Vet suggested hills science M/D

[Siamis Momma]

Siami was diagnosed Labor Day- glucose 571. Vet sent us home with Glipizide and "see me in 3weeks". I carried her to another vet and he did a geriatric blood profile and she was 417. Started out with Prozinc .05 2x day. Glucose curve performed Monday and insulin increased to 1.5 2x day. I see on this board the typical increase is only .05 - should I be alarmed? In addition she is on hill science diet m/d @ 1/3 cup daily- she weighs 12 pounds and he wants her down to 10. She is allowed a spoonful of wet - same kind- and I give this to her so I know she has eaten before her injection. Should I be feeding her hill science? How difficult is it to get blood from a cat 's ear?

 

[Merlin]

Good for you for going to another vet after the first one prescribed Glipizide. Insulin is what you need so glad you got Prozinc. Here is the protocol for Prozinc: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/protocol-for-prozinc-pzi.109077/

Also I mentioned this on your previous post on the "Welcome Forum" but it is worth mentioning again. It is an 18 page document written by a vet and it also has a list of food that you can choose from. You can also check to see what type of carbs you are giving your cat now. Wet, low carb canned food is the best and it should be under 10% carbs. www,catinfo.org

Once you get her on low carb food, your cat will typically lose weight naturally unless you give it too much.

 

[Squalliesmom]

Was the glucose curve performed at the vet's office? "Vet stress" can raise a kitty's glucose quite a bit, which may be why the vet raised her insulin dose. Once you are comfortable with home testing you'll be able to do curves at home and they will probably be a little more accurate. Home testing is not at all difficult, once you and your kitty develop a ritual for it. Here is a link to some good info on testing at home: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

Most of the Hill's Science Diet foods are a lot higher in carbohydrates than what you usually want for a diabetic kitty. I would seriously consider changing her a to a lower carb - less than 10% - food if she was my kitty. Surpise! We have a link for that, too, lol: http://www.catinfo.org/docs/FoodChartPublic9-22-12.pdf A word of warning; your vet may not be happy about you changing her food. You may want to read Dr. Lisa Pierson's complete article at www.catinfo.com, and maybe share it with your vet. Lots of vets are actually unaware of how high in carbs those "prescription" cat foods are!

All in all it sounds like you are off to a good start! This is a great place to come to for support and advice, everyone here is super friendly and helpful. Don't hesitate to ask if you have questions! You can also visit the Prozinc forum for more specific info/answers to questions regarding your insulin.

 

[Robin&BB]

Siami was diagnosed Labor Day- glucose 571. Vet sent us home with Glipizide and "see me in 3weeks". I carried her to another vet and he did a geriatric blood profile and she was 417. Started out with Prozinc .05 2x day. Glucose curve performed Monday and insulin increased to 1.5 2x day. I see on this board the typical increase is only .05 - should I be alarmed? In addition she is on hill science diet m/d @ 1/3 cup daily- she weighs 12 pounds and he wants her down to 10. She is allowed a spoonful of wet - same kind- and I give this to her so I know she has eaten before her injection. Should I be feeding her hill science? How difficult is it to get blood from a cat 's ear?

It's really not difficult to get blood from a cat's ear; I know doing the ear-poke seems scary at first & you may worry that you're hurting your kitty. But rest assured: There are very few nerve endings along the edges of cats' ears, so it's more like a mosquito bite to them, not at all painful in the way it is if you poke your fingertip with the lancet! (Most people find that a 26 gauge lancet works well.)

The standard procedure is: Test/feed/shoot. You've already said you're concerned about the suggested ProZinc dosage increase; doing a BG test before each dose is important to help avoid hypoglycemia in your kitty. (We recommend you don't shoot if the pre-shot# is under 200, as mentioned in the protocol link that Cindi provided in her post above.) If your schedule allows, it's good to get a test around the usual nadir (low BG point) - generally happens between the 4 to 7 hours after the dose, depending on the kitty - as knowing this will also help you to keep your kitty within safe BG limits.

I have this caveat to add, as relates to moving your kitty onto lower carb food: Please do this gradually AND do make sure you're testing your kitty's BG before doses of ProZinc --- because switching to low-carb food often results in the need for a dose reduction (which is good, but - again - testing the BG#s at home will be a tremendous help in guiding you and keeping kitty safe.)

It's so good that you're asking questions; we're all here to help you in any way we can. Will be thinking good thoughts for you!

