Changing Vets Makes a Big Difference!

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Alpandia

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First off, thanks to Janelle who was so patient with me this Sunday showing me how to do a home test of Romeo. We didn't do one this morning because of the crazy "holy crap, is it really almost appointment time" rush, but plan to start them off tomorrow AM. :thumbup

But as the subject says, we switched to a new vet today. Well, today was the trial run to see if Romeo (and I) liked the new vet. It was a rousing success. Not only is this practice smaller and quieter, but the doctor actually has personal experience dealing with a diabetic kitty - his was on and off insulin for 3 years. Romeo got a thorough exam and will be going in for a vet-observed blood curve next week. Yes, I know I can do these at home, but I only *just* learned how to do a test - and none of the ones I tried while Janelle was over even registered on my meter. So I thought it best to let someone with more experienced hands handle the first one. Once I'm getting consistent readings (meaning, I can pop his ear and get a reading on the meter each time), I will be doing curves for him.

I'm excited about this new vet, and have a much more positive view of Romeo's treatment and prognosis. What a difference a weekend makes!

Anyhow, just wanted to let you know. I'm sure you were all waiting for his next journal entry (in my sig). ;-)

-Stacy
 
Yes, the right vet can make all the difference! I'm so glad you found someone who will work WITH you to treat Romeo. What great news!
 
I must confess the first two curves Nomad had I let the vet do also. The first vet I went to was also crappy...I had to argue with her that I didn't want him put to sleep. She predicted he would live a year at the most and here we are two years later in remission. Tell Romeo Nomad says Hello! :-D
 
looking back now, the vet i had when jewel first had diabetes, was TERRIBLE. he didnt tell me anything about diet, or hypo, or home testhing, nothing! and just sent me home saying to give her 2 units of insulin once a day, and that was it. i guess its a good thing he never told me about diet changes, me not knowing any better and keeping her on dry food, probably saved her life.

the vet i have now is awesome tho. right away, she said to switch to wet food to see if that would make a difference. she was actually hesitant to even give jewel any insulin at first (i guess cos she was so borderline diabetic). she also wanted to wait for her UTI to clear up, thinking that it might have been part of the reason for the high BG values. eventually we started on a low insulin dose but she was also very insistent that i home test cos it could mean the difference between life and death or a very sick kitty! insulin is a powerful and dangerous drug if not used correctly. jewel went into remission only a week after starting insulin, and if i wasnt home testing, i would never had know that are BG was beginning to drop on its own to normal levels

if i had vet number 1 this time around, im pretty sure i would have sent kitty into hypo or worse.
 
Janelle, I'll absolutely let Romeo know that you and Nomad say hi.

Today Matt (the BF) had to take Romeo to vet when we noticed some redness in his urine. They didn't find anything wrong in the blood work they did (had to do, because he had an empty bladder), but they gave him a shot of antibiotics anyhow just in case and sent him home to be in isolation for a bit so that we could figure out if it was him or one of his sisters who had the problem. After about an hour, Roe had a little bit of leakage and it was red, so he's out of isolation and back among the general population.

The vet who treated him today (the guy from Monday is on vacation) said that his blood glucose was 395, which is about 20 points lower than the last time Banfield tested him. She said that once we do the curve, we will know where his sugar levels are falling and the start to transition to a wet-food-only diet. I'm not sure if there was a note on his chart that I'd spoken to the other doctor about this, but I was encouraged either way. She had initially suggested the Hills Science Diet W/D, but my cats will NOT touch that stuff. No matter how I attempt to make it appealing, they will walk way, or try to bury it!

Ah well, so we have another crisis. But the vet got him right in, took care of him, and sent him home. I'm actually fairly excited to see what the results of the glucose curve are next week. In other news, does anyone know how to get blood out of carpet? :sad:

-Stacy
 
Cleaning the blood stain with cold water should work, Stacy. Hot water will "set" the stain.

Claudia
 
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