BG Home Testing & Vetsulin

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alana_danielle94 said:
His PM pre shot was 160. My vet is closed on the weekends so I plan on talking to her about it Monday. I'm in Garner, NC. It's right outside Raleigh, NC. I thought it was a little high.
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I live about 50 miles from Philadelphia. I thought vet costs were less than that in the south. I lived in Miami for several years and meds were a lot less then they are in Pennsylvania. Sending hugs that Simon might be able to have his diabetes controlled by diet alone. :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Hey everyone! I have an interesting update on the situation. I took him to the vet today about 3 hours after he ate and they tested his blood using the Alphatrak and got 295. They also tested it using mine and it read 250. He was pretty stressed out when they drew his blood (he was shaking). I showed her his spreadsheet and she said 4 units may have been a little aggressive but only reduced his dose to 3 units. She also said I shouldn't have stopped giving him insulin and that a pre shot number in the 100s is normal. She said I should always give him 3 units unless his pre shot number is 60 or below (20 or below on my meter). She also tried convincing me again not to home test for at least 2 straight weeks of being on insulin and then bring him in for another curve to see if 3 units is still appropriate. Any thoughts on that? I called my old vet earlier and they are going to look at his spreadsheet tomorrow and recommend a dose they think is correct. It will be interesting to see if it's the same. 3 units still seems high to me.
 
[QUOTE="alana_danielle94, post: 1813823, member: 16584"]pre shot number in the 100s is normal. She said I should always give him 3 units unless his pre shot number is 60 or below (20 or below on my meter). She also tried convincing me again not to home test for at least 2 straight weeks of being on insulin and then bring him in for another curve to see if 3 units is still appropriate.[/QUOTE]


LOTS of bad advice there. First off the usual starting dose for Vetsulin for a newly diagnosed kitty is 1-2 units. A preshot of 60 is FAR too low to be giving an insulin, especially Vetsulin which can act very quickly and drop numbers fast. I am not sure where you get the difference in meter readings...60 on your vets VS 20 on yours. 20 would be a serious hypo and a kitty should be taken to the ER if the numbers drop that low. As far as not testing, the new vet standards are to encourage people to do home testing, since the numbers at home are not stress influenced the way they would be at a vets office AND home testing keeps a kitty safe,by knowing if the number is too low to shoot.

I agree that 3 units is too high with the lower numbers Simon has been hitting, The safest approach is to start at a low dose and gradually work up as needed. I certainly hope your old vet has more sense than this one.


ETA On a pet meter a reading of 100 is in the normal range and it would be very bad advice to suggest giving a shot of Vetsulin at that level, especially when your kitty has only been on insulin for less than 2 weeks
 
Oh my God. I think your vet is insane. Three units is still too high. A preshot number in the 100s may be normal but you need to have enough data and experience to know if your cat will be safe if you give insulin; I can tell you that three units would NOT be safe. As for numbers on her meter vs numbers on yours...if Simon's BG is 20 on your meter it is a life-threatening medical emergency and he needs to be seen by a vet immediately! What is your vet thinking!?!?!
 
I'm sorry I reacted so strongly but honestly, that vet's advice could very easily be the death of your cat. Please do not give him three units of insulin! I really hope you old vet has some better guidance for you. And please DO keep home testing! :):):)
 
That's exactly how I feel! I think she was a little mad that I wasn't following her instructions exactly. She said it seemed like I didn't trust her yet. It's a little hard to trust her though when everyone is telling me she's wrong.
 
The problem is that vets know a little bit about a lot of diseases but they are NOT specialists. I have seen too many times where the advice a vet has given could very well have killed the kitty if the pet parents had blindly followed it. The people on here eat, live and breathe FD 24 hours a day 365 days a year and have documentation to back anything that is discussed. Some vets are familiar with diabetes with dogs, but not kitties, and some vets are JUST not familiar with diabetes at all.
 
I don't normally give dosing advice, and I try very hard to NOT say bad things about vets, but that's just crazy. Her advice is not just bad, it's deadly! She simply cannot have any familiarity with feline diabetes, that's the only thing I can think.

If your old vet has any experience with the disease I'm sure he will be able to give you better advice. You might want to ask him if he thinks Simon's diabetes could possibly be diet-controlled if he is switched to a low-carb, canned/wet diet.
 
alana_danielle94 said:
I think she was a little mad that I wasn't following her instructions exactly.
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I had to leave my old vet over a similar situation. She told me to give my cat 7U of Vetsulin 2x daily and, of course, he had a hypo! I reduced his dose and changed his diet from the hi-carb dry she had me feeding him (I was also home testing, which she told me not to do!) and when he next went in to see her she read me the riot act and told me if I didn't follow her instructions I was killing my cat. Well, I walked out and never went back. I got really lucky and found a wonderful new vet who understands FD!
 