 

[Siamis Momma]

Yes the testing was at the vets office and it was stressful! She was a little combative with them and of coursewhen I carried her home- she wouldn't talk to me. Being a Siamese she talks constantly - but I love it!!!! I can't put her through an all day vet trip again. I will be ordering the alphatrak2 meter or is there something better?

 

[Siamis Momma]

Robin- should I wait and not increase her dosage until I get the meter? I must admit I am frightened to start a increase blindly and I DO NOT want to get into her diabetic emergency kit and open the Karo!

 

[Robin&BB]

Yes the testing was at the vets office and it was stressful! She was a little combative with them and of coursewhen I carried her home- she wouldn't talk to me. Being a Siamese she talks constantly - but I love it!!!! I can't put her through an all day vet trip again. I will be ordering the alphatrak2 meter or is there something better?

I have been using an AlphaTrak 2 for more than two years; although the strips are pricey, I really like it. There are many here who use human-type meters very successfully, too. So whichever type you choose to go with is just fine - the important thing is to be using one.

 

[Robin&BB]

Robin- should I wait and not increase her dosage until I get the meter? I must admit I am frightened to start a increase blindly and I DO NOT want to get into her diabetic emergency kit and open the Karo!

If it were my kitty? Yes, I certainly would wait on the increase - especially because you'd mentioned how stressed your kitty gets at the vet's office. Did you know that a kitty's stress can result in a BG # raised in-clinic as much as 100 points or more? That alone would give me pause! Just remember: Is better to be too high for a day, than too low for a moment.

 

[Robin&BB]

By the way: What's your first name? And where in the country do you live? (We recently actually had a new member in the Phoenix area who ended up with another Phoenix-area member going over to help her with her first blood glucose testing! So there's always a possibility that there's someone in the membership near you who could help you in-person if you need it ...)

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Most of us here us human meters....the biggest problem with the AlphaTrak is the strips can cost over $1 EACH and when you test as much as we do, unless you're independently wealthy, it's not something most of us can afford.

Also, our protocols are set up in human numbers too, so when asking for advice, if you're using the AlphaTrak, it's important to make sure the person advising you understands that.

There's no real reason you need the Alpha (other than your vet making a good little profit off it it)

The meter a lot of us use (If you live in the US) is the Relion Confirm or Micro from WalMart...it's about $15 for the meter and the strips are $35.88 for 100 ....and if you need strips at 2am on a Sunday morning, you can get them....you can't with the AT. You can also get strips from American Diabetes Wholesale that will work in the Relion meters if you prefer to buy online or just prefer not to shop at WalMart any more than you have to

 

[Robin&BB]

There's no real reason you need the Alpha (other than your vet making a good little profit off it it)

If another member or a newcomer feels more comfortable using a pet-calibrated meter (which even Dr. Rand has repeatedly stated is the preferred method for home testing a diabetic cat because of specific calibration for feline blood) and is willing to bear the added expense for the strips, why try to make anyone feel somehow foolish it they want to use an AT2 meter? I didn't buy mine from my vet, not is that where I get my strips - so the statement you just made there is not entirely accurate.

While you've made some good points about expense & availability of strips, not everyone makes their choices on price-point alone. I get my strips shipped within 2 days via Amazon Prime. Anyone can look into a vial and detect when they're getting low on test strips; I always order 2 at a time. It's absolutely fine if someone chooses to use a human meter; it's equally fine is someone chooses to use an AlphaTrak2 meter, too. There's room at FDMB for users of either type of meter, isn't there? (And I'm not independently wealthy. Just dumb ... I guess.)

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

I didn't say she shouldn't use it....The Alpha Trak is a great meter...if you can afford to use it and can keep extra strips in the house at all times in case you need them, it's fine

The other point I made regarding the protocols we use being in human meter numbers is valid. No, it's not ALL about price but unfortunately, for a lot of us it has to come into the picture.

I said no NEED to use the AlphaTrak, but I'll take your criticism in the spirit I'm sure you meant it.

 

[Robin&BB]

Don't worry Chris, I'm not upset with you. It's just that for some of us, it's easier to work with our vets by using a pet-calibrated meter. Neither of my vets, in either state of the two states I live in, ever told me I couldn't use a human meter; rather, both told me that they preferred I use an AT2 - only because of its accuracy, but that it was up to me to choose. Both told me that the AT2 strips were more expensive, too! (Neither sold the meter/strips from their clinics.) But because I had chosen an AT2 for home testing, my vet who'd first dx'd Bat in 2013 said he'd allow me to forego bringing her in for those periodic (and very expensive) fructosamine tests. So for me, in making my choice, the extra cost of strips balanced out against fewer vet visits and in-clinic tests.