oscar's new diagnosis

[laura1031]

My 9 Year old boy Oscar was diagnosed with diabetes a month ago. He started on 1 unit of ProZinc twice daily. His original fructosamine test showed 425. For the last month I have been diligent in his food and injections. We did our 2nd fructosamine test yesterday and the result was 550. Stressed and anxious wondering if I am doing something wrong? Since this is new to us does it fluctuate until we get regulated. My boy is not a wet food eater and the Vet gave me Glycobalance by Royal Canin. Is it possible to regulate him and still eat dry food?

 

[Erica & Carter]

Welcome!

Dry food is extremely high in carbs and not typically recommended. The only exceptions to that are Young Again Zero (online only) and Evo (select stores) for kibble addicts. It is quite possible his numbers are staying high due to the dry food, or not enough insulin, but with limited data it would be hard for any member to tell you that for certain. Blood sugar can also be highly elevated at the vet's due to stress.

Fructosamine tests give you some insight into the BG levels over time, but not the bigger picture of how the insulin is working on a day-to-day basis in the body.

Are you or have you considered home testing? It's an excellent way to keep your cat safe and the best way to help get them regulated. It also cuts down costs dramatically of having to pay for Frucosamine tests and gives you a more accurate reading without the influence of vet stress. I am not a ProZinc user but hopefully some others will comment here as well.

 

[laura1031]

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Welcome!

Dry food is extremely high in carbs and not typically recommended. The only exceptions to that are Young Again Zero (online only) and Evo (select stores) for kibble addicts. It is quite possible his numbers are staying high due to the dry food, or not enough insulin, but with limited data it would be hard for any member to tell you that for certain. Blood sugar can also be highly elevated at the vet's due to stress.

Fructosamine tests give you some insight into the BG levels over time, but not the bigger picture of how the insulin is working on a day-to-day basis in the body.

Are you or have you considered home testing? It's an excellent way to keep your cat safe and the best way to help get them regulated. It also cuts down costs dramatically of having to pay for Frucosamine tests and gives you a more accurate reading without the influence of vet stress. I am not a ProZinc user but hopefully some others will comment here as well.

Thank you for the info. Yes I just purchased blood glucose meter to do blood checks. And I am trying to switch him to wet food. He was a feral that I or should I say he adopted me five years ago. He is now an indoor kitty but not fond of of having anything to him. We have gotten the insulin injections down but not blood testing. I really appreciate all the info. I am reading and trying to become knowlegable and hoping to get this under control.

 

[Sharon14]

Hi Laura, welcome to you and cute Oscar! I don't know the carb content of the RC Glycobalance, but 4 of the 5 first ingredients are starches, so I'm thinking it's pretty high carb! I'm not sure how you tried to get Oscar onto the wet food, but we have lots of tips and tricks to help you transition him. Have you read this http://www.catinfo.org/#Transitioning_Dry_Food_Addicts_to_Canned_Food_
Glad you plan to home test, that's the best way to help Oscar. Here is the protocol for ProZinc. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/protocol-for-prozinc-pzi.109077/

 

[Erica & Carter]

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Thank you for the info. Yes I just purchased blood glucose meter to do blood checks. And I am trying to switch him to wet food. He was a feral that I or should I say he adopted me five years ago. He is now an indoor kitty but not fond of of having anything to him. We have gotten the insulin injections down but not blood testing. I really appreciate all the info. I am reading and trying to become knowlegable and hoping to get this under control.

It's all a learning curve!

It's important to remember that a change over to a canned diet can dramatically drop numbers and sometimes the requirement for insulin. I would get comfortable with the home testing before switching his food over completely as a safety measure.

 

[BJM]

Check out my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for some assessments you can do to evaluate your cat while you work on blood testing. A low carb treat (ex Pure Bites freeze dried chicken - the dog size is more economical) given after every test or attempt to test helps encourage cooperation in testing.