Newly diagnosed & fustrated

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Danica20

Danica20

Member Since 2014
hello,
My 13 year old cat Pinky was diagnosed with diabetes around 2 weeks ago. Her initial test showed her level at around 330. After she was diagnosed I asked he vet about both a diet change and home monitoring. The vet insisted that a diet change was not necessary and that with home monitoring most people "over do it." So I gave them the benefit of the doubt. Pinky was given 1 unit of insulin twice daily. A week later we brought her back and her levels were up to around 440. I once again asked about a diet change and was told that "I could if I wanted to" and that there were prescription dry foods that I could give her. Uhhh. So Pinky is now up to 2 units twice daily and is to go back in a week to check her levels. At this point I am beyond frustrated. It seems like the more research I do on feline diabetes the more I feel that my vet is not giving me the best information. She was prescribed Novolin insulin, which I have read doesn't work well in regulating cats. Now I'm a bit scared to change her to a wet food diet because she is now on insulin and i don't want her to go into hypoglycemia. I guess I could just really use some advice on where to go from here.I feel so overwhelmed and frustrated. I don't want to keep bringing her to this vet every week because I feel at if I'm shooting darts blindfolded and I think the vet isn't doing enough to help Pinky. What are some good monitoring kits? I am willing to do what ever it takes to get my Pinky healthy.
 
You're right. There is more you can do. Home testing is the first thing, since you are already giving insulin. A diet change to a low carb, canned, over the counter food (ex Friskies pates) may reduce the blood glucose 100 mg/dL and drop the insulin by 2 units (the latter happeneed with my 1st diabetic Spitzer). Read more about feline nutrition at Cat Info

Pick up an inexpensive human glucometer such as the WalMart Relion Confirm, Confirm Micro, or Prime, plus matching test strips. We've found that meters with True or Free in the name may not do well for cats. Read over the manual and test it on yourself or an apple to practice and get the feel of it.
Snag lancets to prick the ear - 26 to 28 gauge to start (may be labeled alternate site testing)

Some low carb treats for use after testing (ex purebites)

The upper, outer edge of the ear, outside the little vein which runs along the edge, is where you make a little prick to get a blood droplet. Some folks use the lancet pen; I prefer to freehand so I can see the ear better and have more control.
 
Hello to you and to Pinky, and welcome to FDMB.

A diagnosis of feline diabetes can seem overwhelming at first. Everyone here understands exactly how you feel. It does get easier though. Really! And caring for Pinky will very soon become 'second nature' to you.
The good news is that, with care, diabetic cats can live as long and as happily as non-diabetics. :smile:

Well done for wanting to hometest Pinky. It will give you valuable insights into his condition, and will help to keep him safe from hypo. It should also save you money because the blood tests can be done at home and not at the vet's clinic.
Here's a link to a page of pics and info about hometesting:
http://www.sugarpet.net/bloodtst.html

Ask all the questions you want to. We're here to help.

Eliz
 
Greetings!

I am a newbie myself so I cannot really give advice, but I can give encouragement and share my experience :) I am currently working on transitioning my cat from dry food to wet. The awesome people on FDMB have been helping me with that slow change as to have as minimal effect on Skooter's BG as possible.

Home testing has been key for that and watching his BG levels. I started out with the ReliOn Ultima, but quickly moved to the ReliOn Micro as it takes a lot less blood than the other one, which was very nice when first trying to get blood from Skooter's ear.

While I have an amazing vet (which I am finding is not as common a thing as I thought), she did not push home testing on me, but was thrilled when I said I wanted to learn. Now, instead of bringing Skooter in weekly for the trauma and stress of going into the vet, I simply fax her his weekly numbers. She also recommended this site for me to get information on. In the long run it is more cost effective and less stress for Skooter, which with all the other expenses that I am incurring, really helps.

And the great thing about the awesome people on this site, is if you are testing more than you need to, they will let you know! I am still trying to gather data about Skooter's cycle on my spreadsheet, and at one point I had to promise not to test for the rest of a cycle and give his ear a break :)

I would also suggest going through the sticky notes at the top of the forum page (in the beginning one of the best ones I read was on the different jargon that is used) as it has a wealth of different information. I have also been spending a lot of time going through and reading different threads on here about other people's experiences and different spreadsheets in people's signature line to learn as much as I can. Each cat is different (ECID), but it is nice to really nice to gain information. With that being said, there is A LOT of information to absorb which can be very overwhelming....but again, that is what is so amazing about this group, THEY ARE HERE TO HELP AND SUPPORT. Whether it is a technical question about dosing, food, cycles etc or if you just need to rant or need some supportive words.....

You will read this often, but you truly have found the best place for you and your wonderful fur baby to be. So far, with diet change, which has been more challenging with Skooter's IBD dx, we have been able to move Skooter from 5U to 4U of insulin....encouraged that we will be able to get it down further once he transitions completely over to wet.

Welcome to the FDMB family!!!!!!

party_cat

Skooter and his bean, Molly
 
Danica - there's not much I can add because Skootersmom pretty much said everything I would want to say! :-D Like her, I'm another newbie who can testify that it does get better even though at first it is truly overwhelming.

In addition to the excellent advice given here on the boards, what is really helping me gain a grasp of the situation is the spreadsheet. And, of course, that means you must learn to home test. Sad to say, but your vet is not doing you or Pinky any favors by discouraging home-testing. And stay away from those overpriced prescription foods, especially the dry food! Over the counter canned foods like Friskies pate or Fancy Feast are great low carb choices. As BJM recommended please read everything you can at catinfo.org. Dr. Pierson's site is what led me HERE and I will be forever grateful!
 
