1/30 - Gen, AMPS 345, PMPS 310, IBD/diabetes food help??

Allie & Gen

Member Since 2025
Yesterday

Hey friends, Happy Friday - I hope you're all doing well, and that your kitties are surfing safely.

I have bad news: Gen's dental surgery has indeed been canceled. ๐Ÿ˜ฎโ€๐Ÿ’จ My vet is very concerned about his recent GI issues. (I emailed her this morning very worried because I discovered that not only was he having more pudding-consistency poops, in spite of the psyllium, but he had pooped in the bathtub, which he's never done before.) To quote her, "While I don't want to discredit the importance of treating dental disease, I don't think it is the sole contributor to Gen's variable and frustrating response to insulin since coming out of remission - I suspect emerging/emerged IBD-like disease/enteropathy, pancreatitis and possible acromegaly are playing a much bigger role than his periodontal disease in our difficulty regulating his diabetes."

I'm not sold on the acromegaly (the only real symptom is bone remodeling in the jaw, which we previously thought was part of the periodontal disease, and that hasn't been ruled out), but that test is still pending. The other issues aren't confirmed diagnoses, as such - "the test for pancreatitis was slightly elevated" (I'm not sure which test she means; I got the vet tech manager to send me Gen's detailed labs and I'll be going over them later - will try to put them in my spreadsheet, but that might not be right away), and more is needed to understand the enteropathy too, of course.

So the next step she wants to take is an appointment with an internal medicine specialist; they have one who visits the office periodically, and they're trying to see if they can get her in sooner than currently scheduled to see Gen. If she can't do it, they may refer me to one of the local hospitals (which will probably be more expensive). I think she also wants me to switch him to a novel protein diet (produced under strict hypoallergenic protocols from a single protein and single carb source) - I say "I think" because her email isn't entirely clear on whether that's a near-future step, or a now step.

The email is, frankly, very long and full of a lot more detail on various other apparently less urgent health concerns which still have me pretty damn freaked out, and I'm a bit confused/overwhelmed, so I've requested a bunch of clarifications and she has promised (through the office manager) to get back to me tonight or tomorrow. In the meantime, I looked up her recommended food options for IBD, and they are all at least 16% carbs, if not much, much higher. (She copied & pasted a document that included them - she mentions elsewhere in her email that she knows they're not great for diabetics). Soooo. I know there's stuff out there on the board, but I have had a really rotten day and I am exhausted. Any chance some folks could help me out with IBD/diabetes-friendly food recommendations? ๐Ÿ˜ญ
 
Oh, my and UGH! Cats (animals in general) can get so complicated with their illnesses! Several on the board have IBD experience, so I feel certain you'll get some good recommendations. Hang in there, Allie!
 
Oh Iโ€™m so sorry to hear this update. Poor baby and poor you.
Just know there are diet options for novel protein.
I cook a novel protein diet for Ivy.
I just sent you a message with more information.
Sending you support and hugs. ๐Ÿฅฐ

Thereโ€™s a Facebook group for IBD cats with good information too as another resource you could check out.
๐Ÿซ‚๐Ÿ’•๐Ÿ’“
 
Thank you guys. I really appreciate the support! Unfortunately homemade cat food isn't really feasible for us for a few reasons, at least not right now. I know there are options out there for wet food that can work for both conditions.

I really hate Facebook and avoid using it, but I'll hold my nose and log in to check out that group this weekend. ๐Ÿ˜… Thanks, @Staci & Ivy. I need to push off some of the tasks I find more difficult until tomorrow; I am beat.
 
Allie, have you run a GI panel on Gen? It tests for EPI (TLI), Pancreatitis (Spec fPL), B12 and Folate. Also, my go to supplement for soft stool is Nexabiotic. Its a probiotic that contains 23 strains including S. Boulardii, which is good for diarrhea. Ive tried S. Boulardii alone as others have had sucess with it, but its never worked for me, but the Nexabiotic works every time. Karamelle now gets one cap a day because she kept getting soft stools. She has diabetes and Pancreatitis, but not IBD. And her GI panel showed really low B12, which we are treating now.
Im sorry you couldnt get the dental done.
 
Allie, have you run a GI panel on Gen? It tests for EPI (TLI), Pancreatitis (Spec fPL), B12 and Folate. Also, my go to supplement for soft stool is Nexabiotic. Its a probiotic that contains 23 strains including S. Boulardii, which is good for diarrhea. Ive tried S. Boulardii alone as others have had sucess with it, but its never worked for me, but the Nexabiotic works every time. Karamelle now gets one cap a day because she kept getting soft stools. She has diabetes and Pancreatitis, but not IBD. And her GI panel showed really low B12, which we are treating now.
Im sorry you couldnt get the dental done.
I have to look through the labs; I'm not sure of everything that's included. I'm hoping to regroup a bit mentally tomorrow and be better able to decipher all the info. It looks like the lab tech manager actually sent me Gen's entire medical record from our first appointment at the practice (in 2021). ๐Ÿ˜…

Gen's already on Nexabiotic, actually ... he gets a capsule with his meals, twice a day. It made a difference for awhile, but it doesn't seem to be enough, these last few days.
 
