Newbie...post 2
- Thread starter Helgaursula
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Bandit's Mom
Member Since 2019
I have created a new post for you. Please reply in this post. Thanks!
I will definitely let you know. Do not worry about it till then.
I hope she is able to. If you comfortable with ordering online, you can buy them here:
https://www.medicalaestheticsuppliesaustralia.com.au/products/bd-syr-0-3ml-29g-x-13mm-bx-100
Toby needs more insulin, but with a pen you can only dispense entire units. 2U is less for him but 3U may be too much. Using syringes will help you increase by 0.25U at a time.
Helgaursula
Member Since 2021
Hi Bandit's Mum, thanks for creating a new post. Today the Freestyle disk no longer worked (I new it would stop within about one week) and therefore there are no data. I am not really sure, whether last night's data were ok, because the reader did not function very well. Tomorrow the Vet will be coming and I'll see, whether she has a new disk or not yet (she also had to wait for it to come). I just gave Toby his injection, but it feels funny without the readings. Thanks for all your assistance. Helga
Bandit's Mom
Member Since 2019
I hope the vet is able to organize the replacement of Freestyle Libre as well as the syringes and a urine sample!
Would you be able to test Toby with a meter in the absence of the Libre? You don't have to test every hour. Just before his shot and once mid-cycle.
Would you be able to test Toby with a meter in the absence of the Libre? You don't have to test every hour. Just before his shot and once mid-cycle.
Helgaursula
Member Since 2021
Hi Bandit's Mum, unfortunately, I have never had to use anything to draw blood (I am not even sure, whether I will be able to do it. When I was young I could not even look at blood). My Vet last time brought me the ACU-Check kit with stuff for testing (I am paying for it, but she kindly got it for me). I have no idea, what to do and just thinking about it, makes me uneasy. I know I will have to try. Tomorrow I probably will be shown how to do it. She was also going to bring me another Glargine pen. I have arthritic hands and a syringe would also be difficult for me to handle. Please keep your fingers crossed. Helga
Helgaursula
Member Since 2021
Bandit's Mum, I just looked at the SS. It looks great. I had two more entries for yesterday:
19.00 pm 19.1
23.00 pm 19.1 I did not trust the second reading, because I had message that reader would stop in two days. Instead it no longer worked next morning and the reading was still 19.1 for today. Thanks for all your help. Helga
19.00 pm 19.1
23.00 pm 19.1 I did not trust the second reading, because I had message that reader would stop in two days. Instead it no longer worked next morning and the reading was still 19.1 for today. Thanks for all your help. Helga
Helgaursula
Member Since 2021
Still not so sure about syringes.
Bandit's Mom
Member Since 2019
About being able to use them? Is there someone who lives near you who can help with using syringes to give Toby his shots?
The problem with the pen is that it doses in whole units. 1U is not enough and 2U may be too much for him.
Helgaursula
Member Since 2021
Hi Bandit's Mum, the Vet was here and took a reading:
1/9 11.00 11.9. She has not yet got the reader and will come again as soon as it arrives. She tried to prick his ears, but there was not enough blood and it had to be the paws. Unfortunately, there is nobody who could help with the shots. In our street most of the elderly residents have either died or moved away. There are a lot of new people and I hardly know them. I just have to do the best I can. Thanks for being so concerned and helpful. Helga
1/9 11.00 11.9. She has not yet got the reader and will come again as soon as it arrives. She tried to prick his ears, but there was not enough blood and it had to be the paws. Unfortunately, there is nobody who could help with the shots. In our street most of the elderly residents have either died or moved away. There are a lot of new people and I hardly know them. I just have to do the best I can. Thanks for being so concerned and helpful. Helga
Helgaursula
Member Since 2021
Hi Bandit's Mum, I will try to get a urine sample. My Vet took his temperature and he was normal. He is also very lively. She brought samples of the Royal Canine Diabetic food and Toby loves it. Helga
Bandit's Mom
Member Since 2019
Was the vet not able to get a sterile sample from Toby's bladder?
The Royal Canin Diabetic food is too high in carbs. Please do not feed it to him! Is this the wet or the dry?
Can you tell me what foods Toby is eating now? Besides the Royal Canin?
Helgaursula
Member Since 2021
Hi Bandit's Mum, Toby has also been having Fancy Feast Pates. By the way, while the Libre disk has not yet arrived, I was looking for the booklet of the reader and apparently it is possible to test for ketones as long as I can get the blood ketones strips. My Vet brought the Royal Canin Vetinary Diabetic food and according to her, it is low in carbs. Do they sell different products? Helga
Bandit's Mom
Member Since 2019
Which reader is this, Helga? The Freestyle Libre fixed on Toby?
The Royal Canin Diabetic food is lower in carbs than normal cat food, but it is still too high in carbs for a diabetic cat. Both the wet and dry are not low carb.
Which one did she bring? The wet or the dry?
