new and overwhelmed!

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april41284

Member Since 2014
I just recd the DX today and am very overwelmed. This site has been very helpful but also left me feeling unconfident in my vet. He mentioned nothing about home testing, canned food, or cost. I researched enough myself to decide to make the switch to canned food which my cat loves anyways and will be feeding twice daily before injections. My vet said to start at 1 unit twice a day and bring him back in two weeks. I filled the RX he gave me for lantus which cost me a whopping $230. I was on with that price BC my vet said since he is taking to little this vial will last about 6 months. The pharmacist told me after I paid that it will only be good for 28days. I have had an emotional day wondering how I can afford to keep my furr baby healthy. Thoughts? Opinions? Should I get a second opinion?
 
Welcome to FDMB.

Diabetes is a manageable chronic disease for people and in cats, some can get off insulin by following a low carb diet, using an appropriate insulin, and home testing to monitor condition. You're taking all the right steps for doing this.

1) switch to low carb canned food from the list at Cat Info? Good job!

2) low dose of a good insulin - Lantus - which was tested for the FDA for 1 month, and tested by users here for up to 6 months - Also good. Pharmacist was going by package instructions because he has to. Vets often do things off label because no one has done all the expensive tests the FDA requires to say it on the package. That said, we recommend the pens if you need more insulin. They contain 3 mL each and you are more likely to finish the entire pen without waste.

3) home testing may not have been mentioned because there are clients who will euthanize the cat rather than commit to testing and monitoring closely. You can bring it up by sending a link to a spreadsheet you create using our template.
 
Hi and welcome!

I know exactly how you're feeling because I have been in your shoes several times over the course of this disease with my fur-baby, Fenway. I was very overwhelmed and didn't know how I was going to afford to give him the treatment that he needed. For me, it boiled down to doing what was needed no matter what the cost because I can always make more money, but I'll only have Fenway for a few more years.

After talking with people here on the message board, I lost a little faith in my vet too but it is hard to fault them if they don't totally understand this disease either. I had to make the decision to go against what he said in order to provide a better life for Fenway. After all - we live with them day in and day out, right?

Once you get used to the daily tasks that your kitty needs, it will become normal and the stress will go down, I promise. It's been 3 years now with Fenway and we're both pretty much used to the needles and vet visits.

We're here to help you!

Best wishes,
Michelle and Fenway
 
A vial can last up to 6 months. The problem with vials is that you will not be able to use all of the insulin before it becomes ineffective. The 28 day expiration is for humans, not cats.

Hometesting will help you determine when the insulin is beginning to become ineffective. You will notice a gradual increase of the BG readings. I recommend that when you need a refill, you ask your vet for a prescription for the pens instead. With the pens, the insulin is packaged in smaller containers. Because of this, you probably will be able to use almost every drop of insulin in each pen before it starts becoming ineffective. One box of pens has 5 pens in it and depending on your dose, will give you enough insulin to last almost a year. You will use it the same way as a vial, drawing the insulin into a syringe.
 
Thanks for the encouragement and advice. I haven't done any BG testing yet as my vet didn't even mention it. I have a friend giving my a machine and test strips this weekend so I'm going to take charge and go with my gut and the advice I've read on here and test him.
I researched the pens and that does seem like a better option. I found a discount on the website for $25 per pen up to 3 pens...has anyone tried these and had success? That price is very reasonable.
Also...we travel and camp a lot in the summer and I'm worried about asking a friend or neighbor to help with the strict feeding/ insulin schedule. Any advice on this?
 
It all depends on who you trust to give the shots and if they are comfortable doing so. The more comfortable your kitty is with the process and the person giving the shots, the better. We go out of town and our friend who watches Fenway was scared at first but when Fenway didn't flinch, she was all good.
 
Welcome to FDMB! I'm so sorry that you have a need to be here; I would never wish that anyone had to deal with diabetes. I am, however, glad that you found this site. There are a lot of wonderful people here who can help you and your little one.

I know it's hard to go against your veterinarian - I went against two of them! Both of them were trying to help us. They just weren't as knowledgeable about the most current diabetes treatments as I needed. Fortunately, there are very experienced individuals here who can provide you with a wealth of information. I followed their advice, and Jersey is now officially in remission.

In terms of some of the questions you asked:
- We couldn't find a local pharmacy to sell us an individual pen, so we had to buy a vial of Lantus. We used it for almost 2 months and never had a problem with it losing its potency. I'm sure we could have used it for much longer, but Jersey decided she had enough insulin and was going to go into remission.

- Our vets didn't mention home-testing, either, but it's crucial. Without testing at home, I never would have realized that Jersey's blood sugar was going too low and that I needed to reduce her dose. I know it's scary to think about testing at home, but it really is easy once you get the hang of it! The members here can help walk you through the process as soon as you get your supplies.

- Once we started testing at home, I didn't take Jersey back in to the vet's office for blood sugar tests. I already knew what her numbers were! That was another way that I was able to "cut costs." The numbers I was getting at home were much more accurate than the ones I would have received at the vet's office. Of course, I would not have hesitated to take her back to the vet for other reasons. I just knew I didn't need to do that for blood sugar tests.

- In terms of traveling, I would tell you not to worry too much about that right now. We can cross that bridge when we get there. The most important first steps are getting those tests at home. From there, we can see how well the dose is working for you kitty.

Have confidence in yourself - you can do this!
Shelly
 
Welcome to the board!

Pens are a good idea because they don't break easily and last longer but that vial should last you six months if you keep it in the fridge.

For feeding, what type/brand of wet is it? Not all canned is low carb. Also you don't need a strict feeding schedule, you can feed twice a day, or through the day with mini meals. You can buy timed feeders for when you are away,

And home testing is very important when you change to wet, as his blood sugar may drop and he may need less insulin.Here are some testing tips that might help.. https://docs.google.com/document/d/13c_CPZVKz27fD_6aVbsguadJKvjSrSAkD7flgPPhEag/pub


Wendy
 
Welcome! It's really great that you found this board so soon. My Jose was Dx in 2011 and I just joined this past February and started home testing. If I could go back I would have started testing right away. My vet also said nothing about home testing or low carb canned food. She prescribed me hills science diet DM dry kibble as well So I understand exactly what you mean about feeling not so confident in your vet. I didn't tell my vet I was testing until after I started. Then when I showed her all my data the only thing she said was that it was unreliable and that I needed to buy an AlphaTrak instead of using a human glucometer. DO NOT spend the money on a pet specific meter, human meters work great. A lot of the members here use the ReliOn meters from walmart. The test strips are fairly inexpensive and the meters are reliable. This last week I brought in a printout of Jose's spread sheet as well as a print out of the reference numbers for the human meters found here and I think she is warming up and understanding more about what I am doing.

Good luck with everything! You are at the best place everyone is very helpful and supportive here. :smile:
 
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