Advice to a newbie: I never home tested

Hi everyone.
I lost my beautiful Maine Coon boy last week. He was 15, and had been diabetic for almost 9 years. I am devastated, but I know in my heart that he had a good life and knew he was loved.

Sparky got insulin shots, twice a day every day for those 9 years. And I didn't home test once. With the support and guidance of my vet, we found doses over the years that kept Sparky in a safe (not perfect) glucose range. With consistent dosing, controlled food intake (yes, he ate dry and wet food), and vigilant observation for signs (physical, behavioral), we made it work.

I'm not telling you this because I think home testing is awful or bad. It just wasn't something that worked for us. When feline diabetes was a new thing for us, many internet sources told me that home testing was the ONLY option. I wanted to let you know that it's not. Obviously, my experience may not be the same as yours. But, I felt it was important to tell you.

I know what I'm saying is not a popular opinion here, but it was my experience. I probably won't come back to see any comments. I just want to share this with anyone who is struggling with home testing and scared for what might happen if they can't. There is hope.

Kitten hugs to everyone going through this.

 

Sorry for your loss. Rest in Peace sweet Sparky, you are loved.

 

Hi Sparkymom,
Huge condolences to you on the loss of your beautiful boy.
You obviously loved him very much indeed, and he was truly blessed in having you to care for him.


. . . . .

Regarding homestesting: The fact is that most people with diabetic cats don't hometest.
Most people give insulin shots twice a day, and that's that.
And many people don't feed low carb food either.
People on this forum are the small minority, not the majority.
(And in fact there was a time when there was a sub-forum here specifically for people who weren't hometesting; as I recall it was called the 'Alternative Monitoring' forum, or something similar.)

I have met caregivers whose diabetic cats have lived quite a long time after diagnosis - even though they did not hometest or feed a low carb diet. It certainly does happen, and your Sparky's long life is also testament to that.

It is for each of us to weigh things up, and then do what we think is best for our cats. (And there are some cats who simply cannot be hometested. (For example, some folks have had semi-feral cats that wouldn't tolerate close contact.))
It is true that there is a culture of hometesting here. And that is because, over the years, people here have found that this gives the best chance of successfully managing the diabetes.
Hometesting - where it is possible - enables people to see how the insulin is working in their cats' bodies. It enables them to (hopefully) keep them safe from hypoglycemia. And it enables them to spot when a cat may be going into remission. (I suspect there are a lot of cats out there on insulin who don't actually need to be.....)

People who don't hometest are welcome to join this forum, but the reality is that the help we can offer is, in those situations, very limited. We usually rely on hometesting data when weighing up what advice to give.

Thank you so much for sharing your story.

Very best wishes to you,

Eliz

PS. We have a Grief forum here for folks who have lost beloved kitties. It's a place where people can share stories, or give/receive support. Please do post there if you'd like to. You'd be very, very welcome.
.

 

hugs to you
thank you for sharing

 

I agree.


Mogs
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I am sad to hear about Sparky. He was a lucky boy to have such a loving and caring person. It is a wonderful testament to your dedication and watchfulness that Sparky lived for nine - nine! - happy and enjoyable years after his diabetes diagnosis. Sometimes the best treatment method is the one that is consistently manageable for cat and caregiver. I'm glad you had the fortune to have a good vet working alongside you.

I'm very, very sorry for your loss.




Mogs
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Requiem aeternum, Sparky.

{{hugs}}

 

Thanks to you all for the support. It helps. Sorry if my first post sounded a little defensive....my nerves are just raw right now. Everyone has to walk their own path.

 

Hi SparkyMom,
I don't think your post sounded defensive at all. It was beautifully written.

Hugs to you,

Eliz

 

My heart goes out to you.




Mogs
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Hi and condolences on your loss. I am not home testing either.
I have an excellent relationship with my vet who practices 5 minutes away from my home.
We have found a good balance and the insulin that seems to work. We started on Lantus, but the results were too up and down.
She is now on Caninsulin and holding a steady 7 for the past two weeks.
She was diagnosed 2 months ago.
She eats only wet food, a change I have made over the past week.

 

@Tao -

So as not to derail this thread, I have replied to your post above on your own Welcome Section thread. Here's the link:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/tao.157292/#post-1670960


Mogs
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Our Snickers does not allow me to do home testing. Our vet has a difficult time getting a sample from her. She goes every week for a test at the vet, as our vet is only 3 blocks away. She seems to be doing well with 2wice a day lantus, and I hope she can get to remission at some point, but without home testing that will be difficult. She eats only wet low carb food and a little turkey once a day. Easier to inject when she's preoccupied. I hope to get as many years out of Snickers as a lot of people do their cats. I am very sorry for the loss of Sparky. I know it is difficult.

 

I'm so sorry to hear that you've lost Sparky. My deepest condolences.

Every cat (and human) is different and their decisions should always be respected. Though we almost always recommend home testing, maybe too adamantly, each caretaker has to do what is right for them and their cat. Zeke, my first diabetic cat was before home glucometers were invented and he lived a long, loved life too.

 

I'm so sorry for your loss, @SparkyMom . He was a beautiful boy. Rest in peace, Sparky. <3

 

So sorry to read of your loss. Everyones journey is diffrent.I apprecaite yousharing your experience as today is my first day of giving insulin.I am feeling better already for the hope you have given me.You have worked out a course of treatment that was best for Sparky and given him 9 wonderful years since diagnosis

 

Please accept my deepest condolences on the loss of your beloved Sparky. I lost three of my babies over the past four months, so I understand the emotional rollercoaster you're on. You didn't sound defensive, just in pain and maybe needing to vent. FDMB is all about sharing your thoughts and feelings, and even if we don't all agree with them, it's still something everyone is welcome to do.

I have a dear friend that never tested her diabetic cat, and he lived for several happy years after diagnosis. I would not encourage that, though (especially on Lantus), because I've seen several kitties that were started on too high a dose by their vet, never tested at home, and went hypo. Not very long ago we lost a kitty here that way. However, ECID and every situation is different, too.

Before making the decision whether or not to home test, there are a lot of variables to consider, including your schedule, finances, how cooperative kitty is, how knowledgeable your vet is about FD (shockingly, many vets know very little about it beyond the basics), and a host of other things I can't think of right now. Home testing should at least be considered as a good option, especially if the goal is remission. Some people get frustrated because it's hard at first and give up. We have many people on the Lantus board that thought they'd never be able to test, and yet they're still at it, and some have taken their kitties OTJ. So yes, we are very pro-testing here. But we won't judge someone for choosing not to - we just might not be able to help them as much as we'd like.

I hope your good memories of Sparky bring you comfort and peace.

 

Sorry to hear about Sparky. I understand how you're feeling, we lost our former feline companion, Cali, three years ago. A couple of months later we adopted Smokey.

Smokey has just started Lantus on 1 unit, twice daily. We have a blood curve booked at our vet next week. We're not sure yet about this home testing business, I think I'm going to consider it if we have to go much higher on the insulin. I'm seriously worried about a hypoglycaemic episode.

Your story has given me hope that we can enjoy many more years of companionship and love with Smokey. Thank you.