5/1 Mo - AMPS 356 - Blood test results

Yesterdays Post

Took Mo to the vet this morning for his scheduled tests. He was very well behaved. He's so used to going to the vet now he doesn't even meow in the car. The nurses and vets are very fond of him there.

I'll update you when I hear back. Cross your fingers and paws for him that we get some straightforward answers as to why the insulin isn't working!

 

kit likes to sing to the radio in the car, but never at home.... hmmmm.
hope the vet visit yields good info.

 

All paws, toes and tails crossed here.

 

Glad the vet visit went well Hoping for some answers Have a great day, Katy!

 

I hope you get some clear answers. Glad Mo is a good kitty at the vet. Sending prayers.

 

Paws, fingers and legs crossed that you get some good answers and clarity on next steps.

 

Thanks everyone! Mo is home now. He did not have a good time. The vet nurse told me he lunged at them. He's never done that before. He was also huddled under a blanket and super stressed out when I got there. They took me around the back to help get him in his case. But I told them if they open the door to his cage he will just walk in, and he did. I know it's the Lantus doing that. This is not like him to act like that with them at all. He's usually so gentle. He was also panting like a dog in the car. The last time he did that was when he was brought to our house when we adopted him. Poor thing was so stressed.

Mo's blood results all came back normal. Kidneys normal, liver normal, no pancreatitis, red and white blood cells normal, thyroid is normal. The vet did mention something about highish levels of albumin and calcium, but they don't really know what that means when everything else looks normal, so they're going to redo bloods in a couple of months and recheck. They've done a fructosamine test and have sent it off for testing so will get those results back at the end of the week.

In terms of acromegaly, the test is going to be very pricey as we will have to send bloods off to the States or the UK. They're waiting to see what happens when we get up to 8.5-9.5 units and then we will do an ultrasound and then consider acromegaly. I'm actually ok to wait for this as we don't currently have the money to test for Acro right now. Is there anyone is Australia or outside of the US or the UK that are able to let me know how much it cost them to test for Acro?

Mo is happy to be home. We have decided we won't stress him out further and test his BG for the rest of the day. They fed him m/d biscuits at the vet (ugh) despite me giving them tins of his own food, so I'm not worried he's going to be risking hypo today. Well, if he was anywhere near hypo today I would be shocked, given he hasn't been under 300 for a while. So we will let him rest and give him space.

I went out for a walk after Mo got home so I could give him a break because all I wanted to do was smother him with love. The walk did me good

Hope you're all having a great day

 

Really glad to hear about the normal results on the tests, Katy!

 

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. 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.

 

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.

 

Hi Katy, I live in Australia. There is a place in Australia that sends the Acro tests to the Royal Vet College London. I will attach the link to the Australian information and if you scroll down towards the bottom you will come across the acro informations. There is a phone number of the people who collect the blood and send it to the UK. You could ring the place in Sydney and ask how much it costs to send the test over to the UK. If you can’t ring them I will do it for you...just let me know.
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB...for-aussie-feline-diabetic-caregivers.217781/

 

Depending on just how elevated the calcium level was, you may want to ask the vet about the need to run an ionized calcium level in the future to confirm it IF it is elevated again with repeat labs. Standard calcium levels can be effected by dehydration & given that the albumin level was also high (indicative of dehydration), it may have just been some dehydration effecting the calcium level (fingers crossed).

I have a cat who has been diagnosed with idiopathic hypercalcemia. Increased calcium can be caused by several serious underlying disease states (which could also be effecting his DM) so the process would be to get an ionized calcium level to confirm the finding & then the next step would be to get
X-rays and an ultrasound. Both are very important as a diagnosis of “idiopathic” hypercalcemia is what is called a diagnosis of exclusion. All other diagnosis that are likely to result in an increase in calcium must be ruled out first before it would be deemed idiopathic. Even with a diagnosis of idiopathic hypercalcemia, quarterly repeat labs (including ionized calcium) & Bi annual ultrasounds are required to make sure additional problems aren’t developing.

So, it actually will be helpful on two fronts to get the diagnostic imaging (ultrasound) that is planned when the HST testing will be done:

1) Rule out any causes for an increased calcium/ionized calcium level (*if the ionized calcium is run & confirms hypercalcemia) Even if the ultrasound is done without an ionized calcium level & the calcium level is high on repeat labs & something is seen, they will be able to connect the dots pretty easily!

2) Look for any organ enlargement potentially caused by HST/acromegaly *very important to know so it can be addressed (when possible)

I do not mean to overwhelm you with another possible issue but it is best to have it on the radar.

Oftentimes, when there is incomplete diagnostics & an attempt to bypass differential diagnosis, you run the risk of continued issues with DM management &/or with optimizing treatment, both short term and long term. It is always best, when possible, to be proactive, take your time and cross those t’s and dot those i’s, to try to prevent further DM management issues now.....and also later .