6/1 Mo AMPS 283, +6 297, PMPS 310

katy and mo (GA)

katy and mo (GA)

Member Since 2020
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Mo has had a pretty good day (for him) BGL-wise. He still hasn't been himself since his vet visit yesterday but he's been outside and walking around the house. He didn't wake us up until 7am this morning, which is definitely an improvement on the 4am wake up!

Wendy&Neko said:
I'm in Canada, and it was a while ago so the quote probably won't help, but I think it was around $400 for both? The actual test price is not that expensive ($65.00 US for acro, $20 for IAA, both up a bit since I had it done), but you have to add on cost for blood draw and shipping which is probably the most expensive bit. Now that you are waiting another week or two for the test, you will get yet another new blood draw charge on top of what you paid for today. An ultrasound is absolutely not necessary for determining if acro or IAA is present. I know ultrasounds can be pricey too. Cost of extra blood draw plus ultrasounds might even pay the cost. Just seems there are cheaper ways to get answers where your vets aren't looking.
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Thank you. I'm assuming it will be at least $1000 NZ dollars for the test. Honestly, it's worth it just to know what we are dealing with. We probably won't bother with the ultrasound. I don't really know what that would find unless they suspect cancer, but surely that would come up in a blood test?

Wendy&Neko said:
I have a theory of why they are waiting until his dose is 8.5-9.5 units. Old school thinking was that cats have to get to at least 1.5 units per kg to bother with the test. The research at Royal Veterinary Clinic found acrocats on as low as 1 unit and average across all the cats of 7 units. Mo's over that now.

Good to hear all of Mo's other bloods are looking good. The vets are keeping on trying to look for different answers in places they've looked before, except the one place that might actually give answers. Sounds like I'm harping on this, but I went through the same thing. When I finally got my vet to do the tests, she threw a complete blood work, urinalysis and urine culture onto the bill. I really just want the IAA and acro test results which were the only ones that told me what I was dealing with.
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Yes, that's absolutely what they are doing. All the vets at the clinic keep mentioning 1.5u/kg and I just roll my eyes but I think they actually have to stick with those guidelines. I'll ask them about it next week actually. We have another appointment booked for the 11th so i will ask if we could push the test forward. Or if they could at least give me an idea of price. But they do keep mentioning acromegaly to me so at least they are aware of what it is.

Ti-Mousse said:
I am also from Canada and I paid $400 for both tests last year, this included everything; tests are not expensive but all depends on how much your vet will charge you to do the job. I had to change vet clinic to be able to have it done....; my former vet did not know much about those tests and did not believe they would be useful! My new and actual vet knows about acro and she was very helpful in having the tests done even if she didn't think it was necessary at that time !

Nice for Mo that blood results are all good.
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Thanks for that! I wonder then how much it would cost to be shipped from NZ to the US/UK? Will probably make it much more expensive from all the way down here.

I'm glad you were able to find a vet that would do the test for you :)

Thanks for all your support, everyone! I'm really grateful that I don't feel alone in this :bighug:

Have a great day :D
 
Nice to see yellows on Mo.:)

Might want to send the vet's a copy of this article: Studying Cat (Felis catus) Diabetes: Beware of the Acromegalic Imposter
Unfortunately research on IAA is very limited, and just on small numbers of cats, so nothing that I know of you can give the vets on that condition. We currently have one acrocat om FDMB, Valentino, who is on 2 units of Prozinc and just had his acromegaly treated today. Neko was around 6.6 kg on diagnosis, topped out at 8.75 units or about 1.3 units per kg. Her vet actually wanted to wait unit 10 units dose before testing. Never got there.

Over $500 to ship from NZ to the US? Gulp. :eek: Our dollars aren't that far apart.
 
I understand about not feeling well after visiting that old vetty vet...Luci wasn't feeling well yesterday after her last encounter with the vet and all their poking and prodding - but I think it was the required pre-procedure rabies shot that made her feel poorly. At least she's feeling better this morning and I hope Mo will come along soon too! Sometimes they just need to rest up and get a little TLC...just like us.

