Sebastian IGF: 21, IAA: 85

Hi all, I've been posting daily over in the Lantus threads but I just got Sebastian's IGF and IAA results today and it was suggested I post over here to get some more specialized advice and analysis on his results.

The IGF seems low and the analysis from MSU was that it doesn't indicate acro. The IAA is high, however if you look at Sebastian's spreadsheet we've been able to get some low numbers so we might have already broken through that.

I wanted to follow up more on Cushings and Conn's, however, since Sebastian has been slow to regrow the fur that was shaved on at the hospital when he had p'titis back in November, and the analysis that came back from MSU made note of that and questioned about additional physical symptoms or lab results that might indicate one of those.

Here are the actual results from MSU. I'd appreciate if anyone can review them and offer a second opinion and if there's any additional info we should follow up with.

I'll also include some notes I made in my Lantus thread. I did a little research on Cushing's and Conn's and made note of some of the listed symptoms and my observations on if/how they might apply to Sebastian.

hyperadrenocorticism

• Excessive drinking (polydipsia) and excessive urination (polyuria) - Yes, though as I understand it these are also symptoms of unregulated diabetes. His drinking and urination have actually gotten a lot better since we've made the diet change and gotten his BG down. He's not drinking nearly as much, maybe only 1-2 trips to the water fountain a day compared to 4-5 in the past. Urine volume is also coming down.
• Increased appetite - Kind of hard to tell with his ketone requirements. We're feeding him 364 kcal/day and he's eating all of that. He's hungry come meal time but not ravenously so and doesn't instantly devour all the food when it's given.
• Enlargement of the abdomen (a pot-bellied appearance) - Definitely not
• Lethargy - Yes, though not to an extreme. And he's gotten better since getting over the p'titis flare and getting his numbers down.
• Muscle wasting and weakness - Doesn't seem like. He's able to jump up on the couch back and counters, run around, etc.
• Poor coat condition - Not overly. He fluctuates between being soft and fluffy to sometimes a bit oily, but nothing too bad. He used to have dandruff but that's also gone away since we've gotten the BG under control.
• Hair loss - No loss, just the very, very slow regrowth. It is coming back in, it's just taking its sweet time.
• Curling of the ear tips - Nope
• Thin and fragile skin - Don't think so, he doesn't seem to get scratched overly easily and it's not like he's super easy to get the blood for BG checks from.

hyperaldosteronism
Harder to find physical symptoms listing for this one. It sounds like it'd be more urinary, or possibly vision related issues. His urinalysis and cultures have come back pretty clean, potassium is in a normal range. And I don't think he's having any vision problems. He tracks really well and well catch his squirrel when I toss it to him and will fling it around and catch it in mid-air.

Found a better listing of symptoms for hyperaldosteronism:
Clinical signs
Clinical signs are typically associated with potassium depletion and systemic arterial hypertension. Owners may report signs of episodic or acute muscle weakness including the inability to jump on and off surroundings, plantigrade stance of the hindlimbs, inability to raise the head (cervical ventroflexion), and lateral recumbency or collapse. Presenting complaints may also include concerns of sudden blindness, mydriasis, and hyphema.

I don't see any of those. He's jumping up and off stuff fine, I've been watching for him walking on his haunches since I learned that was a sign of diabetic neurological decline and there's none of that, head movement is fine, and like I mentioned before his vision seems great.

 

You are doing a great job with Sebastian, and the spreadsheet. BG regulation is key to good diabetic health.

The MSU tests are pretty clear about the Acro. I suppose it is possible there could be some, but it would be minimal. Probably the high insulin usage is from the IAA. The Cushings has a lot of side effects, but others have better experience there.

My Acro kitteh Leo has slow regrowth of fur. And we also have a fairly healthy kitteh Little Dude who is slow to regrow fur as well. So maybe some cats just aren't good at fur replenishment.