Acro and IAA tests in Michigan...

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Phoebe_TiggyGA_NortonGA

Phoebe_TiggyGA_NortonGA

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Hi Claudia & Charliemeow,

I see that you are located in Cleveland, Ohio. The testing for Acromegaly and Insulin Autoimmune Antibodies is done in East Lansing, Michigan. Please talk to your vet about what can be done to reduce the cost for these tests.

As Gayle said - MSU Lab charges less than $60 for both tests.

I believe it is OK for the blood to be frozen (we can confirm with the acrobeans that had surgery at CSU for the study -- they had bloodwork done every 3 months after the surgery, and samples would be frozen to send several at the same time)

So if your vet does the blood draw, we could look at cheaper options for shipping -- like either drive it to Lansing -- I drive to Toledo at least once per week from Novi, MI and my husband could take it to East Lansing -- with the blood sample in my freezer overnight.

For that matter, my brother lives in Medina (south of Cleveland), and might be willing to drive the blood partway.

Phoebe
 
Wow, thank you so much for that Phoebe. I'm really hoping that dh won't be out of work much longer (paws crossed). I know my vet charges about 90 for a visit/blood draw. So even with your generous help it just isn't in the budget right now. But I'm ok with that. Slow, steady increases are what we'd be doing either way. The only difference may be the insulin that we'd be using. If it wasn't Xmas time, I might scrape the $$ together to do it, but with my little 1 year old...well I'd rather buy her some gifts right now than get the definitive answer to the acro question. But THANK YOU!!!
 
I think there is no big rush to have the tests done if expense is the problem, but certainly raising funds is also an option.

My reason to say there is no rush is based on what will change with a positive result.
Nothing will really change because you still will need to give what insulin is needed, no matter what the dose may be.
Until you know for sure, aiming for numbers always above 100 or so would be an idea.

There is a bit of a difference between acro and IAA in that IAA could be temporary and is treated more aggressively.
If IAA positive, you aim for greens.
If acro positive, you aim for blues and avoid greens.
If acro and IAA, acro trumps and you treat as if just acro, hoping the IAA will go out of the picture in the future.

My Oliver tested positive for both, and I think that we may have smashed the IAA and are dealing with just acro now.
I was in no big rush to test him because we knew what the results would be, and I also had experience with Shadoe that nothing changed except I had a piece of paper with a high number on it.

You can still get the pricing done with your vet - just print out the two sheets, take them to your vet and ask how much you would be charged for his side of the activity. I think that FEDEX is used if shipping from the vet and directly to the MSU lab, so that cost you can find out online by going to the FEDEX site, and typing in the origin and destination addresses. From vet office to the address on the two test sheets should give you an estimate of the cust and then you can decide how to proceed and when.

So, until one knows for sure, one way or the other, you can treat on the side of caution and possible positve.
 
Charliemeow said:
Wow, thank you so much for that Phoebe. I'm really hoping that dh won't be out of work much longer (paws crossed). I know my vet charges about 90 for a visit/blood draw. So even with your generous help it just isn't in the budget right now. But I'm ok with that. Slow, steady increases are what we'd be doing either way. The only difference may be the insulin that we'd be using. If it wasn't Xmas time, I might scrape the $$ together to do it, but with my little 1 year old...well I'd rather buy her some gifts right now than get the definitive answer to the acro question. But THANK YOU!!!
Click to expand...

I was out of work and treating an acro for a year and a half, so I more than understand having to rob Peter to pay Paul with this. I understand tests are out of the question at the moment, and just want you to know that this is a common scenario with our Canadian members, as the costs are often prohibitive to them as well. We can still be a support to you, and we can still help you. The bottom line information at this time is that you have a high dose cat, regardless of diagnosis. It's a lot of strain and information to absorb. It's a tough thing to accept and wrap your mind around. The important thing that we all want you to know is that we have all been where you are, and that you are not alone with a high dose cat. You aren't doing anything wrong. It's easy to constantly wonder what you're doing wrong, and if you're endangering your cat with a high dose. Always remember this amount of insulin is what the cat needs and shake off those feelings of wrongness.

As I said yesterday, I'm truly sorry everything exploded on your thread, it's happened too many times in the past, and unfortunately it will probably happen again in the future. I hope you will forgive those of us who were involved, and also avail yourself of the help and support we can offer you.
 
I have no hard feelings, and I do appreciate the input. I have updated my ss and will post in the high dose room to get a few more eyes to offer an opinion. Thanks to everyone!
 
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