Dont know where to begin....!

[jillmerg]

Im becoming so frustrated & lost hope in my vet! My cat, Princess(10), has been diabetic for about 4 yrs now. She was on insulin & Hill's rx dry food from vet & has been doing ok. They switched her insulin a couple yrs ago when it was discontinued and she is now on Novolin N . The past month she seemed off , lost a tooth & one morning didn't come for her food(not like her). Took her to the vet & sure enough her sugar was very high,700's+. She also had an abscess in her mouth which was treated with an antibiotic. I wanted canned food for her so he put her on Purina DM /1 can a day. He also increased her insulin dose weekly & ended up at 4units 2x's a day. that gave her a reading of 127.
Then the week before last (Friday 13th!) about 3 hrs after her dinner shot she was shaking & ended up having a seizure while I was on the phone with the emergency vet. Her glucose was 74 . She spent the night/day to get regulated enough to come home. The dr thought 4 units was high for a cat & that the infection could have messed with her diabetes. She had some bacteria in her urine & recieved an antibiotic but everything else was ok.
The following Monday I took her to my vet to follow up(he had the doctors notes faxed to him) & I mentioned the previous infection possibly causing her sugar to go wacky. He didnt think so , syaing that she could have produced insulin again on her own. I started my research & Im feeling he doesn't know how to correctly treat a diabetic cat!
My concerns that I think could have affected her & caused her to be hypoglycemic-
-her infection, changing her food to a lower carb wet food, her brand of insulin seems to not be recommended for cats.
Im going in this afternoon(2pm) for a nadir glucose check , shes at 1 unit now. last monday was 284. He wants to conservatively increase her dose. Im assuming shell still be high & he'll up it & recheck next wk.
Im feeling confused & frustrated & wondering if I should start over on a different insulin.
~thanks for listening

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Welcome. N insulin is not recommended for cats since it only lasts for 8-10 hours. The human insulin Lantus and Levemir are good as is the cat insulin ProZinc.
Yes, the change to the lower carb canned could have caused the low BG. It sounds like the 74 was measured at the vet so it could have been lower that that at home. 74 is a good number for a low.
There is no reason for the prescription food. A low-carb commercial food like Fancy Feast pates/Classics are goo as most Friskies pates.
Most of use test our cats BG at home using a human meter.

 

[jillmerg]

Also, I'd like to test her sugar at home. Which meters would be the most accurate? The vet used the Alpha trak . Is there one thats just as good but less costly? I see Relion is often suggested here.

 

[jillmerg]

Thanks, her BG did get down to 64 after her initial arrival reading. Im not sure why bc I would assume they would have given her sugar to up it. Cost of the insulin is a factor, however, if shes not properly controlled on Novolin N then I'd rather pay more & have her healthy. I have 4 young children & 2 dogs too! $24 a box for insulin is nice for the wallet, but not when it is along with $400 er bills & repeat office visits. I love my kitty & will make it work. I'm a little scared starting a new one will be difficult on her. The seizure scared me so much! Is it hard to switch over to a different brand of insulin?

 

[BJM]

See my signature link Glucometer Notes for cat-specific reference ranges using various meter types and measurement units.
And see Secondary Monitoring Tools for additional assessments you may wish to make.

 

[Deb & Wink]

Home testing will help you to save on some of those vet care costs. Yes, many of here do use the Relion Confirm or Relion Micro from Wal-mart. Inexpensive test strips are a big savings on the wallet and BJM gave you the link to the Glucometer Notes which tell you the ranges to look for.

Switching to another insulin does not have to be difficult. Lantus, Levimir or Prozinc are good for use in cats.

With 4 young children, I bet your life is incredibly busy.

 

[Critter Mom]

HI Jill and welcome to you and Princess.

Infection can affect blood glucose levels adversely. Indeed, one of the first things I was warned about when Saoirse was first diagnosed is that one has to be extra vigilant about infection in diabetics.

A longer-acting insulin like the ones suggested above may actually be gentler on Princess' system than her current insulin. I'm glad you're going to start home testing. It is far and away the best way to keep Princess safe, and also to help you regulate her blood glucose.

I'm sorry to hear that Princess had a seizure. That must have been so scary! I'm glad she's OK now.