Newbie in the UK

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Scraps2011

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Hi there

My boy Scraps has just been diagnosed after being tested at the vet. :o We'd noticed that he was drinking and peeing more than usual and was very hungryall the time so took him along to be tested. He's going back tomorrow for the day for an initial curve and dosage so I'll find out then what type of insulin we'll be using.

We had him as a rescue from Cats Protection League just over 3 years ago. They believed he was around 3 years old when we got him but the vet suspected he might be a little older. I guess we have the answer to that question now anyway! He's probably the sweetest cat I've ever met, he loves people and will go straight to anyone who comes into the house. He has a very even temperament and never uses his claws or teeth unless he's helping you to do up your shoelaces!

Anyway, I'd like to ask a few questions of any UK users. What food do you feed your animals? Where do you purchase your syringes and needles? What equipment do you use for home testing? Any UK specific advice on these matters would be greatly appreciated, and any other general advice would be great too!

Look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks!
 
Hi there Scraps and family!
First thing is don't feel overwhelmed - everyone here is very generous with their time and advice.
I am in Devon and feed Issey Applaws and Nature's Menu - both available from Pets at Home - and Encore, which you can get from Sainsburys. We don't have as much choice as our friends over the pond for food/insulin etc, but you can certainly get enough variety to keep your cat interested. ;-)

I get everything I need from my vet - they order needles and insulin for me and they are in the next day. I use the Alphatrak blood glucose monitor (no idea if there are others available, but the vet got this for me) and they also order the lancets and the test strips - the latter are the most expensive part of this - for me. I would definitely recommend you get this, even though lots of UK owners shoot insulin blindly it seems. Word of warning though - if you are insured on PetPlan, they won't pay for blood glucose monitoring equipment as they don't classify it as essential treatment for the cat. Sigh.

Caninsulin is the insulin of choice for most UK vets (we have a different prescribing system than in the States - basically the vet has to use the "cascade" if he/she wants to use a non-animal insulin, which allows them to prescribe human medicine if it prevents the animal suffering etc) which most people don't recommend as it was developed for dogs and cats' pancreas's work differently than any other species (how typical of our lovely furry friends). If you have a proactive vet, then they will be all-too happy to work with you on diabetes as it is a real challenge for them, so fingers crossed for you.
Catherinex
 
Thanks for the reply Cathrerine, its great to know we're not alone! In a strange way I'm looking forward to it, so we can hopefully have the old Scraps back. He's just not been himself for a few weeks! Usually he can be found curled up on the sofa with us, but all he does at the moment is lie at the bottom of the stairs.

I'm sure I'll be back with more questions once we've seen the vet!

Thanks again.

Ian
 
Welcome!

The AlphaTrak meter is designed for animals, but it's more expensive than glucose meters for people. Most of us here use the people meters. What you need to look for is one that takes a small blood drop. I found this list of meters that are available in the UK (http://www.diabetes.co.uk/diabetes_care/blood_glucose_monitor_guide.html). (I think I have read that the ones with "True" in the name aren't as good.)

The real expense of any meter is the cost of the strips. Whatever brand you choose to use, check the cost of the strips - you'd be amazed at how many you can go through! Some people here buy the strips off ebay to save money. And make sure you can get strips locally in an emergency.
 
Many of us here in the States and in the UK were hometesting years before Abbott got on the ball and came out with their AlphaTrak. Too expensive, just not worth it. I have notified two other members from the UK so they should sign in. I know one has always recommended Butcher's Classic cat food.......believe Simon lives in Essex. So many of the old time members have dropped off over the years but there will be others chiming in to help you.
 
Welcome from Essex

Welcome to the FDMB community. You have found the best place to be to help Scraps and yourself to get the advice that you need. A new diagnosis is a time of anxiety but you will manage fine. Everyone is here to help you.

I'm the one who always recommends Butchers Classic Cat Food. It was recommended to me by another UK member when Sweepy was diagnosed. We now have four cats and to this day, they enjoy Butchers Classic. They have just had their daily meal! You can get Butchers Classic Cat Food from Sainsburys and ASDA. It comes in multipacks of six cans, either in meat or fish flavour. It is one of the least expensive cat foods but many people have assured me that it is the best. If Scraps can't get along with Butchers, try a food in jelly (Perhaps Whiskers or Felix). Stay away from the foods in gravy as they contain higher sugar levels.

I've not seen an Alpha Trak meter. I used a One Touch Ultra. You can get them from Boots the chemist. I always got my syringes from the vets. Testing strips to put in the meter came from sellers on eBay. You can get some good deals but make sure that you don't buy testing strips that are long out of date. I only had one curve done at the vets ... As soon as I had mastered home testing I did them myself. I only had one fructosamine test. Sweepy used to get so stressed by a visit to the vet's surgery the results were unreliable as the stress caused a high reading.

We are in Essex ... If we can be of any help, please contact us directly. I will send you my contact details via personal message. Even if you just want to talk and share, please pick up the phone.

Take a deep breath ... relax ... and read as much as you can. It is a steep learning curve at first but you will cope just fine.

Love
 
Hi all

Just wanted to let you know that I've just given Scraps his first injection! nailbite_smile My hands were shaking but I think we got on OK... He didn't seem too bothered, but I was! I'm sure we'll both get used to it eventuaally!

