fructosamine testing

[Lulu1731]

Hi there all,
I have an appt coming up May 9th with a new vet and they mentioned possibly upon examination instead of doing a curve since she recently had one they might be doing a fructosamine test. Has anyone had this and can anyone tell me about it, opinions ect...?

I am new to this site so i will give you a little back round... My baby, Cricket was diagnosed with diabetes and cushings disease last Dec 2019. Yes I am on the K9Cushings forum. She is currently on 3U insulin 2x's day. My challenge as I am sure many of you have the same challenge is her diet. I am currently feeding her Dr Harvey's Paradigm….

Paradigm is a “green food” pre-mix that is used as a base for a low-carb diet. A low-carb diet may be helpful for dogs with a variety of health issues and can also serve as an excellent maintenance diet. The formula contains powerful ingredients each of which has been chosen to provide vital nutrition for health and healing.
Paradigm is a revolutionary base-mix dog food that eliminates the prep work of making fresh, healthy and safe home cooked meals. Simply mix with meat and oil for a balanced, homemade meal.
* Paradigm is made with 6 Dehydrated Vegetables, Healthy Herbs & A Multi-Vitamin Supplement
* Contains No Grains
* Contains No Starchy Vegetables
* Made with Minimally-Processed, Fresh Whole Foods

I do add her protein that I rotate, baby food chicken & turkey and I also giver her ground up boiled chicken and low fat bison. The challenge is real and am wondering what you all have found that works with your fur babies.

Thank you,
Laurie

[Section1]

Re: fructosamine testing

I'm not a expert on this and I'm sure someone else will have a better answer but my understanding is the curve you recently did will show the blood sugar over that day, that way you see spikes and how low the blood sugar gets. The fructosamine test will show the average blood sugar over the past several weeks. The way I see it is if you did a curve everyday for several weeks and then averaged all those numbers, that would be the number the fructosamine test will give you. Could be helpful in seeing how well managed the diabetes is.

[Riliey and Mo]

Re: fructosamine testing

well new vet new data on the first visit.
i think Cricket would prefer the fruc test rather then sit around all day doing a curve. one prick or several mmmm. yup cricket wants one.
you can post a recent curve here if you like

[jesse girl]

Re: fructosamine testing

Section1 is correct as the fructosamine test just shows the average and not knowing the exact low number is a problem . My dog had a curve that ranged from 500 to 100 . A fructosamine test may show you need to raise the dose but that 100 numbers actually says no and a raise of the dose could take the dog dangerously low . Another factor it does not show big swings in blood sugar called rebound which can point to insulin being to much

Most on the forum test blood sugar and do curves at home . I have been doing that for jesse for over 10 years . I took over the management of the disease after about a month with the vet . Not much different than a human diabetic would do to manage the day to day of the disease

[Raysaint]

Re: fructosamine testing

A curve is good for deciding if you can adjust insulin dose. And for seeing the general sugar pattern, and where the highs and lows happen.

Fructosamine, like others said, is an average, and is a good thing to let you know if you should look into improvements. That could be insulin, food, or whatever.
Then curves would be a place to start. And home testing is crucial for getting better control of the situation.

As a diabetic myself, when my doctor does my A1c, if it's high, I know I haven't been doing a good enough job. Usually means I haven't been testing myself enough, to know that I need to make changes.