5/4 Shishi PMPS 257 +2 235 breakthrough dose@7.5units

Status
Not open for further replies.
will and shishi

will and shishi

Member Since 2010
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=41501

recap

Was going to do fpLI test to confirm pancreatitis, but due to financial reasons was unable to. Bupe only helped very little, did not keep her on bupe for more than 1 day, results inconclusive whether BG is spiked by pain.

Patience has finally paid off, Shishi has reached a breakthrough dose @ 7.5 units. She is now on 8 units and counting. I see lots of blues finally and both me and Shishi is feeling a bit better.

The battle is not over yet, as she seems to be adjusting to the dose increases rather fast, causing me to keep increasing dose according to protocol.

Will keep going until I see greens, and hopefully it will come soon.

She is peeing less than before, around 9 ball size clumps
she grooms only after meals, and the occasional lick here and there. Coat is looking a bit shinier, and with less dandruff.
pooping is still normal and formed.
She still doesn't play and doesn't like to be touched.
she might purr really soft after meals. but not any other time.
appetite is still really good.

overall a improvement from before. Will continue to increase dose.
 
Re: 5/4 Shishi AMPS 207 +3 165 +9 244 breakthrough dose@7.5u

Hi Will. I'm still pretty much a newcomer here, but wanted to say hi. :-D I looked through Shishi's SS and it looks like when you follow the protocol, her numbers are really responding. Isn't it nice to have the good folks here help us figure out what we need to do and when we need to do it? It seems you have your hands full with medical problems with your furbaby. I completely understand the financial aspect of it. I'm very thankful Champ hasn't had any medical problems other than the diabetes. I don't know what I would do otherwise.

Make a condo for Shishi every day so all of us here can see how ya'll are doing and cheer you on. I know it's helped me tremendously to cope with all this.
 
Re: 5/4 Shishi AMPS 207 +3 165 +9 244 breakthrough dose@7.5u

Hey Patty and Champ, great to have you here and thanks for dropping by.

And thank you all for the support, Shishi is a high dose kitty and I'm glad to see some change finally.
 
Re: 5/4 Shishi AMPS 207 +3 165 +9 244 breakthrough dose@7.5u

Will --

I'm guessing that you haven't had Shishi tested for any of the HD conditions. The tests aren't that expensive here in the US. Unfortunately, I don't think there's a lab in Canada that does the testing so it ends up being costly to ship the blood to Michigan State for anyone in Canada. To be honest, at least from my read of Shishi's SS, it's hard to know at this point if there is some diagnosable HD condition or if Shishi has been fighting off first the kidney infection then pancreatitis. Either way, you'll need to be on top of the dosing (like you are) it's more for the longer term management that you'll need to sort this out.

If the pancreatitis is still present, I would encourage you to use the bupe. Cats are notorious for compartmentalizing pain. It is a huge survival factor in their make up. Pancreatitis hurts.

I hope the good numbers continue and that Shishi is on the mend.
 
Re: 5/4 Shishi PMPS 257 +2 235 breakthrough dose@7.5u

Hello Sienne

Its always great to have you come and give advice, I just want to say I really appreciate all the in-depth info you have provided me.

As far as testing for HD conditions, I have not tested for Acro nor IAA. Indeed the tests are pricey here due to the courier down to states. Vet stated that since she used to respond to insulin, it is unlikely for Shishi to have these 2 conditions. And he also mentioned that if she tested positive, there is really no cure either.

As far as the fPLI, I would like to get this done, and confirm pancreatitis, vet also mentioned that I should not use bupe continuously for more than 1 week. When you mentioned to use bupe, how long should I be using it on Shishi?

Its great to see blues, but your absolutely right that this is a long term management, and the more information I know the better. If I had only 1 choice of tests, which one should I preform for Shishi at this point.
 
Those are really good questions.

As far as the bupe, I would discuss the alternatives with your vet. Bupe is a narcotic and there are likely implications for it's use over an extended bout of pancreatitis. I believe some people here have used Tramadol for pain mgmt but I'm not recalling if they've used it with pancreatitis. It's also useful to know that some cats react with lowered BG levels to Tramadol.

With IAA, the challenge is that a cat can and does respond to insulin initially. As the antibodies build up, you need more insulin until you hit a breakthrough dose. Then, BG levels can come back down. Acro is different. With acro, high BG levels are a result of the levels of hormone that are being produced even though a cat has a working pancreas. BG levels go up and down depending on the activity level of the tumor. There is a treatment for acro -- sterotactic radiosurgery (SRT) that is done by Dr. Lunn at Colorado State University.

As to which test, I'm not sure what to suggest. If Shishi had pancreatitis and is winding down from the bout, you may not get a result that reflects the presence of pancreatitis and/or it's severity. The results of the test vary on where you are in the course of the illness. I think it's helpful to know if your cat has a HD condition since it gives you some security as to how aggressive you can be with dosing. On the other hand, Jill has mentioned that the members of the German Lantus forum (essentiall the LL equivalent in Germany) do not have a readily accessible means of testing for acro or IAA. Their cats do just fine. I guess if I had to make a decision, I would want to treat the most acute condition first and for me, that would be the pancreatitis But, that's just my opinion.
 
That is really good info, I will discuss with my vet as to which pain killers I can use for long term. I know he mentioned once that Shishi cannot use metacam due to her kidneys. Shishi does not have kidney failure or disease, but vet said she shouldn't be on metacam.

I think you are right on about the pancreatitis, I think I will just have to see how she responds from pain killers and assess whether her bout with pancreatitis is severe. And maybe try to get a fPLI done.

On a side note, whenever she comes back from a vet visit, her BG's usually go down to low blues or greens, not sure if this is hormonal related or pain killer related, but its pretty consistent.

Will discuss my needs with the vet tomorrow and go from there.
 
The FDA here in the US recently issued a black box warning for the use of Metacam in cats. What that means is that the drug should not be used due to the potential for acute renal failure. You've got a vet who keeps up with the news! There is a website devoted to educating people to the danger of Metacam. One of the stories on the website, Latte, was one of our LL kitties (Carolyn/Latte).
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top