Please tell me the success stories!

Mary Ann & Baby

Mary Ann & Baby

Member
Hi - I am awaiting Baby's IGF-1 and IAA test results of which I'm pretty certain she will have one or both conditions. SRT/surgery are not in the cards, unfortunately, so I am praying to hear some success stories (not necessarily that your high-dose kitties went OTJ, but that you WERE able to stabilize them below the renal threshold (230-250 on a human meter?) without doing any other treatments besides insulin.

How old is/was your kitty when diagnosed?
How high a dose of Lantus/Levemir did you eventually get to, and then how low when finally stabilized below renal threshold (and how long did it take)?
Did you have to supplement with R insulin ever?
Could you share your spreadsheet with me to show my vet?

Thanks to all! :) I love this forum and members! You guys are the best! :bighug:
 
If Baby tests positive for acromegaly, and if SRT or surgery is not an option, you may wish to look at cabergoline. Discussion here http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...ble-treatment-for-acrocats-discussion.184012/ some caregivers have had success with BP thus drug, including three going OTJ.

You are not likely to get a lot of responses on this forum. Most are either no longer posting, or on the Lantus/Lev forum for day to day. I got Neko mostly regulated, with max dose of 8.75 units, but she had SRT. She was almost 11 years old on diagnosis. I have seen better regulated non treated cats on doses up to 60 units Lev plus R. And some less regulated on more or less insulin. Regulation tended to happen at higher doses. Doses go up and down as the tumour waxes and wanes.

Ages have been from 4 to mid teens on diagnosis.
 
Leo had SRT in Sept 2016, and just celebrated his SRT-two year anniversary. Yes, I know you didn't ask about that. Pre-SRT his insulin demand was rising quickly, and peaked at 18 units/dose. I barely had him regulated.
 
JeffJ said:
Leo had SRT in Sept 2016, and just celebrated his SRT-two year anniversary. Yes, I know you didn't ask about that. Pre-SRT his insulin demand was rising quickly, and peaked at 18 units/dose. I barely had him regulated.
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Thank you, Jeff. I'm so happy that Leo was able to have the SRT and is doing well!! I appreciate your input. :cat:
 
Wendy&Neko said:
If Baby tests positive for acromegaly, and if SRT or surgery is not an option, you may wish to look at cabergoline. Discussion here http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...ble-treatment-for-acrocats-discussion.184012/ some caregivers have had success with BP thus drug, including three going OTJ.

You are not likely to get a lot of responses on this forum. Most are either no longer posting, or on the Lantus/Lev forum for day to day. I got Neko mostly regulated, with max dose of 8.75 units, but she had SRT. She was almost 11 years old on diagnosis. I have seen better regulated non treated cats on doses up to 60 units Lev plus R. And some less regulated on more or less insulin. Regulation tended to happen at higher doses. Doses go up and down as the tumour waxes and wanes.

Ages have been from 4 to mid teens on diagnosis.
Click to expand...
Thank you, Wendy. I will take a look at that Cabergoline thread. Do you remember the names of those high dose kitties so that I might still be able to look at their spreadsheets if they are still available? Although the members may not be posting any longer, the spreadsheets might remain? Thanks!
 
Phoebes was not .tested for acromegaly, but got up to the 20 unit range, so probably is. Angela does a great job regulating her. She is still active in the L/L forum. On the lower dose side of things, check out Amethyst on the L/L forum who was confirmed acro. Amethyst however, is on cabergoline so getting some treatment.

Of the GA kitties, a few examples. Suzanne did a great job with Cobb (here is his SS), he got up to 31 units of Lev plus R. Cobb tested positive for IAA, but Suzanne did not test him for acromegly. She suspected he was due to symptoms. Crystal got up to 60 units of Lev, plus R before Suki got her regulated. Here is Crystal's SS. Suki lives in France so could not get the IAA test done, we only know the IGF-1 was positive. Tommy was on Lantus, diagnosed at 15 and lived to age 19. Here is Tommy's spreadsheet.

