Pig 2/1 amps 379 ; 391; pmps 419

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LuvinThisPig

LuvinThisPig

Member Since 2017
Yesterday

Okay, I know this is entirely premature, but c'mon! We got to have a shot of sunshine sometime, right? Alright, Pig's amps was @ 379 and I know that that is a higher number, even for Pig. However, we started off on a little bounce (I do believe) last night and his +5 for the pm cycle was 351. Now, typically he is a late bloomer and likes to do a little double dipping, so I am thinking he saw even lower last night after I went to bed. Especially, considering he only came up to 379 for amps.

With that being said, I am being a pansy today. It has been a little while since we have made a full 10% increase on the L and I have not seen a 64 point drop just from L in a very long time. And, that was only on the first cycle of the increase. So, I did a little pussy footing and opted out of giving the usual R dose today, considering that my work day will start only at +1 of his cycle and I will not be home until his pmps.

Do I think he will go so low to hypo? No, not really, but I do know Pig and he likes his little bag of tricks. I have been trying to slow his drops and avoid bounces, although that does not work all the time... I hope that this was the right choice, but everything in me was saying to stay my hand on the R today.

!!! On another note, SRT plans are in motion and looking very good. I plan to have him in treatment by this summer! All the good feels and thoughts to this !!!
 
Did you contact them directly to learn all they had to offer? I saw some things on their website but I clearly did not do as good a job as you did.
 
IMRT requires many days of anesthesia, not the best choice. And the radiation beam goes the same path each time, increasing the chance of damaging nearby tissue. SRT does radiation with the beam on a gantry, so the beams come from 7 different angles.

Looks like you've got a little bounce/NDW action going on today.
 
MJW said:
Did you contact them directly to learn all they had to offer? I saw some things on their website but I clearly did not do as good a job as you did.
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I actually am a member of a Facebook group for acromegalic felines as well. There are hundreds in the group and they have a wealth of knowlege. Everyone who has ever gotten treated is listed in a spread sheet doc with experinece, cost, and results. A lot of the info is good... Some of it not so much and some is far to radical for my tastes. I have gotten a ton of good insight over there. You have to be careful, though, and pick what is right for your cat. However, there are a lot of wonderful and caring people over there as well... Without both sites I would be lost...
 
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Wendy&Neko said:
IMRT requires many days of anesthesia, not the best choice. And the radiation beam goes the same path each time, increasing the chance of damaging nearby tissue. SRT does radiation with the beam on a gantry, so the beams come from 7 different angles.
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Precisley. That is why I want to avoid IMRT if at all possible. SRT is by far the better choice. I am not comfortable with that many days of radiation or anesthesia at all....

Soo, just wonkiness? A girl can hope... Lol. Maybe I was to conservative in not giving R?
 
When in doubt, skipping R is a good choice. Every once in a while Neko would skip the NDW and get right to business after an increase. Their prerogative after all. :cat:

Any chance you could post some of the recent info on Pullman? The issue with a closed FB group is that info is not available to all and it seems a shame not to help all acros. It's been a couple years since I heard pricing and results from there on the surgery. We have had some people in both groups here, but no one doing the surgery.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
When in doubt, skipping R is a good choice. Every once in a while Neko would skip the NDW and get right to business after an increase. Their prerogative after all. :cat:

Any chance you could post some of the recent info on Pullman? The issue with a closed FB group is that info is not available to all and it seems a shame not to help all acros. It's been a couple years since I heard pricing and results from there on the surgery. We have had some people in both groups here, but no one doing the surgery.
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I never even thought about that. I just assumed everyone had the same info! I am so sorry!
As far as the personal info posted there, I can't really speak to. I am not sure what the sharing rights are... However, I can attest to my own personal information. I spoke to one lady in particular and it was her experience there that convinced me to seek treatment at their school. Her cat received one session at 15 rays and came OTJ about a year later. He is doing beautifully!

Now, when I called them I may not have asked all the right questions. I am still new to this and despite the info from others, there is always going to be gaps. The estimate I got was roughly 2,000 for one sitting, but at the lower 15 rays. I think CSU uses 24 rays, but they are far more expensive. One person I talked to said the total cost was 8,000 for CSU. I think WSU does a CT scan instead of an MRI?? Which, I hear is not what is needed?? I am a little murky on that. However, I have also heard that many cats need 3 sittings to get the full effects. I do not think the quote I got was for the CyberKnife.. Actually, I know it was not.

