Charley update

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Charleysmom

Charleysmom

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Charley just returned from a bg check at the vet. To our shock and the vet, Charley's bg was 59. The vet thought it might be a false reading, so he tested again - 57. SHOCK. He was just diagnosed on 1/9 and his glucose was 565, Fructosamine 680, no ketones. He was prescribed Prozinc 1.5 units twice a day. His glucose last Wednesday was down to 325. His vet said it's a step in the right direction and raised his insulin to 2 units twice a day. We have changed him to meal fed, stopped the m/d and switched to a combo of Special kitty/Fancy feast. The vet has recommended no insulin for the next 7-10 days. He feels we may be able to control the diabetes through diet alone, but obviously the next testing will tell the tale. The vet was at first pretty direct that we needed to go back to only m/d - he equated the fancy feast to a child who is only given McDonalds. So...I pulled out Binky's chart. He said he has never seen any research to support any diet for diabetic cats other than m/d, but he was open to trying this. We want to start home testing, just haven't because I wasn't so confident in his injections yet. The vet had also shared he felt it wasn't necessary. I disagreed. Have you seen numbers drop so quickly? What are your thoughts that we could regulate through diet alone after just two weeks? Very confused.
 
This is exactly why testing at home is so important...and yes a cat can go into remission just that quickly on a diet change and a short course of insulin...My Maxwell is living proof...He was dxed at 485, started on 1u of Lantus twice a day...two weeks later he was in remission and off insulin and has stayed there since November 1st 2010. But if I hadn't been home testing him I never would have known that he was just plain done with all the shots. As I had only adopted him on October 15th 2010.

And by the way...Maxwell went OTJ and became diet controlled on a diet of nothing but plain old fashioned Friskies Pate canned cat food, and has stayed there on the same diet.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
 
I just received a phone call from the vet's office regarding aquote for the home monitoring kit. Good grief. $184 for the monitor, $79 for 50 lancets, $35 for 50 strips. That's crazy. She said the human monitoring kits are not as effective. Thoughts? On a very positive note, the vet is asking for copies of the wet food comparison charts. I guess it's all they've been discussing in their office since we left.
 
I think the majority of us use a human meter. Our large animal hospital even gave me one human meter for free. The Ascencia Contour.
 
Please, please, please start hometesting. It is your most valuable tool in keeping Charley safe and on the road to good health. As you have just found out, not being able to monitor his BG at home is dangerous. 59 is not a scary hypo number, especially if that was around his nadir time. But because you have no information on how his body reacts to insulin, you don't know if that was during, before, or after his nadir. And that is dangerous. He could have continued dropping after, and gone hypo had you not known he was low and prevented it.

and... Hills W/D is closer to McD's than Fancy Feast will ever be. Unfortunately your vet is being paid by Hills to say that. Look at the ingredients to get a good idea of how poor Hills food really is.

Pork By-Products, pork liver, water - are the first 3 ingredients in Hills W/D.
Chicken, chicken broth, liver - are the first 3 ingredients in Fancy Feast Classic Chicken Feast.

Which would you rather eat? I think the answer is pretty obvious. :smile:

The diet change alone can cause his numbers to drop... some cats drop 100-200 from diet change alone... Hills W/D is something like 16% carbs, and FF something like 4-6%, so a drop could have happened... and because you weren't home testing to see the drop, his insulin need was not adjusted, which could have caused him to start going low/hypo.

I don't know if it would be better to hold off insulin until you have more info, but you should really try to start home testing ASAP, because you don't know if he's still in the high numbers at certain times of the day.

You do NOT need to spend $300 on the AlphaTrak meter. Human meters will work just as well. If you're in the USA, a great meter is the Reli-On from Walmart, it is super cheap and reliable. I personally use the Bayer Contour but the strips are expensive!
 
You don't need your vets permission to hometest. Get a kit and go for it. Even if you hit a diet controlled remission, you can continue to test (less often as time goes by) to ensure your cat hasn't slipped and if it has you can react that much quicker. A human meter is fine. They will in general read lower than the $184 pet calibrated meter and will save you a bundle. The cost of lancets at $79 for 50 makes me feel a little nauseous. The bayer microlets I use (and come in funky colours no less) are $10 for 200 and there's nothing special about a sterilized sharp object for getting blood from a cat compared to the human version. See the Convert A Vet link for some abstracts of journal articles to convince your vet they're fine.

