New but maybe a misdiagnosis?

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cmonmiracle

cmonmiracle

Member Since 2018
Hi everyone!

I've been lurking on this site since I got a call from my vet on Sunday informing me that Avery's blood work indicates both hyperthyroid and diabetes.

We took her in about a month ago for a UTI infection, which appeared to be clear after 2 weeks. One week later and she was showing symptoms again: peeing outside the litter box and some blood in her urine. She also drinks quite a bit of water from her fountain.

This is a new vet for us as our previous vet is too far away for us now. Avery is a madwoman around most of their vet techs, which is surprising since she is a super chill cat at home. They bring out the riot gear for her now. As a result, she gets super stressed. They took another urine sample and sedated her for x-rays and blood work. Urine had 4+ glucose and blood also indicated diabetes. I called to confirm the numbers with my previous vet and they agreed.

After finding this site, we switched food. Previously, we were on Honest Kitchen which is a whopping 19% carbs and are now on Wellness which is 4%. So, pretty significant change. The vet still suggested we start with insulin ASAP.

We bought all of the supplies and tested out our AT2 so we'd be ready for our first glucose curve. First test comes back as 4.9 mmol/L... No insulin. Wait, that's non-diabetic range. I called the vet office and asked if I should still go ahead with the curve. Vet tech says yes, 1 unit 12 hours apart testing every 4 hours. Okay...

First thing this morning, I fed her Wellness, gave her 1 unit glargine, and tested her blood. 4.8 mmol/l. Then 4.5, then 5.3. All very normal. The vet calls to ask how it's going and I shared the numbers. She was shocked and said that perhaps diet alone will work for Avery and to not give the second dose. I will be doing a curve this weekend with no insulin at all to see her numbers then.

Now I'm wondering if she was truely diabetic or she was just sick from the UTI/hyperthyroid and so stressed at the vet that it threw off the results. Has this happened to anyone else?
 
cmonmiracle said:
Hi everyone!

I've been lurking on this site since I got a call from my vet on Sunday informing me that Avery's blood work indicates both hyperthyroid and diabetes.

We took her in about a month ago for a UTI infection, which appeared to be clear after 2 weeks. One week later and she was showing symptoms again: peeing outside the litter box and some blood in her urine. She also drinks quite a bit of water from her fountain.

This is a new vet for us as our previous vet is too far away for us now. Avery is a madwoman around most of their vet techs, which is surprising since she is a super chill cat at home. They bring out the riot gear for her now. As a result, she gets super stressed. They took another urine sample and sedated her for x-rays and blood work. Urine had 4+ glucose and blood also indicated diabetes. I called to confirm the numbers with my previous vet and they agreed.

After finding this site, we switched food. Previously, we were on Honest Kitchen which is a whopping 19% carbs and are now on Wellness which is 4%. So, pretty significant change. The vet still suggested we start with insulin ASAP.

We bought all of the supplies and tested out our AT2 so we'd be ready for our first glucose curve. First test comes back as 4.9 mmol/L... No insulin. Wait, that's non-diabetic range. I called the vet office and asked if I should still go ahead with the curve. Vet tech says yes, 1 unit 12 hours apart testing every 4 hours. Okay...

First thing this morning, I fed her Wellness, gave her 1 unit glargine, and tested her blood. 4.8 mmol/l. Then 4.5, then 5.3. All very normal. The vet calls to ask how it's going and I shared the numbers. She was shocked and said that perhaps diet alone will work for Avery and to not give the second dose. I will be doing a curve this weekend with no insulin at all to see her numbers then.

Now I'm wondering if she was truely diabetic or she was just sick from the UTI/hyperthyroid and so stressed at the vet that it threw off the results. Has this happened to anyone else?
Click to expand...

Hi! Welcome to the group. I hope you are not here long and that Avery can be controlled with just diet. That is what I am hoping for Nugget. She was diagnosed last Thursday- since then we've been to three different vets, all who have something different to say or do. We are also using glargine. Her urine had a 3+ glucose, and her BG was 356, so they started us on 2 units/2x a day.

I used the meter for the first time today, just to start keeping track. I have not done a curve yet, I wish I had realized what that meant so that I could have done one today as I am home sick and can't do much else than snuggle with the cat. I will try on Saturday.

I spoke to another vet on the phone, and he said sometimes the stress of being at the vet can throw their BG off so much that it is truly a false reading, especially in cats that don't normally go to the vet or are around other animals. I hope Avery recovers super quickly, good luck!
 
Kathryn & Nugget said:
Hi! Welcome to the group. I hope you are not here long and that Avery can be controlled with just diet. That is what I am hoping for Nugget. She was diagnosed last Thursday- since then we've been to three different vets, all who have something different to say or do. We are also using glargine. Her urine had a 3+ glucose, and her BG was 356, so they started us on 2 units/2x a day.

I used the meter for the first time today, just to start keeping track. I have not done a curve yet, I wish I had realized what that meant so that I could have done one today as I am home sick and can't do much else than snuggle with the cat. I will try on Saturday.

I spoke to another vet on the phone, and he said sometimes the stress of being at the vet can throw their BG off so much that it is truly a false reading, especially in cats that don't normally go to the vet or are around other animals. I hope Avery recovers super quickly, good luck!
Click to expand...

A friend of mine said today, "vets are not doctors" and I totally agree. There is too much opinion involved and not enough science. It's hard to find a trustworthy vet.

The curve wasn't too bad once I found the ''sweet spot" on her ear. She was super cooperative despite my excessive poking.

Best of luck to you and Nugget also - she is beautiful!
 
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