Helgaursula
Member Since 2021
Hi Bandit's Mum, it is Royal Canin, Veterinary, Diabetic, wet and dry. My Vet claims that they have changed the formula and that she has good results with it. She feeds one of this range to her own cat. It is all difficult for me, because I do not want to upset my Vet (they are difficult to find, especially mobile ones). Today I asked somebody to show me, how to use the Acu-Check pen. I understood it a bit better. However, I need to learn about the reader as well. I probably would not have to do it very often. I also found out that the Sensor for the Libre Freestyle went missing in the mail (to my Vet). As our Postal System will not collect parcels from suppliers for three days, the replacement might take a while. However, my Chemist can also supply a sensor as long as there is a script. I contacted the Vet, but she had emergency operations and I have not heard. Thanks again for all your help. Helga
Helgaursula
Member Since 2021
It is the Freestyle reader, it can also read blood ketones.
Bandit's Mom
Member Since 2019
It is possible that once will see better blood sugar numbers when changing from normal high carb kibble because they are lower in carb than non-diabetic food. But they are not low carb. I can understand that you do not want to upset your vet. Can you tell her that Toby doesn't like them and not buy any more of them?
That is great. You needn't worry about catching a urine sample.
Chris & China (GA)
Member Since 2013
The ingredients in the dry are: Chicken By-Product Meal, Barley, Wheat Gluten, Corn Gluten Meal, Soy Protein Isolate, Tapioca, Powdered Cellulose, Chicken Fat, Natural Flavors, Dried Chicory Root, Fish Oil, Psyllium Seed Husk, and lots of chemical vitamins and minerals. While "powdered cellulose" isn't a grain, it's one of my personal pet peeve ingredients in a lot of "prescription" foods. It used to be believed that a diabetic cat should eat a high fiber diet. Powdered cellulose is basically a fancy name for sawdust (which, I will agree, is high in fiber....but I don't want my cat eating it)
It's not that your vet is a "bad" vet or anything like that. The sad truth is that vets get very little education on diabetes in school (less than 1 day) and that covers all kinds of animals. Vet schools only have 4 years to teach everything a vet needs to know, so they just can't take the time to go into details about every different disease and every different treatment for that disease...and then in different animals on top of it! They just can't spend 2 weeks teaching everything there is to learn about diabetes in cats...then another 2 weeks on diabetes in dogs...another 2 weeks on diabetes in rabbits, etc. etc. All they can do is gloss over it. It's up to the student vet to do further research (if and when they have the time) and then when they start working, they learn some from the more experienced vets they work with (who unfortunately, also didn't get much in the way of formal education when they were in school). Yes, vets are required to get continuing education to keep up their license but they generally get to choose the courses they want to take...so if there are some CE classes for diabetes, it's usually the canine ones they're going to go to because they see a lot more diabetic dogs than cats.
They get even less education on nutrition (although this is starting to get a little better) but the problem there is that the people who fund this education are the "prescription" food manufacturers so they're going to push their own products.
There's absolutely nothing special in any of the "prescription" foods that actually requires a prescription or that treats disease. There's a big class action lawsuit here in the US against Royal Canin, Hill's and Purina over this.
To quote the FDA/CVM Communications Staff Deputy Director:
“‘Prescription diet’ is an industry-coined term and holds no legal meaning.”
In other words, these diets contain no ingredient that actually requires a prescription. The trademarked term “prescription diet” is simply a clever marketing tool between Hill’s (and other manufacturers) and veterinarians. The sale of these diets is restricted (by Hill’s, not by law) to veterinarians only. In return, Hill’s enjoys a boost in perception of quality brought about by this profession’s endorsement of their products.
This message board has been helping diabetic cat caretakers for over 25 years. The people here have the time to research for the latest information and treatments (and we do have professional researchers, biologists, chemists, etc. in our membership). We have the real life, 24/7/365 experience in what works...and what doesn't.
We can't force you to change what you feed your cat, but even if you just stop feeding the kibble, it will help. The canned Royal Canin is lower in carbs than the kibble by quite a bit! (about 12% versus about 25% for the kibble). Just tell your vet that your cat liked it at first, but now refuses to eat it. (it's also 100% guaranteed so you can get your money back).
As for using the pen versus a syringe, syringes are actually easier for most people. When you use the special pen needles, you're supposed to "prime" it each time by wasting 2 units....that's throwing 4 units per day in the trash! Also, to be sure the entire dose is given, you're supposed to hold the needle in for 10 seconds....and with those pen needles only being 4mm long, if your cat moves just a little, you could end up with them not getting the whole dose. Lastly, the pens "dial a dose" is only able to do dose changes in whole units. It doesn't sound like much, but to go from 1 unit to 2 units is a 100% increase in dose. That's like a human going from 20 units to 40 units!...there's some doses in between that should be tried!
Keep asking questions though! The best way to learn is to ask lots of questions and having several people explain it in different ways is good because one of them may explain something in a different way that makes sense to you.
No matter what, we all want what's best for you and your "extra sweet" Toby!!
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