Dweezil's fructosamine results part 2

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monty_dweezil (GA)

monty_dweezil (GA)

Member Since 2014
Ok, so this morning it was back to the vet with both of us. Dweezil was good (relatively) and we got the test done.

His levels this morning at 14+ hours past his AM shot were 14 (or 252) which was not hideous considering his level of stress.

His first fructosamine test three weeks ago came back at 543, so not controlled. We will know the results of the new test in about a week and the vet expects it to be better than the first one. Let's hope so.

He also said with dogs, the fructosamine test does the previous 2 or so weeks, but for cats it's the previous 5 or so days.

In other news, Dweezy has been doing very well in terms of his 5 Ps. His pee is normal and no smell and not excessive at all, his poop is normal, he is purring like normal, he is eating well and he is grooming as normal. His weight is stable at 5.8kg and he seems very happy, content, alert and feisty, which he always has been.
 
You can save yourself expense and stress by not doing a fructosamine test. As you are home testing, you have all the data you need to know about what his BG is, you can share your spreadsheet with the vet and save $$.
 
Hillary & Maui (GA) said:
You can save yourself expense and stress by not doing a fructosamine test. As you are home testing, you have all the data you need to know about what his BG is, you can share your spreadsheet with the vet and save $$.
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I agree. The only time I have ever had a fructosomine test was for the initial diagnosis. I had one new vet in the cat clinic I go to, try to tell me that I needed one every 6 months. I provided her 6 months worth of daily test results and explained that I know exactly how my cats were doing. I had two diabetic cats at the time. After looking at two large printouts of daily readings, she finally agreed that I was right. ;) I just love training new vets. :banghead:
 
Dweezil is not being consistently home tested as of yet, though, and that's why it is important to get those fructosamine numbers.

Sorry to hear the fructosamine didn't come back at a good number, and I hope this will one come back better for you! Glad to hear Dweezil is doing well though!
 
Thank you so much!!

The week before that last fructosamine test was the 3-4 days I'd been doing furshots so he was only getting his morning insulin each of those days. I think that may have had an impact.

It will be interesting to see how this one goes. :)
 
Thank you! We are so pleased! He is eating well and drinking normally and seems his old feisty self. His urine glucose still seems high though.
 
Hi there!

Thanks for thinking of me. :) Things have been going along in a stable manner. Nothing had changed at all in terms of Dweezy's behaviour, water consumption, diet or urination. We are going away on our big trip in three weeks and have given detailed instructions to our cattery.

What is stressful is that just this past 10 days, we've noticed his appetite has increased, his litter box smells of sweet cider again and his water consumption has increased. WHY!? Nothing else has changed!!

We just looked up what he'd eaten in the weeks surrounding the reading he got at the end of February when it was basically normal, and it was exactly the same stuff he's still eating now!

I am NOT comfortable if our vet wants to increase his dose right before we go away and he doesn't eat the same or as much at the cattery (he often doesn't). :(
 
I don't know why you keep doing the fructosamine test and why you don't home test more frequently. After the initial diagnosis, I really think the only use for a fructosamine is when you have a cat that's OTJ that's had apparently good numbers for a while and you're looking for an excuse to reduce the frequency of testing (i.e., a formal pronouncement the cat is "in remission"). With my sluggo after his initial diagnosis, that's the way I used it, as sort of an assurance he wasn't swinging out of control between tests. Now that he's relapsed, I don't need the expense of an extra test to tell me he's out of control. I can pretty well figure that one out for myself! I mean how would a high fructosamine test change anything you're going to do? That's the standard I always apply in deciding whether to order a test on a human. How is veterinary medicine any different?!
 
The difficulty with a fructosamine test after a cat is on insulin is that it is a measuring of an average BGs over a period of time. It cannot tell you if Dweezil is running flatly in the 200s or bouncing between 50 and 400, it can only tell you that he averages a certain number. With a difficult to test cat, you do what you can. Hopefully the vet is catching a nadir while they are doing a fructosamine so you are getting at least a spot check on how low he might be getting at the same time.
Keeping an eye on things like his drinking and peeing like you are doing is good so that you can catch if maybe that fructosamine test is telling a different story that what is really going on.
 
Thank you SO much BJM and Melanie. I really appreciate your understanding. It is SO hard for us. We are just trying to keep Dweezil safe and ok.

He had another test this morning, and unfortunately his number was very high. Almost as high as it was the very first time, when he was diagnosed and before starting insulin. *sigh* Right before we leave for our 6 week overseas trip too. We are VERY stressed. He was 522. The last time, a month or so ago, he was almost normal and the time before that he WAS normal. I just don't understand. His food has not changed. His stress level and environment has not changed. Nothing has changed that could be causing this.