There are lots more examples of acrocats, as one in four diabetic cats has it. The ones I listed were just a range of doses and getting into pretty good regulation, for cats not getting other treatment other than the insulin they need. I could probably find more, but it's work.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Phoebes was not .tested for acromegaly, but got up to the 20 unit range, so probably is. Angela does a great job regulating her. She is still active in the L/L forum. On the lower dose side of things, check out Amethyst on the L/L forum who was confirmed acro. Amethyst however, is on cabergoline so getting some treatment.

Of the GA kitties, a few examples. Suzanne did a great job with Cobb (here is his SS), he got up to 31 units of Lev plus R. Cobb tested positive for IAA, but Suzanne did not test him for acromegly. She suspected he was due to symptoms. Crystal got up to 60 units of Lev, plus R before Suki got her regulated. Here is Crystal's SS. Suki lives in France so could not get the IAA test done, we only know the IGF-1 was positive. Tommy was on Lantus, diagnosed at 15 and lived to age 19. Here is Tommy's spreadsheet.

There are lots more examples of acrocats, as one in four diabetic cats has it. The ones I listed were just a range of doses and getting into pretty good regulation, for cats not getting other treatment other than the insulin they need. I could probably find more, but it's work.
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THANK YOU SO MUCH, WENDY!!! You are a wealth of knowledge - I'm so grateful! I would like to share their SS's with my vet. Also, I cannot find it anymore, but somewhere in a post you mentioned there is an article about combining the R with the Lantus/Lev...do you know where I can find that info? Is there a dosing protocol for that also? I'd love to read more about that. Today Baby's numbers are pretty bad in the reds - I'm very conflicted about what to do...I've had her on 12 cycles of 7.5u Lantus (because my vet strongly recommended that I not change her doses sooner than "10-14" days...I'm not sure I understand why...), so I'm holding this dose a little longer than usual as I wait for her acro and IAA results, but I feel terribly guilty seeing Baby in the reds and NOT increasing her dose, but also terribly guilty for going directly against my vet, who I do like very much. (The new "2018 AAHA Diabetes Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats" link here: https://www.aaha.org/public_documents/guidelines/diabetes guidelines_final.pdf recommends dose increases of ".5 - 1 U/dose in 7-14 days if nadirs >150 mg/dl") Is this what most vets follow for protocol I'm assuming, and my vet is maybe even a bit more cautious?
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Phoebes was not .tested for acromegaly, but got up to the 20 unit range, so probably is. Angela does a great job regulating her. She is still active in the L/L forum. On the lower dose side of things, check out Amethyst on the L/L forum who was confirmed acro. Amethyst however, is on cabergoline so getting some treatment.

Of the GA kitties, a few examples. Suzanne did a great job with Cobb (here is his SS), he got up to 31 units of Lev plus R. Cobb tested positive for IAA, but Suzanne did not test him for acromegly. She suspected he was due to symptoms. Crystal got up to 60 units of Lev, plus R before Suki got her regulated. Here is Crystal's SS. Suki lives in France so could not get the IAA test done, we only know the IGF-1 was positive. Tommy was on Lantus, diagnosed at 15 and lived to age 19. Here is Tommy's spreadsheet.

There are lots more examples of acrocats, as one in four diabetic cats has it. The ones I listed were just a range of doses and getting into pretty good regulation, for cats not getting other treatment other than the insulin they need. I could probably find more, but it's work.
Click to expand...
Oh my goodness, does anyone know if Tommy's bean is okay?? (referring to his final post on Tommy's SS) :(
 
The first article linked in this post, points to the article that talks about using R. There is no "protocol" for using R, but rather some guidelines. And we strongly recommend that people work with an experienced R user before using it.

As for the L dose, your vet is wrong. You cannot let the resistance win. You must keep increasing every six cycles until you see some blue. Holding the dose means Baby's body gets used to higher numbers, glucose toxicity will set in and you'll have to go even higher. I don't know what most vets follow for dosing, but most vets don't have familiarity with dosing high dose cats. (much less cats in general). Following Tight Regulation protocol would be best for Baby. You want to get to a better dose, as soon as safely possible. I liked my vet a lot too, I just stopped relying on her for dosing. I showed her the dosing method I was using and periodically gave her copies of the spreadsheet. After a while she just asked what dose we were on.

Tommy's bean stopped posting here before he passed. I know of someone who has been in touch with her quite a while ago.
 
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