Curve teat

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Sonny's Mom

Sonny's Mom

Member Since 2015
do you have to start with the curve test or are there other ways to get started. Had initial bloodwork done yesterday and was a little surprised by cost. Please understand I love my kitty just want to do what's best for him without breaking the bank.
 
You can do a curve (taking BG before shot and then every two hours until next shot) at home using a human BG meter. It is actually bether that don one at the vet since vet stress can artificially raise BG by 100 (SA) points or more.
 
Larry and Kitties said:
You can do a curve (taking BG before shot and then every two hours until next shot) at home using a human BG meter. It is actually bether that don one at the vet since vet stress can artificially raise BG by 100 (SA) points or more.
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I am speaking with my vet later. Thank you for letting me know I have options.
 
Are you already giving insulin? If not, then what are you feeding your kitty? Sometimes, it's easier starting with diet change first.
 
Hello Susanne,

Do you know what Sonny's blood glucose level was at the vet's?
And, as Kay asked above, what are you feeding him at the moment?
If you're feeding a high carb diet then switching over to lower carb may make quite a difference in lowering his blood glucose levels. ( But, if you've started on insulin already, it's best to only do this if you can monitor Sonny's blood glucose at home. That's because lowering the carb content of the diet can reduce the need for insulin.)

Most of us here do curves (and all other glucose tests) at home. It's way easier than it sounds (but may take a few goes to get the hang of it).

Eliz
 
Susanne,

Just noticed from your previous posts that Sonny is only 5 years old. Has he had any steroid treatment recently...? (Steroids can cause diabetes, but in this instance there is more chance of the diabetes being 'transitory'.)
 
He is currently eating dry food, purina indoor. Has not had steroids and has always been healthy just overweight.
His glucose was 1000 from test done yesterday.
Very frustrated after speaking with vet. Asked if I should change diet he said no to fancy feast - I thought that is what I should try first.
He wants me to bring him in next week for curve test ($400) and then again 3 weeks later after we have started him on 2 units of insulin twice a day.
Asked if there was something I could do at home and he was no help. He did say he wanted to try insulin while he was there in case sonny crashed.
Not sure what to do and trying not to freak out.
 
Check out catinfo.org for more on feline nutrition and how it affects health, including BGs. For our diabetics, we look for any foods with less than 8-10% carbs, the lower the better (first Column C). We suggest changing the diet first before starting insulin because this gives you more time to learn how to home test without the added pressure of making sure the cat isn't dropping too low from both the food change and the insulin. In fact, some cats end up never needing insulin and can go into remission on just the food change alone.

Not sure if you (or the vet) really mean 1000 mg/dl or if he ran some other test, but I've never seen a cat that high before. Usually anything over 600-700 is "Hi" on most meters. Did your vet test him for ketones?

$400 is an outrageous cost for a curve! Usually it's less than $100, IIRC and if you learn how to home test, you don't have to pay your vet for curves since you can run your own curves at home. We also usually suggest starting out at no more than ~1u and seeing how the cat reacts. Do you know what insulin the vet wants to prescribe?

My first suggestion would be to go out and buy an inexpensive glucometer with matching test strips (here in the US, the cheapest is the ReliOn brand from Walmart) and test Sonny yourself to see what his numbers really are. Also pick up some low carb food from the list above and try out a few different brands and varieties to find one Sonny likes. Fancy Feast Classics and Friskies Pates are some popular low carb and inexpensive foods people use. Transition him to the new food for about a week and go slowly to prevent digestive upset. Continue practicing with home-testing and see how his numbers do with the food change and if they're still high after a week or two, then it might be time to start insulin.
 
He did check his ketones which he said were fine. He mentioned something else that he was testing that started with an "f". The other thing he wanted to do was hydrate Sonny because he said he was slightly dehydrated. What bothers me about that is if he's slightly dehydrated why would we wait til the middle of next week.
The insulin he mentioned I think was Prozane, not sure if I'm spelling it right. He said it costs about $150.
I mentioned the classic fancy feast and he said that I should get the kind for kittens - is this necessary?
 
ProZinc is a good insulin. You don't need to get just the kitten one; any of the Classics are low carb. You will want to add water to the food to help with hydration. I add about a half can of water to every full can of food, until it's a thick milkshake or soup consistency.

I'm not sure why he wants to wait till next week to start; most vets usually want to get started right away (which is not always a good thing). In this instance, if I were you, I would use it as an opportunity to get Sonny switched over to low carb food and learn how to home-test so you don't have to leave him for a curve.
 
Thanks. I will go out tomorrow and pick up some food. I will slowly transition him over the next week and look into the home testing. I know someone at a local shelter, maybe she knows or can help me find out what to do.
Thank you for all the advice. I'm not trusting my vet right now.
Susanne
 
On the off chance that you might want to get a second opinion from a different vet, I have Vet Interview Topics in my signature link..

For food changes, we suggest swapping out 20-25 % different food each day or two to avoid GI upsets.
For good feline nutrition info, go to Cat Info, then, download the food chart from the site.

Once you pick up an inexpensive human glucometer such as the WalMart ReliOn Confirm or Confirm Micro, matching test strips, and lancets for alternate site testing (26-28 gauge), take a look at my signature link Glucometer Notes to review the feline-specific reference values when using a human glucometer.

 
I read through your interview pojnts, thank you. Obviously my vet has none of the qualities I am looking for. I am reaching out to a couple local shelters to see if I can find someone to talk with.
I looked at the food charts and will slowly change things over based on your recommendations.
I also read through the glucometer notes. I need to read them through a couple more times, don't quite understand just yet.
If I dont start the insulin right away and try the diet change is there anything I should be watching for that might indicate danger for my kitty?

By the way Sonny looks a lot like your kitty.
Susanne
 
KPassa said:
You will want to add water to the food to help with hydration. I add about a half can of water to every full can of food, until it's a thick milkshake or soup consistency.
Click to expand...
Beat me to it.

@Sonny's Mom - You've found a great place to learn from the experience of others here. Obviously all aspects of treatment need to be discussed with one's vet, but if there's every anything you're unsure about ask questions here. You can always take the responses you get and discuss them with your vet, too. I found FDMB a great place to become more informed. What I learn here I discuss with my (wonderful) vets. It has worked really well to get Saoirse treatments that really help.

I hope that you get the right things in place soon for Sonny. :)
 
Yes, there is something you need to monitor - urine ketones and glucose
Pick up KetoDiaStix from a pharmacy, or generic version.
Read over Secondary Monitoring Tools in my signature link
and/or pop over to this site for tips.
 
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