I hope you get some answers soon! I'm not sure what the cost of shipping anything from NZ to US would be - it's a long way and shipping prices do seem exorbitant - too bad someone couldn't be found who's already making the journey to bring it along with them...? Crazy idea...

Have a good day Katy!
 
Hi,

A few options possibly worth exploring to find out if there are more convenient, less expensive means of getting the test:

1) Contact your local U hospital to inquire as they are the most likely to know what is or is not available in your area. Massey looks like the closest
U Vet/Academic Hospital near you:

https://www.massey.ac.nz/massey/learning/colleges/college-of-sciences/clinics-and-services/veterinary-teaching-hospital/companion-animal-avian-clinic/companion-animal-avian-clinic_home.cfm

AND/OR

2) Contact **Dr. Patrick Kenny, Vet Neurologist and Neurosurgeon, at SASH Pituitary Center in Australia. He actually worked at RVC for almost 9 years & was the Head of Neurology and Neurosurgery there for 2 years. Please find the email for SASH as well as the links for Dr Kenny's info, the SASH Pituitary Center & one of his more recent research pubs done with his previous colleagues from RVC.

info@sashvets.com

https://sashvets.com/our-team/dr-patrick-kenny/

https://sashvets.com/services/pituitarycentre/

https://sashvets.com/patient-stories/bowies-remarkable-surgery/

One of his more recent research articles with RVC;
https://academic.oup.com/jes/article/3/1/181/5128914

I hope Dr. Kenny's Center is able to provide some assistance as well as contacts within NZ if needed at a later time.
 
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Hi,

I emailed Massey earlier & just got this email response back:

Hi There,

It is not something done at Massey Vets, so you may need to get in contact with the labs, such as Idexx and Gribbles.

Thanks
Massey Vets

Again, I would email SASH/attention to Dr Kenny for direction. My guess is he would most certainly know the best (& hopefully cheaper) way to proceed.
 
Tomlin said:
Hi,

I emailed Massey earlier & just got this email response back:

Hi There,

It is not something done at Massey Vets, so you may need to get in contact with the labs, such as Idexx and Gribbles.

Thanks
Massey Vets

Again, I would email SASH/attention to Dr Kenny for direction. My guess is he would most certainly know the best (& hopefully cheaper) way to proceed.
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Thank you so much for emailing, Amy!! I will get in contact with Dr Kenny in Australia and see. Thank you so so much for this info :bighug:
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Nice to see yellows on Mo.:)

Might want to send the vet's a copy of this article: Studying Cat (Felis catus) Diabetes: Beware of the Acromegalic Imposter
Unfortunately research on IAA is very limited, and just on small numbers of cats, so nothing that I know of you can give the vets on that condition. We currently have one acrocat om FDMB, Valentino, who is on 2 units of Prozinc and just had his acromegaly treated today. Neko was around 6.6 kg on diagnosis, topped out at 8.75 units or about 1.3 units per kg. Her vet actually wanted to wait unit 10 units dose before testing. Never got there.

Over $500 to ship from NZ to the US? Gulp. :eek: Our dollars aren't that far apart.
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I will send that to them, thanks! I moved Mo up to 8 units this morning just to get to their "threshold" quicker.

Yeah, the ultrasound in itself will cost $700 NZ :confused:I would be surprised if the Acro test was cheaper than that.
 
Sue and Luci said:
I understand about not feeling well after visiting that old vetty vet...Luci wasn't feeling well yesterday after her last encounter with the vet and all their poking and prodding - but I think it was the required pre-procedure rabies shot that made her feel poorly. At least she's feeling better this morning and I hope Mo will come along soon too! Sometimes they just need to rest up and get a little TLC...just like us.

I hope you get some answers soon! I'm not sure what the cost of shipping anything from NZ to US would be - it's a long way and shipping prices do seem exorbitant - too bad someone couldn't be found who's already making the journey to bring it along with them...? Crazy idea...

Have a good day Katy!
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Awww Poor Luci. I'm glad she's feeling better this morning! Mo must have worked himself up silly. He's more himself today. You're right, they're just like us :)

I'm prepared to pay the costs of the test. Hopefully I'll get to find out roughly how much it will be at Mo's next vet appointment on the 11th :)
 
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