Kind of off the wall question

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johnt

johnt

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Ok this is going to sound a bit bizarre. i never expected this

Saturday I went in to my vet to get another gold plated bottle of ProZinc (i'm telling myself it's gold plated because i cannot otherwise justify paying 130 for 40 days worth when i can get the same in different form from walmart for 24 dollars and no prescription).

When i got there she brought up a box that had been opened. the bottle had been opened and a tiny bit of it was gone. She said a client had just bought it, and their cat died (it was very old) a couple days later. She offered it to me for $50.00 because she knows my tight finances right now (long story). I didn't do it. only because there's no way for me to know what really happened to that bottle once it left their hands, and how do I know the cat didn't have a disease and they reused a needle so if I used it now the bottle could be contaminated.

was i being too paranoid or would you have rejected that offer too?
 
Hard decision. I can see your point about worrying about an opened vial but understand the money issue

One thing I wonder about. Are you giving enough insulin so that it will be used up in 40 days? Most people get 6 months out of one vial, dosing between 1 and 2 units twice daily
 
I wish. i have to give Wilbur 6u in the AM and 4u at night. his blood sugar was up to almost 550 when i went in for the curve
 
If you want, we might be able to help. Do you home test? Not only does it cost a lot less than the vet, it is more accurate, as the cat is less stressed. (And stress raises levels). And diet can make a big difference in levels. A change from dry to wet for us lowered levels 100 points overnight.

Let us know if we can help
 
That is a tough one. I probably would have done the same...because it would worry me a lot to think about what could have happened to that bottle. But as Sue said...we get the money issue!

On a side note, also as Sue said, we'd love to help. Most cats don't need that much insulin, and it's possible the amount you are giving is too much. If you home test, we might be able to help figure out a dose that will work for you and hopefully not require you to buy so much insulin!
 
thanks for the replies. I've tried to home test, wilbur refuses. he doesn't like his ears or feet touched AT ALL. i wish i could.

i have all the testing stuff. i have diabetes too so i test myself. but i could never get him to sit.

he's been on this dose for about 3 months. which is why i wanted to do a curve
 
What would you think about a restart. Pick a place where you are going to test. Take him there, pet, praise and a treat he loves that is given no other time. Then start playing with his ears with a treat. After awhile, add warming the ear, praise, pet and treat. Then add the lancet, clicking it while you massage his ears, praise and treat. Finally add the poke.

It may not work but might be worth a try?
 
Maybe check the options in my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools and monitor dehydration, water consumption, urine output, hunger, and urine tests for ketones and glucose. There are some older protocols for managing diabetes using these.
 
ok i have a question here. how do you get the strip in the urine? my wilbur would never let me get near him while he's going, and he uses a covered litter box

other than this, i'm very well tuned to his water consumption and urine output. i empty his box 3 times per day and i know instantly if his output has gone up or down.

food is regulated to no change there, and i know when his water intake is good or bad.

I do tend to guage his wellness some on whether he's playful or not. Wilbur is extremely vocal.. i mean EXTREMELY. when he gets frisky it sounds like he's hunting for sex he meows so loudly and violently, when he's really just playing. but i make sure he's alert and responds to fuzzballs all the time
 
johnt said:
ok i have a question here. how do you get the strip in the urine? my wilbur would never let me get near him while he's going, and he uses a covered litter box
Click to expand...
Hi John,

I find the easiest way is to crumple some plastic food wrap on the surface of the litter tray. The pee collects in the creases, and you only need a tiny amount for the test. :)
.
 
Sue and Oliver (GA) said:
What would you think about a restart. Pick a place where you are going to test. Take him there, pet, praise and a treat he loves that is given no other time. Then start playing with his ears with a treat. After awhile, add warming the ear, praise, pet and treat. Then add the lancet, clicking it while you massage his ears, praise and treat. Finally add the poke.
Click to expand...
Seconding everything Sue said.

I thought my cat would be impossible to test, and insisted to people here that it simply couldn't be done. But I was persuaded to try again....
We worked up to testing in tiny incremental stages, using 'positive reinforcement' (treats!) at every step along the way.

When we came to do the actual test 'for real' my cat was just fine with it. I was amazed! I was just able to crumble a few cat treats and quickly test him while he was munching on those. He hardly noticed the test. And now he comes running when I rattle the vial of test strips, and frequently jumps up onto my desk (our 'testing spot') and 'asks' to be tested! :woot:

Eliz
 
There have been MANY people on here that said their kitty COULD NOT be tested, guess what, they're all being tested now. It does take some time, but it can be done. Probably a dumb question here but, does Wilbur like cooked chicken? If he does, crumble some up for him while you go thru the motions of testing. Do that two or three times a day for a few days or so, until he gets comfortable with that.

Then add the clicker (lancing device) to it, just putting it on his foot and clicking, but not poking. Do that for a day or two, then do a poke, do that for a day or two. Then do a poke and a test. Baby steps will get you to your goal slowly, but it WILL get you there. :cat:
 
i'm going to start with baby steps. i need this to happen. he is very finicky about food. i'm absolutely shocked he likes fancy feast. he is EXTREMELY picky. but he likes all the classic pate. blows my mind. i've tried for years to feed him different pate, but not ff because i didn't know about diabetes in him. when i learned i thought i'd try it and he took to it right away. what's even better is tinker doesn't like it, so there's no competing.

i'll be working on this. i sure appreciate everyone's help
 
Good for you John! Once you get it going you'll look back and say, hmm , that wasn't so bad. :cat: Ok, that's probably a lie. :rolleyes: Lol. But you'll feel so accomplished and so much more sure of what you're doing, that it'll be worth it. :cat:
 
well it's always bugged me I can't check it. i mean I check mine all the time. so it bothers me. this is good. I can't tell you how glad I am that I came here
 
I'm so glad that you're feeling better about things! Home testing does take some time, but once you get the hang of it, you do feel a lot more in control!
 
johnt said:
I didn't do it. only because there's no way for me to know what really happened to that bottle once it left their hands, and how do I know the cat didn't have a disease and they reused a needle so if I used it now the bottle could be contaminated. was i being too paranoid or would you have rejected that offer too?
Click to expand...

John, I very much agree with your decision to reject that used bottle of ProZinc. I also understand the temptation to purchase such a bargain, but my thoughts, like yours, are that the bottle could have been contaminated by re-use of a needle. If we wouldn't purchase it for ourselves (thank goodness, that's not a legal option), then we shouldn't buy it for our kitties, either. That no longer qualifies it as a bargain. I'm somewhat surprised that it's legal for your vet to re-sell a partially used prescription to someone else, but then I'm not familiar with the laws as they apply to animals. Anyway, you definitely made a good choice for Wilbur. However, sorry the safer choice had to be so expensive. I'm in agreement with others, here... it would be most helpful if you could work with Wilbur and get him accustomed to home testing. It's an extremely valuable tool. I'm thinking his current dosing is on the high side and it might be able to be lowered to something that could work more efficiently and make those bottles of ProZinc last a bit longer. Best of luck. You're doing a great job. Come on, Wilbur! Cooperate with your human bean on that testing! :cat:
 
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