Sierra & Cats
Member Since 2022
Hi All,
Thank you a million times for your patience, support, and advice as I adjusted to Diablo's diabetes diagnosis. We finally got in the routine of testing and it's a breeze. No more stress for either of us. I have a few questions here that are specific to his condition.
1) I took him into the vet recently for a decreased appetite and bloating. They did his bloodwork (I'll update his most recent labs soon on his spreadsheet once they send them to me) and also took an X-ray. There was no mass evident in his X-Ray, but they couldn't get a great view since he's lost so much muscle mass and has arthritis all along his spine, so they couldn't get him to lay correctly. His liver was enlarged and his intestines looking odd. The vet said it was likely fatty liver or some sort of mass that we couldn't see on the X-ray. After his labs came back, unfortunately, she thinks we're looking at some sort of cancer. They recommended an ultrasound to help them identify what type. She now believes the diabetes is a secondary condition to the cancer. I'm wondering if any of you all have any experience dealing with feline cancer and could provide any recommendations? I take him to a holistic vet and am looking for any nutritional supplements, homeopathic, herbal, or other recommendations that I can ask the vet about. If there's hope in conventional treatments, I will obviously move forward with them, but I prefer to use natural therapies in conjunction to any treatment, or alternatively if the conventional treatment options will be too stressful for him without improving his quality of life.
2) He has seen two vets recently. Vet #1 (prior to the cancer dx) told me to keep him on 1unit after looking at his glucose curve done on 12/05. Vet #2 told me today to up him to 2units 2x/day. Vet #2 was at a clinic (the recent visit with the Xray) so there was transportation stress and tons of treats along the way to get him into the carrier, etc. Blood was drawn after the X-ray so I know that he was stressed. She said his fructosamine is still in the 400s and his glucose was really high on the date of the visit. I'm torn because of the difference in opinions between the vets. My instinct is that 2 units will be too much for him. I really don't want to worry about hypo episodes in addition to everything he's going through now, but I want to regulate his diabetes the best I can. As far as his behavior: since starting 1unit/day, his appetite is no longer ravenous but he still pees a LOT and his thirst still seems higher than average, though not as excessive as it was prior. I'm working on getting some additional readings in between his shots, but what do you all think? Would it be wise to up to 1.25 or 1.5 units/day?
Thank you
Thank you a million times for your patience, support, and advice as I adjusted to Diablo's diabetes diagnosis. We finally got in the routine of testing and it's a breeze. No more stress for either of us. I have a few questions here that are specific to his condition.
1) I took him into the vet recently for a decreased appetite and bloating. They did his bloodwork (I'll update his most recent labs soon on his spreadsheet once they send them to me) and also took an X-ray. There was no mass evident in his X-Ray, but they couldn't get a great view since he's lost so much muscle mass and has arthritis all along his spine, so they couldn't get him to lay correctly. His liver was enlarged and his intestines looking odd. The vet said it was likely fatty liver or some sort of mass that we couldn't see on the X-ray. After his labs came back, unfortunately, she thinks we're looking at some sort of cancer. They recommended an ultrasound to help them identify what type. She now believes the diabetes is a secondary condition to the cancer. I'm wondering if any of you all have any experience dealing with feline cancer and could provide any recommendations? I take him to a holistic vet and am looking for any nutritional supplements, homeopathic, herbal, or other recommendations that I can ask the vet about. If there's hope in conventional treatments, I will obviously move forward with them, but I prefer to use natural therapies in conjunction to any treatment, or alternatively if the conventional treatment options will be too stressful for him without improving his quality of life.
2) He has seen two vets recently. Vet #1 (prior to the cancer dx) told me to keep him on 1unit after looking at his glucose curve done on 12/05. Vet #2 told me today to up him to 2units 2x/day. Vet #2 was at a clinic (the recent visit with the Xray) so there was transportation stress and tons of treats along the way to get him into the carrier, etc. Blood was drawn after the X-ray so I know that he was stressed. She said his fructosamine is still in the 400s and his glucose was really high on the date of the visit. I'm torn because of the difference in opinions between the vets. My instinct is that 2 units will be too much for him. I really don't want to worry about hypo episodes in addition to everything he's going through now, but I want to regulate his diabetes the best I can. As far as his behavior: since starting 1unit/day, his appetite is no longer ravenous but he still pees a LOT and his thirst still seems higher than average, though not as excessive as it was prior. I'm working on getting some additional readings in between his shots, but what do you all think? Would it be wise to up to 1.25 or 1.5 units/day?
Thank you
