? 5/17 Marvin amps 412 pmps 342

[Marvin's Mom - Nat]

Have an appointment with a specialist for Marvin next monday. I read up on Acromegaly, have to admit the treatments, and just testing for it is scaring me. I can only imagine what the costs are, and the prognosis are not so good based on the articles I read. Surgery seems to be the way to go, anyone here select the surgery option rather than radiation? Not sure but based on a few articles I read, it seems that Acromegaly may cause the diabetes and once that is taken care of it looks like probability of going into remission is good.

It is one of the conditions I want to discuss with the specialist as Marivn has alot of the symptons. oddly enough when he was dx with diabetes the vet had mention that he had a heart murmur, and it seems like a lot not sure about the changes in facial and paws, as he's lost weight so he does look a little different. I wonder what else the specialist may look into. I really fear this appointment, because not sure I want to put my baby though all that if he has acromegaly, and I doubt I can financially afford it. My vet even researched acromegaly when I mentioned it, and like you all said regular vets were taught it was extremely rare, but that isn't the actual case. She also thinks that there is a good possibility that he has this, and was also surprised to find out it is one of the main reasons for cats who are insulin resistant. I think she appreciated learning about this.

Not to sure what to say, feeling a bit lost and know that I may need to make a decision soon that I may not want to make.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

I know how scary the prospect of acromegaly is. When Neko got that diagnosis, there was only one other person here with an acrocat. Now there are quite a few of us to lean on should that be the case with Marvin. If you get the blood test done for acromegaly, make sure you get the test done for IAA or insulin auto antibodies too. Some cats have one or the other, or both. Your vet nay poopoo getting the test done, but it's a very small cost add on and can make a difference in dosing if positive.

The current state of the art treatment for acromegaly is hypophysectomy or surgical removal of the pituitary. It is brain surgery. They go through the upper palate to get to it. The only place in North America that does it is Washington State University. The best place to get it done is the Royal Veterinary Clinic in London as they have the most experience. The success of the surgery is related to the surgeons experience. We only had one member here go to WSU. She never posted afterwards but I heard there were comlications. But that was two years ago and a lot could have changed. There is a fair recovery time from the surgery. But the chances of cure and remission are better that with radiation. It's a risk vs reward tradeoff. And honestly, most people do not treat the acromegaly but rather give as much insulin as needed and treat other symptoms as they arise. Current treatments are pricy and/or involve travel, which not everyone can do. The best thing you can do, with or without treatment, is to get Marvin safely to a good dose of insulin.

The excess growth hormone does cause the diabetes. Not all acros are diabetic, just most that we know of. Frankly, the other growth hormone changes to me were harder to deal with than the diabetes. With radiation, Neko got down to tiny doses of insulin and was fairly well regulated. And as an aside, Neko had very few signs until the end. Only
35% of acros have obvious signs at diagnosis.

 

[Marvin's Mom - Nat]

the other growth hormone changes to me were harder to deal with than the diabetes. With radiation, Neko got down to tiny doses of insulin and was fairly well regulated. And as an aside, Neko had very few signs until the end. Only
35% of acros have obvious signs at diagnosis.

I hadn't realized that Neko had passed, I am sorry to hear that. What are the other hormone changes you found hard to handle? One of my concerns is that Marvin already has sever neuropathy, and if he does have acromegaly, I think from what I read that the higher dosing even if I get him regulated will not help with that, and even at the moment he basically restricts himself to the kitchen where I moved his litter, bed and doesn't move out of there unless I pick him up. He really doesn't walk anymore unless its to try and make it to his litter which is nolonger in a normal litter pan as it's too high for him, I am using a top of a plastic bin which he doesn't have to climb in. I am keeping my fingers crossed that maybe it's something else, but my gut says that it probably acromegaly. If getting him regulated, addresses the neuropathy than I think it is an option, but if it doesn't or low probability that it will I will need to do what best for him. I keep looking at his paws trying to see if they are bigger or not, I never paid attention to them so I can't tell. hmmm we love them so much, he's my buddy...

