4/25 punkin amps 264 +3/168 pmps 155 +5/92

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julie & punkin (ga)

julie & punkin (ga)

Member Since 2011
yesterday

all is well in punkin land! the browser is telling me that a year ago his amps was 265 . . . always kinda interesting to compare to numbers from a year ago.

Breakfast eaten, CPC status maintained for him and anya *whew* and he's sitting like a sphinx on the carpet in his favorite spot.

we got the results back from his IGF yesterday - it was at 304. when he was diagnosed it was 281. i don't know why it would be more after the SRT (radiation treatment). the IGF is the "Insulin-Like Growth Factor" - the hormone put out by the tumor in his pituitary gland that prevents the insulin from getting into his cells. The tumor is what is making him diabetic. I've emailed Dr. Lunn at Colorado State Univ where he had the SRT to ask her why that might be. Our vet didn't know, but she said she looked it up and sometimes cats on long-term insulin have an increase in the IGF.

It was kinda discouraging. But as with everything, you just press on.
 
Re: 4/25 punkin amps 264

Nice sunny yellow today. That is interesting that his AMPS is almost the same. I should set that up on mine.

Sorry about the IGF. I hope you get answers. However, think about how happy Punkin is now compared to last year and the numbers really don't matter. Have a great day Julie! :YMHUG:
 
Re: 4/25 punkin amps 264

Hi guys .. it's interesting to see what our kitties were at a year or so ago isn't it? My title bar does the same thing as yours .. I hope you get answers about punkin's numbers .. Like you said, we just keep pressing on :YMHUG: have a great day guys!
 
Re: 4/25 punkin amps 264

i heard back about the IGF:

Subject: Re: Punkin's IGF
From: kathylunn
Date: Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:31:35 -0400
CC: jessica.timian
To: julie

Dear Julie

Thanks for the udpates - the BG curves look really good and you are doing a great job.

Please don't be discouraged about the IGF-1 results. I am almost at the point of not recommending following these, because many cats do exactly what Punkin has done. Sometimes the IGF-1s fall and then start to rise again, sometimes they stay high or get higher, and only rarely do they go to normal. There seems to be no correlation with insulin dose or response to therapy. This has been seen by other researchers that have also treated these cats with radiation (not SRT). We don't know why this happens or what it means - but it does not mean that the treatment is not working - so please don't be discouraged. The cats that are in remission at this time are still having high IGF-1 levels.

It took some cats 19 months to go off insulin (and they still had high IGF-1s) and 2 of the cats that were treated 40 months ago are still in remission - so it is still possible for Punkin to continue to improve. I recommend focussing on the BG curves and his clinical signs and trying not to be concerned about IGF-1. Also we should note that a change from 281 to 304 is really not significant - I would consider those to both be essentially the same. You should try to have T4 (thyroid) levels checked every 3 months.

Hang in there - you are doing a really great job!

Kathy

Katharine F. Lunn BVMS MS PhD MRCVS DACVIM
Associate Professor
Department of Clinical Sciences
NC State University College of Veterinary Medicine
1060 William Moore Drive
Campus Box 8401
Raleigh, NC 27607
 
Re: 4/25 punkin amps 264 +3/168

Oh Julie, that's a good response from the vet.....right? :-D Does it put your mind at ease?
Praise from the doc, what's better than that? :smile:
 
Re: 4/25 punkin amps 264 +3/168

yes, it's making me feel a lot better. although i wish she'd told me last week and i could've saved the $150ish for the test! they had asked me to get it rechecked, because they are keeping track of the progress of the kitties they've treated.

next stop - dental next week. his teeth are oogie.
 
Re: 4/25 punkin amps 264 +3/168

Well that seemed like a positive letter from CSU. I'm sure that eased your mind a bit.

I hope punkin has a good day and the numbers keep heading down.

:YMHUG:
 
Re: 4/25 punkin amps 264 +3/168

I guess you have to get the data to know whether the tests are useful or not. :roll: And thank you for the confirmation about the CPC. I worry about that, you know. :lol: I'm glad mr. punkin is feeling good. I think our civie Tillie is going to need a dental too.
Liz
 
Re: 4/25 punkin amps 264 +3/168

Keep up your good spirit Julie! You are our light in LL! When I saw Pumpkin's video the other day, he looked great. No worry!
 
And if last years BG reading was on the freestyle he's actually doing much better even just based on that one reading!!! Of course his ss is looking way more pretty than just one number anyway :-D
 
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