3/26 Moe’s b-day! AMPS=367;+3=437; vet wants more testing+9=337;PMPS=434;+3.5=355

Morning all! Today is Moe’s birthday! He’s officially 11 years old. Today is also the day I switched from AlphaTrak to the Relion prime meter, and increased his dosage to 2.5. And, we have another PINK start to the day! Yay!

I am curious to know what his reading might have been on the Alpha Trak... does anyone know how to do the conversion math?

 

Happy Birthday Moe!!!

 

Happy birthday sweet Moe! Good luck with the increase!
For the Alpha Trak, I think it's roughly around 20%.

 

After breakfast jump...437 at +3

 

Happy Birthday Moe!

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOE!!!

 

Oh Moe!! Come back down to earth for your Birthday pawty, please!

 

Just got a message back from my vet. She agreed to increase to 2.5, but is concerned that insulin resistance combined with soft stool might be due to chronic intestinal issue such as cancer or IBD. she wants to do a full CBC and T4, plus a urine culture and sensitivity test. Also a cobalamin test to check for poor absorption in the small intestine. That one has to be done fasted. And if that doesn’t get us an explanation then she wants an abdominal ultrasound.
Any thoughts?

 

Birthday greetings to Moe.

There isn't a conversion between a human meter and the AT. The best we know is that a 50 on a numan meter is a 68 on an AT. There may be some esoteric formula but fundamentally, pick a meter and stick with it or you'll drive yourself crazy.

Most kitties with IBD have diarrhea and vomiting. Personally, I'd try some other less expensive options first. Try a probiotic, such as S. boulardii which is great for diarrhea. I'd start with about 1/4 of a capsule twice a day. Switch to a diet of novel proteins. IBD is not unlike an allergy so giving your kitty proteins (e.g., rabbit, venison, or even pork or lamb) may have a very positive effect.

Does your vet think there's an infection present (hence the C & S and CBC). I'm not sure what a thyroid test would tell you especially since it was normal in August. On the other hand, Moe's numbers were much better in February so it's possible that there is some inflammation/infection going on. Has Moe ever had a dental?

Given Moe's history of AKI, I want to encourage you to stick closely to TR and evaluate and raise the dose every 3 days. If this is, in fact, insulin resistance, you need to be aggressive about dosing in order to get ahead of the antibodies.

 

I was giving Proviable but it didn’t seem to be giving any effect, so I stopped it. He’s currently on flagyl to address possible infection in the bowel.

Vet wants to rule out a UTI. His recent urinalysis didn’t show anything but she wants to do a culture. I think the T4 is part of the blood panel she’s running, not a separate test.
Moe has never had a dental, and I had one scheduled for him, but vet wants to rule out this other stuff and get glucose under control first. I know that it’s a catch-22 regarding BG/dental. His mouth doesn’t appear inflamed, nice and pink, but he’s got tartar and some resorption going on.

 

Happy birthday Moe!

When I saw your title I thought "but Erin does lots of BG tests already".

I am glad Sienne cleared up the comparison of meters. We don't even know that 50 on a human meter = 68 on at AT, just that we don't want cats below either of those. If your vet wants a suite of tests, she should get the full GI panel, not just cobalamin done. Ultrasound would be the next but not last step if IBD or small cell lymphoma (treatable). My vet was big on culture and sensitivity tests too. It is the proper way to figure what type of UTI if one exists. I spent a lot of $200's on negative cultures.

 

Any idea what the full GI panel entails, vs just the cobalamin? Would that be instead of or in addition to the CBC she wants to do? She wants ultrasound if we don’t get any answers from this round of tests.

 

You could also get just the B12 (cobalamin) and folate tests done. Here is an explanation of them. The full panel includes test for pancreatitis and EPI. Sounds like your vet is being thorough. The CBC would help determine if there is an infection.

 

337 on the Relion at +9

 

PMPS was 434 and +3.5 was 355 on the Relion meter. I’ve been stalking him for the last hour, and finally caught him going into the litter box TWICE! Negative ketones at +3.5, and then got to watch him poop...finally a solid poop! After weeks of soft and liquid stools, this is exciting.

His demeanor is still off, though. When he’s not eating or drinking (seems nonstop this evening), he’s laying on his side looking miserable. He does fight getting his flagyl, but is happy to get his Fancy Feast chicken treat.

We have an appointment first thing tomorrow morning for bloodwork, urine culture and cobalamin test.

 

Well, that poo ought to help him feel better. Good luck at the vet appointment tomorrow.