Very Sick Cat Can't Get Insulin - Oley, PA - New Vet Found!

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Critter Mom

Critter Mom

Member Since 2014
I just spotted a post below in the middle of another thread from recently-joined member, Deborah (@Minnig) about her cat, Huey. I've reposted it here to give it prominence (i.e. see my second post on this thread).

Some background:

Per Minnig's original thread on the forum, Huey was diagnosed in mid-November and was "skin and bones" and had blood glucose levels that her husband "thinks vet said in the 500s".

Deborah is located in Oley, Pa (close to Reading, Pennsylvania).

Can any members recommend vets in Deborah's area that are potentially open to home testing where Deborah might be able to get Huey the treatment he needs without the vet insisting on a hospital stay for curves before issuing a prescription for insulin?


Mogs
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Member Minnig's latest post is below.

Link: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...-diagnosed-with-diabetes.150094/#post-1575513

Text:

"My beloved 10yr old cat, Huey, was diagnosed about 4 weeks ago. Initial conversation with my vet of 30 years stated that he required 3-4 hospitalization stay at the bargain price of $700-$900 to find his blood sugar level and where to begin his insulin (I hope I am explaining this the correct way). We discussed that there was no way we could afford that. I have chronic Lyme disease, out of work, etc and you can't get blood out of a stone. We are struggling week to week.

I asked if there were any options to this, stating what people on this site are doing with success. Nothing positive came of that. So, I changed his food to all wet food, brands and types of canned food as indicated by the Veterinarian Dr. Lisa Pierson (hi protein and low carbs) and am giving him 1/2 tsp daily of Dia-ionx.

Huey appears to be losing more weight and is more fatiqued and just lifts his head when I go by as if begging me to help him. (This gets me very emotional).

I live in Oley, Pa (close to Reading, Pennsylvania).

Does anyone know of a vet who is closeby to me who is accepting of your home testing approach and will write scripts for insulin. Mine won't stating that it goes against professional standards:( Please, he needs help soon!!!!"

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I live in PA but do not know any vets in that area. Are you willing to learn to home test? We can help you with that. I am linking some good videos on how learn. Also the cheapest monitor is from Walmart, the Relion Micro or Confirm or Prime. Personally, I use the Prime as the strips are the cheapest, 50/ $9 and that is the biggest part of the expense.

Here, we all home test. It is very important to understand how your kitty is reacting to the insulin and the dose. You will want to test before each shot and some additional test in between the 12 hour cycle. Another reason to home test is to keep your kitty safe. Find a place in your home where you will always perform the test and give lots of hugs before and after testing. There are many videos showing you how to test. Here is a picture of where you test on your kitty. http://s106.photobucket.com/user/chupie_2006/media/testingear/sweetspot.jpg.html

Here is another good link on Home Testing:http://www.felinediabetes.com/bg-home-test.htm

Once you learn you can do your own curves at home and save a lot of money from not going to the vet. Also, when they are at the vets their Blood Glucose (BG) can be as much ad 100 points higher than it really is and then the vet is suggesting a dose based on that artificially high number. Once you know what insulin the vet will RX we can help you get into the correct forum and the peeps here an help you with altering the dose. Some of the best insulins are : Lantus, Levemir and ProZinc as they are long lasting and more gentle.


So glad you have switched to wet food as that will help a lot.

Also, you should probably be testing for ketones especially since he seems lethargic and losing a lot of weight. You can get the ketone strips at the Pharmacy for around 15 dollars I believe. The instructions for use are simple, you just want dip the strip into the urine. Lots of peeps follow their cat to the litter box and then try to get it under them. My cat likes his privacy, so I scoop the litter away from all the corners since he usually backs up into one of the corners to pee and then I would dip the strip into the urine.

Please ask all the questions you need answered as we will help you.
 
@Minnig -

Hi Deborah,

I see from your original thread that members have already given you a good head start on what's required to help Huey at home.

To ensure clear communication, I am writing this post on the understanding that:

1. Huey was diagnosed on 16 November 2015. He was "skin and bones" at time of diagnosis.

2. To the best of your knowledge, Huey's blood sugar levels were in the 500mg/dL region at time of diagnosis.

3. You switched Huey to low carb, wet food after diagnosis.

4. Huey has not received any insulin since diagnosis. (You have just been giving the homeopathic product.)

5. Huey has lost more weight since diagnosis and is now extremely lethargic.

Assuming that this is a correct synopsis, and with full appreciation for the financial constraints you are under I would urge you to get Huey to a vet as a matter of urgency. He needs reassessment now - and he is at risk of developing diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA - a life-threatening condition that requires emergency veterinary treatment).

If you have ketone test strips at home, please can you make it a priority to test Huey's urine for ketones. (Put some plastic wrap over the litter in his tray to catch a sample of urine.)

If you don't have strips, please can you get some as soon as possible (e.g. Keto-diastix, or Walmart do Relion ketone test strips).

Anything more than 'trace' ketones on the test strip and you need to take Huey to a vet IMMEDIATELY.

