New in town

Hello! I'm Katie, my diabetic is Julie. We just got the diagnosis yesterday.

I had been sick for a few days in bed. Went down finally in the evening to check on things, and found Julie laying like a lump in the middle of the floor. Odd for her because she is usually hiding, and runs when anyone walks down the stairs. She has a history of Fevers of unknown Origin, so I assumed that was the case. Took her temp though and it was normal. She seemed dehydrated. I have a kidney cat as well, and I have a bag of LRS for him, so I gave her 100ml subq. Seemed to perk her up a bit. Called vet and got appt for the following day (emergency vet I know of is closed due to moving to new building).

Headed in to vet next day, did bloodwork. Her glucose was over 350. She also had elevated lymphocytes, which had been a little high back in August. Doc suspected diabetes, but also concerned about lymphoma. They took urine via cystocentisis, and the glucose on the test strip was 1000. Not in crisis though, thankfully. No ketones on strip. Vet suggested at least getting her on insulin and doing curves at home. I was out of cash so could not afford the follow up test for send out to check lymphocytes, nor a fructosamine test.

I found a woman through facebook sales group that has an Alpha Trak 2 kit she is selling me for a phenomenal price today, just have to buy test strips (searching for reliable source, not sure I trust Amazon to sell something that isn't short dated!), AND best of all, she was given a bottle of Lantis from a friend who's cat sadly passed away, and she is going to give it to me to help us get started. I am overjoyed at that news. My husband is the type that thinks I'm wasting my money on an animal. He agreed to get her treatment for now, but we are so short on cash... this woman is a life saver! (She says she has a 16yo diabetic doing great)

Anyway... Julie is 14 years old, second of three felines in my home currently. I got her in Sacramento CA in 2003 when a friend found her and a sibling abandoned on the side of the road, probably less than 2 months old. She still nurses to this day for comfort. She is a hermit, each home we have lived in she finds herself a small area, and stays there forever and ever amen. Our new house, she chose the finished basement. The most luxurious and largest accommodations she has ever bequeathed herself. She only comes out and snuggles if no one else is around. I will be honest, she has had weight issues off and on through life, mostly from her sedentary lifestyle. She refuses to play unless she's alone (I have hilarious videos I've snuck of her chasing her own tail) and catnip does absolutely nothing for her. Laser pens are boring. etc.

I was not overly surprised by the diagnosis of diabetes. I am a Veterinary Assistant (though not currently employed since our move 3 months ago from out of state) and I called it years ago.

I have experience with diabetes from work only. I have given injections. I've done curves on animals. I know that I need to get her regulated, and I want to avoid crisis from high or low levels! I know I need to change her diet. I know insulin is expensive! I know she may be able to go into remission. So I'm slightly prepared, but not totally. Also haven't used an internet forum since about 2004, so this is kind of fun. Look forward to getting to know some of you, and learning, and sharing. Thanks for reading my novel. I'm wordy, as you will soon learn.

 

Welcome! We can help you with your FD kitty. You've given us a really good overview of where you are. Please go post any/all questions on the main health forum. If you copy the URL from this post into the text box on the main forum people can go read this info.

 

Welcome! It's great you have that vet experience so you are comfortable testing and injecting!

Alphatrak meters are great but if they are too expensive for strips most on here use the Walmart Relion Micro or confirm meter. The strips are only $36 for 100. The cheapest price for alpha strips is Adwdiabetes.com with a discount coupon from Retailmenot.com.