A
Anonymous
Guest
My cat was diagnosed with diabetes in early November, just four days after I had to euthanize my other cat after a five-month period of intensive nursing after that cat was diagnosed with oral cancer. At the same time, my elderly mother had just undergone open-heart surgery, and her recovery was very slow and required much care from me and my siblings and a lot of running back and forth between where I live and where my mother lives. I was shell-shocked to say the least when I found out what feline diabetes management meant, in terms of cost and effort. And to think that I had hoped the symptoms meant diabetes, because the alternative was renal failure, and i had already been through that with a previous cat. Turns out diabetes is much harder to deal with. Blessings on you who find it easy. I do not.
My vet warned me that it would be expensive but most of the cost would be up front. And without any energy to do otherwise, I jumped on the treadmill. Between the two cats, my vet bills for November and December were over $2,000, which I can not easily afford. I crossed my fingers, hoping to get thing stabilized soon. I figured I would give it six months and see whether this is something I can sustain. It has now been six months, and I'm ready to bail, except for having to watch him deteriorate, which I can't face yet.
January and February, he seemed to be getting more stable as I worked on finding a very low-carb diet and we got used to the shot routine. In March, very high BG at vet, so vet raised dose from 2 units of ProZinc to 2.5. Then up to 3 a few weeks later because the symptoms seemed to be getting worse--much increased urination, increased drinking, some increased eating. Things have continued this way through two more dose increases--now up to 4 units and he's peeing more than ever. I had him to the vet again in late March but not since then. The vet is not convenient (the vets who are convenient are not worth going to--a whole other story), and I cannot afford to continue so many office visits or tests. I've spent easily another $1,200 in vet bills in 2011 so far, not to mention insulin, needles, and Keto-Diastix. I'm going to have to spend less over the next six months, not more.
I know there is a heavy emphasis here on home BG testing, so let me say right up front that I am not going to be home testing. I have a lot of other stresses going on right now. For six months, I've been struggling to keep up with urine testing for sugars and ketones and shots twice a day and feeding. I simply do not have the mental energy to take on the task of getting hold of testing supplies, learning to do the tests and then doing them several times a day. I KNOW it is the best way to treat, but it's not going to happen in the next few months. Maybe when the rest of my life settles down. But not before. So please don't waste your time trying to talk me into it. I KNOW the benefits. It's not that. Until I get some mental and emotional space, it is just something I can't do. I am burned out. I cannot add another task to my day. So please, if that's going to be your advice, just skip my posts and don't distress yourself with my approach. I'm not going to engage in a debate about home BG testing, no matter how important you believe it might be that I give it a try. I hope to give home testing a try at some point, but right now, I can't. I also am not someone who feels that my pets are like family members and their illnesses should be treated as much as I would treat a child's. I understand that many people do feel that way about their pets, and I'm not knocking it. Just saying that my philosophy is different. I have a responsibility toward my pets, but a different one than I would have toward a child. And a responsibility to myself not to overextend financially or put the cat's health ahead of my own. I am just barely holding it together in a very stressful time. I am hoping to be able to keep him reasonably healthy, but "reasonably" is a gray area.
I do test his urine every time he pees, which is around six times in 24 hours. We had been getting some 0.5% and 1% urine glucose readings in January and February, but in the last six weeks or so, it's been 2% all the way, with three 1% exceptions. I understand that urine glucose testing is not at all precise and not to be used as a sole indicator of his condition, but it seems to me that this trend might have some meaning.
So given my limitations (I can't afford frequent vet visits and I am unable to deal with home BG testing for the foreseeable future), I'm groping in the dark to a large extent. I know that's not ideal, but it's how it is. What I'm trying to figure out is whether he might be experiencing a rebound effect. The doses are going up and the symptoms are not getting any better. Things were pretty good in Feb. and early March but have deteriorated since then. If it is a rebound effect from overdosing, would there be any symptoms that I'm not seeing? We haven't had any hypo episodes. His behavior has been normal all along and continues to be so (aside from the excessive urination (over 16 oz/24 hours) and increased drinking and eating. I will be talking to my vet this week. In the past, he didn't seem to think it was a rebound effect, and he is a very experienced vet. So before we speak again, I am hoping to have a little more knowledge about the rebound effect.
