fructosan=mine test..good or baloney?

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George&Bert

George&Bert

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One vet says a waste of money the other says it works. Cripes, what is it?

I m afraid to shoot!

Yesterday 16 hours after last shot BG 149 urine test then..no sugar.


He is breathing better so he is eating better and drinking.
 
I would wait and see if he needs the insulin before shooting. Test every hour or so.

My understanding of a fructosamine is that it is an average over a certain period of time of the bg. My doctor likes to do it on Racci every 6 months or so or whenever she is sick.

Melanie & Racci
 
That is correct... the fructosamine provides an average reading of the past two weeks, and you have to convert the numbers to know what it means.

The reason we tend to refer to it as "worthless" around here is that 1) it really isn't helpful for making dosing decisions that will keep your cat safe now, and 2) if you're regularly hometesting, you can already determine a two week average from your own data, which will be far more accurate than a fructosamine.

That said, I wouldn't label the test as useless in making an initial determination regarding whether or not a cat should be diagnosed as a diabetic. In that situation, it can be a very useful tool.

In your other thread, folks recommended that you start hometesting, and I definitely concur. Those readings will give you a greater sense of what you're dealing with, and will help guide your decision making about whether or not to restart insulin.
 
My understanding is that a cat not being treated with insulin will benefit with a diagnosis from a fructosamine (which is an average of BG levels over about a week, I believe). But because it's an average, if you are already on insuling and you BG goes from 50 to 500 and back to 50, the average could be similar to that of a cat whose BG stays level around 200... so it doesn't tell you that much. Once we were diagnosed we pretty much skipped additional fructosamine tests.
 
http://diabetes.about.com/od/whatisdiab ... netest.htm

If you have type 2 diabetes, you may be familiar with the A1c test, which measures your average blood glucose levels over two or three months. Did you know that there is another test that is used to track blood glucose levels over time? The fructosamine test is not as well known as the A1c test, but it is also used to measure overall blood glucose levels. The difference is that the fructosamine test measures levels over a period of two to three weeks, rather than two or three months.
The fructosamine test is a blood test, like the A1c, except that it measures glycated protein in the blood instead of glycated hemoglobin. Sugar molecules that are present in your blood stick to proteins. These proteins circulate in your bloodstream for 14 to 21 days, so measuring them gives a picture of the amount of sugar in your blood for that time period.

I think if you home test, you meter has the capability of giving you an average, so what's the point of paying for that test? The test does not help you keep your cat safe from a hypo incident, and that incident won't show up in the single number result from the fructosamine test.

check your meter now; I bet there's an average, fo forget about wasting money on something you already have.
 
my 2 cents:

a fructosamine test is good tool to help diagnose diabetes. And to get that average BG reading.

However, if you are home testing and the vet then recommends a fructosamine test - then I believe it's unnecessary and a waste of money - as your home testing results are current and more accurate and tells you what you need to know.

As you have a meter - just test Andre yourself to see what's going on. In reading your other thread, it's possible that whatever other issues are going on could be causing the higher BG numbers and once you get the other issues resolved, the BG's may go back to normal.

Another thought about the other thread - if you collect all your test results and the vets notes, why not contact Dr. Lisa for a consult and ask her to review everything and give her thoughts on what may be going on and needed to help him.
 
Thanks everyone some really good thoughts and ideas.

I poked Andre today and got good blood from his ear. However, he fought so much I could not get that little strip on the blood evenly and got an error reading. I will have to try again...but I am having trouble with my hand shaking and it is a problem. It is either from an auto accident or medical. Either way it is disturbing trying to do delicate things.

Maybe he will calm down once I stop feed him all the foul meds.

Tomorrow I am going back to vet one JUST for a BG test.

I had a consultation with the good Doc for my guy Bert and must say that Doc Lisa in an extraordinary person and so brilliant and talented. And I have to say all of you are too! :)
 
here's a thought on how to get the blood on the strip -

if you put petroleum jelly on the ear, the blood will bead up on the jelly - then use your fingernail and place the blood on your nail and from there onto the strip -

or you may need to put petroleum jelly on your finger/fingernail too and let it bead onto that and then on the strip -

this way you aren't restraining the cat while trying to handle the meter and the strip.

see if that may help.
 
Thanks

Never tried that method. If I didn't mention it I was in an auto accident that yielded a lot of injuries and a broken hand was one of them. Now, my hand shakes.

I'll try the jelly.

Thanks again
 
I ended up getting one for Gus when we were at the vet yesterday. The reason why is because the vet explained that she is concerned with Gus's numbers considering he has pancreatitis. A cat with just diabetes isn't going to face the same challenges. That doesn't mean you should or shouldn't get the test. For us it will tell us what's going on with Gus all of the time. The vet said that pancreatitis can always be running in the background and send him into highs and lows that I don't catch with spot checks.

I just thought that the more information I have the better. I don't think I will do it every six months, but I thought it was a good idea this time since Gus is developing more problems with age.
 
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