Fructosamine test?

[Sam-cat]

The vets want to do a fructosamine blood test on Sam. I understand this gives a picture of how his BG has been over the last couple of weeks. We have been doing a lot of testing and they have his SS. Is the fructosamine test going to be useful? Vets are not giving good advice 're dosing and I'm following advice from this board.

I don't mind paying for the test (But we have spent lots on vet bills recently!!), but Sam hates going to the vets and the journey and we feel like he has been there enough this year. I will take him if it's going to be helpful but wanted to check with the experts on here first.

Any advice gratefully received.

 

[Diana&Tom]

The fructosamine test is pretty redundant really, if a cat has already been dx with diabetes and you are home-testing on a regular basis. The info on a spreadsheet is far more useful than a fructo test - the former gives an accurate picture of how insulin is working in the kitty; the latter is just an average of BG over two or three weeks.
So yes - good call, don't bother and save your money!

 

[MrWorfMen's Mom]

Not a fan of fructosamine tests myself. I had reams of data indicating my girl was far from being even close to regulated yet the one fructosamine test I had done indicated her BG was under good control. Left me and my vet scratching our heads. The problem is that fructosamine is measuring another substance in the blood effected by BG and providing a picture of BG levels over a 2 to 3 week period of time. That means that several very low readings as well as a few high readings from bounces are going to be influencing the result. So while the test may be helpful to confirm a diagnosis or to confirm a regulated cat is staying regulated, I don't think it's of any benefit when you are still trying to find the right dose to keep kitty in optimal numbers for most the day.

Your spreadsheet data is far more telling than the fructosamine will ever be. I would skip it if I were you.

 

[Sam-cat]

Thanks - that's kind of confirming what I was thinking. Glad for Sam is it avoids him a car journey and won't object to not paying another vet bill

 

[JanetNJ]

Skip it

 

[FurBabiesMama]

Everything I have read indicates that doing a curve (testing every two hours for at least 12 hours, if not 24,beginning at pre-shot) is the absolute best way to go. If you can do that, and if you are doing on-going monitoring, there is no reason for the fructosamine test.

 

[Yong & Maury GA]

Put the money towards more home testing strips! @Tuxedo Mom Mary Ann has a nice explanation of Fructosamine tests. I forgot to save it

 

[Tuxedo Mom]

I agree with skipping the fructosamine testing. Even my present vet is not in favour of it for petparents who don't monitor at home. This was something I posted on another thread with a link to more information:

Regular home testing gives a real time picture of how the insulin is working. Fructosamine tests only give an average of a 2 or 3 week time period. If the numbers have been very low AND very high the fructosamine test could end up showing that the kitty is well regulated when in fact it is not.

Fructosamine Levels vs. Blood Glucose Curves

"Unfortunately, fructosamine levels don’t tell us what is happening to the blood glucose levels after the insulin is given. It doesn’t tell us how long the insulin lasts in that pet nor when it takes effect. For example, if a pet receives an overdose of insulin the blood glucose level goes down initially but the body rebounds by forming glucose in the liver, thereby increasing blood glucose levels for the rest of the day. This phenomenon is called the Somogyi swing. In this situation even though the insulin dose is too high the fructosamine level could still be elevated."


https://www.adwdiabetes.com/articles/fructosamine-levels-vs-blood-glucose-curves

Your home testing is MUCH more reliable than a fructosamine test. The only time a fructosamine test is useful is with a previously undiagnosed FD kitty since stress will not affect the results. Once a kitty is on insulin regular home testing is much more reliable.

 

[Sam-cat]

Doesn't sound that it would add anything to what we know, or inform any future treatment. He is not yet stable on insulin and has had times over the last couple of weeks when his BG has been too high.

Thanks for the advice. It is very easy when you want to feel that you are doing everything you 'should' do, to not do every test they want.

But if it's not going to help, Sam would much rather stay at home and yep more test strips sound like a better use of money.