What to do? Changing from dry to wet and vet didn’t recommend changing dose

[CandiceT]

Apologizing now for the somewhat lengthy post.
As of right now we are dosing 3 units and we are not currently testing at home (Vet said it wasn’t necessary). He was diagnosed 5 months ago and has gone in for a few BGC.
From the research I’ve done I know it is important to home test and change food, even though our vet says it’s not necessary. Everything is ordered to start home testing once we change from dry to wet. I’m obviously not very happy with our vet but we don’t have too many options in our town.
So here is my dilemma, I’m not sure how to proceed with dosing since he’s currently on 3 units. Should I drop it to one unit or stop dosing for 24hrs to see how he does with the new food and test accordingly? He’s not picky so I know he will eat when he’s fed 2x day.
Sorry if this is a common question, I’m fairly new to this since I was just going off what my vet has said this whole time. I figured this would be a good place to start. Thanks in advance!

 

[Djamila]

Welcome! And we all started where you are - listening to our vets and trusting their expertise. Don't be too mad at your vet - they have to be experts in so many different things for both cats and dogs - they do the best they can. What is your cat's name? How old is he?

I'm not sure I'm reading your post correctly, so please forgive me if this is what you meant, but do not change the food until you have the testing supplies and are comfortable home testing. The drop in BG when the food changes can make a big difference in some cats, and you want to make sure you can keep your kitty safe!

I also wouldn't change the dose at this point. We don't know if three units is too much or too little without home testing data. If he actually needs more insulin than that, dropping back to one unit could be dangerous for him. If he needs less insulin than that, the testing should show that soon enough and we can help you make adjustments.

While you're waiting for your testing supplies to arrive, I would recommend getting your spreadsheet set up. The link for that is here: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/ Once you've done that, when you enter the data, the color coding happens automatically. You can click on the spreadsheets in any of our signatures to see what they look like, and we can help if you have any questions about what goes in which column. It can be a little confusing at first.

Also, think about where you want to have as the testing place for your cat. Start taking him there several times a day, rubbing his ear for several seconds, and then giving him a low-carb treat and letting him go. This will start to get him ready for the testing, and begin to associate something positive with the place and the idea of having you messing with his ear. Then once your supplies arrive, he'll be more able to cooperate with the tests.

Please ask any and all questions you have. We look forward to getting to know you!

 

[CandiceT]

His name is Scooter and is 12 years old.
Thank you so much for the helpful information and suggestions! It makes me feel a little more comfortable and at ease going into all of this. I’ve read so many different articles sometimes they start to all run together.
I’ll definitely get the spreadsheet up and start with that. You correct, I have not yet changed food as I am waiting on the testing supplies to arrive. I think I’m going to get comfortable with testing like you said and then slowly switch food so I know I’ll get a good read on his BG. Thanks again!