Can’t get stable/opinion on vet advice please.

Discussion in 'Prozinc / PZI' started by Joysunsun, Apr 2, 2019.

  1. Joysunsun

    Joysunsun New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 2, 2019
    Hi everyone,

    This may be a long one - My cat has been on prozinc since the end of last year but we can’t get him stable at all. His blood sugars before insulin can be 22-24. And then they go up after food to 26ish and late afternoon we may get a 18 if lucky about 6 hours after insulin which the vet says is the time it should be lowest. He’s been on 1.5 units and two weeks ago our vet thought he had an over swing on this because of the pre insulin BG being lower than the rest of the day. We went down to 1 unit but vet has us back to 1.5.
    We’ve been home testing since December but our vet wanted him in for a curve even though we’ve been doing them ourselves. The vet curve started at 12 and finished at 6:30pm. His numbers at the vet were better than ever down to 16 at times. So now the vet wants him in again next time because of this better result than what we get at home with the exact same monitor the day before - the difference that no one apart from me seems to see as highly important is that when the vet did the curve my cat wasn’t fed lunch, or snacks (freeze dried chicken) after blood was taken. Where as at home he is. Surely this is why the results were better in the clinic? Not sure how to get that through to my vet. Surely home testing is better?

    Since being on the 1.5 units again my cat hasn’t been as playful and has been a bit grumpy with me at times which is out of character. We’ve never managed to get him stable but you wouldn’t think he has diabetes at all, he doesn’t drink excessively and is a healthy weight and a picture of health.

    My vet wants us to go up to 2 units and then to do a curve again in clinic - again with no food which doesn’t represent his usual routine. I’m very worried about increasing. I’m so confused about what to do for my cat. It doesn’t make sense that he has no symptoms except high blood glucose. I wonder if something underlying could be going on to cause diabetic like readings??

    We feed him whiskas 7+ (I believe it’s 7+) tin food as it worked out low carbs but I’m not sure if this is good as it has added “various sugars”?
    We did try bozita but he didn’t like it. I can’t afford Lilly’s or Sheba. Whiskas is expensive for my situation unfortunately compared to what I used to pay for dried cat food.
    Any advice would be really welcomed. Feeling very frustrated abd running low on funds!
    We’re based in the Uk.
     
  2. Djamila

    Djamila Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 1, 2015
    Hi, and welcome! That's great that you're home testing! It's such a powerful tool in helping our kitties stay healthy and safe.

    Around here, we all use a spreadsheet to track and communicate our blood glucose (BG) data since we are in all different time zones around the world. Here is the link to the spreadsheet: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

    Make sure you set up the World version so that those of us in the states can look at the tab that converts the numbers. Our meters read differently, so that tab is super important to making sure we all understand each other. Don't worry -- the conversion happens automatically when you enter your numbers on the world tab!

    Since it sounds like you've been testing for a few months, if you could just start be entering the past two weeks of data so we can see what's going on right now and help you sort out your next steps. Then as you have time you can go back and add in the older data.

    As for the curve at the vet vs. at home -- you are correct. The food impacts the numbers. And also for some cats, stress will actually lower their numbers. It's rare, but I have a kitty that does that too, so you are absolutely right that the home numbers (even if higher in this case) are the more accurate numbers, and the ones on which dosing should be based.

    After you get that spreadsheet linked (and let us know if you need any help), take a few minutes to read the stickies at the top of the forum and make note of what questions you have. We're all here to help!
     

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