Feline diabetes specialist sought Pittsburgh PA

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paris14

paris14

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Hi gang -

Does anyone know where I can find a feline diabetes specialist in Pittsburgh, PA??? Any help would be very appreciated!!!

Thanks -

Steve & Ed
 
Re: Feline diabetes specialist sought

I can't help - I'm in Texas - but if you put the city name in the subject line of your post, you'll get more on-target responses.
 
hi. I assume you are Steve??
there are a dew of us from in and around PGH. we can all lend a hand. before going to a "SPECIALIST" can ya tell us about your cat
history
insulin
dosage
food
ect
and maybe we can give ya a hand
 
IMHO there really are no "diabetic specialists" like there is for ear/skin, heart, internal, bone, etc. for cats. Just find a good vet that is willing to work with all you will learn from all the experienced hands-on, 24/7, 365 days a year on this board.

If you can, please answer the questions Dian posted to you so you can start getting help.
 
Hi -

Yep, this is Steve. My lil' buddy's name is Ed. Ed is 15 & my best buddy.

He takes 3 ml of Lactulose twice a day for chronic constipation & was diagnosed about 3 years ago w/ mild asthma & put on daily Prednisone & Terbutaline. No one warned us that having him on steroids that long may contribute to diabetes! He was misdiagnosed over 3 months ago & they failed to catch that he had diabetes back then. Finally, he was recently diagnosed w/ diabetes & we have just (yesterday) started him on insulin. He is being started w/ a 1 unit dose of humalin twice a day. His blood glucose at the vets last week was 547. I just did his first home glucose test & he got a 300. I'm talking to my vet tomorrow to see if we should raise his dose. He drinks around 18 - 20 oz. of water daily & urinates a ton. He's a really tough boy & has survived many things over the years. Other than the drinking/urinating, he seems very healthy - he eats, is energetic and attentive. He is a VERY finicky eater & currently eats 1/2 a can of Fancy Feast twice a day. I have stopped all dry food except a small amount of M/D food two days ago. We are going to try & eventually switch him to the M/D canned food as well.

We feel he was mishandled at our current vets (we think they should have warned us about the Prednisone or at the very least caught this 3 months ago when they did 3 urine tests in one week) & are considering switching to a local specialist to make sure he gets the best care.

Any info would be appreciated - we're new to this & have received some good advice from friends with diabetic cats.

THANKS!

Steve
 
That is a HUGE amount of water! Wow!

Regarding diet...MD isn't that great, so if he likes FF flavours that do not have wheat or soy in them then I'd stick with that. However, 1/2 can FF twice a day is not a lot of food...how much food does he normally eat?

Finally, insulin...Humulin N is not a great option and there are many better ones. Get the hang of testing, figure out how N is working for him, and then re-evaluate (my humble suggestion)...

Jen
 
Thanks for the advice!

He has never eaten all that much - what I quoted is about his normal intake - but he always had dry food to nibble all day. I give him a whole can both times I feed him & he usually only eats 1/2 of it. I wonder now that I only put a bit of dry MD food down if his moist food intake will go up.

I appreciate the input very much. I'll see how things work out. What are better insulins in your opinion??

Fingers crossed -

Steve
 
Steve, have they a check on his kidney values lately? Also, forget the MD and stick with the FF. I would also give him more to eat than 1/2 can each time. I would put down a whole can and see how much, if not all of it, he eats. Also, being on steroids he is probably a steroid induced diabetic and hometesting is the best thing you can learn to do for Ed. With a change in food and using insulin he may very well go off needing insulin.
 
Dian

I have had that happen and I think it is if two people post at the same time...

Steve, Prozinc is a new formulation of PZI and may be a better option, lantus and levemir are definitely better options.

Jen
 
Yes, last we we ran a full body analysis & his kidney values were normal.

I do give him a full can twice a day but he only eats half. I think his intake may go up as he is now restricted to moist food just twice a day - I work at home a lot & he is a nibbler - he liked to be fed many times per day & just ate a little each time. I will keep him on the FF. I did switch to MD dry food. Are there any other good low carb high protein dry foods?

I was very angry with the vet that put him on steroids - no warnings then or the many, many times we refilled the med through him!! Same vet misdiagnosed him 3 months ago & missed his diabetes then.

Dian - please do try back - I'd love to hear your advice!

Thank you all so much for the advice. This is a new world for me but I would do anything for Ed.

Steve
 
ditch any dry. just leave out the FF. it will not go bad and if ya want, you can freeze some so it thaws slowly. besides, some cats do a lot better grazing cause it is not overwhelming the pancreas. if switching to all wet. test and you should see numbers drop from that alone
check out janet and binky food chart for lowest carb and their are even gluten free ones from FF. I have a list somewhere

I would switch to lantus or levimirl deb and spot started on N and I hounded the heck out of her and it took a loooooooooooooooooooooooooong time for her to switch and her boy is almost off insulin now.
I think you would have a better chance on one of the L insulins. used to be able to get from canada without RX but do not know about now. they were changing that. walmart has 5 pens solstar lantus for $200. very cost effective or shop around locally or send script to canada

where are you located. there are several in the area and we could do lunch sometime and meet and talk face to face about ED. would be great to meet another burgh people.
 
