New Member - Diabetes specialist Allentown/Reading, PA?
- Thread starter Cookie12
- Start date
- Status
Hello and welcome. You might want to change the subject line to include "eastern PA- Allentown/Reading" so it catches someone eye who might live near there.
Can you tell me a bit about how Cookie was diagnosed? What insulin Cookie is on and if there is anything particular that you are looking for help on? We don't have lists of specialists here but we do have a lot of experience with treating diabetic cats.
Can you tell me a bit about how Cookie was diagnosed? What insulin Cookie is on and if there is anything particular that you are looking for help on? We don't have lists of specialists here but we do have a lot of experience with treating diabetic cats.
It's going to end up being a novel. Lol.
Diagnosed 9/2024
Brought her in due to blood in urine/likely UTI. Also, she'd been losing weight over the past year. Prescribed ProZinc, 1 unit, and amoxicillin liquid. Seemed to clear up UTI, and she began to gain weight. She was still drinking lots of water & peeing a lot though, so upped her insulin dose to 1.5 units. Seemed better. Had a fructosamine test done (I think thats what it was called?) and it came back still high. Went to 2 units. Then in November, UTI came back, on a Sunday, of course. Took her to ER. No ketones. Gave her Convenia. Seemed to clear her up, but UTI came back in mid Dec on a weekend in the middle of the night. Of course. Back to ER. More Convenia. BG was in the 600's, but I hadn't dosed her that night as I was afraid (she was lethargic & not herself). Ordered an Alpha Trak 3 for home testing & brought her to regular vet a couple days later for follow up. I thought they were going to check her urine for which antibiotic would work better, but I haven't heard back. Calling later this morning, as UTI is back AGAIN (on a major holiday, of course) Gave her a gabapentin, and I had some amoxicillin on hand I started her on, but it seems to upset her stomach a little. I have since found out on this board that Convenia doesnt work on UTI's. No wonder it's come back twice. Tonight, her BG was 345 before dosing her (I've been giving her 2.5 units the past couple weeks after it being so high at the ER, and she was seemingly doing great. Very happy & active!) but 355 an hour after dosing. Makes no sense. Lol All this probably seems like babble. I apologize. It's 3:30AM. Anyway, I'm guessing the diabetes is the root cause of the UTI's. Her regular vet practice has said she's not a "typical" diabetic cat, so I'd really like to work with a vet that's really, really knowledgeable about this condition.
A couple of observations...
Vets like to prescribe Convenia because it is a long acting antibiotic and you don't have to pill your cat. However, the only pharmaceutical indication for its use is for skin infections. It's not a good antibiotic for a UTI. What they should be doing is a cystocentesis (inserting a needle into your cat's bladder to get a sterile urine sample) and then the urine sample is cultured in order to figure out what the bacteria is so the appropriate antibiotic can be prescribed. (It's called a "culture and sensitivity). Given you've been having limited success with what's been prescribed, the vet should know this. Your regular vet should also know how to do a cystocentesis and culture and sensitivity.
The UTI is likely the cause of the high blood glucose numbers. Any infection or inflammation will cause those numbers to be elevated.
Unless you have a veterinary endocrinologist in your area, it's unlikely that you'll find a vet that specializes in diabetes. What I would suggest is looking for a feline specialty clinic. There's a cat only practice in Allentown. The alternative would be to find an internal medicine specialist. You may need to go to Philadelphia/University of Pennsylvania vet clinic if you want an internal medicine vet, though. You could also check with Penn's vet clinic to see if they have any locations outside of Philadelphia.
It may take more than an hour for a Prozinc dose to kick in. Onset (when insulin starts to work) is often more than an hour especially since you're feeding your cat at around the same time. Also, 345 and 355 are pretty much the same numbers. There's up to a 20% variability in any test.