The IMRT was quoted at 160 a day, but as you mentioned... It is not the first choice.
 
Yes, but FB by itself is a closed system as you have to join. And some people were booted out. Anyway, enough of that.

As for SRT costs, an MRI is only needed if the CT scan does not reveal the tumour. That first CT scan is needed to plan the radiation and is a separate day/anesthesia from that done as part of the SRT. Some tumours are not visible on CT, so MRI then has to be done on those cats. Only a small number fall into that category. Any place doing SRT would have to do the same. CSU gave me a quote for costs with and without MRI, which we didn't need. There are many costs associated with SRT. My bill was a page long of items. You would want a quote for everything if you are raising money for it. In addition to the CT and radiation itself, there is sedation, anesthesia, a bite guard to keep the cat in place during the radiation, consult with the internal medicine vet and time of the radiation oncologist. I could go on. CSU traditionally does 3 days of radiation, but thanks to Neko they now have experience in just doing one day of radiation. I don't know if they offer it regularly now. The one day of radiation is a slightly more intensive beam of radiation. You trade off the risk of higher dose of radiation against fewer days of anesthesia. And it was cheaper for me as it turns out.

It's not the skill of the school that determines whether or not a cat goes OTJ after radiation therapy. CSU has the most experience of all and have had some go OTJ, though less than half. Getting to a lower insulin dose and reduced growth hormone is still a good goal.

Did you ever read Julie's write up on Punkin's SRT adventures? Prices are out of date. I went 11 months after Julie and the prices were the same the first time. Then they practically doubled. :eek: They used to have a lot of things covered by research grants.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Yes, but FB by itself is a closed system as you have to join. And some people were booted out. Anyway, enough of that.

As for SRT costs, an MRI is only needed if the CT scan does not reveal the tumour. That first CT scan is needed to plan the radiation and is a separate day/anesthesia from that done as part of the SRT. Some tumours are not visible on CT, so MRI then has to be done on those cats. Only a small number fall into that category. Any place doing SRT would have to do the same. CSU gave me a quote for costs with and without MRI, which we didn't need. There are many costs associated with SRT. My bill was a page long of items. You would want a quote for everything if you are raising money for it. In addition to the CT and radiation itself, there is sedation, anesthesia, a bite guard to keep the cat in place during the radiation, consult with the internal medicine vet and time of the radiation oncologist. I could go on. CSU traditionally does 3 days of radiation, but thanks to Neko they now have experience in just doing one day of radiation. I don't know if they offer it regularly now. The one day of radiation is a slightly more intensive beam of radiation. You trade off the risk of higher dose of radiation against fewer days of anesthesia. And it was cheaper for me as it turns out.

It's not the skill of the school that determines whether or not a cat goes OTJ after radiation therapy. CSU has the most experience of all and have had some go OTJ, though less than half. Getting to a lower insulin dose and reduced growth hormone is still a good goal.

Did you ever read Julie's write up on Punkin's SRT adventures? Prices are out of date. I went 11 months after Julie and the prices were the same the first time. Then they practically doubled. :eek: They used to have a lot of things covered by research grants.
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I never really thought of it that way and I meant nothing by it... I did not realize that they actually kicked some people out... I am sorry if I caused any issues... :oops: It was just a passing notation. I am willing to share all that I know, of course, but it would seem I have a ton left to learn! I have read and read, but keep missing things. I never even thought of all the ancillary costs. I just assumed it was all included in the quote, but then again, I was so terribly excited. I can't seem to get the anxious out of the way when dealing with this stuff..

I did get in contact with CSU, but am waiting on a return call. I also heard that Petco has given North Carolina University a grant for Acromegalic research and that that can greatly reduce the costs, but acceptance into the program is not guaranteed...

There is so much to consider. I will read about Punkin's journey... It will proffer some insight...
 
LuvinThisPig said:
I actually am a member of a Facebook group for acromegalic felines as well. There are hundreds in the group and they have a wealth of knowlege. Everyone who has ever gotten treated is listed in a spread sheet doc with experinece, cost, and results. A lot of the info is good... Some of it not so much and some is far to radical for my tastes. I have gotten a ton of good insight over there. You have to be careful, though, and pick what is right for your cat. However, there are a lot of wonderful and caring people over there as well... Without both sites I would be lost...
Click to expand...
I have never done Facebook. Hmmm. Did any do paseriotide or hypophysectomy in the US?
 
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