My Vet Thinks I'm Crazy

Status
Not open for further replies.
MayBTheresHope

MayBTheresHope

Member
So I finally called my vet to update him on the status of Max's condition. When I told him how low his bgl's have been over the past two weeks, he thought that there must be something wrong with my meter. He wants to do a fructosamine test on him to be sure that I'm getting accurate readings. He has never seen a cat that went into remission with diabetes. I'm not saying that we are out of the woods yet, but things are looking very good. Max's numbers just continue to fall.

He also wants me to get a reading with ketone/glucose strips. What I have only checks for ketones, so I will go and buy some. I gave him the low down of what I have been doing and what has been working, but he was VERY skeptical. Should I shell out $100 just to prove to him that I'm right? I don't have the money, BUT it might change his mind about how to treat feline diabetes. It might save a cat's life.

What do you all think? Could I be getting inaccurate readings with my meter? He just SEEMS better. He is still hungry all the time, but I think it is because the canned food isn't as filling to them. His water intake and urine output have both decreased dramatically.
 
If you're worried about meter accuracy, you can always test yourself; a human non-diabetic should be somewhere around 100.
 
Here's a cheaper alternative......take kitty to vet with your meter, test a drop of blood with your meter and vet meter and compare. Sure beats spending $100~ :lol:

You might also want to give him this website. :-D
 
Tell your vet he can run the Fruct' test, if he'll do it for free. Numbers don't lie. I'm very surprised that your vet didn't realize cats can go into remission too. Or maybe he did know that, and it's just that he's never seen it happen? Gee, I wonder why not?
Just tell him that an immediate switch to low-carb canned food, coupled with home testing and logical dosing starting low and going slow has worked for thousands of kitties (even when they are all living with internet cat-crazy people!). Heck, give him a link to this website and tell him to set up an account so he can read all about it!
The best thing is that the next time somebody comes in, and their cat turns out to be a sugarkitty, he can start off the conversation with "well, you know, another patient of mine recently...."

Carl
 
Ditto what they said! And kudos to you.

By the way, I think MOST of the vets that work for people here think we're crazy!!! :lol: But numbers don't lie!!!
 
I had my civvie in for shots, and got the senior vet talking about sugarcats. He mentoioned a cat they'd "regulated" 5 or 6 times on 5 & 6 units of lantus @-) that keeps 'em guessing. Kinda makes you wonder, doesn't it. Maybe the vet's crazy.
 
So is their any reason to purchase keto glucose sticks if I already have the keto sticks? Are they likely to tell me anything that I don't already know?
 
No. I have ketone/glucose strips. The glucose strips will only tell you what the BG was hours ago, not real time like BG testing with the meter strips. :-D
 
You're a little high, but there was that cookie. Besides, your vet thinks your meter reads too low, right?

I like the idea of testing your meter against his on the same sample of blood in his office. But having a fructosamine test to convince him seems like an unnecessary expense. The glucose strips are not as accurate as the bg testing, but it might give him a longer term view he might be happy with. And they are pretty cheap.

I normally wouldn't worry about what a vet who has never had a cat go into remission thinks, but you are right - if it would change the way he treats FD cats, that would be a wonderful thing!
 
Pretty good indication that it's fine. Theresa had a good point--take your meter in and test the same drop of blood with your meter and the vet's. Then you know roughly how they correlate. If the vet's using an AlphaTrak, it may run 40 points higher than a human meter.
 
If you want to get a reliable human reading, get one while fasting (you haven't eaten or had any drinks with calories for ~8 hours). Fasting BG in humans should be 70-100. Any higher than 110 and you are pre-diabetic. Above 126 you are considered diabetic. If you test yourself first thing in the morning you should have pretty consistent numbers morning to morning (within 20 points).

I test myself whenever I test Scout, and now she's OTJ her numbers are consistently much lower than mine. Seeing numbers I expect for both of us gives me confidence that the meter is working and the test strips are still good.

Lori
 
HA, your vet thought you were crazy, and a week later you're throwing an OTJ party for Max!

Be sure to tell him THAT!
Carl
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top