New Member - need Cabergoline Info

W

wenfen

Member
Hello everyone. I'm Wendy & my Sugar baby is Sammy, a 12 year old Tabby that was diagnosed with FD 10/26/20. He's also been diagnosed with Acromegaly with a IGF-1 of 434 & is currently unregulated & on Lantus 12 units 2X per day. He also just started 0.70 dose of Cabergoline (started every 72 hours, currently every 48 hours) last week & has a Libre on him for 24 monitoring. We've been using the Pettest glucometer 3X per day (AM pre-shot +6 Nadir & PM pre-shot) since his diagnosis & his numbers continue to be all over the place. We're hoping that the Cabergoline will help to lower his insulin dose & get his numbers down to where he needs to be.
I would appreciate any info on Cabergoline from other Acro pet parents. TIA & happy to be here!
 
Hi Wendy. Do you have a spreadsheet set up yet? It would be beneficial for people to see. @Wendy&Neko will be responding to this some time today. She is a wealth of information on acromegaly as well as helping you to make dosing decisions. My cat, Darcy, started on Cabergoline (daily) six weeks ago today and he is really starting to show more receptivity to insulin. He had been on 33 units of Levemir twice a day (and could have taken more, but I just can't afford that much more). We did our first ever reduction this week and things are going well so far. I have been able to get his numbers down into the blues and greens. Take a look at my spreadsheet. I'm also going to tag @Howiesmom as her kitty is on Cabergoline. @Larry and Kitties also has a cat on Cabergoline and I'm not sure who else in this group is currently using it (Wendy will know). @Olive & Paula is also very experienced with Cabergoline and it really helped her kitty Olive with acro symptoms. Welcome! Oh, and I just recently switched from Lantus to Levemir and am so happy I did! It's working even better for Mr. Darcy (although the initial reason I switched was to avoid the Lantus "sting" since it's acidic). I'm sure we'll talk more later.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
Hi Wendy. Do you have a spreadsheet set up yet? It would be beneficial for people to see. @Wendy&Neko will be responding to this some time today. She is a wealth of information on acromegaly as well as helping you to make dosing decisions. My cat, Darcy, started on Cabergoline (daily) six weeks ago today and he is really starting to show more receptivity to insulin. He had been on 33 units of Levemir twice a day (and could have taken more, but I just can't afford that much more). We did our first ever reduction this week and things are going well so far. I have been able to get his numbers down into the blues and greens. Take a look at my spreadsheet. I'm also going to tag @Howiesmom as her kitty is on Cabergoline. @Larry and Kitties also has a cat on Cabergoline and I'm not sure who else in this group is currently using it (Wendy will know). @Olive & Paula is also very experienced with Cabergoline and it really helped her kitty Olive with acro symptoms. Welcome! Oh, and I just recently switched from Lantus to Levemir and am so happy I did! It's working even better for Mr. Darcy (although the initial reason I switched was to avoid the Lantus "sting" since it's acidic). I'm sure we'll talk more later.
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Thanks so much for your quick response. Yes, I have an Excel spreadsheet with six months of data on it, so I'm good for now with dosing info.
I'm wondering about day of dose glucose spikes. I just called Wedgewood Pharmacy to find out if they have sugar alcohol or other carbs in the liquid used for the suspension because Sammy usually runs high the day of his dose. He's currently on every other day for now. His BG comes down into the 200s the next day, & he is super carb sensitive. TIA
 
Hello and welcome. There are a few things you can do to help us help you on dosing. Check out this post New? How You Can Help Us Help You!
The signature updates and spreadsheets are two bits of information we rely on heavily here to help you.

When you say 0.70 dose of cabergoline, what units are those? How many mcg? Which is how dosing is usually done. How much does Sammy weigh? Most cats here get cabergoline every day. What day did you start it? Indicating that in the spreadsheet also helps. It takes a while for cabergoline to start working too.

There was a longish discussion earlier on cabergoline in this post, from a number of users at the time.
 
wenfen said:
Thanks so much for your quick response. Yes, I have an Excel spreadsheet with six months of data on it, so I'm good for now with dosing info.
I'm wondering about day of dose glucose spikes. I just called Wedgewood Pharmacy to find out if they have sugar alcohol or other carbs in the liquid used for the suspension because Sammy usually runs high the day of his dose. He's currently on every other day for now. His BG comes down into the 200s the next day, & he is super carb sensitive. TIA
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Hi Wendy,

You say he comes down the day after he gets it but is up the day he does get it. But the raise in glucose could also be a bounce. So I wonder. Once you get your spreadsheet linked it will give us more insight.

