Webber starting insulin at vet--fasting?

We are starting the insulin injections tomorrow at 8am at the vets office. They said they will take his glucose ~every 3 hours. Last week, one of the techs told me that he should be fasting when I bring him in. But tonight I started thinking.......if they are going to be giving him the insulin and checking every three hours, wouldn't they want him to come in and start at the level he will normally be every morning (in other words - not fasting)?

Did anyone else have their vet start with the shots and ask that the cat be fasting when you brought them in?

 

Paige -

I have never heard of this, but I am no expert. The vet will want Webber to eat before giving him his shot and get a BG before the first shot...

I've never been asked to have Six fast (or a GA DC) before going in for a curve. Not sure if that helps or not. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will see your post.

Do you know what kind of insulin your vet plans on using?

Do you plan on testing at home?

Good luck to Webber tomorrow! Sending him good vet vibes!

 

Thank you Amy for the good vibes. I know I will be a basket case at work. I told the vet that I wanted to start him on Lantus and she happily called in the script for me. I am taking that with Webber to the vet. Unfortunately my mom is a diabetic so I was able to get her old glucometer, so yes I will be testing at home.

I think I am going to NOT fast him. I always feel better going with my gut with these things and so far it has always shown to be true. But we shall see.

 

I have heard of a fasting glucose curve but only very very rarely. It humans it is used very frequently. I myself would talk to the vet on what he expects to do with the fasting data.

 

This is one reason we recommend learning to hometest. Curves at vets usually don't really tell the vet all that much because cats are stressed and may not eat. Their blood glucose will most likely be higher if they are stressed. So you end up getting a dose that doesn't reflect what the cat needs. And yes, if they are even going to come close, it should be "like normal" and not fasting. The only BG test I know of where you are supposed to fast is a fructosomine. Maybe they want to get blood for that first? However, you might consider asking to talk to the vet about this. I never had Pearl curved at the vet. I just did it with a regular human meter at home. Perhaps you can talk to the vet in the morning about this.

 

I agree with the GUT theory. I tend to regret it when i ignore it.

I bet Webber will be a champ tomorrow.

I am thrilled with Lantus. We started on Humlin and increased dosage and things were wonky...only been on Lantus 12 days, but you can see the improvement. Start low!!! You can make the adjustments at home as needed. I've been calling in, faxing, and now sending .pdf files - spreadsheet to my vet weekly for the past three weeks...haven't had to take Six in cause I can monitor everything (since he's healthy) from home. So glad to hear you are going to test at home! It's a breeze once you get the hang of it.

Good luck to you tomorrow.

 

Make sure you get the prescription for the Lantus Solostar pens so you can use the coupon and save a ton-o-cash: http://www.lantusconnection.com/lc2/ema ... ePens.html

 

Maybe what the vet considers "fasting" is you not giving him breakfast so they will be able to get his AMPS without a food spike - that's what we learn to do here, right? Maybe they can get a more accurate curve that way and they will feed him after they test him in the AM, no?

 

I would not feed him if the vet asks him not to be fed. They may want to take a fasting bg.