New diagnosis, little money, many questions

Thank goodness I found this site. My elder cat Fitzhenry was diagnosed Tuesday with diabetes. He was doing excessive drinking and urinating, and then rapidly lost so much muscle mass I took him to the vet.

I won't dwell on $$, but his vet bill Tues. was $430--which is more than half my monthly income. He has two bad molars which need to come out, and the dental estimate alone (with cleaning) was $700-$900. The cost of treatment for diabetes with glargine and 3-month glucose tests and Purina DM is mind-boggling. And both cats have to be on Revolution for fleas--they're indoor cats, but got fleas anyway.

I have researched cat foods and insulins with the help of this site. I am diabetic myself, and have a Freestyle Flash glucose meter, so I can do the glucose monitoring myself after Fitz is stabilized. I'm a little concerned the lancet may be too wide - are there thin lancets for cats? Is it better just to prick him or can I use the "pen" device with lancet inserted like I do for myself?

I'm paring down the costs which the vet gave me as much as I can based upon the research I'm doing on alternative food, insulin, etc. I plan on going to the vet with a payment plan and proposal for treatment, although I'm still finding the cost more than i can manage.

I just got a $1330 estimate on auto repair--my car inspection is due in March, and I need this work in order to pass inspection. So....

Let me just say that, of course, I don't want to have to euthanize Fitz. He's been with me for over 12 years, and he actually saved my life by licking and biting my eyelids to bring me around when I stopped breathing several times. I know I don't have too much time to make a decision on treatment--the poor thing is so skinny. I don't want him to suffer (which he doesn't seem to be doing).

Any ideas on frugal solutions/alternatives? Cheap safe pharmacies, flea treatments, etc? Please....Thanks

 

Welcome Maggie. Time to take a deep breath. This is very doable and there are ways to save money. One of the best benefits for you is that you already have a meter and hometesting should be easy!

First, you don't need to feed the DM. Go to Janet and Binky's food chart (http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html )and pick out a food that is 8-10% carbs that you can afford. PIck a few flavors and see what Fitz will eat. (Stay away from fish except for a few days a week - too much mercury and phosphorous) Take the DM back and say he won't eat it. Lots of people here feed Fancy Feast and Friskies and have happy, healthy cats.

Start hometesting Fritz today. Tell the vet you want to start the insulin at home. You do not need to pay for a vet stay to start insulin. Too often, cats are stressed out at the vets and their numbers are much higher than at home, and then the starting dose is too high. Have you seen the video? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zE12-4fVn8

We all have had or have diabetic cats. And we all have regulated them or have them off insulin. Everyone here is anxious to pay it forward and help newbies. Read the FAQs and ask lots of questions. We like to help!

 

Hi and welcome,

Yes, you can do this on the cheap and since you already have supplies, you can share with the cat.

Regarding lancets, human ones are just fine. The thickness all depends on what works best for you both. We recommend testing the cat's ear and you can use a device or do it free hand - which ever you are more comfortable with.

Here's a pic that shows the ideal place on ear to test:


Personally, anywhere along the edge can work.

Additional tricks - warm the ear, to get the blood flowing - make a warming sock -

take one sock - add 1/4 cup of rice, beans or oatmeal, knot the top
microwave for about 20-30 seconds until warm to touch
place behind kitty's ear and hold until ear warms up
If free handing - you can hold the sock behind ear, while poking - this way if you pierce and not poke, you won't stab your finger

Tip on how to poke: Aim at an upward 45 degree angle or so - never go horizontally in as you will pierce rather than poke, like this:



1) Feline Nutrition: Now, as far as diet - definitely dump the dry food (if you are feeding any) and if the vet recommends purchasing prescription food like DM just say "no thank you". ALL cats, and especially those with diabetes, do best on a species appropriate diet that is high in protein and low in carbs. Dry food DOES NOT fit that bill and DM food, even canned, just really isn't that great as far as quality. Most here on FDMB feed low carb/high protein canned, raw bought from a pet store or they make there own.

Here great links, one is to a food chart put together by one of our board members that breaks down the carb % and protein % of most of the commercial brand foods. You want to keep the carb % below 10% and around 7% is great. The other link is to a site by a vet "Dr. Lisa DVM" ... who also posts on this board from time to time ... there is in-depth info. there about many things, including nutrition and how to make raw food.
Nutrition/food info

The good thing with feeding your diabetic cat this way, is that it is ALSO good for any non-diabetic cat too. All your cats can safely eat the same food without worry and it may save you some costs and headaches of having to do separate feedings and keeping track of what they are eating.