Asthma meds- inhaled is the way to go!

check out fritzthebrave.com for information on the protocol and how to use the inhaler (Aerokat). I switched my asthmatic over back in Nov. 2002 after treating him with oral and injected steroids. Sadly, not soon enough to avoid him becoming diabetic... Still, he did quite well for the next 5 years and passed at the age of 15. His asthma was so severe that my vet did not feel he would make it until 2003, the inhaled meds made ALL the difference. Now our vet office starts all asthmatics on the inhaled meds.

Sheryl & Clouseau (GA)
 
Breathing is important! Not all cats become diabetic due to them and although they could have brought up the possibility, that's a pretty common thing to get cats with asthma on. Better than letting the asthma progress. HOwever, if you can print out the Padrid protocols on the fritzthebrave.com site and take it in, you can slowly switch to that and it does not impact the BG like pred dose. Some cats need both but if he is mild or moderate, the flovent should work. It's possible then you *might* get diet controlled. Many vets are not aware of the inhaled med treatment for cats. It's only about 10 years old and while it's becoming more known, a lot of vets wouldn't know. So, don't throw the vet out if they don't. See if they will work with you. Pearl was the first in our practice to try it and now other kitties benefit from the knowledge. You may wish to change to a longer or lente insulin like lantus or levemir later. Right now, if you learn to hometest and get over on to flovent, you will be doing your very best.
 
I will check out ALL this info and thanks you all for it! I am a tiny bit leery of the inhalers right now because A. Ed is doing pretty well on just the oral Terbutaline and B. knowing old Ed, he would freak out when given the inhaler. I just feel like we're making the poor boy miserable. We give him pills 2 or 3 times a day. We give him Lactulose twice a day. Now insulin twice a day and we're starting home glucose testing (he hated it!). If he starts to wheeze or cough again though, we will most certainly try them! Our vet does know about them & suggested we try them if Ed's asthma worsens.
 
Dian - Thanks for the info. I'm a little scared that if I leave food out, he won't eat as well before his insulin doses & may go hypoglycemic. Is that dumb?? My vet went as far as to say that with Ed's levels, if he doesn't eat well before his dose, skip that insulin dose. Also - our other cat, Chewie, is an absolute chow hound & usually eats any & all food left out. When I'm working at home, I could feed Eddie bits of moist food off & on but, apart from the concern I stated, I'm worried that when I go out of town on a job (sometimes I am gone up to a month) and my wife is at work all day, he won't get enough to eat.

I'm trying very hard not to be overwhelmed by al the info I am finding, much of it that wholly or somewhat contradicts the other.

I'm trying my very best!!
 
where abouts do you hail from. again, we can get a small group together for lunch and have a nice chat about different treatments an dhow to handle things. lynda and scruffy is from wexford. I am 15 mil south east of pgh.
sometimes more can get accomplished face to face than trying to type it all out and we can make things less overwhelming and explain better while eating :lol:
Ps . you are doing fine and it does seem like a lot in the beginning. but you will get a routine going and it will be second nature. wheezer comes for testing and I am fostering 2 cats and they come when it is test time. fishy flakes (freeze dried tuna flakes) can get from strip district works well as treats as do freeze dried chicken breast to make testing more enjoyable. will get link a little later for cheap place to buy chicken treats
 
cool. I cannot find my way out of a paper bag and can even manage to get lost using a GPS. I put out a call for a couple others close to you.

will see if we can meet up and get a handle on all the issues. sound like a plan????
wifey poo welcome also. just in case you think we are a bunch of horny old woman or just released convicts or female versions of bubba
 
Dian, you are a riot :lol: Be great if you could all meet up. Steve, Dian's had several reunions at her place where members come in from surrounding areas. A lot of reunions have happened on this board. Good luck with your boy.......sounds like he is in good hands with you.
 
we all have weird schedules. some of us work some weekends, some (that would be me) does not know next weeks schedule til friday and some do not work but have mothers to take care of (that would be partially me). as soon as the others check in, we will try and set something up and see if we can hammer out all those little dents.
 
The following are Fancy Feast flavors contain NO wheat gluten and are below 10% carbs:

* Tender Beef Feast (brown label color)
* Tender Beef & Liver Feast (magenta)
* Tender Beef & Chicken Feast (red)
* Gourmet Chicken Feast (dark pink...be careful, this looks just like another chicken variety with gluten!)
* Turkey & Giblets Feast (olive green)
* Tender Liver & Chicken Feast (orange)
* Chopped Grill Feast (kelly green)
* Flaked Fish & Shrimp Feast (true blue)
* Savory Salmon Feast (orange)
* Flaked Ocean Fish Feast (pink)
* Tuna and Oceanfish Feast in Aspic (teal label)

*Remember that it is a good idea to limit serving fish to just a few times a week.
 
