Cosmo just diagnosed

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robind21283

robind21283

Member Since 2015
Cosmo, aka Mr. Fluffy was diagnosed with diabetes last week and was put on 2.5 units of ProZinc 2x daily. Surprisingly, he's pretty cooperative about home testing and insulin shots. He's going in tomorrow to the vet for a glucose curve...I'm super nervous because he usually has to be sedated at the vet as he gets anxiety. Even when we went last week I had to hold him while they drew blood because he wouldn't let anyone else touch him otherwise. How is he possibly going to make it through a day at the vet??
 
Welcome. You said you were home testing?
If so do the curve yourself and send the results to your vet.
A starting does of 2 1/2 units of ProZinc is a high starting dose.
What are you now feeding? A low-carb canned is based on no reason for s prescription food.
 
He's 18 lbs and his sugar was over 400 at the vet. My home tests have shown him in the low 200s, so seems like the dose is appropriate for the first try. Vet put him on royal canin diabetic, and I stuck with dry since that is what he has always had. Going to discuss if it would be better to switch to wet after all the reading I've done here. This is a great resource as my vet just expected that I knew about human diabetes and said its very similar. News flash, I don't know anyone with diabetes I'm gonna need a bit more info than that.
 
Have you started up a spreadsheet yet. I found that really useful to track the blood glucose results and share them with the vet. This way you could have a discussion with the vet about the difference the vet office makes to the blood glucose readings and the results you getting from the prozinc.

If you can do a blood glucose curve yourself then you really don't need to take him to the vets for one. You just need to do a test every two hours

This link tells you how to set one up
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...te-a-ss-and-link-it-in-your-signature.130337/
 
I'm using the accucheck app right now, but once I get in front of my pic I'm going to transfer over to the spreadsheet. Thanks!
 
Understanding the spreadsheet/grid:

The colored headings at the top are the ranges of glucose values. They are color-coded to clue you in as to meaning.

Each day is 1 row. Each column stores different data for the day.

From left to right, you enter
the Date in the first column
the AMPS (morning pre-shot test) in the 2nd column
the Units given (turquoise column)

Then, there are 11 columns labeled +1 through +11
If you test at +5 (5 hours after the shot), you enter the test number in the +5 column
If you test at +7 (7 hours after the shot), you enter the test number in the +7 column
and so on.

Halfway across the page is the column for PMPS (evening pre-shot)
To the right is another turquoise column for Units given at the evening shot.

There is second set of columns labeled +1 through +11
If you snag a before bed test at +3, you enter the test number in the +3 column.

We separate day and night numbers like that because many cats go lower at night.

It is merely a grid for storing the info; no math required.
 
Just updated my spreadsheet with Fluffy's numbers. I'm getting better at testing but if I don't get blood on the first few stabs, I let it go. Don't want him to start making it harder for me because he's scared. I'm using a human meter right now - the Freestyle Freedom Lite. Debating switching to the Alpha Trak - cost is about the same and VPI said if the vet writes an RX for testing/test strips they would be covered (better than nothing). Just wish I didn't have to pay out of pocket and then anxiously await what the covered amount will be.
 
Well the vet I saw today was willing to spend much more time with me than the guy that diagnosed Fluffy on Saturday. I told her I'd rather do the curve at home since I don't think Fluffy will eat while at the vet plus he'd be super stressed. So Fluffy got of almost scott free - I did ask her to collect a urine sample while we were there so I didn't have to at home :) He was so stressed that he ended up peeing all over the table so he didn't even have to get a needle to his bladder - lucky guy :)
 
Spreadsheet looks good. You need some numbers 5-7 hours after the shot to know how the dose is really working.

The protocol we put together for ProZinc is in my signature.

Two things that might help with the testing. Heat the ears (the capilliaries plump up when warm). Lots of us use a rice sack. Fill a thinish sock with raw rice, knot and heat in the mocrowave until very warm. Hold it on the ear for a minute or so. If you are using a human gauge lancet to poke, it may work better to get a 25-27 gauge lancet. It makes a little bigger hole in the beginning.
 
Regarding switching to the AlphaTrak from the Freestyle Freedom, I'd hold off on that. I'm a new kid on he block too but I've been doing a lot of test comparisons over the holidays.

When we picked Tiggy up from the hospital they suggested home monitoring. I'd done a bit of research, but not enough at that point, and they had an AlphaTrak2 starter kit ready to go. It was late at night and we just wanted her home so we went along with it. We were asked to do curves at 4 hr intervals for the first 3 days, and along with a few mishaps, that burnt through the 25 strips in the starter pretty quick. I'd already ordered more strips online, but they weren't going to make it in time and I'd already started to read other peoples' experiences of using the Freestyle strips in the Alpha. It was now firmly into the holiday season and I needed strips so I went to the pharmacy and got 100 Freestyle strips, and since if you do that you can get the meter for free I thought why not.
Then of course a few days later the AlphaTrak2 strips turned up.

So over the holidays I've had both the Freestyle Freedom & AlphaTrak2 meters, and both types of test strip.

Due to having time on my hands and curious mind I started to run comparisons between the different combinations. I'll post the results in a separate thread tomorrow - but the bottom line is you already have a good meter with the Freestyle, just accept you need to scale the results. The readings you get need to be multiplied by about 1.5 to get to what the AlphaTrak would give.

Dave.
 
NO, do not multiply the numbers. Report what you actually get.
Please use the cat specific reference numbers for the relevant glucometer in my signature link Glucometer Notes.
 
Dave & Tiggy said:
Due to having time on my hands and curious mind I started to run comparisons between the different combinations. I'll post the results in a separate thread tomorrow - but the bottom line is you already have a good meter with the Freestyle, just accept you need to scale the results. The readings you get need to be multiplied by about 1.5 to get to what the AlphaTrak would give.
Click to expand...
IIRC, you need to change the code on the AlphaTrak when using the Freestyle strips and it should adjust this for you.
 
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