Need Advice about Vet Visits

[H.M. Victor (GA)]

So the vet we are currently taking Victor to is one of those who says glucose testing needs to be done at the clinic and not at home, so do we just do the testing at home anyway and not tell them, or what? I would really appreciate any advice for how to go about that and how to bring up switching Victor to wet food, cause I'm not sure how well they'd respond to any of it. And unfortunately, we are pretty much stuck with the vet we have because my mom purchased one of their wellness plans and she would have to pay it off out of pocket to be able to take him to a different vet, which there is no way she could afford. Please give any suggestions/advice.

 

[Anne Biddle]

Hi. I didn’t even give my vet a choice lol. I just said I’m doing home testing and the nurse just went “oh”. When I went back two weeks later their BG test was in line with mine so it was all good. I then sent my vet the spreadsheet several times so she could advise on Doseage. When I saw her again she commented how great it was. They were actually the ones that suggested the wet food diet and tried to push the prescription food. Again I said I’d done my research and found low carb wet food I was happy with. I think it’s often about being confident and showing you have some knowledge about what you are doing!

 

[Veronica & Babu-chiri]

You could try and convince them testing is not a problem with you and that you want to keep doing it even if they test him at the clinic hopefully they won't argue that and tell them you will gladly share your results with them to complement their tests and if they insist and you do not want to get into an ugly argument with them you could just not tell them and keep doing it, after all what you do at your home is your business.

Changing to a wet food can be tricky with some you offer it and they don't have any problem but others are dry addict and you may need to do it slowly mixin the dry with the wet at first in Dr. Lisa's page you can find a ton of suggestions to make the transition https://catinfo.org/

 

[Harley Baby & Michele]

Please do home testing! As everyone on this Forum (I assume) will attest to the fact that home glucose monitoring is imperative to prevent dangerous hypoglycemia. For the first time ever, Harleys' glucose was only 121 pre-shot last night, I held his insulin. If I had blindly given him insulin as usual I would have killed him during the night! His appetite is off that is why he had low number.

Please educate yourself with the information found on this site. Walk in to your Vet visits with a print out of your spread sheet, info on cat attitude, appetite and any concerns. Tell your Vet you WILL be doing home glucose testing to prevent issues.

I saw my vet, handed her the spread sheet and explained how to read it. I TOLD HER I want to change to Lantus (after having done a great deal of research and comparison) because Harley is in poor control as evidenced on his spread sheet. I told her where my knowledge came from(here). I gave her a printout with Canadian Pharmacy info and asked her to send order.

Bam! Done and done. Education is power. I think I scared my Vet just a wee bit.

 

[Nate's Person]

I'm new here, so take what I say with a grain of salt...I used to work at a clinic that strongly discouraged home testing. Now I can't imagine blind shooting insulin!! I don't think it really matters how the clinic responds to you wanting to be more informed - It's your family member and you are the one footing the bill...Even if it is a wellness plan. Home testing doesn't require any more work from your vet, and it will make it easier to treat when there is more data.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Victor is your cat and you are paying the vet bills, so you are the one who ultimately decides what you want for your cat.
If you want to tell your vet you are home testing, just say 'I have decided I am doing it and I have already started....I am not comfortable giving insulin without testing first'.
OR you can just go ahead and test and not say anything. What you do at home is your business and you have Victors best interests at heart.
If he wants you to come in for testing you will probably have to say you are doing it yourself.. It is so much more accurate when done at home as the cat is not stressed out like they are at the vet. BSLs are almost always higher at the vets due to stress and when decisions are made re the dose on the falsely high BSL it can be dangerous.
Just take a deep breath and say that is what you have decided to do....but you are happy to share the BSL numbers with him. Stick to your guns.

