Question regarding Diabetic Cat

[canno7371]

I'm not sure this is the place to pose a question, but please let me know where I should be? Our Callie was diagnosed a few months ago with diabetes. She started out with 2 units twice a day of Prozinc. We took her in to get an all day glucose curve and she told us to increase the dosage to 3 units twice a day. Yesterday we took her back for another day-long glucose curve and she was very low (40s, 50s, 70s) all day. They gave her glucose twice while she was there. We did not give her insulin last night or this morning and we took her back today and her numbers were high - 175 and 300. So, we will try 1 unit twice a day. We have changed her food from mainly Authority Senior dry food to mostly Fancy Feast wet food with a small amount of Blue Wilderness dry food. So, the number of carbs has decreased considerably.

My question is: How often should we have to take Callie in to spend the day at the vet's to get the glucose curve? She is scheduled to go back in 2 weeks for another. This is getting very expensive for us - $186 each time she goes plus the cost of Prozinc and syringes. I would like to be able to test her myself, but Callie is quite skittish with her injections and I'm not sure she would be willing to have her ears poked as well.

 

[Michele and Peeps]

This is one of those age old cost/time and ease/pain.

If you switch to home testing, you could have some problems with getting Callie accustomed to being pricked in the ear. Home testing also will cost you a fraction of the money you are paying for vet visits.

If you allow the vet to dictate Callie's insulin needs from a distance, there is a chance you will spend several hundreds of dollars at an ER vet if she ever overdoses. The best results with bg readings happens in the home, where there is less stress, before every injection.

Testing and injection takes me less time than it takes to find Peeps for her meds. My personal best for finding her, testing her, injecting her, is 3 minutes. I don't spend any gas money walking around the house calling her name.

It's completely your decision, but there are many more cons (overdose, cost of money and time, not being in control) than pros (ease and "convenience") to allowing your vet to continue doing curves.

Many people use heating devices and pain relief in the form of gels to help put their cats at ease for home testing. I urge you to spend the $30-$70 start up costs on a meter and test strips and give it a try for one month. If it doesn't work, you can fall back on the approximate $400 a month to have the vet do it for you.

 

[Angela&Henry]

Most of us here do curves and mini curves at home, with their own meters and strips.
Most cats are more at ease at home, the vet trip is stressful and can make their numbers there artificially elevated just from the stress of spending all day at the vet. You are much more likely to get true BG readings testing at home for your curve and it will save lots of $$ as well. You can always take your data in to your vet after you do the curve and let them go over it with you.
Have you started a spread sheet yet? If you haven't you can start one and enter your data for daily home testing as well as your curve, print it and take it in with you to the vet.
If you feel comfortable doing the curve at home, IMO thats what I would do. You can get more of a sense of where your cat is going on the dose prescribed and make adjustments if needed.
And you can take your meter in when you take your kitty in and test there with yourrs and the vet's meter and see how they compare.
There are many tips under the stickies at top of the main FDMB home page with advice on getting a good blood sample from your cat's ear and home testing.

 

[judy and squamee(GA)]

If you make up your mind to test at home ( which we highly recommend, as it is not only much cheaper, it will also keep your cat much safer) we can give you many tips on how to do it. It's true, it is not easy in the beginning, but I don't believe we have ever had anybody totally fail at it. My cat was Imposible, but I was finally able to do it, and it eventually became quite easy, and very much enhanced our bond. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[Kathyh]

Maisey hasn't been back to the vet since diagnosis. I could never afford treating her if I had to take her in. I test at home. The first few days were probably harder on me than her, she liked the attention and treats. Mama (me) worried about hurt, - heck she hardly blinked when I used the lancet and getting the drop of blood - sometimes the relion micro found enough even when I couldn't see it - old eyes. A dabe (smaller than a drop) of neosporin with pain relief smoothed near testing area practically guarantee's a visible drop of blood. If uncoordinated, like me, you can always get the drop on a finger nail to test from.
All you need is a deep breath, and warm kitty ear.
My vets liked the spreadsheet, no questions asked about further trips in to see them.