Wendy and I have been members of FDMB for a long time. I haven't a clue what a "typical" diabetic cat is. If I had to place a bet, I would suspect that your local vet has limited experience with treating feline diabetes. The folks here have lots of experience! This website has been around for 25 years. If you want to get started here, we recommend that new members create a spreadsheet and signature. The information is in this post on helping us to help you. The spreadsheet will allow you to keep track of Cookie's progress and will allow us to follow along. The signature has basic information about your cat so we don't keep bugging you with the same questions.
Vets like to prescribe Convenia because it is a long acting antibiotic and you don't have to pill your cat. However, the only pharmaceutical indication for its use is for skin infections. It's not a good antibiotic for a UTI. What they should be doing is a cystocentesis (inserting a needle into your cat's bladder to get a sterile urine sample) and then the urine sample is cultured in order to figure out what the bacteria is so the appropriate antibiotic can be prescribed. (It's called a "culture and sensitivity). Given you've been having limited success with what's been prescribed, the vet should know this. Your regular vet should also know how to do a cystocentesis and culture and sensitivity.
The UTI is likely the cause of the high blood glucose numbers. Any infection or inflammation will cause those numbers to be elevated.
Unless you have a veterinary endocrinologist in your area, it's unlikely that you'll find a vet that specializes in diabetes. What I would suggest is looking for a feline specialty clinic. There's a cat only practice in Allentown. The alternative would be to find an internal medicine specialist. You may need to go to Philadelphia/University of Pennsylvania vet clinic if you want an internal medicine vet, though. You could also check with Penn's vet clinic to see if they have any locations outside of Philadelphia.
It may take more than an hour for a Prozinc dose to kick in. Onset (when insulin starts to work) is often more than an hour especially since you're feeding your cat at around the same time. Also, 345 and 355 are pretty much the same numbers. There's up to a 20% variability in any test.
Wendy and I have been members of FDMB for a long time. I haven't a clue what a "typical" diabetic cat is. If I had to place a bet, I would suspect that your local vet has limited experience with treating feline diabetes. The folks here have lots of experience! This website has been around for 25 years. If you want to get started here, we recommend that new members create a spreadsheet and signature. The information is in this post on helping us to help you. The spreadsheet will allow you to keep track of Cookie's progress and will allow us to follow along. The signature has basic information about your cat so we don't keep bugging you with the same questions.
I think Sienne has covered most of it. Just one comment on the antibiotic - it can also destroy the good tummy flora. You may find it helps Cookie to also give a probiotic, though a couple hours apart from the antibiotic.
And by the way, we read lots of novels here! We have a saying ECID or Every Cat is Different, and it is so true. Hardly any two alike.
And by the way, we read lots of novels here! We have a saying ECID or Every Cat is Different, and it is so true. Hardly any two alike.
Last edited:
I think Wendy meant that some antibiotics cause GI upsets because they destroy the intestinal flora. Probiotics help correct the problem.
Thanks Sienne, fixed above.
Wow, I wrote an entire reply and it disappeared when I tried to post it! Long story short, Cookie has an appointment with a different vet tomorrow at 8AM. All of her records are being sent over so we're not starting from square one. I feel like if we get this UTI eradicated, it will help to stabilize her BG and we can get her insulin dose better tuned in. They will do the culture and they also do ultrasound to look at her bladder if needed. We were on the right track in the beginning, as she gained weight and was drinking/peeing less, but then the UTI, as I guess she needed a higher dose. I'm having one hell of a problem getting enough of a blood sample for the Alpha Trak 3 to get a reading. Ive been trying in her ears, but It's as if the lancet just doesn't stab her enough (for lack of better words). She's not the easiest cat when it comes to being poked & prodded, so it's frustrating. Thank you so much for your responses! It's very helpful! I'll check back in after vet visit.
What gauge lancet are you using? It's best to start out with 26 or 28 gauge, then go to thinner ones once their ears learn to bleed properly. I also found a very small smear of Vaseline where I was going to poke helped bead up the blood, instead of it diving into and hiding in the black fur.
Good luck with the new vet.
Good luck with the new vet.
- Status