Questions about getting a diagnosis

[Sostratos]

I've got a cat that my vet suspects might have diabetes. He's a neutered, 5 year-old male named Tarzan. I took him in a week ago because I noticed him urinating quite a bit, and he'd drink large amounts of water at a time. He's a very, very sensitive cat, skittish and prone to stress, so he did not enjoy the trip to the vet one bit. In the examination room, the technician used a simple blood glucose meter and tested Tarzan at 411 mg/dL. I was sent home with instructions to give 2.5 units of insulin twice a day, feed a special diet, and return after one week for a recheck.

That brings us to today. Tarzan proved quite fond of the diet he was prescribed, and with a little help I was able to treat him with the insulin as I was instructed. This morning, I took him back to the vet to check his progress. I also had them check his kidney and liver functions, which all came back normal. However, he once again did not enjoy the trip and when his blood glucose was tested, it came back at 350 mg/dL. This was approximately two hours after he had eaten, and an hour after he was given his insulin dose. I'm concerned that the stress of going to the vet is elevating his blood glucose and throwing his results off. My vet doesn't appear equipped to do testing that would be more reliably diagnostic of his condition. I was asked to bring him back in later today to check him again, which I intend to do. I was wondering if there was anything I could do at home to get a more accurate picture of his blood glucose levels. Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Welcome.
Good insulins are the human Lantus and Levemir and the pet insulins ProZinc and BCP PZI. For those two human insulin it is best to get the 5 pack of 3 ml disposable pens via a 10 ml vial. Although per ml the vial is less expensive most cats will not use up a 10 ml vial before the insulin goes bad/becomes ineffective. The human insulin N/NPH is sometimes prescribed but only lasts 8-10 hours. Same for the pet insulin Vetsulin/Caninisulin.
Most of us here test our cat's blood glucose at home using a human meter. We test before each shot and periodically between shots. We record our reading and other info in a spreadsheet. See:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
What are you feeding? A low-carb canned is best. No reason for a prescription food. Here is a list of commercial low-carb canned

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/shortcut-shopping-list-all-8-or-less-updated.117688/

Here is a link to home testing blood sugarshttp://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

Yes, vet stress can raise BG by 100 or more USA points. That is one reasone why most of use here test our cat's BG with a human meter.
2 1/2 units is a high starting dose

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Yes there is! You can learn to home test! If you live in the US, Walmart's Relion brand Confirm or Micro are human blood glucose meters that are very popular here

Here's a good video on home testing, but we have plenty of tips on how to be successful at doing it at home and it's much less stressful on both you and the cat!...Less stress usually means lower blood glucose numbers too

 

[Sostratos]

Welcome.
Good insulins are the human Lantus and Levemir and the pet insulins ProZinc and BCP PZI. For those two human insulin it is best to get the 5 pack of 3 ml disposable pens via a 10 ml vial. Although per ml the vial is less expensive most cats will not use up a 10 ml vial before the insulin goes bad/becomes ineffective. The human insulin N/NPH is sometimes prescribed but only lasts 8-10 hours. Same for the pet insulin Vetsulin/Caninisulin.
Most of us here test our cat's blood glucose at home using a human meter. We test before each shot and periodically between shots. We record our reading and other info in a spreadsheet. See:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
What are you feeding? A low-carb canned is best. No reason for a prescription food. Here is a list of commercial low-carb canned

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/shortcut-shopping-list-all-8-or-less-updated.117688/

Here is a link to home testing blood sugarshttp://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

Yes, vet stress can raise BG by 100 or more USA points. That is one reasone why most of use here test our cat's BG with a human meter.
2 1/2 units is a high starting dose

Thanks for this information. Vetsulin is what we were sent home with. As far as diet is concerned, I've been feeding friskies classic turkey pate. My vet sent a bag of Purina DM. He actually said the friskies pate wasn't a good choice for a diabetic cat, but that worried me since I've found nothing but contradictory information online. I live in a small, rural town so I'm basically stuck with what I have, in any case.

I will definitely try to do some home glucose testing if Tarzan will allow it. He's a wonderful cat, but ever since I found him as a kitten he has been extremely skittish and can become agitated very quickly.

 

[BJM]

Friskies Turkey and Giblet pate is just fine, contrary to what your vet was taught ... by the manufacturer of the "prescription" foods (nothing in them that is actually prescription - its all marketing!)