We HAVE noticed he's been sneezing a lot lately. Nothing else similar, like no runny eyes or discharge anywhere or anything like that, and he is definitely not lethargic. He has had this before, and it seems to be when he's stressed he will have sneezing fits, and when the seasons change (even though he is an indoor only cat) and temperatures drop, he will sneeze a lot. The commencement of the sneezing has definitely seemed to be in accordance with the onset of his Diabetic symptoms increasing.

Anyway...we knew he'd be high, as he's been drinking a bit more, hungrier and his pee had been cider-y again, but we didn't think it'd be that high. Ever since he was diagnosed, his urine glucose tests (we get around 2-3 per day, every single day) have virtually ALWAYS been high, even when his blood glucose was not and when he showed no other symptoms whatsoever.

Our vet will wait on the results of this fructosamine test and then advise. I don't want his units increased a heap as I fear for his safety while we're away. :(
 
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Yes. Well, we got his fructosamine test back and it was 597. So now we have to increase his dose. Right before we go away. I just do NOT know why this has happened.

If it is allergies or inflammation...well...ok. I don't know what we can do though. He is on L-Lysine now and has sneezed less today and yesterday.

I don't know if maybe it's his food. I simply cannot trust ANY foods anymore. We feed him Nature's Gift kangaroo, Cat's in the Kitchen cans (only the ones with less than 5 grams of carbs), Ziwipeak (which has basically NO carbs pretty much) and Whiskas just the loaf varieties...and he was eating all this same stuff months ago when his numbers were so GOOD! I just do not get it.
 
(Just wrote this in your other thread and am copying here...)

Agreeing with everything said above. And it may well be that Dweezil has some other condition that is inflating the numbers (UTI and dental infections are common culprits).

However.....there is also the possibility that the current insulin dose is actually too high now, causing him to rebound. That could also cause high numbers. (I feel a bit bad suggesting this possibility because my recollection is that Dweezil is difficult to hometest(?), and hometesting would be really helpful in working out if that is the case....)

Eliz
 
I just wish we could home test. I really, really do. I am terrified if he's already going too low at times, that this increased dose will kill him.

Our vet keeps saying because lantus is slow and long acting, the risk of dipping too low is...well, low. But IS it??? Isn't the risk of prolonged, longer term hypoglycemia also dangerous? Sigh.
 
Has Dweezil been checked by the vet for infections or other health issues prior to his insulin dose being increased? Have other health issues been ruled out?

I don't mean to 'throw a spanner in the works' here (and I know the timing is terrible) but I am just wondering whether all that work you put into finding lower carb foods did actually pay off, and has resulted in him needing a lower dose... Let's see what others think....
 
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
However.....there is also the possibility that the current insulin dose is actually too high now, causing him to rebound. That could also cause high numbers.
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That is a very good point. It's definitely a possibility. I do, completely understand the problems you've had with trying to home test Dweezil - he does seem to be one of the cats who just refuses to take to it no matter what you try. I do think it's something you need to consider especially if you've ruled out the possibility of infection, I'm just not sure how you'd go about it short of reducing his dose and seeing what his next fructosamine test shows, unless anyone else has any ideas how to work out whether that's what's causing the problem or not.
 
Would the vet give you some tranquilizer so you might test him a time or two per week?
 
I would be uneasy using a tranquilizer when one does curves/BGs since the cBG obtained may not be representative of days without tranquilizer
 
Larry and Kitties said:
I would be uneasy using a tranquilizer when one does curves/BGs since the cBG obtained may not be representative of days without tranquilizer
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In most circumstances I'd agree that medicating to get a BG number probably isn't the way to go. But for Dweezil where the only other option is a BG obtained under vet stress or a fructosamine every few weeks, would it maybe be better than no numbers at all?
 
Can you get urine at home? of so you could check the urine for glucose using a human urine dipstick. Yu would strive to always show a little glucose in the urine. If not glucose is showing then you do not know how low the cat is.
 
Thank you all again for your understanding.

We actually do test his urine several times a day, and even when his BG was normal or almost normal and when he was "fair to good" control, almost every single test would show up the second or third highest reading for urine glucose. This always puzzled me.

I am going to try to get a sample from his ear later this week...sigh. Out of absolute desperation now. :)

He has been on 3 units (i know, i know) for 2 days now and seems slightly improved. Less thirsty. No cider smell from his pee anymore, urine glucose down from the highest to the third highest reading. Still very hungry.
 
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