Vet wants to do another fructosamine test

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DodgersMom

DodgersMom

Member Since 2023
Dodger had a fructosamine test at initial diagnosis 2/23/23, then another on 3/27/23 that was 231. Just got a message from the vet office today that they want to schedule another one within the month. I've read on here that fructosamine tests aren't very helpful after initial diagnosis. Wondering why my vet keeps wanting to do them and is not encouraging home testing? Is this common?

I'm not home testing yet, but promise to start soon. My 14-yo dog who has a heart murmur underwent dental surgery last week. It was a rough recovery and I was pretty focused on that. Now that we're over that hump, back to Dodger. I will buy the supplies very soon and start testing and get that spreadsheet going. I promise to be back with lots of questions :)

In the meantime, what is the best approach for telling the vet why I don't want to do yet another fructosamine and would rather start home testing? I'm worried if I start out with "I read on a message board..." that she will get defensive. I think she's a reasonable vet and would probably be OK with it. Just figured others have had the same discussion with their vets, so I thought I'd ask.
 
DodgersMom said:
Dodger had a fructosamine test at initial diagnosis 2/23/23, then another on 3/27/23 that was 231. Just got a message from the vet office today that they want to schedule another one within the month. I've read on here that fructosamine tests aren't very helpful after initial diagnosis. Wondering why my vet keeps wanting to do them and is not encouraging home testing? Is this common?

I'm not home testing yet, but promise to start soon. My 14-yo dog who has a heart murmur underwent dental surgery last week. It was a rough recovery and I was pretty focused on that. Now that we're over that hump, back to Dodger. I will buy the supplies very soon and start testing and get that spreadsheet going. I promise to be back with lots of questions :)

In the meantime, what is the best approach for telling the vet why I don't want to do yet another fructosamine and would rather start home testing? I'm worried if I start out with "I read on a message board..." that she will get defensive. I think she's a reasonable vet and would probably be OK with it. Just figured others have had the same discussion with their vets, so I thought I'd ask.
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Once you are hometesting there is no need to do a fructosamine test.
Hometesting tells you day by day, hour by hour what the BG is.
The fructosamine test is an average of the last 2 or 3 weeks BGs. No highs or lows just an average. Before hometesting that is all the vets had to go by but now with hometesting,it is redundant…although many vets don’t seem to understand the spreadsheets.
I would really recommend you start hometesting sonner rather than later…a good meter is the ReliOn premier from Walmart. It’s a human meter and much cheaper to run than the pet meters.
In regards to the fuctosamine testing just say you are hometesting now and it is your understanding from doing research that there is no need to do the fructosamine test when you are hometesting. And don’t let the vet say…oh but we need the fructosamine test to see how he’s going ….you don’t. It’s a waste of money you could be saving to spend on other things,
I see there were ketones present at diagnosis…are you still testing for them with Ketostix…if not I would recommend you do. That is another good reason to be hometesting.
We can help you setup the spreadsheet if you like
 
Hi in case you missed my answer on your previous post about you asking about the Blue Buffalo Tastesfuls that your friend gave you

@DodgersMom
Hi I contacted Blue Buffalo for you and they answered me back with the dry matter carbs.
Looks like the Chicken would be OK to feed. You can use the Turkey and chicken in case you ever need med carbs to bring up his BG. Med carbs are between 11-17%
Dear Diane,

Thank you for taking the time to contact Blue Buffalo. All of our non-therapeutic diets sold through pet retailers are maintenance diets, and are not intended to be fed to animals seeking specific nutrition for a medical condition that may be supported with nutritional therapy. The Tastefuls Turkey & Chicken Pate canned cat formula contains 11.76% carbohydrates, dry matter basis. The Tastefuls Chicken Pate canned cat formula contains 7.25% carbohydrates, dry matter basis.

We recommend speaking with your veterinarian, as he or she should be able to direct you to a product that is best suited for your pet should they have specific medical conditions that may benefit from nutritional therapy.

Thank you again for contacting us.

