3/9 Pumpkin AMPS 319 +6 247 PMPS 285 +3 303

Jacques and Pumpkin

Jacques and Pumpkin

Member Since 2023
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/5-8-pumpkin-amps-338-6-268-pmps-292-2-278.277335/

Feels like maybe we’re turning a corner. Pumpkin’s numbers were very consistent the last two days. And they showed a consistent drop in the Marie’s from the previous two days. I’m half hoping half expecting to see roughly the same pattern today as yesterday, and then hopefully another steady drop when I increase tomorrow.

I think she’s really starting to feel better. She came to sleep in me in the middle of the night. That’s three nights in a row. She isn’t spending the whole night like she did before she got sick, but the fact she’s doing at all again is a big step.

I’m giving MSU one more day but I’m starting to worry my sample got lost again. Hopefully it’s just something like the endocrinologist is on vacation and they’re holding onto the results until someone can interpret.
 
Sometimes those larger increases get their attention and you see more action. The fact that she seems to be feeling better is good - often signs like that will show up as you approach that dose that gets them in better numbers.

Probably worth confirming with MSU that they got your sample, and which day. If it came late, they would be running it tomorrow.
 
Breelynne said:
Can you explain the results please? Not sure I'm reading them right.
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The most important one is IGF-1. The normal range is 12-92, Pumpkin was at 541. Way way over the threshold for suspecting acromegaly. (I think the threshold in a lot of international veterinary journals is 1000 ng/L or 130 nmol/L in the units we use in the US.)
 
I was wondering if I was reading it right. Any ideas as to what your next step is going to be? Give Pumpkin a pat for me!
Feel we are traveling the same road.
 
Breelynne said:
I was wondering if I was reading it right. Any ideas as to what your next step is going to be? Give Pumpkin a pat for me!
Feel we are traveling the same road.
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Next step is talking to the vet. Then after that probably getting some quotes on treatment options. I'm not quite sure what I'll do from there.

Have you gotten Allie tested yet?
 
Well, after a few days of good results, we got another one of Pumpkin's up cycles, where she went up from 285 to 303 over the first three hours. Maybe she'll start dipping down while I sleep, but her PM cycles usually start a bit earlier.
 
Jacques and Pumpkin said:
Next step is talking to the vet. Then after that probably getting some quotes on treatment options. I'm not quite sure what I'll do from there.

Have you gotten Allie tested yet?
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Allie goes Friday and I'm taking in the test that I printed out from MSU site. Not sure they can do them that day and send them out? If my old vet wasn't such a drive I'd go back there, I may still have to but Allie does not travel well, at all. I've got a lot of thinking to do since I don't have that great vet and owner relationship anymore. The vets office is going to freak-out when they see my methods but that is their problem. There are a few members here in my area that use the same vets office as I do but see a different doctor.

Allie was a feral and she has retained some of that wildness. She can be sweet one moment and be hissing at you the next. All around she's a good girl and does her testing and shots without any problems since day one. When it comes to any strangers she is always on guard, some people she takes to right away??? That will weigh into my treatment options.

Years ago I had a lovebird that I took in, knew he was ill when I did. I'd to drive him to a specialist in Tampa, FL he did well for a few years then had a relapse.
 
Breelynne said:
Allie goes Friday and I'm taking in the test that I printed out from MSU site. Not sure they can do them that day and send them out? If my old vet wasn't such a drive I'd go back there, I may still have to but Allie does not travel well, at all. I've got a lot of thinking to do since I don't have that great vet and owner relationship anymore. The vets office is going to freak-out when they see my methods but that is their problem. There are a few members here in my area that use the same vets office as I do but see a different doctor.
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They can't ship to MSU on a Friday without pre-approval from MSU that someone will be there to receive the shipment. Best thing is probably for them to put the sample in the freezer over the weekend and then overnight it to MSU on Monday.

If they don't want to send the sample to MSU, insist on getting a sample for you to send in yourself. The key thing is that they need to give you 0.5 mL of serum, not whole blood. That means they have to draw more blood and then centrifuge out just the serum. MSU won't take whole blood.