You might consider testing the urine for glucose in the meantime. This can give you some info on whether or not Charley's blood glucose is going high during your no insulin trial until you get the blood testing down.

If your vet has any research at all on the m/d food and diabetes I'd love to see it. I mean that, if you could ask for sources I'd be seriously interested. I've only seen studies on low carb/low fibre/high protein diets, and none seemed to proclaim that a particular brand of food that gets you there is important (though the Purina DM canned and/or dry are often used). I've never seen anything to back the m/d food.

Regulation or remission are possible very rapidly. I hope this is the case for Charley.
 
A human meter is just fine...it will read slightly lower than an animal only meter, but that only means that normal for a non-diabetic cat on a human meter is 40-120 whereas normal for a non-diabetic cat on a pet only meter it 70-150 that is really the only difference. Just about everyone here uses a regular human meter to test our cats. I, personally, have 2 diabetics that I use two different human meters on. With Maxwell, I use a Relion (Walmart's house brand) Micro because since he is in remission I can buy very small amounts of strips for it since I only test him about twice a month if that.

With Musette I use a Bayer Contour, as she is tested very often and is still insulin dependent, plus she is sponsored by DCIN and they supply her testing supplies and this is the meter they supply to all their sponsored cats...both are excellent meters and work great for a cat.

I also work at my vet office part time as kennel help while going to school to become a vet tech, our office meter is also a human meter, in fact it is a Bayer Contour just like I use for Musette.

The thing I love about the Relion Micro that I have for Maxwell is that the meter itself was $9, 100 strips are $50 and a box of 100 lancets are about $4...with 2 diabetics and 11 non-diabetics it fits nicely into the budget. I also can purchase as few as 20 strips for the Relion now that Maxwell is in remission so I don't have to worry about the strips expiring before I can use them and I can always run out to any pharmacy to get more strips for the Contour should I run out on a weekend or holiday when the vet office isn't open...The Pet only meters you have to get the strips from the vet for the most part.

Mel, Maxwell, Musette & The Fur Gang
 
We have every intention of home testing. My husband is petrified of needles, (petrified is an understatement). He couldn't even watch me give the insulin without getting ill. I plan on picking up the monitor,lancents. etc. on Friday if not sooner. This has been a wild ride. I've just been so comforted by the encouragement you all have given. I'm really working hard to not be the neurotic furbaby mom.
 
Many people on this forum were previously needle phobics... I am sure a few will chime in their experiences. Many of them didn't have a choice - it was either put their beloved cat at a serious risk, or buckle up and get over the phobia.

You need to tell your hubby this is something you NEED to do, for the life and longevity of Charley - and that it will benefit both of you, and most importantly Charley, if you can get him on board with testing, even if not injections. It's always good to have backup if you sleep in or have to stay at work late. My SO took a while to get on board, but now I trust him with Scooter when I'm gone.
 
My husband was pale and shaking at the sight of Akbah getting his insulin shot. But I went north to see my Dad, and he had to do the shots. Did it better than me. That was before I started home testing.
 
Ditto on the human meter being fine! I use the Contour, and as been said the strips can be pricey (paid $72 for 50 at the corner pharmacy. That won't happen again! Now I buy them on Ebay for less than half price! Just bought 50 for $16.50. Much better. :-D ).

For ease of supplies and cost, Wal-mart's Relion and strips are the best value, and it's reliable.

As far as needle phobes go...I'm one of them. When my family and doctor found out I was giving shots to Poopy, they were stunned! Yea, it's amazing what we can overcome when it's our babies at stake. :lol:
 
Hello Charley's Mom!

I too can vouch for the human meters. Get one that sucks up the blood into the test strip rather than you putting the blood on the pad, its much easier to get the blood from the ear that way. Look for meters that only require a small amount of blood. Since I live in a city and have no Walmart handy, I got a Nova Max Plus. The test strips are about 50 cents each online, nearly $1 each at CVS. I tested it on myself and on my non-diabetic cat and the readings were what I'd expect them to be.

Fingers crossed Charley is in remission already!!!

Lori
 
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