 

[Sharon14]

Hi Natalie, it is scary, but once you know what you're dealing with (acro, IAA, both or neither) you'll be able to work out a treatment that works for you and Marvin. Colin was diagnosed with acro Jan 2016 and had been diabetic for almost a year before that. My vet never mentioned acro so it wasn't until I got here that I knew it even existed. Colin has neuropathy, but the Zobaline is helping, though it took awhile. One problem many acros get is arthritis, has Marvin been checked for that? The biggest difference I see in Colin is in his mouth/jaw area, and he sometimes has problems chewing his food due to that. Hope things work out Monday.

 

[Marvin's Mom - Nat]

Hi Natalie, it is scary, but once you know what you're dealing with (acro, IAA, both or neither) you'll be able to work out a treatment that works for you and Marvin. Colin was diagnosed with acro Jan 2016 and had been diabetic for almost a year before that. My vet never mentioned acro so it wasn't until I got here that I knew it even existed. Colin has neuropathy, but the Zobaline is helping, though it took awhile. One problem many acros get is arthritis, has Marvin been checked for that? The biggest difference I see in Colin is in his mouth/jaw area, and he sometimes has problems chewing his food due to that. Hope things work out Monday.

Thanks Sharon, Marvin has been checked for arthritis, however I think with the neuropathy, that meds for arthritis should also help. I just need to get my hands on something good. I bought something this weekend but when I got home i noticed it said for dogs only I will check with the vet to see what they have and also ask on monday about checking for arthritis. It's confusing cause some articles say that treating with insulin only doesn't do anything for the neuropathy and others says it works. I just checked his teeth/jaw is over the top. I am thinking he probably had this for a long time, probably why he is such a long and naturally large cat, and he used to be food crazy since he was a kitten. I remember putting him on a diet and me and my ex couldn't take the crying. So put him back on regular food back then. Have you had to treat Colin for heart or kidney issues?

 

[Marvin's Mom - Nat]

Correction Marvin has not been checked for arthritis.....

 

[Sharon14]

I think many use Cosequin for arthritis, also adequine injections. Wendy can tell you more about that. So far Colin has not been treated for any heart or kidney problems. I do try to keep the phos levels in his food down and add lots of water. He's over due for bloodwork though. I had noticed Colin's jaw long before diagnosis too. I took him to two vets thinking it was an infected tooth or something and they both just said he was fine, just a big cat.

 

[Wendy&Neko]

The other growth hormone changes I was talking about are the soft tissue and bony growth, as well as organ growth. Some are later stage symptoms. Neko had a couple of scary incidents. One was a bony walnut sized growth on her jaw. It turned out to be a benign growth, but the dental vet at first thought it was cancer. Heart issues I also find scary. If Marvin has a heart murmur, at some point you may want to get an echocardiogram done. Some murmurs are benign, and Neko's was for the first couple of years. But after I began giving fluids to help her kidneys, her heart complained. Not all acros have heart issues, but it can sneak up without visible symptoms. There are meds that can help,if diagnosed and treated in time. Not all acros get the same symptoms or changes. Kidney issues are also common, and sticking to lower phosphorus food like Sharon does is a good idea.

Neko had quite bad arthritis. I started out with a cosequin equivalent and fish oil. Later I added the Canadian equivalent of Adequan (cartrophen). I also tried hyaluronic acid and Duralactin which help inflammation and the joints. The latter helped her, as did acupuncture treatments. It eventually got to the point where she was on daily buprenorphine for pain. She never had neuropathy, but the Zobaline and getting him into better BG numbers will help that.

 

[Marvin's Mom - Nat]

Thank you Wendy for the advice, I will look into some pain meds as he has started to show signs of being in pain the last week. I think due to the neuropathy his back is so bony now, he hasn't lost much weight since diagnosed, but his back end definitely doesn't have any fat on it, so am sure that is causing pain and probably arthritis. Acupuncture won't be an option, not sure how I will get him to the specialist as he is one of those cats terrified of the car, my vet is less than 10 minutes away so not so bad, but the specialist is about 45 minutes away which will be challenging. He pees all over himself every time I bring him to the vet.

I had a dog with server arthritis, and he got shots monthly from the vet, I may look into that. lots to think about. Thank you all.