If home BG testing is such an integral part of the culture of this board that I won't fit in unless I am willing to do it, I'll have to agree to disagree and look elsewhere for what information I might find. But I hope you good people might be able to meet me where I am and offer any info. you have.
My vet warned me that it would be expensive but most of the cost would be up front. And without any energy to do otherwise, I jumped on the treadmill. Between the two cats, my vet bills for November and December were over $2,000, which I can not easily afford. I crossed my fingers, hoping to get thing stabilized soon. I figured I would give it six months and see whether this is something I can sustain. It has now been six months, and I'm ready to bail, except for having to watch him deteriorate, which I can't face yet.
January and February, he seemed to be getting more stable as I worked on finding a very low-carb diet and we got used to the shot routine. In March, very high BG at vet, so vet raised dose from 2 units of ProZinc to 2.5. Then up to 3 a few weeks later because the symptoms seemed to be getting worse--much increased urination, increased drinking, some increased eating. Things have continued this way through two more dose increases--now up to 4 units and he's peeing more than ever. I had him to the vet again in late March but not since then. The vet is not convenient (the vets who are convenient are not worth going to--a whole other story), and I cannot afford to continue so many office visits or tests. I've spent easily another $1,200 in vet bills in 2011 so far, not to mention insulin, needles, and Keto-Diastix. I'm going to have to spend less over the next six months, not more.
I know there is a heavy emphasis here on home BG testing, so let me say right up front that I am not going to be home testing. I have a lot of other stresses going on right now. For six months, I've been struggling to keep up with urine testing for sugars and ketones and shots twice a day and feeding. I simply do not have the mental energy to take on the task of getting hold of testing supplies, learning to do the tests and then doing them several times a day. I KNOW it is the best way to treat, but it's not going to happen in the next few months. Maybe when the rest of my life settles down. But not before. So please don't waste your time trying to talk me into it. I KNOW the benefits. It's not that. Until I get some mental and emotional space, it is just something I can't do. I am burned out. I cannot add another task to my day. So please, if that's going to be your advice, just skip my posts and don't distress yourself with my approach. I'm not going to engage in a debate about home BG testing, no matter how important you believe it might be that I give it a try. I hope to give home testing a try at some point, but right now, I can't. I also am not someone who feels that my pets are like family members and their illnesses should be treated as much as I would treat a child's. I understand that many people do feel that way about their pets, and I'm not knocking it. Just saying that my philosophy is different. I have a responsibility toward my pets, but a different one than I would have toward a child. And a responsibility to myself not to overextend financially or put the cat's health ahead of my own. I am just barely holding it together in a very stressful time. I am hoping to be able to keep him reasonably healthy, but "reasonably" is a gray area.
I do test his urine every time he pees, which is around six times in 24 hours. We had been getting some 0.5% and 1% urine glucose readings in January and February, but in the last six weeks or so, it's been 2% all the way, with three 1% exceptions. I understand that urine glucose testing is not at all precise and not to be used as a sole indicator of his condition, but it seems to me that this trend might have some meaning.
So given my limitations (I can't afford frequent vet visits and I am unable to deal with home BG testing for the foreseeable future), I'm groping in the dark to a large extent. I know that's not ideal, but it's how it is. What I'm trying to figure out is whether he might be experiencing a rebound effect. The doses are going up and the symptoms are not getting any better. Things were pretty good in Feb. and early March but have deteriorated since then. If it is a rebound effect from overdosing, would there be any symptoms that I'm not seeing? We haven't had any hypo episodes. His behavior has been normal all along and continues to be so (aside from the excessive urination (over 16 oz/24 hours) and increased drinking and eating. I will be talking to my vet this week. In the past, he didn't seem to think it was a rebound effect, and he is a very experienced vet. So before we speak again, I am hoping to have a little more knowledge about the rebound effect.
If home BG testing is such an integral part of the culture of this board that I won't fit in unless I am willing to do it, I'll have to agree to disagree and look elsewhere for what information I might find. But I hope you good people might be able to meet me where I am and offer any info. you have.