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Aww i'm sorry to hear about the delay in surgery and other complications ๐Ÿค— Hang in there! I know nothing about novel protein foods, but i'm pretty sure there's low carb options as they're very limited ingredients. It seems plenty of IBD members here to help!

"the test for pancreatitis was slightly elevated" (I'm not sure which test she means; I got the vet tech manager to send me Gen's detailed labs and I'll be going over them later - will try to put them in my spreadsheet, but that might not be right away

The test the vet used to diagnose Xander with pancreatitis was the Spec fPL :

1769821904571.png


How has his eating been lately?
 
The test the vet used to diagnose Xander with pancreatitis was the Spec fPL :

View attachment 76690

How has his eating been lately?
Thanks, Albert! I will use that as a reference point. โค๏ธ

He's eating really well! In fact, I've been giving him a bit extra, because I'd like to get his weight up if I can. He's still getting ondansetron (2x) and mirataz daily (and little gabapentin 2x/day as well).
 
Super sorry for the dental cancellation. I don't have much food related advice. Wendy really knows the acromegaly stuff well, and I remember her saying that a lot of cats don't display outward physical symptoms until later in the disease. But Gen is not on a high dose of insulin. I think the recommendation around here is to consider testing for acromegaly and IAA when your dose gets north of 5 units. I had my vet send a lab sample to MSU for Bell to test for both when she got over that threshold. Outside of the cost (maybe $150-200 for both plus my vet's processing fee) it was pretty straightforward.

Hang in there, you've got a lot going on right now with sweet Gen.
 
Super sorry for the dental cancellation. I don't have much food related advice. Wendy really knows the acromegaly stuff well, and I remember her saying that a lot of cats don't display outward physical symptoms until later in the disease. But Gen is not on a high dose of insulin. I think the recommendation around here is to consider testing for acromegaly and IAA when your dose gets north of 5 units. I had my vet send a lab sample to MSU for Bell to test for both when she got over that threshold. Outside of the cost (maybe $150-200 for both plus my vet's processing fee) it was pretty straightforward.

Hang in there, you've got a lot going on right now with sweet Gen.
Thanks, Seth! The acromegaly suspicion is all on my vet's side, but the test is in progress, so I guess we'll see one way or another.
 
I am so sorry to hear.. we're having things here too. all can do is our best and I have to say your doctor sounds really nice and capable. ๐Ÿ’˜ and a new diet could indeed help! chicken nugget had to change his diet a few years ago; does turkey now only.. I'm hoping things smooth out and look more clear very soon.. ๐Ÿ’ž ๐Ÿฅฒ

Merrick has nice single protein options. โœจ
 
Thank you guys. I really appreciate the support! Unfortunately homemade cat food isn't really feasible for us for a few reasons, at least not right now. I know there are options out there for wet food that can work for both conditions.

I really hate Facebook and avoid using it, but I'll hold my nose and log in to check out that group this weekend. ๐Ÿ˜… Thanks, @Staci & Ivy. I need to push off some of the tasks I find more difficult until tomorrow; I am beat.
I know you hate FB, but there are good resources out there.
Probably other groups around to help too.
Just a suggestion ๐Ÿ˜˜
 
When was the blood taken for the acro test? The vet visit on the 28th? Just asking cause research out of the Royal Vet Clinic said that testing should be done no sooner than 73 days after starting insulin. Though I've seen another paper say 8 weeks (56 days) was OK. And it's been about that. About 1/3 of cats tested too soon get false negative for acromegaly. BTW, I don't think acro when I look at his spreadsheet, I think "really needs a dental". We've seen acros on low doses here, but the recommendation to test when at 6 units is because at that size dose, it's very seldom anything else except IAA or Cushings. Of course, we've seen low dose Cushings and IAA too. But I don't see IAA in his spreadsheet either.

There are lots of single protein options for Gen for you to try. Common allergens are fish, chicken and beef, so I'd try something like rabbit, lamb or maybe venison diet. Or kangaroo. Again, plenty of rabbit options, Rawz brand being a common one fed here. But there are others that are low carb too. Single protein means no other protein for treats either. Fortunately you can get freeze dried almost any type of meat. You absolutely do not need to go with the higher carb options the vet suggested.

I'm a big fan of Visbiome as a probiotic. It's designed for IBD and recommended by an IM vet that posts on the small cell lymphoma group I'm on.
 
Aww, Allie. I'm so sorry that all this is going on. ๐Ÿ˜”๐Ÿซ‚ It's so much all at once and it's so overwhelming and disheartening, I know.

As you're undoubtedly aware, IBD is very new to us. But just to give you a specific item to look into, which is helpful for me: the food that I transitioned Xander to as a novel protein is KOHA Limited Ingredient Rabbit Au Jus. They claim that it's 0.66% carbs (though other places say <5%). It's not cheap and I do have to sift out bones (that I personally don't want Xander eating, but you may be fine with as others are!), but so far it's seemed significantly better for him than anything else we've tried. They also sell other proteins like Wendy mentioned, such as venison, though I haven't tried those yet. I get it on Chewy in the 5.5 oz cans which seems to be the cheapest way to do it (though as a fair warning they often come damaged. They do replace them, but it's kind of a constant "lost 10, gained 16" situation).
 
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