Jackie & Ms. Soleil
Member Since 2019
Evening all!
Today because I haven't been comfortable with the glucose numbers Soleil has been getting, I decided to look for a different vet to get a second look at her and possibly consider a different insulin. I always pass a pet hospital on my way home, and was excited to find that they accept Care Credit as a form of payment. Plus, instead of driving 20 minutes or more to Banfield, this drive would only be five minutes. We were able to get an appointment this evening.
I really like this vet better than Banfield. I was worried that because they were a "private practice" that it would cost more. But the staff was super friendly, very informative, and even offered Soleil fluids when they took her to the back for a glucose reading. At Banfield when I pointed out that her nose had become dry and grey, they just stated it was because she was dehydrated. A small bowl of water would have been nice, but it doesn't matter now since I'll no longer be going to them going forward.
I picked up a couple of cans of a different RX wet food, and her units were raised to 3 twice a day instead of two. Their glucose meter came back over 600. When I came home she was over 500. Not much of a difference, but still too high. Surprisingly enough, after testing her and giving her the insulin for the night, I gave her a little of the wet food and she went for it. I don't know if it's because the flavor was different, or maybe there's something about this brand that she actually likes (Hill's Prescription Diet; Glucose Weight Management m/d Pork Flavor) but I was happy to see her eating some wet food from a can. I'm currently monitoring her behavior because for her it's been a stressful evening with the car ride and then a higher insulin dosage (she also had an accident in the car from the stress and receiving fluids without having a chance to use the litter box). So she's decompressing in her "studio" apartment.
The only thing I wasn't able to accomplish was to change her insulin from Novolin N to the next brand best for cats; which would have been Lantis. They quoted it at $300 a bottle which visibly made me cringe. I was expecting a higher price, but not that high. For that price diabetes should be destroyed with the first few injections. This is what prompted her to take a glucose reading, and decide if the current Novolin N dosage should be a little higher. I'm glad she didn't try to pressure me into spending money that I don't have. They looked over the entire insulin list I gave her and Lantis is the only one they confirmed they carried.
But! While I couldn't change her insulin, I was happy to find that Soleil gained half a pound. Her first visit when she was diagnosed she weighed 9lbs. Her second visit when I opted to take the insulin route she dropped to 8.5lbs. So While Novolin N isn't the favorite of insulin options, it seems to be working slowly but surely.
All in all, it's been a productive day.
Today because I haven't been comfortable with the glucose numbers Soleil has been getting, I decided to look for a different vet to get a second look at her and possibly consider a different insulin. I always pass a pet hospital on my way home, and was excited to find that they accept Care Credit as a form of payment. Plus, instead of driving 20 minutes or more to Banfield, this drive would only be five minutes. We were able to get an appointment this evening.
I really like this vet better than Banfield. I was worried that because they were a "private practice" that it would cost more. But the staff was super friendly, very informative, and even offered Soleil fluids when they took her to the back for a glucose reading. At Banfield when I pointed out that her nose had become dry and grey, they just stated it was because she was dehydrated. A small bowl of water would have been nice, but it doesn't matter now since I'll no longer be going to them going forward.
I picked up a couple of cans of a different RX wet food, and her units were raised to 3 twice a day instead of two. Their glucose meter came back over 600. When I came home she was over 500. Not much of a difference, but still too high. Surprisingly enough, after testing her and giving her the insulin for the night, I gave her a little of the wet food and she went for it. I don't know if it's because the flavor was different, or maybe there's something about this brand that she actually likes (Hill's Prescription Diet; Glucose Weight Management m/d Pork Flavor) but I was happy to see her eating some wet food from a can. I'm currently monitoring her behavior because for her it's been a stressful evening with the car ride and then a higher insulin dosage (she also had an accident in the car from the stress and receiving fluids without having a chance to use the litter box). So she's decompressing in her "studio" apartment.
The only thing I wasn't able to accomplish was to change her insulin from Novolin N to the next brand best for cats; which would have been Lantis. They quoted it at $300 a bottle which visibly made me cringe. I was expecting a higher price, but not that high. For that price diabetes should be destroyed with the first few injections. This is what prompted her to take a glucose reading, and decide if the current Novolin N dosage should be a little higher. I'm glad she didn't try to pressure me into spending money that I don't have. They looked over the entire insulin list I gave her and Lantis is the only one they confirmed they carried.
But! While I couldn't change her insulin, I was happy to find that Soleil gained half a pound. Her first visit when she was diagnosed she weighed 9lbs. Her second visit when I opted to take the insulin route she dropped to 8.5lbs. So While Novolin N isn't the favorite of insulin options, it seems to be working slowly but surely.
All in all, it's been a productive day.