As you use lantus (Glargine) for yourself, you can safely use this for your cat too. So you can save money by sharing your insulin. The suggested starting dose is 1 unit or 1/2 unit. This is a gentle insulin and given twice (BID) per day in 12 hour increments.

Please read up on the insulin and how it works in a cat, here is a link to the Insulin Support Groups:

Insulin Support Groups

Depending on how you use the insulin, you may need to purchase syringes for the cat - you can get a box of Relion brand syringes - U100, short needle, 31 gauge with 1/2 unit markings at Walmart for less than $15 for box of 100. Depending on where you live, you may need a script for it.

So you can manage yourself and your cat fairly easily. I do highly recommend that you read the "starred" information on the lantus forum as that will answer many questions on the use of lantus and cats. And then you can also post there, create a spreadsheet so we can see the cat's BG's and assist from there.

 

Hi Fitz and Maggie's Mom,

Welcome. I feel so terrible for you. I know how overwhelming this can feel. But honestly, given that your cat has to eat anyway, I think you can do this without as much cost as it seems at first.

You don't have to feed a "prescription" diet, and IMHO, you shouldn't! Canned Fancy Feast which you can get in Costco for about 50 cents a can should work just fine.

You don't have to do curves at the vet, because you are all set up to do them at home. If your meter has reasonable-priced strips, you can use that. If not, you can tool around the net and find people giving meters away if you buy a quantity of strips. I got a free Wavesense Presto that way and I really like it.

I'm not sure about how to get the dental costs down. I know when I first moved here and I called around to different vets, there was an enormous price difference among them. I went with a mid-priced vet who came highly recommended.

Lantus insulin is a big outlay at first, but despite what they say about tossing after 28 days, many people use it for much longer--up to 6 months. That's about 50cents a day if you pay $90 for a vial.

Please hang in there an keep investigating. You will get a lot of good help here. In the 2 months I have been here, I went from not knowing how we were going to control Basil's diabetes to one the verge of being declared in remission next week. (Spit spit. Toss salt. Knock wood. Ant-jinx!) So with such a new diagnosis, there is a lot of hope. You might even find someone willing to sell you a single cartridge of Lantus out of a pack!

Stay around!

 

It seems that your vet is on the expensive side of things. There is no way a dental with tooth extraction should be anywhere near $700. My Oscar just had his teeth cleaned and 2 pulled and the bill was $107! Also, a diabetes diagnosis should not be $400 +. Sometimes the initial BG curve/bloodwork/regulation can cost that much, but home testing will eliminate much of that cost. It sounds like you need to shop around for a cheaper vet in your area! Also, I suggest asking if your vet has a payment plan option. This could help defer some of the burden of the cost. It is definitely doable on a tight budget!

 

hey there and welcome!

first i want to address the estimates and such just so we don't cause any panic or something and have you storming into the clinic ripping someone a new one depending on where you are in the country, prices can be pretty low like kelly mentions or pretty darn high. for instance, the dental costs you mention are pretty much in line for what i've been given and your diagnosis costs is actually about the same i paid for her diagnosis too. unfortunately i learned real quick that vet wasn't gonna work out and i switched and paid again. :shock:

but yes, there's plenty of ways to make this affordable. hometest. that's your biggest cost cutter if you ask me. and yes, the flash will work fine. that's the meter my vet recommended to me and that i've used since september 2006. i do use the lancet device and 30g lancets. i don't shove the lancet all the way down into the lancet device though and i set it on depth 4 for use on Mousie. that's the way my vet showed me so that's what i've done and it has worked if you need i have a video of what i mean by not shoving the lancet all the way down into the device.

and of course there's the food. prescription food is very very expensive. and what you will find is that there are plenty of store bought brand name foods that are just fine for our diabetic kitties. for instance, i use about half a dozen flavors of Friskies canned foods myself. well, not for myself, for my kitties LOL!!

then, and this is gonna for sure be one thing no one else will address. tell me more about this car thing. what kind of car, what you've been told you need, and maybe what state you live in. i happen to own an auto repair shop in california and have been doing this for 20 years, my fiance for 30+ years and can try and make sure you aren't being sold something you don't need and/or give you some pertinent info regarding prices to make sure someone isn't taking advantage of you.

