Cat newly diagnosed. Are bi-weekly blood tests necessary

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Melissa R

Melissa R

Member Since 2017
Hi!

Our cat was diagnosed this week with diabetes. That being said the Vet has given her a prescription for insulin, but wants us coming back every 2 weeks to have the blood test repeated until Roxy is regulated. The cost of this blood test is $113+ tax. I am more than happy to have this done for her bi-weekly, but I was wondering if anyone else had experience maybe doing it monthly? I know just the trip to the Vet can have her blood spiking. And I am concerned at how long we will need to bring her for these bi-weekly tests...Can it take months?
 
Hello,

This is a great place to be for information on this FD journey you are on.

What insulin will you be using? And are you going to be home testing?

My vet showed me how to blood test at home. Told me to go buy a human meter at the local pharmacy and that was it and I was on my own. Jones had other issues that required follow up work and blood tests but I never went back in for them in regards to BG testing. In fact we differed on approach for dosing and I ended up just doing as suggested here. On his last follow up she asked how he was doing, showed my spreadsheet (which she was very impressed with) and was pleasantly surprised at how well he is doing. His fructosamine test showed that he is technically in remission, but he gets token doses due to steroid medication (just don't want unregulated FD again).

IMHO - if you are willing to do the testing at home and show her the results to her - that should be more than adequate. As well, I would never inject insulin blind - always do a BG before any injection. Roxy may already be low and you can be putting them at risk.



Have you checked out the following information tabs?

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/understanding-the-spreadsheet-grid.156606/
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-treat-hypos-they-can-kill-print-this-out.15887/ I have this printed and on my fridge.

And if you want to set up your signature - we will not be asking the same questions over and over.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/editing-your-signature-profile-and-preferences.130340/
 
Thank you so much for responding. I think I will definitely look into the home testing, as the poor thing gets extremely stressed when in her carrier. The insulin prescribed is Lantus(Glargine). She gets 1 unit every 12 hours, and we have also changed her food to Royal Canin DM.

I will check out the information tabs.
 
Melissa R said:
Hi!

Our cat was diagnosed this week with diabetes. That being said the Vet has given her a prescription for insulin, but wants us coming back every 2 weeks to have the blood test repeated until Roxy is regulated. The cost of this blood test is $113+ tax. I am more than happy to have this done for her bi-weekly, but I was wondering if anyone else had experience maybe doing it monthly? I know just the trip to the Vet can have her blood spiking. And I am concerned at how long we will need to bring her for these bi-weekly tests...Can it take months?
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If you home test you won't have to go to the vet for blood tests, and it will be a LOT more accurate because there won't be stress induced spikes. If you are willing to learn how (it's really simple and requires just the tiniest little speck of blood from the edge of the ear) we can help you with that.
 
I am very interested in knowing how to do this for sure. TBH, I felt like the questions I was asking the Vet were annoying him more than anything. I would much prefer regulate this at home for her. I do not even know what her blood level was at...all he said was she is diabetic.
 
Hi honey--you are in the right place--no one will get annoyed with any question you ask and in fact we encourage it.

Most vets do not want to teach or are to busy to teach people how to properly care for a cat with diabetes.
My vet told me he doesn't because nobody would do all I do--HAHA there are LOTS of people on this and other forums who do as much and more!

I think you will do just fine and off to a great start on your new journey...welcome aboard!:bighug:
(there is a link for foods under 10% carb and if you are transitioning a dry food addict Dr Elseys new dry food is about 5% carb)
 
Melissa R said:
I am very interested in knowing how to do this for sure. TBH, I felt like the questions I was asking the Vet were annoying him more than anything. I would much prefer regulate this at home for her. I do not even know what her blood level was at...all he said was she is diabetic.
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In my signature I took a video of how I test my cat you can watch. I use a pet meter, but many on here use human meters.
 
Has anyone tried just changing the food with initial prognosis? She has had 2 doses of insulin so far, and I find her out of it. Do most parents go directly to Insulin when their fur baby is diagnosed?
 
Melissa R said:
Has anyone tried just changing the food with initial prognosis?
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yes, it's quite common and actually the safest way to do things....As long as your cat hasn't had any problem with ketones, a few days to transition onto a low carb canned diet is a good idea.....and using that time to learn to home test will have you ready to go IF the diet change isn't enough
 
Melissa R said:
we have also changed her food to Royal Canin DM.
Click to expand...

Most of us here feed plain old Fancy Feast Classics, Friskies pates or 9-Lives ground.....there's absolutely nothing special about those expensive "prescription" diets except for the price!!

You want to feed a canned or raw diet that's under 10% carbs ......There's a great list of foods that show the carb % (as well as protein and fat) on THIS CHART
 
Melissa R said:
Has anyone tried just changing the food with initial prognosis? She has had 2 doses of insulin so far, and I find her out of it. Do most parents go directly to Insulin when their fur baby is diagnosed?
Click to expand...
What is your dose? Maybe you should lower it until you start testing and can see what's happening
 
You are getting some great advice here and it will save you money while creating a healthier kitty. We've all been down this road. Just a year ago I barely knew about diabetes. I learned everything about testing and dosing here. You can do it. Plus it kinda bonds you more with Roxy.
 
My vet initially told me I'd need to bring my cat in regularly for tests. When she saw how he behaved when he had to stay all day for the first set (he was terrified, wouldn't eat, etc.) and I told her I could home test him, she was pleased. She just looks at my spreadsheet now.

She also said, when I first told her that I was going to home test, that I "don't need to test him every shot"--but I'm glad that I have! It's useful to have the data and I think it's a lot safer. I have learned so much from the people on the Lantus forum--definitely join us in there!
 