First off thank you! I feel very fortunate to have found this place. I feel if I had only listened to my vet exclusively, my Pinky would not be receiving the best care. I plan on starting home monitoring with her. I have had Pinky since I was 19, fast forward to 12 years later, she is still a wonderful part of my life. I will do whatever it takes to get her healthy again.

I would like to start transitioning her from dry food to wet, regardless of what my vet says. It is beyond frustrating when my vet says a diet change is "not necessary" but yet every other piece of info I gather says it's an important part of caring for a diabetic pet. Right now she eats Chix soup for the cat lovers soul, adult formula. She receives 1/2 cup in the morning and a 1/2 cup at night. Should I start by mixing the dry food with the wet? Should i do a 50/50 percentage or start of with a lower percentage?
 
Hello! Welcome to FDMB! I think the general recommendation is to start mixing 25% wet food into dry to transition. This helps to avoid upset stomachs. HOWEVER you do NOT want to do this until you are home testing. Once on insulin, it's imperative to be testing at home so that the low carb food doesn't cause your kitty to hypo. Food change can make a GIANT (as in over 100) drop in numbers.

We can help you learn to test. It's tricky at first but becomes very easy in time. I see meter recommendations have been made. Let us know when you're ready! They really don't mind the testing. Many will even remind you when it's test time!

Vets that have lots of FD experience are hard to come by. They treat lots if animals with lots of conditions. Mine didn't push home testing (but was thrilled when I showed up spreadsheet in hand) and DID push prescription diets (I simply said my cats wouldn't eat it to avoid arguing). You can discuss a change of diet with your vet. I would go ahead and home test, change diet once that is down and just let your vet know this is what you're up to. You can change vets if you need, but most realize that you are the caregiver and have time to devote to research. :mrgreen:
 
I have a couple of more questions so fire away with advice.
How long should I home test before gradually changing her diet? Also when is the best time to home test her levels, before i give her insulin? A few hours after? Pinky gets her insulin at 11 am & pm if that helps. I have a spreadsheet up and ready to go.
 
Always test before you shoot for safety.

Test at the likely nadir, or lowest glucose level between shots. This will be about +3 to +4 hours after the Novolin is given.

In general, Novolin (and Humulin) will last only 6 to 8 hours in the cat, leaving 4 to 6 hours with no glucose control. Some folks have found that shooting every 8 hours gave them better control of the glucose levels with Novolin. Do pick up the food at +8 hours after the shot, to avoid feeding the rising glucose.

You may want to hold the food switch until you feel a bit comfortable with home testing, so you aren't stressed trying to test when you do the food switch. If her numbers are reading over 300 mg/dL at the approximate nadir, you may start to carefully switch the food. Doing about 20-25% new food each day makes it gradual and less likely to trigger GI upset.
 
Once again, thank you for everyone's help. I think tonight we'll attempt to start Pinky's home monitoring. :-D
 
Danica20 said:
I think tonight we'll attempt to start Pinky's home monitoring. :-D
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You can do it, Danica! :thumbup

Once you get Pinky's spreadsheet up and running, you will be amazed at how it helps to clarify the whole procedure.
 
Pinky's first pricking was successful! Well kind of, the first prick I got blood but stubborn Pinky shook her head so I wasn't able to get enough blood on the strip. But with Daddy holding her and keeping her calm the second prick was a success! :mrgreen: She was a bit high at 537 but we will test again in 3 to 4 hours to see how her body is reacting. I feel so much better knowing that I can monitor her and not wait once a week for the vet. Thanks again for everyone kind words and encouragement.
 
Don't chase the numbers read with a really different insulin dosage. It does take a few times for the kitties system to "settle in " to a dosage. Especially when they are first getting it as the pancreas is confused.
When switching the food, I make him eat his wet food first. When he finishes that, he gets his kibble.
Cats can adapt to very high glucose numbers for a very short time. Very low numbers will just about kill them. Be careful as you add more wet food to the diet. Buy some really high wet carb food that they will slurp up and have some karo syrup around also in case you make a error. Just make sure you mark the carb food really well "In case of emergency" along with that chocolate bar for yourself.
I'm in my first 30 days of a diabetic kitty.
 
Welcome to the Vampire Club!! Glad the test went well! It will be so much nicer (and cheaper!) for you now that you can test at home.
 
Danica20 said:
I feel so much better knowing that I can monitor her and not wait once a week for the vet.
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Exactly! It gives you the confidence and knowledge to take charge of Pinky's health! Keep up the good work!
 
Danica20 said:
I feel so much better knowing that I can monitor her and not wait once a week for the vet.
Click to expand...

Exactly! It gives you the confidence and knowledge to take charge of Pinky's health! Keep up the good work! :razz:
 
Not to mention it saves you the money and stress of an unnecessary vet visit. Its funny because your story is so similar to mine. I got Hidey when I was 20, 13 years later here we are..... 5 teeth removed the past 2 years and a diagnosis of diabetes. My vet told me the same thing, no need to change diet and home testing is not necessary and that if I wanted to I could test once in a blue moon but it wasnt really advised, not to mention she pushed the alphatrak on me and I fell for it. I used it for the first month until I realized it was insane for cost! Luckily, I did not take my vets advice about food and I immediately changed his diet. I am proud to say he is in remission. He has been without insulin for over 3 months and my fingers are crossed that it stays that way. Just keep up with the testing, and do what YOU think is best for your fur baby. Yes, vets have went to school for caring for them but just like drs they aren't gods with all the answers.......every patient is different. Good luck on your journey.
 
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