This is where you want to be for acro or diabetes. Glad you made it over here.
 
wenfen said:
Thanks so much for your quick response. Yes, I have an Excel spreadsheet with six months of data on it, so I'm good for now with dosing info.
I'm wondering about day of dose glucose spikes. I just called Wedgewood Pharmacy to find out if they have sugar alcohol or other carbs in the liquid used for the suspension because Sammy usually runs high the day of his dose. He's currently on every other day for now. His BG comes down into the 200s the next day, & he is super carb sensitive. TIA
Click to expand...
I've never noticed any effect on Darcy's BG with Cabergoline, but he does get it every day. I'd be surprised if Wedgewood added any sugars or anything, although they do have flavorings (mine is fish flavored), Paula had good luck with Marshmallow Bacon. They say it's bitter, but I never can tell because Darcy is just such a lamb... he never complains about anything. I got my Cabergoline from Wedgewood as well.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Hello and welcome. There are a few things you can do to help us help you on dosing. Check out this post New? How You Can Help Us Help You!
The signature updates and spreadsheets are two bits of information we rely on heavily here to help you.

When you say 0.70 dose of cabergoline, what units are those? How many mcg? Which is how dosing is usually done. How much does Sammy weigh? Most cats here get cabergoline every day. What day did you start it? Indicating that in the spreadsheet also helps. It takes a while for cabergoline to start working too.

There was a longish discussion earlier on cabergoline in this post, from a number of users at the time.
Click to expand...
From one Wendy to another! LOL
Sorry 70ug/kg so 70 mcg. He weighs between 16.3 - 16.6 so that calculates to approx 7.48 kilograms X 10 = 70 mcg.
I've been trying to get our Vet to write the RX for over 3 months so for now she's happy to just go slowly starting out every 72 hours, then just changed him to every 48 yesterday's dose.
We'll get him down to every 24 hours once we finish this 15 ml bottle & collect his Libre sensor data.
He started on the 70 mcg on 4/7/2021, then another 70 mcg on 4/10/21, 4/13/21 (every 72 hours), then started every 48 hours yesterday 4/15/21.
I'm not sure how to send you my Excel spreadsheet, & we have 2 weeks of data from his 1st Libre when our Vet took him from 10 - 12 units of Lantus 2X per day.
He's currently on his 2nd Libre for another 2 weeks so she can monitor him on both his Lantus & Cabergoline.
His numbers are much lower today (the day after his dose yesterday when he was riding high all day). He's in the high 200s & low 300s which for him is a great improvement.
We've actually seen improvement from the Cabergoline by the 2nd dose. Fingers & toes crossed.
 
You don't "send" the spreadsheet. You have to create a new one - instructions are in the New post I linked, and copy the numbers over.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
I've never noticed any effect on Darcy's BG with Cabergoline, but he does get it every day. I'd be surprised if Wedgewood added any sugars or anything, although they do have flavorings (mine is fish flavored), Paula had good luck with Marshmallow Bacon. They say it's bitter, but I never can tell because Darcy is just such a lamb... he never complains about anything. I got my Cabergoline from Wedgewood as well.
Click to expand...
Wedgewood doesn't actually "add sugar" I was asking them about both the flavor (chicken/marshmallow) & the sugar alcohol/carbs in both the liquid suspension & flavoring used.
Sammy is super carb sensitive so the "sugar alcohol" & carbs from them can actually affect the blood glucose.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
You don't "send" the spreadsheet. You have to create a new one - instructions are in the New post I linked, and copy the numbers over.
Click to expand...
Wendy&Neko said:
You don't "send" the spreadsheet. You have to create a new one - instructions are in the New post I linked, and copy the numbers over.
Click to expand...
I have more than 6 months of BG Data from 3X per day AM pre-shot +6 Nadir & PM pre-shot. I used to just send a pdf file to the FB Diabetes group for dosing advice before he was diagnosed with Acro & now rely on our Vet's. I also have all my notes on my Excel spreadsheet including daily weight, food, eating/drinking/peeing behavior, start of new Lantus 10ML Vial, Libre, Cabergoline etc. I don't feel comfortable sharing that publicly, but would be happy to send it to you via email etc.
 
Olive & Paula said:
Hi Wendy,

You say he comes down the day after he gets it but is up the day he does get it. But the raise in glucose could also be a bounce. So I wonder. Once you get your spreadsheet linked it will give us more insight.

This is where you want to be for acro or diabetes. Glad you made it over here.
Click to expand...
Thanks so much! Yes...I'm torn between a spike due to added sugar alcohol/carbs in the formulary suspension of his Cabergoline & a possible bounce from it lowering his insulin needs. Wedgewood is investigating the composition of the suspension for me, so that should help to eliminate that if they find out it's not the cause. Fortunately we have a Libre on him for the 1st 2 weeks of Cabergoline dosing so that should also help us to determine if a bounce is occurring. He's already down more than 250 points from yesterday's high numbers so something is definitely going on. I actually think the Cab has been starting to work from the 3rd dose, so fingers & toes crossed.
 
wenfen said:
Thanks so much! Yes...I'm torn between a spike due to added sugar alcohol/carbs in the formulary suspension of his Cabergoline & a possible bounce from it lowering his insulin needs. Wedgewood is investigating the composition of the suspension for me, so that should help to eliminate that if they find out it's not the cause. Fortunately we have a Libre on him for the 1st 2 weeks of Cabergoline dosing so that should also help us to determine if a bounce is occurring. He's already down more than 250 points from yesterday's high numbers so something is definitely going on. I actually think the Cab has been starting to work from the 3rd dose, so fingers & toes crossed.
Click to expand...