Thankfully, that's the stuff he'll eat. Only the "mush" types - he won't touch the gravy types.

Why the note to limit the fish flavors??
 
high in mercury and phosphorus?? someone will explain better than me.
glad they do not like gravy. you would be defeating the whole reasoning of switching food. the gravy foods are very high in carbs. just what a diabetic cat does not need.
you are doing a great job. It will get easier and be second nature. oh yea. in answer to your first question, you will not find any better specialists than the people on this board. they /we are teaching the vets about feline diabetes, if they will listen
 
paris14 said:
If he starts to wheeze or cough again though, we will most certainly try them!.
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No, that isn't the correct way to treat asthma. You want to keep the inflammation in the lungs down to prevent any symptoms from occurring in the first place. As a human asthmatic, I can tell you that when coughing and wheezing are present, it's very difficult to breathe. It is a very uncomfortable and stressful feeling. It is not a situation that you want your cat to be in.

The treatment of asthma requires the regular use of a steroid, whether inhaled or systemic.
 
Even if the cat is diabetic?? I keep hearing steroids are horrible for diabetic cats. What about the bronchodilator he's on? Is that not enough?
 
Plus, to be honest, I've always doubted the asthma diagnosis on Ed. Our other cat Chewie was diagnosed as asthmatic too - he was on pills for a short time & has not been on ANY medication for years & he is doing absolutely fine! No trouble at ALL breathing - nothing. Ed's only symptom was that he would have cough attacks a few times a week. Other than that, he has no trouble breathing at all...
 
sorry steve, but I have no experience with Asthma. I defer to the more knowledgeable. could start a second post asking questions ect specific to asthma so it does not get lost in here
 
paris14 said:
Even if the cat is diabetic?? I keep hearing steroids are horrible for diabetic cats. What about the bronchodilator he's on? Is that not enough?
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Inhaled are NOT a problem. If you don't use flovent and just use a bronchiodialator, you will just have the lungs get more and more scarred. Seriously, inhaled meds do not affect the BG. *Breathing* is paramount. You can treat anything around the breathing. And it *will* advance. I have to tell you that even if you don't hear a wheeze, if you have a cough, you have a wheeze. I didn't know until Pearl had several coughs in one day and then acted terribly uncomfortable. At that time, I could hear the wheeze without putting my ear on her. Really it's OK to use that flovent. Even if Ed was bad enough to need both (it happens) then you deal with the diabetes. Breathing and eating. You make sure those are happening and work with everything else. But really, FLovent is not like taking pred.
 
paris14 said:
Plus, to be honest, I've always doubted the asthma diagnosis on Ed. Our other cat Chewie was diagnosed as asthmatic too - he was on pills for a short time & has not been on ANY medication for years & he is doing absolutely fine! No trouble at ALL breathing - nothing. Ed's only symptom was that he would have cough attacks a few times a week. Other than that, he has no trouble breathing at all...
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COughing a few times a week is a pretty asthmatic cat. I can't stress enough, if you don't treat, one day it will be several times in one day and the cat will become in HIGH distress. That is what happened to Pearl. She coughed maybe twice a week, sometimes skipping weeks. Then one Sunday BOOM, between 7 am and 3 pm she coughed at least 5 times. Then I could hear a ragged wheeze. I whisked her to the vet and you could see it in the lungs. Yes, pred put her in to diabetes, but we found flovent and we treat the diabetes and she's a happy cat. In fact, the last xray we got shows the best lungs she's had in years. I now know that everytime she coughed, I probably could have heard wheezing too if I'd put my ear on her or had a stethascope. And that is a *moderate* asthmatic. My heart goes out to the more severe. Just think of when you haven't been able to breathe right due to a cold or something. Imagine being that uncomfortable several times or more a week *all the time*. A cat that coughs a "few times a week" needs to be on treatment.
 
Hi Steve...Deb, from Deb and Spot here. Dian dropped me a line and told me to visit you and I'm just getting around to it now. I'm coming off my second 13 1/2 hour day and am very tired so I just skimmed over your post. Hopefully I'll have more time to read more tomorrow. Anyway, welcome to FDMB. You have gotten a lot of good information so far. My story, to make it short and sweet....Spot was on N for 7 months, and as Dian said, I was hounded by her and several other Lev users about how bad this insulin was...so eventually I gave in and started on Lev. we have been using it for almost a year now....Spot is on .1u twice daily. I'm sure that if I had started the FD dance with Lev, he could have been off insulin by now.
I live in Sheridan...just up the street from you! My company's Main office is located in the South Side. Nice to see we have another Pittsburgher on board...well, not so nice that Ed has FD, but nice to know that we are clost enough to help out if you need!
Well, off to do Spot's nini test and give snacks to all my furries. Good night!
 
paris14 said:
I will do the research & check into it. Ed doesn't cough at ALL nowadays.
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Because he's been on pred, yah? Once that inflammation protection wears off, he will probably start again. Or if something irritates him.
 
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