12/30 - 12/31 TiTi showing some yellow, but still in pink. Why I am panicking.

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As you know, I am not an expert...this is only the 3rd cycle on this dose. I think you should hold it at least another cycle to have the depot build up and see what she does. I hope someone with more experience will chime in.
 
Osha said:
As you know, I am not an expert...this is only the 3rd cycle on this dose. I think you should hold it at least another cycle to have the depot build up and see what she does. I hope someone with more experience will chime in.
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Doodles & Karen said:
Kathy, you need to wait 6 cycles before increasing again. TR is an aggressive approach and increasing sooner is dangerous. She'll come back down, they always do but safely is key.
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This is very hard. At least she just hit 285@ +8.
There's another variable in her health. For a few days, and until last night, her ears were quite hot, and her temp was around 101.7. Then rather suddenly, her ears cooled down to normal - like my other cats' ears. It seems possible she's been ill, though her only symptom was hot ears, and a spirit less peppy than usual.
 
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Kathy and TiTi said:
This is very hard. At least she just hit 285@ +8.
There's another variable in her health. For a few days, and until last night, her ears were quite hot, and her temp was around 107. Then rather suddenly, her ears cooled down to normal - like my other cats' ears. It seems possible she's been ill, though her only symptom was hot ears, and a spirit less peppy than usual.
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Ok. Normal cat temp from what I know is 99.5-102.5. I am very concerned if her temp was 107 and would taker her to the er.
 
Kathy and TiTi said:
This is very hard. At least she just hit 285@ +8.
There's another variable in her health. For a few days, and until last night, her ears were quite hot, and her temp was around 107. Then rather suddenly, her ears cooled down to normal - like my other cats' ears. It seems possible she's been ill, though her only symptom was hot ears, and a spirit less peppy than usual.
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No No not 107, 101.7:rolleyes:
 
Kathy and TiTi said:
No No. 101.7 was her temperature. Sorry! She would be dead at 107. I forgot to put in the "1.7"
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WHEW!!! I just breathed a HUGE sigh of relief!!:):)

I think at this point you just have to be patient. It is horrible to see those numbers, but I really would wait a few more cycles.
 
Osha said:
WHEW!!! I just breathed a HUGE sigh of relief!!:):)

I think at this point you just have to be patient. It is horrible to see those numbers, but I really would wait a few more cycles.
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Sorry to raise anyone's blood pressure. Lol. If her temp went to 105, I'd be calling the doctor as I lowered her down into cold water, holding a cold wet washcloth atop her head.

Seems to be consensus that I wait. But as I wait, damage may well be occurring. This sugar dance is too close to the danse macabre.
 
I think you must have been a stripper in a previous life given the way you're always trying to bust out of your patience pants ;)
 
carfurby said:
Hang in there. Hopefully TiTi starts working this dose soon. :bighug::bighug::bighug:
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Her PMPS BG is better, and she's been kinda flat today. Might be because of my new feed schedule. I read about using food to keep kitties on a more even keel: 8 small portions, 4 of those portions fed each hour after the shot. :+1 +2 +3 +4.
I've been trying it out for 2 cycles now.
 
The question is: Given the information I have compiled, that you see below, Am I right to be concerned?

I think I'm panicking. Here's why. I'm fairly sure TiTi is an acro kitty. She's had diabetes for at least 3 years, and she will be 11 on May 2017. I've read a lot here, and online about acro kitties. Several online articles give the lifespan of an acro kitty as 10-11 years. Some cats live as long as 4 years after diagnosis, but this is considered rare. Heart and/or kidney failure, or neurological complications, or uncontrolled diabetes are the causes of death. My most recent reference from these stats is from the url:
http://zimmer-foundation.org/sch/csf.html

TiTi does have the broad face, and protruding lower jaw typical of this disease. But her lower jaw teeth do not overlap her upper jaw teeth. Her chin was always prominent - it was never receded as are the lower jaws of so many cats. However, I am not sure her face was always so broad as it is now. So, if TiTi is an acro kitty, she is reaching the outward limits of her expected life span.

Thus, any sign of her diabetes becoming uncontrolled is alarming.