Sincerely,

Tracy

Blue Buffalo Co

##: 02503730
 
Relion Premier Classic Meter at Walmart for 9 dollars
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Premier-CLASSIC-Blood-Glucose-Monitoring-System/552134103

The tests strips are 17.88 for 100
https://www.walmart.com/ip/ReliOn-Premier-Blood-Glucose-Test-Strips-100-Count/575088197
You can order them on line also
Our numbers are based on human meters
When you do start testing
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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fec17d29-5ab4-44a8-912b-3a91944c3954-jpeg.57073

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
 
Thanks Bron & Sheba and Larry & Kitties. This is a really good response. I will call the vet tomorrow and let them know. Buying the supplies for home testing is much cheaper than the fructosamine test! I will feel better about being in control of this and less expensive trips to the vet. They really are a great clinic so not sure why they aren't encouraging home testing. They know I cared for my cat with CKD for 2 years. But this is a different vet and she's quite young, so maybe she's just being cautious?

Thank you Diane for these links and the excellent instructions. I am ordering tonight! Hopefully I can pick the stuff up tomorrow and work on the spreadsheet this weekend. I saw your reply on my food thread and replied there. You are awesome! :)
 
DodgersMom said:
Thanks Bron & Sheba and Larry & Kitties. This is a really good response. I will call the vet tomorrow and let them know. Buying the supplies for home testing is much cheaper than the fructosamine test! I will feel better about being in control of this and less expensive trips to the vet. They really are a great clinic so not sure why they aren't encouraging home testing. They know I cared for my cat with CKD for 2 years. But this is a different vet and she's quite young, so maybe she's just being cautious?

Thank you Diane for these links and the excellent instructions. I am ordering tonight! Hopefully I can pick the stuff up tomorrow and work on the spreadsheet this weekend. I saw your reply on my food thread and replied there. You are awesome! :)
Click to expand...
If you need help with the spreadsheet just ask we have a member who will gladly set it up for you I hope your dog is feeling better
 
Rather than "I read it on a message board" I said things like:

"I've seen in some of the literature that..."
"There is a long-standing advocacy group with a strong track record and their recommendations include..."
"I've seen something of a consensus among a lot of caregivers of diabetic cats that..."
"I know some vets do not find home testing important but I feel strongly that more data will help me manage my stress around this, which can only help Benny, so I'm going to test him at home."
(Regarding Tight Regulation) "A German veterinary group developed an empirically-based treatment protocol that is associated with an increased chance of remission; if you are interested I can share the literature with you."

Ultimately, Benny's old vet basically told me he did not want me to bring a spreadsheet to him at all (before I ever mentioned one), so I found a new vet. I still avoided "these people on the internet say" but she was open to home testing and TR so we worked together well.
 
Those are all good replies, Ben & Squirrel! I will use something along those lines. I'm also going to tell them this will be much more affordable than the $247 they charge for fructosamine plus vet exam charge plus taking time off work to haul him there. They also wanted to weigh him, but I can do that from home and give it to them. He is gaining weight and looks better.

Work was crazy and I never did call my vet today, but I will next week. I do think she'll be open to it. They know I'm a little headstrong but also very committed to my guys.

Larry & Kitties, that's a much better price. Fortunately I didn't order the other lancets yesterday so maybe I'll place another order tonight. The monitor arrived already, which is crazy fast. The strips are due tomorrow.

I forgot to answer Bron & Sheba's question on the Ketostix. I bought them but haven't used them yet. I could never catch him at the litter box and then he started acting normal again, and then the issues started with my other cat (pancreatitis most likely) and then the dog surgery :banghead:. It was a rough couple of weeks and Dodger had to be put on the back burner for a bit. He's doing fine though. If he'll cooperate, I'll do the ketostix this weekend. The urine has to be fresh, correct? This could be a challenge. He's very stealthy when it comes to the litter box.
 
Can you add to your signature what are you feeding ,is it low carb wet, or combo lc wet/dry.
Tap in your name up top, then tap on signature and add it then tap save.
Add Relion also if that's what you ordered
@DodgersMom :cat:
 
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