Thanks again

Ian and Scraps
 
A few more details now that everything has calmed down a little! Scraps is on 1 unit of Caninsulin twice a day at 12 hour intervals. I'm still at work this week so the injections will need to be 7am and 7pm, but I'm not really looking forward to getting up at 6.30 next week to feed him and give him the injection!

The vet has told us to feed him twice a day before he has his injection, but this doesn't seem to be enough food for him, hes asking for more part way through the day. Not sure how this will affect his BG though?

The vet did a basic curve, which showed the lowest reading was around 6 hours after the injection. He did say that even at the lowest point this was still just above the ideal level but wants to start off on a low dose. He has asked us to go back for another blood test next week. I'm planning to get a monitor next week (when the shops are quieter!) so we can start testing at home. I'm off all week so will be able to do some regular testing.

The next step now is to get Martin doing the injections, which he's not really looking forward to! I occasionally have to go away for a couple of days with work so he will need to learn though.

It might just be my imagination, but he seems to be a little better in himself already, he seems a little more alert and energetic. He had a game with my shoelaces when i got home and thats the first time for a few weeks he has done that!

All the best

Ian, Martin and Scraps
 
Welcome! It sounds like you are getting used to this sugar dance. We do have UK members on Canninsulin. It can be harder to regulate with than the longer lasting milder insulins available in the US, but my understanding is that you have to use Canninsulin until it is proven that it is not working. We do have cats who have been regulated on it so it just depends on Scraps and how he responds.

Here is a document that gives some good info on Canninuslin (called Vetsulin in the US) It is no longer prescribed here because of quality control issues, but I don't think the same problems were found in the UK. viewtopic.php?f=19&t=302

Your vet is right in that you want to have food on board before you give the insulin as it can be harsh. But lots of us also feed during the day/night also to help support the pancreas. We freeze the wet food and leave it out to thaw or use automatic feeders.

You will find this is a much less overwhelming process once you can test at home and see how the insulin is working. We like testing at home better than at the vets because cats are usually stressed there and stress raises bg levels. Doses based on those numbers can be too high once the cat gets home and relaxes.

You might start preparing Scraps now by warming his ear and playing with his ears. Here is how we do it: Video for hometesting We warm the ear so the blood flows better. You can use a thin sock filled with raw rice, heated in the microwave until very warm but not hot. Or a empty pill bottle filled with hot water. If he gets used to the warming and the messing with his ear, he will be ready for home testing when you get the supplies. Did you find someone who lives near you who might be able to come help the first time?
 
Re: Newbie in the UK Hullo from Hastings

We are slightly out of date, as our last diabetic left us a few years back., but the principals are still the same.
You need to make sure that food goes in before the insulin, to prevent HYPO, which happens if the blood glucose goes too low. This can be treated by giving GLUCOSE which can be rubbed on the gums or dissolved bin water and dripped into the mouth.
The opposite caused by too little insulin is HypER
It is important to remember that HypER kills slowly, but HYPO kills quickly,which is why it is important to make sure that Scraps eats!
Any tinned food IN JELLY is ideal. You can check facts on Janet and Binky's food lists, some of those figures are from the hours I spent in the pet food aisles

And one last thought
Jazz Cat was 15 when he became diabetic.......... cancer killed him when he was 20
Katy was thought to be 10 but was nearer 20 when she came to us. She went into remission, but died of age related organ failure
Bushey Boy was 10 when he came to us, but died of heart failure.

In none of them did diabetes stop their enjoyment of life, or cause their deaths, so you are in it for the long haul

If we can help, let us know

Mary
 
Thanks for your responses everyone!

We're getting the hang of things with the injections, so now we need to start home testing. We've been out today and got an Accu-Chek Aviva monitor so I think we're pretty much set. Scraps does not like having his ears touched so I'm not holding out much hope for early success though! We've been trying to get him used to having them handled so we'll see how we get on...

The only problem I have is that I'm not too sure what sort of readings i should be getting, so once I manage to do the first test, how do I know if this is good or bad?

Thanks again!
 
In general we like to see a new diabetic on insulin near mid 200s at preshot going down to double digits to 100 at nadir. At first we would like you not to shoot under 200 but to wait 20 minutes without eating and test again. If over 200 then but not in the 300 range, maybe a reduced dose.

Those numbers will give you so room to work with. Numbers in the 400-500 range may require more insulin. Numbers at mid cycle in the 40s and below may require intervention with food or perhaps sugar. (metric numbers multiply by 18 to get US numbers)

Sounds complicated, right? Seems overwhelming at first but it is surprising how fast you get the hang of it.

One thing that will really help is a world version spreadsheet. It will allow you to put in metric numbers and we can see US numbers. Sign on to Goggle docs and search templates for
FDMB spreadsheet, then world version. There is also an Excel template to access in the Tech forum. Ask for help if you have problems. It is tricky but a great tool. It's color coded so you can see trends and patterns at a glance.

Did you see Mittens post above? She is in the UK. You might contact her or any of the other members who posted on your thread to get home testing help. Watching someone else do it really helps.
 
I'm not in the UK but if you are interested in a cat calibrated meter our vet recommended the ipet since it's cheaper then the alphatrak. You can order them on amazon or we got ours from totaldiabetessupply. It comes with two calibration chips one for cats and one for dogs.
 
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