Thanks everyone! She is on the smallest dose I can give her from the needle. 1 unit x 2 a day. I wish I would have asked the Vet if we could just try changing her food and go from there. The reason I brought her into the Vet this week was because I noticed she was walking oddly with her back legs.
 
JanetNJ said:
In my signature I took a video of how I test my cat you can watch. I use a pet meter, but many on here use human meters.
Click to expand...

I'm new to this, found out this morning my kitty is diabetic and I'm so thankful you made a video. I'm confused with everything but am determined to learn it all. Ty so much for the video it got me to stop crying and feel empowered and hopeful ❤
 
Melissa R said:
She is on the smallest dose I can give her from the needle. 1 unit x 2 a day
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Are you using the pen for injecting? You can actually buy syringes and draw from the pen vs. using the pen. I started off using the pen and yes, it only does doses in full units. As I discovered here - 1 unit may not be much for a human but that is huge to a cat. Like @Squeakycats, I have doing some pretty minute dose changes with just drops.
 
Anna❤️Spooter said:
I'm new to this, found out this morning my kitty is diabetic and I'm so thankful you made a video. I'm confused with everything but am determined to learn it all. Ty so much for the video it got me to stop crying and feel empowered and hopeful ❤
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Anna in glad the video made you feel a little better. I remember clearly how overwhelming the diagnosis is. My cat got the diagnosis a year ago this week! I cried a lot that first day wondering if we could do it..... But everything becomes routine very quickly, and we are here to support you when you need it.
 
JanetNJ said:
Anna in glad the video made you feel a little better. I remember clearly how overwhelming the diagnosis is. My cat got the diagnosis a year ago this week! I cried a lot that first day wondering if we could do it..... But everything becomes routine very quickly, and we are here to support you when you need it.
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Thank you so much! My son and I just brought our baby home and go to pick up his insulin tomorrow then to the vets to show me how to give him his shot. Apparently my vet didn't have any insulin in stock but fortunately she called in a script so I'll go get the vial and our journey begins☺ your video does so much more than u know, it eased my heart and calmed my mind and I'm sure it has helped sooook many more people n will continue to do so for a very long time
 
My son is actually better at it then me, but doesn't like seeing the blood. Hehehehe.

Do your drooler and kitty cuddle all the time?
 
The beginning threads of the subforums (like the Levemir or Prozinc forums) have good summarized info. For Leo (out kitteh), I was the one who ramped up on knowledge and first dosing. Then I trained Theresa. She was real scared like some of you have been. But she learned it in 2 or 3 days. It's not that hard. And you are helping you kitty in the process.
 
JeffJ said:
The beginning threads of the subforums (like the Levemir or Prozinc forums) have good summarized info. For Leo (out kitteh), I was the one who ramped up on knowledge and first dosing. Then I trained Theresa. She was real scared like some of you have been. But she learned it in 2 or 3 days. It's not that hard. And you are helping you kitty in the process.
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I am so glad u all r here :') I'll try to learn how to navigate through the forums and website lol! I honestly don't know what I'd do if I hadn't found this site:') Ty so much
 
Thanks Anna. And also to Melissa. This forum is literally a lifesaver for our kittehs. I agree. I don't know how people cope without this help. And for Leo he has the Acromegaly form of diabetes. So I learned even more specialized knowledge and got help on that topic here too....resulting in radiation therapy to extend his life.
 
Melissa R said:
Has anyone tried just changing the food with initial prognosis? She has had 2 doses of insulin so far, and I find her out of it. Do most parents go directly to Insulin when their fur baby is diagnosed?
Click to expand...
If she's completely on wet food only, the forum suggests starting off with .5 of a unit.
 
Melissa R said:
Thanks everyone! She is on the smallest dose I can give her from the needle. 1 unit x 2 a day. I wish I would have asked the Vet if we could just try changing her food and go from there. The reason I brought her into the Vet this week was because I noticed she was walking oddly with her back legs.
Click to expand...

This was the initial reason I brought my kitty Davis to the vet too, his back legs looked kind of odd when he walked. My schedule is really crazy so my vet suggested I try doing dietary changes first before turning to insulin. We gave it a good try for 8 weeks using Young Again Zero (it is all protein and very little carbs, which is great for diabetic cats) and although his glucose numbers came down a little bit, he still needs insulin. I feel bad now because his back legs are even worse than they were 8 weeks ago. I wish I had just started with insulin immediately. We are starting Davis on 1 unit of Lantus 2x day, just like you. I really hope it helps!
I just got something called Zobaline which is supposed to help his back legs. You can find it on Amazon. I'm hoping it helps, still waiting for it to arrive in the mail.
 
Thank you so much everyone! :) I have a couple questions for the Vet when he calls me back on Monday. I would very much prefer doing the blood curve testing at home and sending him the information. My poor girl gets very upset with car rides and her kennel. Will keep you all posted! :)
 
That's a great plan Melissa. You can do it. I kinda like testing Leo now. He gets in position right away. He thinks he is fooling me...because he knows a treat is coming after the test. I give him a small rubdown before and after the test. It's almost a stress free procedure now.
 
Hi welcome!! You've got to the right place, there are many experienced people here that can help you,

Is great that you are willing to test at home is really the best way of doing it ( for him and for your economy)

For what I see you are shooting Lantus, there's a forum here for it and there's a lot of good information there you may try start here:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...the-basics-new-to-the-group-start-here.18139/http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...the-basics-new-to-the-group-start-here.18139/
 
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