Thus I panic, and reach out to grasp any possible treatments to beat back the inevitable.
 
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I'm sorry you have the weight of this worry on you. Since there a people on here with acro kitty experience, I'm sure they will be able to help you work through this. I'm not sure who's on the board right now with that kind of expertise. At least this post will bump you up at least and you can try to tag people like Wendy for help.
 
Neko had acromegaly at least for 5.5 years, though she did have radiation therapy which slowed the effects down. It really is ECID on how long an acro kitty lives with the condition. I know several that passed from other conditions, specifically cancer. That could have also been a contributing factor for Neko. A number of our acros are senior kitties and at risk of the same conditions as other seniors. Lauren's Tommy lived for four years with acromegaly. No treatment, just a pretty good control of his numbers. He was 20 when he passed. There is nothing to be gained from worrying about the what-if's and might-be's. Cat's live day by day, in the moment. We should try to do the same. :bighug: Enjoy the good days when you have them.

The only thing we have control over is the blood sugar. A few high days are not damaging. And by the way, I see a blues number in the spreadsheet last night, even though you coloured it yellow. ;) If Titi is acro, the tumor can wax and wane. It means we have to follow the numbers with dose changes up and down as needed. Just keep following the protocol, it will work for you.
 
Thank you. I am always thinking ahead, in the hopes that I can change outcomes. Often I cannot, but I usually feel better knowing all I can about any given subject. Unfortunately, the more I learn about acro, the worse I feel. The various articles on acromegaly are pretty discouraging.
Your perspective on it, including the kitties you mention, are more heartening. The one thing TiTi has going for her, as far as I can see, is that she's otherwise healthy. All her organs are functioning just fine, save the few bouts with pancreatitis. I think she's a strong little cat, who takes a big bite out of life.
I'll try to be more in the moment with her.
And thanks for pointing out the blue, I mistakenly colored yellow. It was late and I was tired, but I did feel encouraged by that blue. I must have hit the yellow, because I was so used to yellow being the lowest color.
 
Hi Kathy,

Punkin was about 15ish when he passed away. We don't know his cause of death - it may have been cancer. It wasn't directly related to acromegaly or diabetes though. He was having weekly cold laser treatments for his arthritis to try to help him be comfortable. Somehow that laser caused bloody diarrhea one week. The vet was sure that it wasn't related. We went back the following week and it happened again after that laser treatment. He never recovered from that - his chest filled with fluid and it squished his lungs to slivers. Later I read that you shouldn't use cold laser on an animal that has cancer. As far as we knew, he didn't. But with a senior cat you can't really know. I realized that the angle of the laser when it went over his hips, then went down his spine, meant that the rays would've overlapped on his intestines inside. Perhaps it was just too much. We'll never know.

All that said, Punkin was treated with the SRT. He developed low thyroid from it, which we didn't discover for some time. The ordinary thyroid tests didn't show it until we specifically had them check for free T-4. He became anemic, too - and both of those things are very serious. He became a fairly fragile kitty, but his quality of life was still very good.

We had 2.5 years with him after he became diabetic. I don't know when the tumor started because I wasn't zeroed in on the topic at all before he was diagnosed. I'd never even heard of acromegaly. I put before and after pics of him in the thread on acromegaly (single topic links at the bottom of the New to the Group? sticky). Here's a link to them. The changes happened so gradually that I would've said that his appearance hadn't changed, but from the pictures you can see he had.

He did have a good life and in spite of all he went through, I think until that last 3 days his quality of life was good. He was an extraordinary cat and if there'd been anything more I could've done to help him, I would've.

The best thing you can do for TiTi's dose is to let the tests tell you what to do. After 6 cycles, if you don't see green, you can increase. I would probably increase her dose in the morning if she were mine. If she does have acro, her dose needs may regularly change so you don't want to get attached to a dose. Just follow her lead.

I totally understand your worry about her - step back and think if you didn't know all the details of her blood sugar, would you think she has a pretty good life? If so, all is well. You can only do what you can do. I think you're doing an outstanding job of caring for her. :bighug:
 
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