New to Diabetes

[Kima]

Hey All-

We're new here. My big guy, who we affectionately call "Tubby" has been recently diagnosed. I noticed his increased thirst and excessive urination and took him in. Our vet did know enough to encourage us to change his food from dry to wet. We did that the same day of our appointment. 4 days later, she called to confirm that he was indeed diabetic (BG over 400). However, since changing his food, his symptoms are gone. I asked her about testing before shooting and she tells me that's not really something you do (I know better because of my independent research). I'm uncomfortable giving him insulin, when his symptoms have disappeared, especially without testing before. Clearly she is not going to teach me or encourage me to test daily. She did suggest we hold off on insulin and give him a month on his new food to see if he has managed remission from food change alone. She did say it would be highly unusual for him to achieve remission from food change alone in such a few short days. I'm trying to decide my next steps...

1)Trust the lack of symptoms and re-test blood and urine in a month
2)Find a different vet who will teach me about the daily monitoring testing with a glucometer
3)Try to figure out the glucometer testing on my own and call my current vet with the numbers and educate her

Has anyone had this experience of changing food and achieving remission or drastically cutting glucose in such a short time? Is this likely a fluke and he still needs the insulin? I don't want to keep him off of it, if he needs it, but I don't want to push him into hypoglycemia either.

 

[Idjit's mom]

Good morning and welcome to FDMB. We were extremely fortunate that with a diet change and a short period of insulin support, Idjit went into remission. I believe it is possible that remission can be obtained with a diet change, however, if your kitty is diabetic, that doesn't go away, it just is diet controlled. It's a good idea to learn to test, and see what Tubby's blood glucose levels are right now, and in the future. It's the best tool you have to keep Tubby safe and know immediately what's going on. Even though Idjit is OTJ (off the juice) we still test periodically just to be sure everything is ok.

It's not going to be expensive, it does not require a prescription or vet monitoring. I suggest you post in the Main Forum and get other members' input on the question. Tell us what kind of wet food Tubby is getting, there are many choices and a low carb wet food is best for our sugar cats. We can help with learning to test, tracking the results, a good diet and feeding times. Lots of experience here with the "sugar dance"

Here is a link to the Main Health forum: MAIN
If you like, you can just copy and paste your Introduction post into your new thread on Main. Wishing you the best and I hope to be able to contribute more info in the Main forum.

 

[JanetNJ]

Testing isn't hard to learn on your own and we are here to help. I have a video in my signature showing how I test my cat CC at home.

 

[Kima]

I switched him to Friskies and 9Lives wet food. I found out that in an attempt to help him lose weight, I was adding to his glucose. I was buying him Hill's Science Diet food which ironically is one of the highest carb content dry foods out there. I didn't know this at the time. He was 23 pounds (!!) and he's down now to 19 so I'm assuming between the weight loss and the drastic decrease in carbs is where we are seeing the symptoms decrease. So, am I understanding correctly that I will need a prescription for testing supplies, so I will need the support of a veterinarian regardless?

 

[Idjit's mom]

No, you do not need a prescription for testing supplies. I am sorry if I was not clear.

 

[Idjit's mom]

Many of us use a human meter for testing our cats. No Rx needed. It's less expensive for the meter and strips, and the meters and strips are available either locally or via online purchasing. The protocols here on the board are based on human meters, the pet meters were not available when they were developed. It works quite well. Humans don't inject insulin w/o testing, and keep an eye on their levels at individual need throughout the day/night. We do the same here.
There are many canned foods that are more appropriate for diabetic cats. There is a wonderful food chart here on the board that specifies protein, fats, phos, carbs and how many calories in each. It is recommended to use less than 10% carbs, and many of us use Fancy Feast classics and Friskies pates. No gravies or sauces.
EDIT : 10% carbs, not 10 carbs, sorry

 

[Kima]

Thanks. With the knowledge of what and how, I think we could easily manage testing on our own.

 

[Idjit's mom]

We have testing tips and videos here on the board, be glad to help. We also have a spreadsheet we use to track the BG information.

 

[Idjit's mom]

I did not mean to imply that you would not need your vet, just that it's a good idea to be testing to help you and vet determine if Tubby needs to be on insulin support. We try hard to work with our vets for the very best outcome for our furbabies.