First of all thank you to all

OK so it was vet day once I finally got Joey out her carrier (no small chore) the vet took some urine to double check the diagnosis
If she is indeed diabetic she goes on ProZinc
For the insulin 125.50
ProZinc care kit 45.55
Glucose curve 179
the meter 68.07
Fructosamine 124.78
I hope someone can help me out with the glucose curve and the fructosamine I couldn't really understand what they were

 

Hi. This really belongs on the main health forum rather than in the community and off topic one. Please be sure to post future questions there so you will get more responses.

A fructosamine test gives you the average level over a 2 to 3 week period. It can be helpful at diagnosis or in cases where a pet owner is not willing to home test.
A curve means taking a blood glucose test prior to giving an insulin shot then taking another test every two hours after that up until the next pre-shot test. This provides information on what impact an insulin dose is having. You can see when onset occurs (point when insulin begins having an impact) and when nadir occurs (lowest point in the cycle). That information is helpful in determining if a dose is appropriate or needs to change.
If you will do home testing, you should not have to have either of these things done at your vet's office on an ongoing basis. Home testing is really the only way to keep your cat safe anyway because glucose levels can change constantly.

You should be able to get the insulin a little cheaper. I suggested looking around online, maybe start with Chewy.com. I don't know what a 'ProZinc care kit' includes, but you can buy syringes from ADWDiabetes.com for a very reasonable price. You will want syringes with half unit markings, by the way, so you can make dosing changes in smaller increments. You can also find a better price on a meter!

 

The meter is probably an AlphaTrack, a pet specific meter that is not only more expensive, but the strips are more expensive too. You can use a human meter. A lot of people here use the Walmart brand that is not only cheaper but has cheaper strips.

Please repost on the Health forum for specific brand and models recommendations and any other cat health questions. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/feline-health-the-main-forum.28/

 

@Jill & Alex (GA) - can you move this to health? TIA!!!

 

Moved thread to Health and sent a PM to burtgummer.

 

THANK YOU Jill!

 

ProZinc is $115 on chewy. ($109 if you set up an autoship)
Syringes are $13 for 100 on Adwdiabetes.com (u40, 3/10 with half unit markings)
Alphatrak starter kit is $51 on amazon. You can use freestyle insulinx strips in the meter to save money, but I keep alphatrak strips to compare and make sure each bottle is accurate. Insulinx strips are $48/100 on amazon. Usually cheaper on eBay... It used to be 30 on amazon
Fructosamine test is ok to diagnose, don't need it again after that.
Curves only cost the price of test strips of you do it at home... Home tests are more accurate because the cat isn't as nervous. A curve is simple a blood glucose ear test every two hours for 12 hours. A fructosamine test is a blood test that gives the average bg for the past 2-3 week.

 

Ok so the vet finally got everything I needed for Joey and I just gave her the first injection
Will there be any noticeable change in behavior or anything like that ?

 

Some kitties take a while to adjust to getting insulin. They can feel "off" or lethargic at first. If BG drops far too low they can show hypoglycemia symptoms: spaciness, staring, off balance, seizures if extreme hypo. They might also feel unwell if BG is running too high.

Over time better regulation of BG should result in less peeing, more normal appetite, weight gain (if kitty was too thin). The important thing to know is getting to better regulation can take many months. There are rare cats who achieve it early and easily but that's not the usual course.

Will you be testing Joey's BG at home?

 

My cat started feeling better within a couple weeks with more energy and less begging for food

 

I was going to test her at home but I've decided since it's income tax time I'll get the vet to do their testing that way I know everything is done right

 

Well if you change your mind we can help. It's a lot cheaper testing at home for sure. I have a video in my signature showing how I test my cat CC at home.

 

So are you testing at home at all??? It is much safer to make sure you test before you give any insulin, because often their BGL can be a lot lower than we realise, and giving insulin then can send them in to a hypo!