I would also suggest that you contact Diabetic Cats in Need as soon as possible. They may be able to help you out with treatment costs.

Also we may be able to point you in the right direction to get some insulin at a reasonable price but I am reluctant to post more on that at the moment because Huey really, really needs to be seen by a vet right now. You've already had a lot of help about what's needed to care for a diabetic kitty on a tight budget in your original thread, and we can help and support you through the learning curve. Home care is doable but first you need to know what Huey's current condtion is, and hand on heart I think only a vet can assess that properly.

Please keep posting so that we know what's happening with you two. In particular, could you let us know how much Huey is eating, drinking and peeing.



Mogs
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I have u100 syringes & another member has lantus( plus I have a relion meter) we are about 2 hrs away & can get supplies shipped within a day or so. Please pm me with any questions. Someone on fb did recommend a vet fairly close(within 1 hr) from her town. Hope Veterinary Specialists in Malvern, Pa
 
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Sorry to those who thought Huey's mom fell of the face of the earth, I'm back. The dark cloud continues to follow me. Had an appt to go to and 3 out of 4 vehicles are out of commission (temporarily) and had to wait for pick-up, etc late this afternoon and then it took me awhile to figure out how to get to these messages (I didn't think I had any replies til I started bopping around the site). Mogs has the timeline and situation correct and I am grateful to those who have done some leg-work for us or provided info on home treatment once Huey's insulin level is established. We will not let Huey die a painful death over money and a Vet who has disappointed us greatly.

Tomorrow, I will get someone to get me to Walmart to get the ketone test strips and will make some morning phone calls to other area Vets to see how they would treat Huey's situation if we were to change to their practice asap. Otherwise, Oley Animal Clinic gets to put in a nice sauna for it's employees with our $$. One ? though, how do people get ongoing insulin? Periodic checks via a Vet? If so, how frequent? If not, then how???? I can be pm'd at dminnig@windstream.net. I didn't even think about FB (I am not techno savvy, obviously). I will do that next.

Huey is eating approx. 9-12 oz of canned food daily and is drinking about the same amount that was usual for him pre-diabetes now (perhaps it is the elimination of dry food from his diet and increase in wet food). How much he is urinating is unknown (we have 4 cats) but he is still claiming a bathrug or 2 each day. Behavior wise, he is spending more time upstairs around us as opposed to his usual "hang-out" in the basement during the day (which always confused me) and sneaks into bed with me at some time during the night so he is definitely seeking more attention.
 
What you do first is call your old vet and tell them that you're coming in to get all of Huey's tests results. YOU paid for them...they are YOURS!! That may save you some money at the next vet if they don't have to repeat some of the same tests

Then call around to other vets offices and ask them to have the vet call you when they have some time (usually after office hours). Ask the vet how they treat their diabetic cats....what do they recommend for food? What kind of insulin do they prefer to use? Do they support home testing? How many diabetic cats have they treated? Will they accept bloodwork results from (whatever date the last bloodwork was done?) or will they require new?

If they don't call you back, that's a good hint that you wouldn't want them anyway....of the ones that do call, find out the answers to those kinds of questions and see how willing they are to talk with you (not talk AT you) and spend however much time to answer your questions and discuss things.
 
Hi Deborah,

I'm relieved to hear from you.

Couple of things:

1. Try adding some water to all his wet food meals - mash it up and make it into a slurry (add a little first then see how much he will tolerate - if you add too much they can dislike the taste, although a short gentle warming for about 10 seconds on the lowest microwave setting can make it a bit tastier). If you can get the extra water into him, it will help prevent him getting dehydrated and also (heaven forbid) if there were to be any ketones around the extra water might go some way to flushing them out of his system.

2. As he is underweight and not receiving any insulin yet, make sure he has as much as he wants to eat while you're sorting out his treatment (again to try to reduce risk of ketones appearing - having enough calories is critical).

3. Can you let us know the brands/varieties of food you're feeding Huey at the moment (so we can get an idea of the carb content and maybe help you identify the best one to feed at the moment to minimise Huey's carb load).

As you're heading to Walmart tomorrow if you could at all manage it, it would be a tremendous help to Huey if you could pick up a Relion meter and strips. That way, when you get home, we can talk you through doing a quick test so that you'll know where Huey's blood sugars are at now. Between that and the ketone test, it will give you a far better idea of how things are with Huey and what you need to do next. I really think you need to move as quickly as possible.

Also, at Walmart you might try picking up some canned plain pumpkin. If you mix a little bit into Huey's food (e.g. 1/4 - 1/2 tsp twice a day). A little dietary fibre can have a small but positive effect on blood sugar levels. This is a bit of an emergency situation so I'm brainstorming anything that might go some little way to helping Huey. (Other members: if this is not a good plan, please advise.)

As you have seen above, some of the members replying to this thread have offered help with some supplies to get Huey started. (Thank you, people! :) ) If you click on the members' avatar picture, you'll se a pop-up box on your screen with the picture and the option to "Start a Conversation". Click on that option to send a private message to the member you're replying to and you'll be able to work out practicalities between yourselves.



Mogs
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