his glucometer so not sure what brand/strips but how expensive are they to buy? My vet wanted $400 for the next 3-4 months, that's $1.200 - $1,600, I'm sure I can buy one for less than that if I have to! Do they make pet ones and if so, do you know where to buy them? I really need to do some research. Hard to find the time with my two babies but Phoenix was around long before them and holds a special place in my heart. I know she is worth it, although my husband will disagree. He is old school, farm boy and doesn't believe animals, especially cats should be treated for this sort of thing. Our cats were wild and when they died, they died, there were no vet bills, check ups, medicines...blah..blah..blah. I've learned to tune him out, long ago too! LOL
 
Mrsrich07 said:
...I think I need to wrap my head around all the lingo...I'll check out some fact sheets or data posted on this site so I know what AMPS are and OTJ etc.

Hello Christine,

Yes, there's a lot of jargon here. Sorry about that!
Here's a link to a page of info that explains some of the abbreviations commonly used:
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=15885#p159086
But meanwhile...
AMPS means morning/am pre-shot number (ie blood glucose number prior to giving the morning shot)
PMPS means evening/pm pre-shot number
OTJ means 'off the juice' (the 'juice' being insulin. It is FDMB jargon for remission (diet-controlled diabetes)).

Eliz
 
There is a cat meter but it is very expensive - $400 and the strips are $1 a piece. Most of us use the Relion meters from Walmart. They are $15 US and the strips are 36 cents a piece. I think you can order one from the American Diabetes Wholesale - it's the Arkray brand. Arkray meter

Of course, if you already have a human meter then you are ahead of the game. We will help you step by step until it is just another part of your everyday life. We all started the same way.
 
Hi Christine,

I'm in Toronto and would be happy to talk on the phone and answer all of your questions. It's too bad I'm heading to Ottawa today, otherwise I'd offer to come over with my supplies and show you some tricks for hometesting, etc. A lovely member here did the same for me (when I still lived in Ottawa) when mine was first diagnosed four years ago so I like to pay it back to the community. Just a few high-level points (can go into more depth over the phone)

- Is your vet sure it's diabetes? There is one member here that when I started talking to her on the phone and helping her with home testing, we found out that it wasn't diabetes and she was injecting her cat unnecessarily with insulin, leading to BG surges which made him look diabetic. Did your cat have the frequent urination, drinking a LOT, lethargy, weight loss, etc?
- You can also get the Lantus vial (not pens) for $76 at Shoppers. I don't get the pens as they are more expensive, but don't last longer (overall expiry is the same, and a vial once open lasts six months in the fridge). I always plan on getting my cat off of insulin and diet controlled, so don't need as much insulin ;) Ditch the caninsulin - as the name suggests, it is for dogs. If I listened to my vet upon first diagnosis, my cat would be dead. Not have spent most of the last four years in remission. and any new vet, I don't really listen to either lol. Only found one that is up to date on the research, and am tired of bringing articles from the Canadian veterinary journals to the vets for their own education.
- I buy Friskies at Costco or Wal-Mart. In my signature below you'll find a (high level) carb calculator that I started and many other Canadian members have contributed to. Anything less than 10% carbs is good. It's not perfect (the calculation), but it's a good guideline to get a general idea of safe foods.
- You have to start dosing small (1 unit) and yes, I know it is tricky when you work during the day and can't check. This is the first time I'm in that boat, so I set my alarm for 1 or 2am and test nadirs at night sometimes when I am worried. If you start the dosing small and work your way up, and stay consistent, there is lower risk of a hypo. Leave out food and the cat will eat during the day which helps, plus they do have a natural mechanism to give themselves more BG when it is too low (you'll just have a BG surge for the next day), so I wouldn't stress too much. It's riskier when your cat starts to recover and the numbers start to drop, but not so much when you're increasing the doses to find the right one upon first diagnosis.
- Home glucometer: Yes, you can use a human meter. If you can drive to the US and get the RelioOn micro or confirm meters that would be good. I'd just advise getting anything that only takes 0.3 microLiters of blood. Any meter that requires more will lead you to wasting many test strips since you didn't get enough blood out of your cat. I test on the tip/edge of the ear. My cat takes it like a champ, too. Just plunk him on my lap like a baby and test away. I personally like the Freestyle Freedom Lite (many members here will disagree) since it is small blood drop size, and easy to hold and use. I also have the Bayer Countour Next USB, but I waste test strips just trying to use the darn thing. Either they weren't stuck in firmly enough and don't turn on the machine, and then I get a used test strip error since it thinks I used it when I didn't, or I don't get enough blood in time. It's also bigger and more difficult to use. Anyway, for either of those, it's best to go to Costco for strips. $75/$75 for either Bayer or Freestyle at Costco, vs $86 at Rexall vs $90 at Shoppers.

If you can go to the states, here are the meters and strips I think people here recommend - I hope to be able to pick some up myself in a few weeks

http://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Micro- ... ethod=p13n

Or this one in pink or blue:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Confir ... ethod=p13n

Test strips boxes of 100.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Confir ... t/16795579

Anyways, I'll PM you my number and would be happy to chat. And you can find my spreadsheet (in mmol - international units as well) below to get an idea of what you're in for :mrgreen:

Sophia
 
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