1/4 AMPS 422 +6 414 Shadow was at the vet for testing today

Christina Marie

Christina Marie

Member Since 2020
We got nowhere the past two weeks with Shadow's vet. I asked for blood work two weeks ago and was told it had "just recently" been done, so she didn't see the need to do it again. She bumped him to 6.5U that day. Last Monday he went in for a BG check (not sure why she felt the need to do it when I'm testing at home every single day) and we moved him to 7U.
She asked me to call her today to give an update. When I did, she wasn't even in the office to speak with...I was told I could do a drop off appointment with the other vet in the office and that she'd probably want to do a BG and blood work. Fantastic! I also found out Shadow's last blood panel that "just recently" got done was six months ago.

I brought up acro and IAA testing and his normal vet's response was she didn't know anything about it and she wanted to do a fructosamine test.
This other vet was interested in the tests and is willing to do the blood samples for me, so we are making some progress there.
His bloodwork they did today didn't show anything other than high BG, but obviously we knew that was going to happen.

Then she suggested we think of switching him over to Vetsulin or ProZinc. I told her absolutely not on the Vetsulin, but I guess my question now is should we go ahead and try the ProZinc or wait it out with the Lantus until we get his test results back from MSU?

Also, I thought going from Lantus to ProZinc was basically taking a step backwards in regards to the progression in trying new insulins.
Is it possible he may respond better to the ProZinc over the Lantus?

I'm just at a loss right now, and I'm getting so frustrated because I'm doing everything I can, but it just doesn't ever seem like it's enough. I'm willing to do anything and everything to get this figured out, so any advice would be amazing right now
 
Vetsulin does not work well for most cats. It’s ok for dogs. I think you need a different vet. Maybe ask on main/health if anyone near where you live can recommend a vet , one who will get those tests done and knows more about FD. . :bighug:
 
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I absolutely understand how you feel. It's so frustrating when you're trying to fight for your pet with your vet but they push back or they don't seem to care. Also, I understand the high dose of Lantus with little to no results o_O My boy is at the vet right now getting tests done to hopefully find out what's going on.

Did they do an ACRO or IAA test at all? Or just the basic bloods? Perhaps you could take Shadow to another vet for a second opinion? I would have thought switching to Levemir would be a better option given it is a long acting insulin like Lantus but works slightly differently. Perhaps something to suggest?
 
katy and mo said:
I absolutely understand how you feel. It's so frustrating when you're trying to fight for your pet with your vet but they push back or they don't seem to care. Also, I understand the high dose of Lantus with little to no results o_O My boy is at the vet right now getting tests done to hopefully find out what's going on.

Did they do an ACRO or IAA test at all? Or just the basic bloods? Perhaps you could take Shadow to another vet for a second opinion? I would have thought switching to Levemir would be a better option given it is a long acting insulin like Lantus but works slightly differently. Perhaps something to suggest?
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They went ahead and drew the samples to ship off for the Acro and IAA. I was planning to place a call to his regular vet tomorrow just to go back over what we did today since she wasn't there. I will talk to her about Levemir as well! The vet i spoke with today asked if we had tried Novolin (this was the insulin Shadow originally started), and when she found that out, she asked if I had thought about switching to Vetsulin or ProZinc. I immediately declined the Vetsulin, but I wasn't sure about the ProZinc. I haven't done much research on that insulin because...well..we haven't been using it.

I think I'll probably spend most of my evening looking at the differences between the insulins, so I'll have a better idea of what questions to ask tomorrow. I also don't think it's a good plan to switch his insulin around until I get the results from the IAA/Acro tests.
 
Christina Marie said:
They went ahead and drew the samples to ship off for the Acro and IAA. I was planning to place a call to his regular vet tomorrow just to go back over what we did today since she wasn't there. I will talk to her about Levemir as well! The vet i spoke with today asked if we had tried Novolin (this was the insulin Shadow originally started), and when she found that out, she asked if I had thought about switching to Vetsulin or ProZinc. I immediately declined the Vetsulin, but I wasn't sure about the ProZinc. I haven't done much research on that insulin because...well..we haven't been using it.

I think I'll probably spend most of my evening looking at the differences between the insulins, so I'll have a better idea of what questions to ask tomorrow. I also don't think it's a good plan to switch his insulin around until I get the results from the IAA/Acro tests.
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Excellent that they've sent off the blood to be tested for IAA/Acro! And I agree to stay put with the insulin type until you get the test results back. I hope you get some answers :) :bighug:
 
tiffmaxee said:
The two most popular cat insulins are Lantus and Levimir. Because Lantus stings some at higher doses many prefer Levimir.
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katy and mo said:
Excellent that they've sent off the blood to be tested for IAA/Acro! And I agree to stay put with the insulin type until you get the test results back. I hope you get some answers :) :bighug:
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Thank you both so much for replying! I've been a stress-filled basket case all afternoon.
I feel a little better now that he's back home and back to yelling at me to feed him
 
I’m glad you got the tests run. Do wait for the results and then decide on next steps. I’m glad he’s home and telling you all about his day.
 
Christina Marie said:
I'm just at a loss right now, and I'm getting so frustrated because I'm doing everything I can, but it just doesn't ever seem like it's enough. I'm willing to do anything and everything to get this figured out, so any advice would be amazing right now
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It sure sounds like you are doing everything you can:bighug:. I truly hope these test results will give you answers and clarity on next steps for Shadow. Thinking of you both.
 
Christina Marie said:
Thank you both so much for replying! I've been a stress-filled basket case all afternoon.
I feel a little better now that he's back home and back to yelling at me to feed him
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Trust me, I know the feeling. I am stressing as we speak as Mo is still at the vet and I haven't heard from them yet :(
At least they didn't find anything of concern in Shadow's standard blood tests, which is good.

Isn't it so nice when they're back home and they're like, "how dare you take me to that place? FEEEEED MEEEEEE!"
When Mo go 2 teeth extracted, they told me that I shouldn't worry if he doesn't want to eat for 24 hours because that's the anaesthetic making him lose his appetite. As soon as we stepped through the door, he waddled to his food bowl and yelled at us. It was the best but also very funny!

Deep breaths, we are here with you :bighug:
 
tiffmaxee said:
Definitely don’t delete your old link. @Bandit's Mom will you help her with the spreadsheet when you comes back on line please?
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@Christina Marie Hi Christina, I have sent you a request via email for edit access to your 2020 SS. I will add a tab there for 2021 and you can input the 2021 data in the same SS.
My request would probably have gone to the spam folder of your gmail. It always does! :rolleyes:
 
Christina, I am so glad you managed to find a vet willing to research and try and get you some answers by sending the tests off for IAA and acromegaly testing. Something (to be determine what) is giving Shadow insulin resistance. I hope those tests will provide answers.

I don't see the need to wait on the answers to at least start the conversation with the vet about Levemir. The large majority of higher dose cats end up on Levemir here. Besides the sting factor which can be huge for some cats, if often has a bit better duration. All but one of the higher dose Prozinc cats switched to Levemir in the years I've been here. Neko started on Caninsulin/Vetsulin. You are right, not a good choice for higher doses - actually not for any cats.

Biggest differences for you with Levemir is that the onset and nadir are typically a couple hours later than on Lantus. Which often means you have to learn to shoot lower preshot numbers. I see there are a few times on your spreadsheet when you don't have any preshot tests. We strongly encourage you test before every shot, to make sure it's safe to give insulin.

Here is the link to your last post here, for continuity: https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/12-26-shadow-amps-308-7-381-9-338.240558/
 
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