Very confused!

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ericam724

Member Since 2013
Hi all:

I took Macy to our regular vet today for a glucose curve ... we are about 2 1/2 weeks post-initial diagnosis from the emergency vet. Macy's BG levels were extremely low this morning (30). The vet said that she doesn't think that Macy is diabetic after all and that there is something else going on causing the fluctuation in her BG levels and weight loss (when she first went into emergency vet she was at 300!) The vet told us to stop the insulin injections, continue with low-carb diet and she now has an abdominal ultrasound scheduled for this Friday. She mentioned that it could perhaps be a liver issue @-) Or that she is borderline diabetic at this point and might be controlled with diet alone ... however, 1.5 lbs weight loss in 2 weeks was very concerning to her.

After spending $1700 at the emergency vet, it is very frustrating to hear that their diagnosis was incorrect?! Has anything similar happened to anyone else? Has anyone started with a diabetes diagnosis and then had it turn into something else? I trust my vet but am confused as to what to think at this point.

I am so nervous that whatever is causing these issues is far worse than the diabetes diagnosis!

Thanks so much for the continued support!
Erica
 
Have you been home testing? I don't know much about mis diagnosis. I'm sure it happens though! All I can suggest is to home test and see what the BGs are yourself. At least you'll have data to help figure it out.

Hope all goes well at the vet Friday! Try not to worry...easier said than done I know! Sending purrs and vines your way!
 
Thanks so much Rachel! I had not yet started home testing. My intention was to start following today's glucose curve ... confused_cat
 
What's the dosage and insulin type? My Dusty was diagnosed at 420, started on Lantus w/2 units twice a day, feeding only fancy feast, and he started hitting some very low BGs right away. I believe the initial dosage was too high. After just one week he was off insulin and just diet controlled. You may have similar circumstances, dosage too high or Macy just needed to switch to a low carb diet. Dusty started gaining weight though, he didn't keep loosing it. Maybe her low BG is making her lose her appetite, is she eating? confused_cat
 
Hi Dusty!

Macy was on 1 unit of Lantus 2x/day. I switched her over to the prescription diet dry (Science Diet) and started trying to get her to eat wet food. She's always eaten dry and doesn't have much interest in the wet. In the past day or two, I did find a brand she seemed to like but has been very picky with her eating. I can't free-feed her the wet food because we have two other cats and a dog that will gobble it right up. So far her appetite has decreased, but I'm not sure if it is because she doesn't like the dry food or isn't feeling well. It could be that she's a diabetic that can be controlled with food alone if she was actually eating!

I wish they could talk and tell us how they feel!

Erica
 
Hi Erica,
It'll be very important to get her on a wet low carb diet like Fancy Feast or one of the other low carb wet foods listed here on this site. Pretty much all dry food is very high carb except for some high end foods that have no fillers and are very expensive. You have to be careful when switching to wet though because her insulin needs will drop dramatically and as it is Macy is already hitting some low BGs. Have you started home testing? That will help you gauge her insulin needs and help save you money by reducing your vet visits. All the info you need and help from other experts is here on this site, I bet you can get Macy insulin free with a little insulin, low carb wet food, and home testing. :-D

Rick
 
If someting else is going on it could cause glucose level fluctuations.

Since you're not using insulin right now, you can easily experiment with foods. Make any changes gradually to avoid GI upset.

Low carb dry foods, though not recommended due to lack of water include:
Evo Cat and Kitten
Stella and Chewey's freeze dried (meant to be rehydrated, can be fed dry)
Young Again 0 Carb (internet onlyn 5% calories from carbs as we calcculate it,)

All the cats should be on low carb food, preferably canned. Friskies pates come in 13 oz cans and are $0.78 per can in Columbus, OH WalMarts.
 
These are from Dr. Lisa Pierson, over on catinfo.org. These transitioning tips for dry food addictshelped me immensely to get my dry food addict sugardude Wink off the dry food and eating wet food. It was not easy, took many weeks, I tried almost all of these tips, but he now loves the wet food and he has been OTJ for 9 months now.
 
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