Moving from "TR"

[George&Bert]

Hi everyone, I clearly don't belong with the TR group as testing for me and my guy is going to be hit or miss and off and on. I don't wnat it that way, but it is the way it is. He is a good boy, but hates that ear thing.

I'll have to rewrite some stuff so you can see where I am.

Andre, a five year old former feral who I have had now for two years took ill at the end of December with a sever URI. He was totally congested with green coming from his nose and chest. He could not breath so he was not eating or drinking. ( there is a long story in here which I will avoid to keep it short )

Doc (vet 1) checking him said BG 360...may have DM then his partner(vet 2) a week later after a urine test for sugar said..no sugar and absolutely no DM

Still very ill sees other Doc (vet 3 ) who says...BG 375..he has DM... give Lantus...I started it

Two days later his partner ( vet 4 ) did a urine test and said..no sugar BG 149..not DM stop lantus

Two days later ( vet 4 ) called and said Fructosamine came in very hi..put him back on Lantus... I was reluctant and waited two days for test strips to come.

This past Wednesday got strips did test..meter failed..crap!! went to vet ( 1 ) techs brutalize Andre's ear..I yelled stop

On the way home bought local strips..meter passed..had bad new strips. tested Andre' with much difficulty and fighting. I got blood after forth go around.

Reading of 488. I knew it was going to be high (er) because of all the stress.

See next post please.

 

[Blue]

Sorry if I have asked this all before but exactly how are you testing, the setup and tools, etc.

My guys are kind of big and each had little habits that could have made testing difficult but there's usually a way to get around them.

I think lots of cats give their heads a shake when poked as it may just be a reaction to the poke.
I need to have a firm grip on the cat's ear so that any ear/head shake does not pull the ear from my hand. I also make sure I have the test strip almost in the meter, and once poked, I can put down the device, push in the strip and then pick up the meter with strip and test.

Some people poke the ear free hand, but others use the lancet device.
I prefer to use the device because I put the setting for depth on each device for each cat and it's consistent with each poke. If you poke free hand, sometimes it will be deep some will be too ligt, and I am sure that not knowing what's next would annoy the cat.
You can poke yourself to see how it feels, adjusting so that it's deep enough to draw blood but not so deep that it hurts.

I am betting that after such rough handling at the vet, for sure a cat would not want the ears touched. I think I would get copies of all the testing down by the dozens of vets at that office and look them over yourself... I am sure that you will get better help around this site to get answers interpreting the results. We all know that when cats are sick and/or on meds, their BG goes up, and sometimes it's the meds for the sickness that can contribute to higher BG... it's tough getting meds for sick diabetics at times. We also know that dental issues can cause higher BG and for sure stress creates havoc with BG. So, it's best for you to do the testing, at home and maybe even at the vet office... let your cat know you aren't trying to hurt him and with time, you should be able to test with less issues.

I have never had to heat the ear or aim for a vein or have a bunch of fancy preps. Maybe it's my oh-well attitude has let my cats stay calm.. most times, they slept through the pokes.

Now, even if his illnesses and/or meds are causing the rise in his BG, there's no harm in giving him insulin to help him while he's down a bit. By giving him insulin now, to bring down his high BG, you are also giving his pancreas time to do any healing it may need, and then when it's up for the job, you will see the BG dropping and have less of a need for insulin shots. There is no reason at all to think that YOUR cat won't go OTJ. Remember: even cats who go OTJ are still diabetic but they just don't need insulin right now.

Putting what numbers you get into a ss is going to make it easier for people to give you a hand.
No screaming to get lots of tests, and we will just see what can be done with what you can get.
You want to aim for a test before every shot, just more for your cat's safety... you don't want to be shooting insulin if the BG was already a nice 50 or something. Then the next test to have aside from amps and pmps, would be the before bed test, just to be sure your cat has not already gone too low.

good luck in getting better luck as testing, and hope the health issues are clearing up well

 

[BJM]

In case blood testing doesn't quite happen for a while, the following alternative monitoring tools may help.

Alternative monitoring tools include:

Glucotest crystals to add to the litterbox; they turn color in the presence of glucose. Assuming all other cats are healthy, the only one turning a color would be the diabetic. If you use clumping litter, you may need to break up the clumps to find the glucotest crystals.

Urine ketone test strips - if you can keep in a room by himself and use acquarium gravel in a litterbox (nonabsorbent) in that room, then within 30 minutes after he uses the litterbox, you can push the gravel aside, tilt the box, dip the strip, and compare to the color codes on the side of the container. Seeing moderate to high ketones means time to contact the vet, as urine ketones may be the beginning of diabetic ketoacidosis.

Water consumption: measure how much you put down each day and subtract the remainder. you should see a decrease as the diabetes becomes controlled. Even with several cats, you're likely to see a change.

Th 5 Ps: purring, preening (grooming), playing, peeing and poohing.
A happy healthy cat is usually in a good mood, takes care of grooming, has the energy to be playful (or whatever is normal activity), doesn't pee lakes, and has a normal fecal output.

Make yourself a chart - your vet will find the charting helpful too.