? 5/11 Marvin 434 amps 410 pmps

[Marvin's Mom - Nat]

Hello All,

I notice that Marvin isn't wanting to eat as much the last few days. When he was first diagnosed he had stopped eating for a while, eating well he used to eat a lot so he was eating maybe 1/4 or less of what he normally ate. Now the last few days he eats about 1/3 to 1/2 his food stops and maybe goes back to it later which is not normal for him. he normally east all of it in one sitting, and on occassion leave a little behind, but he normally licks his bowl clean. He is eating, but wondering if I should be concerned. Is ketone is negative, He also started drinking more and peeing more again, it has lessen a lot for a while, but in the last week notices that coming back. Thinking is that even though his BG were high they were lower than before, but maybe his body got used to these number and now needs the BG to go lower since he has be pretty stable at 21 - 23 for over about two months. Hope I am making sense.

 

[Bronx's dad (GA)]

Have you considered getting Marvin tested for Acromegaly & IAA? Would your vet allow you to do the TR protocol instead of SLGS?

 

[Marvin's Mom - Nat]

My Vet did mention that we may want to look into additional test or see an internist. I was trying to remember those two test you mentioned above. My Vet is open I think on what we can try. I will take another good look at FT this weekend, and see if I work it out. I work on projects and right now have a really high profile one that isn't going well. so it's going to be crazy until end of summer. So I am concerned I may not be available enough to monitor properly. I do have a week off coming up in a few weeks. So maybe able to try it for a week and see...

 

[Marvin's Mom - Nat]

What is SRT?

 

[Bronx's dad (GA)]

The 2 tests are IAA & IGF1, not sure who tests in Canada or maybe they use Michigan State University in the US? Actually it looks like you are on TR protocol already with pretty aggressive increases.

 

[Bronx's dad (GA)]

What is SRT?

Radiation treatments for the pituitary gland tumor (Acromegaly). The treatment will hopefully zap the tumor, here are some signs of Acromegaly: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZkMmEyux5PxLb6I-FUUOCuZPs2MCYQcpHjG747KRK6c/edit.

 

[Marvin's Mom - Nat]

Yes I have been a bit more aggressive, as his numbers are pretty much flat, except one day his number went down and down after he was sick. I guess I am somewhere in between the two. I was using .5 increases instead of .25 at first for some reason I thought I had read that you could go increase by .5 if number where in pink/red. However when I went back to check last week I think, I couldn't find that reference... so either read it somewhere else or simply misread.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

The only place in North America that tests for acromegaly (IGF-1) test and insulin auto antibodies (IAA) is Michigan State University. We usually recommend that people get both those tests done when the dose gets to 6 units. You vet will have to draw the blood and have it sent to MSU.

When using TR, you can do increases by 0.5 units if nadirs are pink or above, but you do have to be doing at least two tests per cycle to make sure you are seeing the nadirs. Some cats, like my Neko, could start the cycle in red, dive low and end up back in pink for the next preshot. She earned her first reduction, below 50, starting the cycle at 430. She earned reductions starting even higher. That's why getting a second test per cycle is so important. You can't tell how low the cat is going on a dose just looking at preshots. If you are at work all day, a before bed test at night will help fill in the picture.