I wrote up how to work with MSU in this post: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/msu-vdl-testing-instructions-for-igf-1-and-iaa.277084/

Breelynne said:
Allie was a feral and she has retained some of that wildness. She can be sweet one moment and be hissing at you the next. All around she's a good girl and does her testing and shots without any problems since day one. When it comes to any strangers she is always on guard, some people she takes to right away??? That will weigh into my treatment options.
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Pumpkin is a bit of a terror at the vet, and it's gotten worse with age. Gabapentin works wonders. At first I was giving her kind of small doses, but after the incident where she jumped off the exam table and sprained her ankle my vet told me that gabapentin is a safe drug and I should be able to up the dose. So now I give her 1 mL the night before the vet and 2 mL 1-2 hours before the appointment. She ends up so stoned that she'll just purr while I trim her claws, where she'd normally be yowling and growling up a storm.
 
Jacques and Pumpkin said:
They can't ship to MSU on a Friday without pre-approval from MSU that someone will be there to receive the shipment. Best thing is probably for them to put the sample in the freezer over the weekend and then overnight it to MSU on Monday.

If they don't want to send the sample to MSU, insist on getting a sample for you to send in yourself. The key thing is that they need to give you 0.5 mL of serum, not whole blood. That means they have to draw more blood and then centrifuge out just the serum. MSU won't take whole blood.

I wrote up how to work with MSU in this post: https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/msu-vdl-testing-instructions-for-igf-1-and-iaa.277084/

I will have a look thanks for the link Jacques. They may have to hold it until Monday. She is due for a bump up on her insulin but I'll wait until Friday when I'm sure I can get a refill (hopefully the generic). I had a quarter horse who scratched her eye we ended up to taking her to the University of Gainesville. They made a serum from her blood. She stayed with them for a week and was able to come home. I had to continue treatments for about 10 days. Once again I was blessed with a wonderful patient. A lot of horse become very head shy from messing with their eyes.

Pumpkin is a bit of a terror at the vet, and it's gotten worse with age. Gabapentin works wonders. At first I was giving her kind of small doses, but after the incident where she jumped off the exam table and sprained her ankle my vet told me that gabapentin is a safe drug and I should be able to up the dose. So now I give her 1 mL the night before the vet and 2 mL 1-2 hours before the appointment. She ends up so stoned that she'll just purr while I trim her claws, where she'd normally be yowling and growling up a storm.
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Wondering if that 100mg would that would be equal to your 1mL? I'm not sure how to get this dang capsule down her unless I mix the powder into something else. Food in a syringe perhaps?

I may take that opportunity to trim her nails! I can't imagine Allie stoned, hahahaha. I've noticed she isn't jumping up on the bed and playing as much as she used to, thinking she has developed some neuropathy, everything else is good so far. She eats, drinks and uses the litter box on a regular basis (I've got cameras on the boxes since I have the 2 cats). If there is an issue I am sure of which one it is.

I'm really wishing the best outcome for you all during this time. There are so many factors to figure in with the diagnosis. Thank you for sharing everything that you have. Pumpkin is lucky and so are you all!
 
Breelynne said:
Wondering if that 100mg would that would be equal to your 1mL?
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Right, 100 mg. I have a bottle of liquid gabapentin concentrated at 100 mg/mL so that I can do different dosages as necessary. Every cat is different so Allie might be fine on 100 mg. But if not a bigger dose can do the trick.

Breelynne said:
I'm not sure how to get this dang capsule down her unless I mix the powder into something else. Food in a syringe perhaps?
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That’s how I do it. I mix the liquid with some pate food and make a slurry that I syringe feed her. I had to learn how to syringe feed when she had really bad stomach issues and stopped eating on her own for a few days.

If I give her the liquid on its own she foams at the mouth like crazy.

I haven’t tried capsules though. The first time I got it, it was in liquid form and I never tried capsules.

It’s very bitter and Pumpkin will not eat food with it mixed in, no matter how tasty the food is.
 
Jacques and Pumpkin said:
Right, 100 mg. I have a bottle of liquid gabapentin concentrated at 100 mg/mL so that I can do different dosages as necessary. Every cat is different so Allie might be fine on 100 mg. But if not a bigger dose can do the trick.



That’s how I do it. I mix the liquid with some pate food and make a slurry that I syringe feed her. I had to learn how to syringe feed when she had really bad stomach issues and stopped eating on her own for a few days.

If I give her the liquid on its own she foams at the mouth like crazy.

I haven’t tried capsules though. The first time I got it, it was in liquid form and I never tried capsules.

It’s very bitter and Pumpkin will not eat food with it mixed in, no matter how tasty the food is.
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Allie is a pistol when you give any liquid medication it's like she closes off her throat. She is like, poke me in the ear a few times a day, jab me with a needle twice a day and I'm good with that but NO pills and No liquid medications. I'm going to watch videos on syringing medications.
 
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