? 6/24 Scooter +6 91, +7 90, +8 91, +9 109, + 10 119, AMPS 121 Dose advice please!

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Jill & Scooter

Jill & Scooter

Member Since 2018
Good morning L&L,
Scooter hit greens for the first time last night! I had no idea what he was planning, so I tested lots last night and I’m brain dead now. I’m thinking I need to skip his shot this morning since I really need to go to work at + 1.5. Or do I need to do a reduced dose? I’m so excited to finally see green, but I’m very nervous about leaving Scooter alone.
 
Yay for greens! I do not have advice but I'm sure the more experienced members will hop on to answer your question soon. Just wanted to send a :bighug::)
 
I know you don't want to lose momentum, but since you can't be home to monitor it may be best to skip. You haven't shot this low before and don't know what he'll do. If you are able, you may want to leave some extra food out for him even if you skip.
 
carfurby said:
I know you don't want to lose momentum, but since you can't be home to monitor it may be best to skip. You haven't shot this low before and don't know what he'll do. If you are able, you may want to leave some extra food out for him even if you skip.
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I did skip this morning, it just seemed to risky. I so wish I could have stayed home and shot and monitored to keep the momentum going. I left his usual LC snacks in his feeder set to give them at +2, +4, +6, & +7. I will run home at about +5-6 and check on him and leave more food if needed. He was still heading up when I left. He will probably bounce to the moon today, but this is new territory for us, so who knows. My question now is about tonight's shot. Last night I had increased from 8.5 to 9 units. I'm thinking last nights numbers were from the 8.5 units. Did I increase to soon? Do I need to go back to the 8.5 units tonight?
 
With TR, those green numbers you saw were very safe. I would stick with the 9 unit dose for now. Some cats will give you a hint of what a new dose might do on the first cycle. He didn't see green for the eight cycles you were on 8.5 units, so the jncrease to 9.0 was warranted. But super progress to see your first greens! :cool:

Have you considered getting Scooter tested for high dose conditions? Typically when cats get to 6.0 units, we suggest getting the blood tests done for acromegaly (IGF-1 test) and insulin auto antibodies (IAA). My Neko had both conditions. Her max dose was 8.75 units. Your vet would draw the blood and send it to Michigan State University to get the tests done.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
With TR, those green numbers you saw were very safe. I would stick with the 9 unit dose for now. Some cats will give you a hint of what a new dose might do on the first cycle. He didn't see green for the eight cycles you were on 8.5 units, so the jncrease to 9.0 was warranted. But super progress to see your first greens! :cool:

Have you considered getting Scooter tested for high dose conditions? Typically when cats get to 6.0 units, we suggest getting the blood tests done for acromegaly (IGF-1 test) and insulin auto antibodies (IAA). My Neko had both conditions. Her max dose was 8.75 units. Your vet would draw the blood and send it to Michigan State University to get the tests done.
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I will go with the 9 units tonight then.

I have thought about getting Scooter tested for high dose conditions. I may be wrong, but I'm thinking IAA is quite possible. It seems anytime I hold a dose very long his BG climbs. This seems to fit with what I've read on IAA about the antibodies overwhelming the insulin. I'm a little short of funds right now, between Scooter's Expenses, my drooler's meds for cushings and some other vet expenses, it's zapped my funds. We have made good progress on Scooter's BG since I started upping his dose as quickly as is safely possible. As there is no treatment for IAA, I haven't felt it was urgent. From what I've read, it could also be Acro, apparently some cats show no visible symptoms, I'm sure hoping it's not. It sounds like there's not a lot of treatment available for it. My plan is to keep going just a little longer and see how Scooter does, I will get caught up financially some, and if he is still going up in his dose I will get him tested. Does this sound like a reasonable plan?

Thanks so much for your help!!! I'm super excited to finally see green!!! But it's making nervous too! I hate having to leave Scooter to go to work.
 
The pituitary tumour in an acrocat can pulse, and when it's ramping up, it can look a bit like the dose is initially good, then not enough. My Neko did not have symptoms on diagnosis, other than dose and appetite. Later I found out her eye tearing was also a symptom (soft tissue growth in the tear ducts). Vet didn't think it was anything at the time. There are some newer drugs that are providing help for some acrocats. We have had three go off of insulin with cabergoline.

Fortunately cats tend to be flatter, more predictable as they see more green. I also switched to Levemir, which made Neko more predictable. Some higher dose cats notice a sting from the acid base of Lantus. The autofeeder was also a life saver for me.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
The pituitary tumour in an acrocat can pulse, and when it's ramping up, it can look a bit like the dose is initially good, then not enough. My Neko did not have symptoms on diagnosis, other than dose and appetite. Later I found out her eye tearing was also a symptom (soft tissue growth in the tear ducts). Vet didn't think it was anything at the time. There are some newer drugs that are providing help for some acrocats. We have had three go off of insulin with cabergoline.

Fortunately cats tend to be flatter, more predictable as they see more green. I also switched to Levemir, which made Neko more predictable. Some higher dose cats notice a sting from the acid base of Lantus. The autofeeder was also a life saver for me.
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I will try to get Scooter tested soon then. I will probably have to get some info on the testing for my vet. I suspect he probably hasn’t sent the test before. He’s a very good vet, but doesn’t have a lot of experience with FD. Scooter is his first patient on Lantus. The rest have been on Vetsulin.

I have thought about switching to Levimir. The Lantus does sting Scooter sometimes, but other times he acts like he doesn’t even know I’m giving him a shot. I wish I could figure out what I’m doing differently. We’ve made such good progress recently with the Lantus, I’m kind of hesitant to change. In my inexperienced opinion Scooter stays fairly flat and predictable on the Lantus ( in between bounces). I really don’t know what to do.

I got the Petsafe auto feeder after seeing it recommended on here several times. Scooter feels much better on a number of small snacks than big meals. He will eat pretty much whatever I put out for him right away. The auto feeder lets me make sure he can have those small snacks even when I have to be gone. He likes it too!
Thanks again for the advice! I haven’t posted much, but I have read bunches of posts and the stickies. We have a ways to go, but we wouldn’t be as far as we are without the help from all of you on FDMB.
 
My vet knew nothing about acromegaly, started us on Caninsulin (rebranded now as Vetsulin). I was the first home tester and Lantus user for her. She too was a good vet. We learned together. I learned what I needed here.

I originally didn't think Lantus stung Neko, but she did occasionally walk away during the shot. She purred during the Lev shot.
 
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