 

Hi and welcome!

We'll do all we can to help you save money....

check the supply closet forum for insulin - either prozinc or other pzi or lantus/glargine will work.

as for that dental bill, I paid $1000 recently for extractions including a canine, so your estimate doesn't seem off at all. I question how anyone could get that done with anaesthesia and monitoring and all the rest for $107!

also, consider posting where you live in case one of us lives nearby and can help

Jen

 

Good heavens your vet is gouging compared to my vet! I guess I will quit complaining.

Did you say what you have been feeding your cat up until now? Also what was his BG at the vet?

My cat was diagnosed with diabetes BG 431 but I had been feeding him dry cat food his entire life -10 years.

Anyway I first decided to change him completely to canned food and just monitor his BG for a while and it worked! He is now regulated just by changing his food. This may not be the case for you but you should know it is possible.

Also from what I hear dental problems can cause high BG and that may also be one of the reasons he has lost weight if he has pain during eating. In my area that dental would only cost about $100.00, if I were you I would shop around. Some vets just take advantage of our trust. I recently had my chihuahuas teeth cleaned and she had 8 extractions. With anesthesia I paid $125.00. It makes a big difference what part of the country you live in.


Also as to testing the BG, I have tried lancing by hand but do better with the one provided with my BG tester. I tried several types but I really like the lancing device that comes with the One touch ultra mini!

 

You know, I didn't ask the vet what his BG was. I was kind of overwhelmed by the cost of the visit and everything she was telling me. I asked her to write down the estimates and what he needed done and I came home to try to absorb things and figure out how to manage.

My cats were raised on Purina Cat Chow Indoor. I was told that dry food was better for their teeth. I'm now introducing EVO Cat & Kitten dry food and canned.

But Fitz has stopped eating. I'm sitting with him tonight hoping he lasts until I can call the vet in the a.m. I wrote a new post a little while ago....

 

...And no point asking the vet what his BG was -- it will be different when you test at home, and of course once you start giving insulin, different every hour! More important to start insulin right away before things get worse (Diabetic Ketoacidosis is a danger when he's without insulin.)

You have your own hometesting gear and you will learn to use it on Fitz, so no problem. You can definitely use your own Lantus and we have support here on how to find a good dose (generally start with 0.5 units and work up slowly by quarter, then half-units)

Others have told you about the food issue and let me emphasize that it is VERY important. Just because we're telling you to ignore the vet's prescription food doesn't mean we're saying the choice of food doesn't matter; it really really does, and you'll see it very dramatically when you start testing. It's just that the vet DM food isn't in the top 5 of the best ones. And you can't feed it to your other cats.

You'll need to make absolutely sure, once you've transitioned to the new low-carb canned food you choose, that Fitz doesn't accidentally get into dry food or kitty treats with carbohydrates, which will probably mean changing all your kitties over to the same low-carb canned food. But you can use a very cheap one and not spend more money than you are now on food and litter combined.

And once you have his BG under control, (under 200) kitty litter costs will fall dramatically, so there's a bonus!

Other ways to save money: Screw-on needles for insulin pens come in boxes of 100 and make really good tiny lancets in my experience -- and can be re-used as many times as you feel comfortable with. Cheap. Remember blood drop is tiny for the good meters.

Insulin costs are minimal since you have your own. He will be using up about 2-4 units a day at first, likely much less later on, so it's only about 10% of your own use.

The biggest cost will be that dental, and shop around, find a cheaper vet. You will need to do it though -- if his teeth/gums are infected it will raise blood sugar and make it nearly impossible to bring him under control.

We're here to help!

P.S. URGENT: if he's stopped eating, he's now on the express track to DKA and might have it already. Please give him a small dose of your Lantus (0.5 to 1.0 units) right away and make sure he drinks (use an oral syringe to get water into his mouth if necessary. And buy some ketone testing strips from the drugstore and test his urine. He might need an emergency vet trip now.

Steve

 

Somewhere there's been a misunderstanding--I'm diabetic and have my own meter, but I'm on an oral med, not insulin. The vet recommended glargine for Fitz, and I haven't the $$ right now to get it.

:sad: