Pig 5/8 +8 154 - He did PUURRRFECTLY!

Yesterday's

Well, today is the big day! His appointment is for 9:00 am this morning and we will be leaving the room very soon. He did pretty well last night after the intake and exams. He was pretty chill all night and slept seriously hard for about 4 hours after the visit. At one point he gave this massive belch that I thought was him vomiting, but turns out he just ate far too much... Apparently they gave him 3/4 of a 5.5oz can after he came too and of course he wolfed it down like the pig he is named after...

He has not eaten since 3:00 am this morning and his numbers are going down a bit, but too far. He will be able to eat right after his surgery, but will not get a shot until 8:00pm (WA time). But, I have R I will likely dose on the +10 hour to combat his rise... Then do we just go right back to the 45uL or should we look at shaving a bit more off based on the last day of travel??? @Wendy&Neko Do you think a 42uL would get it or a 41? I know we will not have the uncertainty of the SRT, but like you said, it usually takes a while.... However, I am feeling a 42uL. I think that would be about right.

Pig and I could not be more appreciative or express more gratitude for ALL of your support through out all of this...!! We quite simply could not have done it without all of you and your amazing words give me the much needed strength to fight the anxiety so I can be there for Pig. I have never met a better group of people and a more handsome, gorgeous bunch of kitties. We feel so at home here and although what brought us here was not ideal, I do not think we would ever change it!!! Thank you guys just so very, very much!

 

Vines for Pig today that all things go well!

 

You are treating Pig at the height of his Acro. This is a good time to celebrate. This treatment should knock back the acro symptoms and make Pig more manageable with diabetes.

Theresa and I were talking about Leo and his peak usage of 18U/dose pre-SRT. It was a huge relief to see the numbers start to finally go down after the SRT. The vet staff at CSU were all great. I bet the same is true at WSU. I hope you guys got more sleep last night. The whole experience can be very tiring.

 

@Wendy&Neko can I safely give 10u without food if he can have food no later than 3 hours after injection? Lev will not roll in until about +4. He is 201. This is what was suggested, but it seems a bit like a gamble to me..

 

Sending you lots of vines, keep us posted

 

The home stretch! One more anxiety day and then it’s party time! DD made this for you, she says “good luck, Pig!” We are all so excited for you guys.

 

Thank you Jeff.. You two have been a huge source of reason for us and I cannot say thank you more!

Yes... This will all be worth it. It is worth it... I think the sleep will come for me once I get him back home safely..

 

Thank you Stacy and thank you DD! She is just something amazing! Your whole clan is sooo inspiring and we just love you all!!!

 

Good luck Pig!!!! You so got this!!!

 

Thank you both!

 

Thank you!

 

They just took him back. Said it would be about 30-45 minutes tops. Now, the wait begins... And then its all recovery from there!!

 

I never had a problem doing this with Jack. I thought the same you did that his numbers would drop without the food but his numbers never crashed. Since it is low carb food, it didn't have much effect on his numbers. Not sure on the dose, haven't been following the SS too closely.

paws crossed today goes smooth for the both of you!!!!!

 

Thank you! I ended up not dosing him this morning.. I did bring the R so I will likely give a heavier dose of that at +10 in this non-cycle... He came down a bit last night until we had to load up to come here, then he jumped back up. I imagine he might see some higher yellows today, but I will most likely pack in another 45u tonight and that should level him out. I have a day or two to stabilize that depot again and then can look at the decrease... But, I think at this point Pig is going to be the one to decide his dose from now on..

Thank you for your support!! It has been about 25 minutes since they took him back, so we will know something very soon...

 

Sorry I wasn't on when you asked about dose, 10 u would have been fine. Insulin does more than counter the food he's injested. For example, it helps feed cells by getting glucose into them. 10 u was less than half a dose, however, if you skipped, that's OK too. I seem to remember a non deliberate skip during Neko's SRT days (aka furshot).

If you want to take the dose down a bit for travel back, no harm. You can always adjust back up if you need. Trust your gut at this point. This is where Pig will be relying on you. Be conservative in your dosing decisions. I often "felt" when Neko was telling me she needed less juice. Be alert to that as things can change without notice. You won't need to cut the dose in half but you could be breaking the rules about back to back reductions or larger reductions than normal when the time comes that SRT kicks in. It will feel a bit like being on the downslope of a roller coaster.

Food for thought while you wait.

I am surprised how quick he will be. The procedure isn't long, but he has to get over the anesthesia. Neko was a little wonky the night of her first imaging. She hid away, not sure if there was pain. But she got over it in a couple hours. The IM vet had given me her cell phone number if I needed. Another good reason to wait until tomorrow before leaving, to make sure there are no immediate side effects. Another acro had some coughing from the intubation.

 

Sending nothing but healing and calm vines!! Head bumps for Pig, for you.

 

Wishing you and Pig all the best today! Keep us posted. Bubba sends high 5!

 

Good luck, best wishes, fingers crossed, lots of vines and anything else you and Pig need!

 

All manner of prayers and vines for Pig today! (((Hugs))) to you!

 

Okay... We are finally back and settled in. He was done with radiation in about 40 minutes, but they did keep him in the back a bit longer to allow him to come to. He did BEAUTIFULLY! There were absolutely no issues and Dr. Fidel said she could not have asked for a more perfect session. She said she was able to get the beam nice and tight and directed right at the center of his tumor. She is also very, very hopeful for really good results. However, she did say again that if he did not show improvement in 3 months that all we needed to do was bring him back and they would handle the rest.

Now, she went over some possible side effects with me, but all of them were pretty rare such as swelling (hand wrote a last resort script for Prednisone just in case) and decreased thyroid - ACTH - ADH. She did give me instructions for if this happened but again, it is rare.

They did literally everything there! It was like the vet visit of my dreams! They checked BW, infectious disease, DNA, abdominal US, echo, CT scan, and radiographs and gave the me the results of all of these. They even clipped his nails and cleaned his teeth while he was under anesthesia!! He is top to bottom and just amazingly perfect!! Now it will just be the waiting game to see when he decides it is time to come down on insulin. I have a feeling I still have quite a bit to learn. @Wendy&Neko when this things starts at what cut-off should reductions be made? Below 70? 80? I like 70...

The cost was not at all exorbitant, either... We did all of that and still came in under 2,000 and that includes the 280$ for the US. From what I can tell on the receipt, the total cost for the procedure at WSU is about 1,550... Mine was a bit more because I had them do a bit extra, but it was not bad. The abdominal US was a world cheaper than anything I had priced in my area, for sure! Their radiation room was smaller than I expected, but it seems like they have a very tight process they go through. Dr. Fidel did mention to me that the Dr. they have on staff actually lives and breaths cat anesthesia and that she specializes in it. That made things a lot easier to stomach from my end.. lol. I was allowed to get video of the SRT room and an explanation of their specific procedure, so I am hoping that this will help as well!!

For now, it is rest...

Thank you so very, very much - everyone - for all of the support!! It has been crucial and invaluable! We will continue to vlog and upload for the rest of the trip! Hopefully, he will not pull any crazy BG stunts on the way home!

 

So very very happy to hear!!!

 

No worries.. I just ended up skipping the shot. He is doing okay on BG, not great, but okay...
I was even thinking as low as 40u to start out with... If not then 41u. I can always adjust back up.
Pig acted weird last night, but has handled today far better. He does have a bit of a chest rattle from the intubation, but that is already resolving itself. He was ravenous when we got home and he ate a good amount of food. For now, I think he just needs some good rest...

My biggest concern now is what and how this thing is going to look when he starts going down.

 

Thank you!!! The video should be up no later than tonight... Right now he is just chilling on the bed and dreaming!

 

Yeah! Congrats on having the procedure behind you! Glad it went seamless.

 

I'm very happy for the both of you!! Is great to hear everything went so well and Pig is ok and happy back home

 

Big sigh of relief!

The CSU IM vet suggested 70 to me and that worked. It gave me a bit of a cushion. I've suggested that number to others too. Over time you will find out if that's too conservative or not for Pig.

Time to chill.

 

I had one of those too, but you want prednisolone, not prednisone (which is for dogs). I was told that headaches are a possibility for something like 5 days after the radiation. I think that may have been what Neko had that first day, then she was fine. Never gave pred.

Not so rare. CSU recommended getting the T4 checked quarterly for the first year. I know of at least a couple kitties here who went hypothyroid from the radiation. Typically you get a full thyroid panel done and if confirmed hypo, you go on a daily thyroid med. Not a big deal.

 

And there are many of us on here who knows a lot about this as well.

 

Glad it all went smoothly today

 

Yay!!! Now get some rest

 

so happy for you guys and so happy he did so good!!!! Get some rest now

 

So relieved that everything went alright today.

 

Yay, Pig! I'm glad it went so well and how awesome that he got a full tune up and even a dental cleaning while he was out! That's very impressive.

Now that journey is coming to a close and the next one is just beginning. Operation decrease insulin budget and increase happy Pig can now commence!

Lots of rest for you both.

 

Yay and happy dance all around for you and Pig!

 

Yay Pig! Recovery time and a short trip home. Then you will start healing.

What a great price. Now we have a first hand report on WSU. May I request you post a summary in your Pig-Acro thread, including cost? That way we have it on reference for other kittehs down the road.

You guys are probably already having a Pig Party in the hotel tonight! Carb treats all around!

 

Why do you think so many of us hang around? This is family.

 

So happy to hear that Pig's big day went smoothly and that he came through with flying colors. Pig rocks!
This is GREAT NEWS!!!

 

AWESOME NEWS!!! so happy for you both. Now rest and healing can begin. Thank you for the play by play! It will be beneficial to so many kittehs going forward. Big hugs!! Extra (light) head bumps for your little Pig! So exciting.

 

Very exciting news! GO PIG!

 

Thank you so much! Pig says thank you to Bubba! That high 5 really boosted his confidence!

 

Oh my gosh! You can say that again. We came in and I fed him and then I crashed out. I do not think I have slept more than 3 hours at a time since last Thursday. Pig crashed right next to me and did not budge. He is pretty clingy right now, not wanting to budge from my side. He seems altogether normal, just really lovey.

Yes. I remember you saying that number for when the IAA broke if it was there. I tend to agree with this. If he does not hold a decrease I can always move it up like half of the reduction...

Nope. You are right. I read it wrong. She wrote out one for prednisolone, not prednisone. I hope we do not have to use it. She said she only ever had one patient need it and that was a dog whose tumor was so large that there was no way to avoid radiating surrounding brain tissue. She also advised against the procedure, but the owner insisted.

Okay. I could have heard her wrong, but this is good to know. I will just have Stropes run those at his check ups.

 

This is wonderful to know! I hope we don't have to deal with that, but if we do then we will. I think we are just so blessed to be a part of such a wonderful and resourceful community!!

 

Oh my goodness... I crashed out like a ten ton rock! Pig was right beside me in the same state!

 

When they told me they had cleaned his teeth I was jumping to the ceiling happy! I just could not believe all of that! I was very, very impressed!

 

Yes... And I am not going to lie. This is a going to be a bit scary. But, I imagine I will know when it is time... Plus, I have this board, so I am in very good hands!

 

Absolutely I can do this! What a wonderful idea! I summarize the whole experience and the break down the costs. It does not seem like they just shove in a bunch of unneeded fees either... Dr. Fidel said the cost can go as low as 1300 if all they do is the CT and SRT. However, if the kitty has not had the needed tests, they will not put them under without know where they are at. Most of what they did for Pig was at my request, but they will not do anything that would put the kitty in danger..

 

It absolutely is. I have remarked before that I don't think I have ever found a place that I felt like I belonged more....

 

Yes.. I was wondering if he might have a headache. He does not seemed to be bothered by it in the least. His BG is unreal right now and a lot of what I see is very familiar and attached to that. He just got his pmps so hopefully that will begin to bring him down a bit. He ate with a gusto, just like Pigs are want to do!! I gave a smidge more Gaba than he usually gets and if he does have a headache, this will help with that!! Purrs and all the loves!

 

He has surprised me more and more on this trip! Such an amazing guy...

 

I wanted to tag @manxcat419 because I think you will be surprised to hear what I learned about Manx with this trip... I believe more of the specifics of that are in the previous condo.... I just thought you might find it interesting. It seems that what you said was spot on and a lot of my earlier conjectures were entirely correct..

 

Ugh... I hope he doesn't decide to get stuck in the pinks again.. lol. It is to be expected with no shot and a drained depot. We will get back to where we were soon. I gave a conservative 4uR since it had been a while since he has had any and a 40uL dose. I want to see where this will take him once the depot fills again. I think it is safe to say he will be good for our journey home....

 

Oh WOW, just catching up on you and Pig. Such great news!!! Sounds like the whole experience was remarkable, very inspiring, I'm so happy for you guys.
Let the healing begin!

 

It was truly remarkable! Thank you so, so much!

 

@JeffJ @Wendy&Neko @Bronx's dad

What do you guys know about vaccinating and giving flea / tick preventive to Acro kitties? After his diagnosis my vet was a little hesitant on this and he is current, but it is something to be considered. Also, she did not advocate the flea / tick preventive until he was feeling better.... Do we know if any of these chemicals can or will have an adverse reaction or would it be more of a ECID thing?

The last run of vaccines he got we had to do on the fly @ another vet other than his usual. It was a smaller country vet that still believed in giving ALL of them in one huge shot. I told the guy that was not a good idea and I was not comfortable with it and he said "don't worry, it should be okay" and stuck him anyways. I was not a happy camper. He was back at the (right) vet within 2 days with a terrible fever and reaction.... I do not want to do that again... He has never shown a reaction to Advantage or Frontline. He does have a pretty severe flea allergy so I need to get this going very soon before the weather gets warmer..

 

I stopped giving vaccinations to Neko. https://catinfo.org/vaccines-for-cats-we-need-to-stop-overvaccinating/

I also didn't need to give flea/tick meds. Fortunately the majority of the house is hard wood floor. I would flea comb her regularly to check her, but once she stopped going out much, it wasn't a problem here.

 

I also stopped giving vaccinations to Leo. And my vet wrote a "vet approved vaccination exception" for Leo. We both agreed he is an inside cat. Leo's immune system is compromised from persistent chlorambucil (Leukeran chemo) for his small cell lymphoma treatment. The only way for Leo to get anything is from licking the heck out of Little Dude, which pretty much happens all day long. I think he mostly just gets a mouthful of orange-kitteh fur.

About once a year in mid summer, LD brings in fleas. Then LD, Leo, Chinus, and the doglets - all get flea meds on the back of the neck.

 

So glad everything went so well for Pig!

 

Thank you so much for tagging me. Very definitely interesting - a lot of what I learned about Manx syndrome was long before I started working in the veterinary field at all, so it's good to know that the information that's out there generally is pretty accurate. I'm also glad you now have some definitive answers - even if we can't fix everything, knowing why things are happening can help us a lot.

 

So happy to hear Pig did great! I am sure you are so relived all went well & return trip will be much less stressful
No clue about vaccinations & acro, Bronx has never been on any sort of vaccinations.

 

I am learning a lot do not vaccinate and I love that! I have always felt it a bit much, but thought you had to to keep them safe.., in a way, it's good to know I was wrong!

 

I don't think is wrong it all depends on each cat life style if they are out and in contact with other animals they do need to be protected, I'm not giving mine vaccines every year any more (they did got all their vaccines when they were younger ) they are mainly indoor cats and even when they do go out is in our house supervised and they do not have contact with other cats or dogs but I do use flea/tick prevention because at the house we do have a garden and grass so fleas do manage to make their way into the grass and sometimes inside the house (probably with the dog )

 

Yes... I Absolutley agree with you there. I think it would be different if Pig were to go outside and roam around, but he is strictly indoors. Except for when we go across the country.. Lol. But, I see your point and agree.

We haven't had a flea issue in quite a while, but I do live in the south. Flea and ticks are an issue. I don't have carpet, so that helps... But, the ticks scare me. I had a feral adoption get sick with cytoxosis once and I do not want to relive that.