Wedgewood does not put sugar or sweetners in the cabergoline. At least when I asked about it.

If you look at everyones signatures you will see links to spreadsheet for every cat here. Without it people will not advise. If you go out to main menu, you will see a section that has Spreadsheet, Tech Support. It will tell you how to link securely, its not public only to people in this forum. They can not edit, they can only view. Spreadsheet must be done in google sheets. When numbers are added it will color code automatically. If other info is added you have to manually enter color. When you see the color ss it has quite an impact.

If you click on Olives SS (blue link) in signature you will see her info going back to 2018 when I adopted her.
 
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You just need to put a couple weeks back worth of data in the spreadsheet for it to be useful to us going forward.
 
I’m not sure how I can help but am happy to answer questions about Howie’s experiences. He’s been in cabergoline since Feb. 4. I have no idea if it’s helping him yet. He’s been as high as 55 units of Levemir and has gone down as low as 30 units. He’s bounced between those levels and currently has been at 39 units for 18 cycles. He was below 100s BG (greens) and now is hanging out in the low to mid 100s BG (blues) but not enough for a dose increase or adding in any R. So maybe that is the cabergoline keeping him moderated. He currently gets .9L of 100 Mcg/kg of cabergoline each morning. He started out at .6mL originally. He weighs 14.2 lbs.

If you have other specific questions, let us know!
 
wenfen said:
Sorry 70ug/kg so 70 mcg. He weighs between 16.3 - 16.6 so that calculates to approx 7.48 kilograms X 10 = 70 mcg.
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I do not understand the first sentence. For the weight of ~7.5 kg, a dose of 70mcg equates to 10mcg/kg. My Snuffles who weighs about the same has been getting 75 mcg daily since mid Dec.
 
Larry and Kitties said:
I do not understand the first sentence. For the weight of ~7.5 kg, a dose of 70mcg equates to 10mcg/kg. My Snuffles who weighs about the same has been getting 75 mcg daily since mid Dec.
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I converted his weight of 16.3 - 16.8 lbs to kilograms which is used by the pharmacy. So it's 7.4 kilograms rounded off is 7 & 10 mcg = 70 mcg. He's not up to the 7.5 yet & if he was the Vet would just increase him to 80 rather than split the difference at 75. Hope that help!
 
I do not understand what "70ug/kg " means". I am confused with your term "ug" when you also use mcg. Does ug mean microgram which is also frequently abbreviated as mcg. The standose is 10mcg/kg so I do not understand where the 70ug/kg comes from.
 
Larry and Kitties said:
I do not understand what "70ug/kg " means". I am confused with your term "ug" when you also use mcg. Does ug mean microgram which is also frequently abbreviated as mcg. The standose is 10mcg/kg so I do not understand where the 70ug/kg comes from.
Click to expand...
Yes they’re the same & interchangeable with the medical profession. Google it & you’ll see that both are used. Hope that helps.
 
Does anyone that uses Cabergoline get super high BG spikes day of the dose & lower BG the next day? Sammy is only on 70 mcg every other day.
I don’t need or want dosing info as I have 2 Vets for that, just curious if you see spikes? TIA
 
wenfen said:
Does anyone that uses Cabergoline get super high BG spikes day of the dose & lower BG the next day? Sammy is only on 70 mcg every other day.
I don’t need or want dosing info as I have 2 Vets for that, just curious if you see spikes? TIA
Click to expand...
I believe that everyone on here gives cabergoline every day from what I know of them.
 
wenfen said:
Wedgewood doesn't actually "add sugar" I was asking them about both the flavor (chicken/marshmallow) & the sugar alcohol/carbs in both the liquid suspension & flavoring used.
Sammy is super carb sensitive so the "sugar alcohol" & carbs from them can actually affect the blood glucose.
Click to expand...
Were you able to find anything out from Wedgewood about sugar alcohols?
 
wenfen said:
Does anyone that uses Cabergoline get super high BG spikes day of the dose & lower BG the next day? Sammy is only on 70 mcg every other day.
I don’t need or want dosing info as I have 2 Vets for that, just curious if you see spikes?
Click to expand...
We have very occasionally had a few kitties that were on cabergoline doses every other day for a while. I didn't notice any difference in BG from days with cabegoline to days not on it. If we could see your spreadsheet we could see if there is another explanation.
 
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