Vet update

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Hercules

Hercules

Member Since 2023
Hello,
This morning we had our 4 day follow up for Hercules to check on his labs and see how bexacat is going. They said at the first visit his glucose range was in the 500’s and at this visit his BG was 220. So they said this is getting better. I let them know about the change in his food to wet food and they said they think that this was overall good for him. They also recommended a glucose monitor for me to get on Amazon. I asked them about the test for pancreatitis and they said they are not sure if it is necessary because he is not showing any symptoms of this. I said that I would do further research on this and come back at the next visit to get it done if necessary because I really didn’t have enough information to make an informed decision. Overall it looks like things are going good, but the vet only had so much information available to him in regards to Bexacat because it is a new drug. I am unsure how to feel, but I am going to start home testing as they did recommend this to me as well as here in the forum it has been recommended. I am still feeling overwhelmed because I just want him to be okay, and be healthy and it feels like there are still so many unknowns.
 
Remind me if you’re in the US please. If they recommended a pet meter for you, which most vets do, know you don’t need it. You can buy a reliable human meter and the test strips are way more affordable. Pet meter strips cost $1 each and Walmart ReliOn strips are 100 for $18. Most of us here use human meters and their work great. The libre which a lot of folks use is a human meter and all vets used human meter until recently before pet meters were invented. Save your money

if you could link your previous post on this one it would be helpful, especially since you don’t have a signature yet :)
 
Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA) said:
Remind me if you’re in the US please. If they recommended a pet meter for you, which most vets do, know you don’t need it. You can buy a reliable human meter and the test strips are way more affordable. Pet meter strips cost $1 each and Walmart ReliOn strips are 100 for $18. Most of us here use human meters and their work great. The libre which a lot of folks use is a human meter and all vets used human meter until recently before pet meters were invented. Save your money

if you could link your previous post on this one it would be helpful, especially since you don’t have a signature yet :)
Click to expand...
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/newly-diagnosed-diabetic-as-of-yesterday.280547/
I am in the US. They did recommend one called Alphatrak 3 today, but if the others are just as reliable and less expensive I would definitely prefer the less expensive option.
 
Hercules said:
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/newly-diagnosed-diabetic-as-of-yesterday.280547/
I am in the US. They did recommend one called Alphatrak 3 today, but if the others are just as reliable and less expensive I would definitely prefer the less expensive option.
Click to expand...
Alphatrak is a pet meter. You don’t need it. What makes a meter expensive are the test strips because you use them up fast. You can get Walmart’s ReliOn Premier for $9 online or at a store and get the strips for it. You’ll need lancets too or a lancet pen. Look for ones that are 26 or 28 gauge
 
@Hercules
Hi Kendra if you go back to your previous post I gave you the information about the Relion Premier Classic meter and the test strips, I gave you the links just tap on them,
In post #8
It's not worth buying the alpha Trak
Also can you add to your signature what brand food are you feeding
When you get the meter please add that also
Our numbers are based on human meters anyway
 
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Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up
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6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 10 or 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand not the lancing device
I find it better to see where I'm aiming
Look at the lancet under a light and you will see one side is curved upward, that's the side you want to poke with
Here is a video one of our members made testing her kitty
She's using a pet meter that has to be coded ,with a human meter you don't have to code it.
I have always used a human meter
VIDEO: How to test your cat's blood sugar

Tap in this link Post #3 I explained how the spreadsheet works
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/9-2-22-new-member.267901/#post-2996037
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
Kendra --

I'm going to point out the possibility of a confounding issue. If you've switched Hercules to a low carb, canned food diet, it's hard to know if the Bexacat is working or if it's the diet change that had a good effect on his numbers.
Click to expand...
I thought about this as well. I am not sure as there really isn’t a concrete way to tell. Should I be worried as long as his numbers are in a better range? He gets stressed going to the vet which I know can produce a higher number to so he could really be even lower. I just am so new to this I don’t know what to do. Once I have my monitor and start to home test I know I will be able to know far more. And also how does remission work with a diabetic cat. I know I am definitely not there but I want to know what to look for. Do you think there is a chance to take him off of his medication if his numbers are consistently in the normal range? I might be getting ahead of myself with these questions, but I am just really hoping to get him into remission
 
I wouldn't be worried. The bottom line is that the numbers are better.

Remission: For a cat that's on insulin, the dose is gradually tapered down until insulin is stopped. The kitty is monitored for a 2 week period (testing at the usual AMPS and PMPS) to ensure the numbers stay in normal range. After the 2 weeks, your cat is in remission -- or more accurately, a diet controlled diabetic. The issue is that Bexacat is very new. We've not had more than one or two cats prescribed the drug. It's also not as flexible re. dosing as insulin.
 
Hi and welcome to the group. Hercules is gorgeous, what a regal kitty! Great name.

Since you asked about remission.

My cat Hendrick is just one example but he went into diabetic remission after about six months of insulin therapy. But not just any insulin therapy -- I followed a specific dosing method, recommended here, that was developed over time. In one study, this method produced remission in over 80% of cats in the test group. It is called Tight Regulation. If after some time, you decide to try insulin instead of Bexecat, you may want to look into Tight Regulation.

If so, you can read more here: http://www.tillydiabetes.net/en_6_protocol2.htm

I don't know of any examples of a cat that went into diabetic remission on Bexecat but the drug is also very new still.
 
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