If you think they will make it hard for you to change the food....just don't tell them. If they want you to buy food from them (which is more expensive as well as higher carb, and if dry, totally unsuitable) just say he won't eat it, he is just refusing to eat it. They can't argue with that. But personally I would just do the change over without consultation with the vet if you think they will make it hard for you. You know it is the best food for FD.
If your vet is against wet low carb food and against home testing, he does not know much about the current treatment of FD.

IMPORTANT. When you change over to the low carb wet food make sure you are home testing because the BSL will probably drop lower and you need to be monitoring so you know if you need to decrease the insulin dose. Take it slowly over a few days.

Big breathes. You can do it!!
We are here to help and support you through this. Please let us know how you get on with it all.

 

[Marie&HerCats RUSTY]

Hi. I didn’t even give my vet a choice lol. I just said I’m doing home testing and the nurse just went “oh”. When I went back two weeks later their BG test was in line with mine so it was all good. I then sent my vet the spreadsheet several times so she could advise on Doseage. When I saw her again she commented how great it was. They were actually the ones that suggested the wet food diet and tried to push the prescription food. Again I said I’d done my research and found low carb wet food I was happy with. I think it’s often about being confident and showing you have some knowledge about what you are doing!

Hi. I didn’t even give my vet a choice lol. I just said I’m doing home testing and the nurse just went “oh”. When I went back two weeks later their BG test was in line with mine so it was all good. I then sent my vet the spreadsheet several times so she could advise on Doseage. When I saw her again she commented how great it was. They were actually the ones that suggested the wet food diet and tried to push the prescription food. Again I said I’d done my research and found low carb wet food I was happy with. I think it’s often about being confident and showing you have some knowledge about what you are doing!

Anne that's great advice, Im stuggling with same thing.My husband tells me the Vet is going to be angry that I went against his advice and not home test and to decrease his perscribed dose.

 

[Anne Biddle]

Anne that's great advice, Im stuggling with same thing.My husband tells me the Vet is going to be angry that I went against his advice and not home test and to decrease his perscribed dose.

At the end of the day if what you are doing is improving the health of your cat and not endangering I don’t see what your vet can actually say. Take your spreadsheets (I emailed mine over to save on the cost of a vet visit!) and the called me to discuss the dose. My vet started me on 1 unit twice a day for two weeks then we reviewed at an appointment to check my readings against theirs. I emailed ss after that.

 

[Marie&HerCats RUSTY]

 

[tiffmaxee]

I ditto what has been said. I wasn’t going to test at home and at first I didn’t. I was going to my vet every few days. I ordered a meter just in case and brought it to his office. After awhile my vet handed me the needle. I became a testaholic when I woke up to a 60. Had I shot and left I dread to think what I would have found when I got home. The only curve Max ever had was after his first shop at the office. Max was always higher there than at home due to stress.

 

[Ross & Ash]

The first question I asked my vet when she gave me the results over the phone was, “How do you feel about home testing?” Even with my small amount of research, I couldn’t see how I could make this work without home testing. It seemed to me that HPYO is the worst, and she can’t control that. Only I can.

Thankfully, she said she was in favor of it. If she wasn’t, I would have found a different vet. Of course, she immediately took charge and said, “This is what we need to do now.” I listened to her, and then said, “Okay, but first this is what I am going to do. I’m going to Wal-Mart and I’m buying a ReliOn Confirm.” When I get my first BG reading, I will call you and come get the prescription for the insulin. Does that sound okay?”

She was not thrilled that I knew what I was doing, but of course what I suggested was okay and reasonable. I switched my cat to all wet food, and my cat’s first BC reading was 172 vs. my vet’s 400 reading. Is that difference important? Yes.

I look forward to talking to her on Monday.

Point being: You may try asking your vet questions where there is only one acceptable answer: e.g., Do you want me to give my cat his insulin shot even if his BG is below 100? If the vet says “Yes.” Ask, “What will happen?” Then ask, “What if it is below 50?”

The questions may point out the flaws in the vet’s thinking without you having to say a word. Be genuinely curious with questions that only home monitoring will answer.