palominovet; We just found out our Maine Coone Cat is diabetic a few weeks ago. We take her back for a test on Monday morning to find out what her status is. Right now we are giving her 1 unit in the morning and 1 unit at night. We are hopeful she want need to continue on insulin.
10 years ago my HMO used to measure fructosamine not A1C, I think it covers 1-2 months rather than 2-3 as A1C does. I don't know why they changed.
That's crazy. If you make small, minor adjustments,you should be fine. Think of how many hours you could be high overnight. I'd get another doc, if she was mine.
Fine tune your doses yourself. Don't do anything drastic. Keep doses the same for three days to see a pattern before making another change. A pain, but set your alarm to test in the middle of the night.
Doctors have an exaggerated phobia of lows because they could potentially be held liable. No one holds them responsible for damage from highs. Too bad that the same doesn't exist for high BG.
Would be interesting to find out. If I learn anything I will share. :)
I'm sorry but that's crazy! There is quite a bit of room between 135 and a mild low at 65. At the Joslin intensive program they say most PWD should target 120 before meals (fasting) and always waking up high is no way to start the day.
Do you ever wake up at 3AM to test? It would be helpful to know whether you're just getting whacked with the dawn phenomena or if you're running high all night. If it's the former and you MDI, you might have a hard time fixing the problem but if it is the latter you probably can tweak something. And if you pump, you can almost always do something to fix a morning high.
Good luck,
Maurie
Agreed Gerri. It seems to me like they believe since PWD can't / won't manage D themselves the doctor will be doing it via monthly visits. Therefore, CYA and demand the control of all changes. Initially I was told that I should stay at 110 or above. Even when I was trying to figure out how to use insulin I only had one pass out low (never want another) It doesn't take a medical degree to know when something needs to be adjusted, but baby steps and small numbers are important.
I can't wait for the day that someone with diabetes sues a company for giving advice like that after losing a leg below the knee. I'm sure the One Touch legal department vetted the phrasing - "most diabetics" - we're just reporting not providing medical advice.
Maurie
paliminovet - I got better advice about diabetes from my cat vet than I ever have from a doctor. The vet assumes that I will take care of my animal if I have correct information and good instruction. Why can't my doctor give me the same credit for having a brain, and at least some reliable information about taking care of myself?
Exactly twice in the last six months I've been that high. Both times were a miscalculation. Why, in God's name would I TRY to be over 180!!?
You're right, Randy. What ever happened to "First, do no harm?" It's an authoritarian control issue, in addition to CYA. One more reason doctors don't care for diabetic patients.
If I waited for quarterly visits for my doc to change doses, I'd be in a world of hurt. Like any can spend the time to pour over readings anyway.
A very good question indeed. It's almost like "If you were dumb enough to get this disease, then you can't possibly be smart enough to understand what I should tell you Let alone take care of your health." I know that is how several professionals came off to me.
Those ranges given are "normal" ranges. What normal levels would be in a non-diabetic. So for your bg management your numbers may be considered good by your endo, however they are still going to fall outside of what is considered a normal lab value for someone who isnt diabetic.
Oh c'mon, there's no record book, I've seen 11, 12, etc. on uh, a few occasions... not for a while, I think the Ultra-Mini doesn't go as low?
I don't know the right answer to that..
But for me personally, if I ever see a doctor that doesn't take my concerns or me seriously.. then I won't be seeing that doctor again, period. I'm not afraid to ask questions.
Honestly, this happened with a medical resident that I was seeing initially. When I came in for recheck 3 days after being in the emergency room, he basically could not answer any of my questions though he seemed interested in my case.
In his defense, he set an appointment up for me to meet with one of the older physicians in the practice who knew a lot more.
But I wouldn't have run my follow-up appointment the way the resident ran it...
It's always amusing when you lab results say "at risk for diabetes"!
Good luck with her. Kitties can sometimes do much better with weight loss and diet changes which improve insulin sensitivity. Sometimes they can become insulin dependent. And still yet other times they just can't make up their mind!
I hope you never went back to them, that's the wrong attitude for them to have. :/
That's awesome.
I got off to a good start with some excellent care. I kept my A1cs in the 4s and low 5s for the first 5 years after my diagnosis and received nothing but support and encouragement for my efforts from my endo and other diabetes care folks. Unfortunately, I squandered that great start with years of neglect, to the chagrin of the same team that kept me on the right track at the beginning. It took a slap in the face by complications to wake me up to the realities of diabetes.
I got back in the saddle, got my BGs back under control, and have been fortunate enough to see those complications reversed. Again, I have a new supportive endo and diabetes folks who do not force feed me teh standard lines. I have to admit that he shows concern when my A1c drops below 6.0, but he's satisfied with the results and doesn't make a big deal about it.
Or Dr. Bernstein...