She seems like one of those that just knows a little although she claims she knows how to manage it. She told me to go see a specialist if I don't trust her. Another thing the bothers me about her is she's convinced that the Purina Pro Plan DM dry food is hands down the best food to feed a diabetic cat. I told her I was starting to give him a little of the Tiki Cat canned food and she was like that's not going to be as effective because the Purina Pro Plan was made by vets specifically for diabetic cats. I tried to explain the whole lower carb thing to her but she wasn't buying it. I will definitely be asking my old vet about the food situation and whether or not he can be diet controlled. If he was 295 at the vet earlier today, what should I give him for his PM dose if not 3?
 
Squalliesmom said:
I had to leave my old vet over a similar situation. She told me to give my cat 7U of Vetsulin 2x daily and, of course, he had a hypo! I reduced his dose and changed his diet from the hi-carb dry she had me feeding him (I was also home testing, which she told me not to do!) and when he next went in to see her she read me the riot act and told me if I didn't follow her instructions I was killing my cat. Well, I walked out and never went back. I got really lucky and found a wonderful new vet who understands FD!
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Wow! 7 units?! I might have to do the same. Sounds very familiar. It's so scary to think about how little some of these vets know and that they are out there treating animals and the owners can be so easily fooled.
 
alana_danielle94 said:
she's convinced that the Purina Pro Plan DM dry food is hands down the best food to feed a diabetic cat.
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Right there that shows that she has no idea about FD. Informed vets will suggest ONLY wet canned food. They may suggest a prescription wet food (which is not necessary) since they have been "taught" by the pet food companies to sell their products, but a good vet would never suggest a dry food. That would be like a human doctor telling their diabetic patient that it is okay to eat potato chips and donuts. :banghead: :banghead:


ETA The pet food companies are the ones that do the nutritional classes when a future vet is taking their training
 
alana_danielle94 said:
She seems like one of those that just knows a little although she claims she knows how to manage it. She told me to go see a specialist if I don't trust her. Another thing the bothers me about her is she's convinced that the Purina Pro Plan DM dry food is hands down the best food to feed a diabetic cat. I told her I was starting to give him a little of the Tiki Cat canned food and she was like that's not going to be as effective because the Purina Pro Plan was made by vets specifically for diabetic cats. I tried to explain the whole lower carb thing to her but she wasn't buying it. I will definitely be asking my old vet about the food situation and whether or not he can be diet controlled. If he was 295 at the vet earlier today, what should I give him for his PM dose if not 3?
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Yeah, my old vet wouldn't listen to me about the carbs, either, kept saying the same thing your vet told you. That "prescription" cat food they push is just like any other dry cat food, it just has a jumped-up label!

Please test Simon tonight before you feed him and post for dosing advice. I do not like to give dosing advice so I hope someone else will hop on here and help out, lol, but I'll try to help you as much as possible!
 
Squalliesmom said:
Yeah, my old vet wouldn't listen to me about the carbs, either, kept saying the same thing your vet told you. That "prescription" cat food they push is just like any other dry cat food, it just has a jumped-up label!

Please test Simon tonight before you feed him and post for dosing advice. I do not like to give dosing advice so I hope someone else will hop on here and help out, lol, but I'll try to help you as much as possible!
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Ok! Will do! Thank you!
 
It might be a good idea to do a post for dosing advice on the Vetsulin forum. There are a lot more people using Vetsulin/Caninsulin now and the forum is much more active than it used to be. You could post your test numbers with a topic of "Need dosing advice for shot" and include a link to this post for background information. That way you would get information and advice from experienced Vetsulin users.

The link for the Vetsulin forum is:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/vetsulin-caninsulin-humulin-n.19/
 
Tuxedo Mom said:
It might be a good idea to do a post for dosing advice on the Vetsulin forum. There are a lot more people using Vetsulin/Caninsulin now and the forum is much more active than it used to be. You could post your test numbers with a topic of "Need dosing advice for shot" and include a link to this post for background information. That way you would get information and advice from experienced Vetsulin users.

The link for the Vetsulin forum is:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/forums/vetsulin-caninsulin-humulin-n.19/
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Ok! Good thought! I will do that!
 
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