09/10 Shmee AMBG 238, +3 58, +4 48, +5 62, +9 76, PMBG 126 after vet, bloodwork today

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I have had a hectic morning at work so unfortunately I have to make this a quick post!

Well today he was 238 this morning so so much for an OTJ trial.


For my vet visit today, I am fasting him starting at +4 for his bloodwork.... the pancreas test (which needs the fast for) is not necessary, but I thought it would be good to get those numbers. I just gave him a lot of food at +4 so hopefully he will start to climb up..... If not and I need to feed him before 6pm we wont be able to do the pancreas test.

Also I think it was @Mandy & Rex that suggested getting t3 levels too. My vet is insisting it is not necessary, saying the t4 is what we need. Thoughts?? The basic reason for this bloodwork is to see if his hormone and steroid meds (pred and lev) need to be adjusted.​

 

I would get a full thyroid panel if at all concerned. Vetty vines. If no symptoms I would not bother with the test for pancreatitis.

 

Let's wait and see what T4 level is. If it's above 1.5, I think you are okay. When things settle down, watch for lethargy, lack of appetite but weight gain still happens, coat quality, etc.

If and when you do the full thyroid panel, it has to be done through MSU or Antech. It's up to you.

 

Thanks Elise - he was in a pretty good amount of pain last week and I ended up bringing him to the doctor. They gave him pain meds and he has been ok since, but my concern is the pain meds might be covering something up. Yes it could have just been some other pain he was in and she said she didn't think it was pancreatitis because he wasn't vomiting, but it would make me feel better to know for sure.

Ok thank you, I just want to be sure we test everything we need while he is there, and if the t3 is a level that could possibly be off with the pituitary removal and his hormone meds I wanted to be sure to get that done since you mentioned it a few condos ago. But the neurosurgeon should know, and he only said t4, so we should be good then. At least for now.

Thank you both!

 

My opinion, as long as they are doing T4 why not get t3, one less needle stick for Shmee. If blood goes to Antech those and the lesser quality p'titis test are done automatically.

Not all kitties vomit because of p'titis. Smokey didn't from it but did because he went longer than 3 hours from eating. He actually ate through p'titis flares. It was the pain with him when you knew he was flaring.

 

Good luck with the BW.

 

They said that a t3 is a totally separate add-on, I guess? And it would cost more too. She didn't tell me the price though, since she was so adamant on not needing it.

And as of the pancreas test - yes she said the lesser quality number will be on the full bloodwork, but they are also doing a separate test - the sfpl, I believe. She said that is a much better test to get the pancreas values.

 

If you do go ahead and do the full thyroid panel, make sure it covers total T4, free T4, total T3, free T3, and TSH.

My civvie was diagnosed with pancreatitis and he did not have vomiting. His symptom was just weight loss. He was eating enough to maintain weight, but for some reason he wasn't.

Here's the most important thing ..

 

You are the owner.. you have the right to request the tests you want. It doesn't change anything for the vet.

 

Good you have a plan. The reason why I had said no to the pancreatitis test was it’s not always so accurate when not experiencing a flare and with other diseases are present. Since Shmee was/is symptomatic it might be a good idea. No harm to run it. As for the thyroid, I’ve not personally dealt with it but when we thought Max might be hyper-t I joined a thyroid group and saw that many cats went hypo after treatment. I defer to the experienced, lol.

 

I just texted Dr. McCue to get his opinion on a full thyroid panel, just in case.

 

McCue is out of office until next week. At least thats the response I got.

 

Yes the sfpl is the better. If the blood goes to Antech, they automatically do the t4, t3, the lesser p'titis so there shouldn't be add in charges for those. Maybe for the sfpl there is but antech won't do that since they do their own now.

 

I would treat the high BG as a possible infrequent occurrence. We are looking for patterns. Shmee may drop back down naturally. Leo has wild BG swings fairly often. So unless he drops too low, his insulin dosage does not change too much.

 

Dr. McCue is out of the office, but he has told me I can text him. Which I do feel bad because I think he is out of the office for family issues but he didn't seem to mind and has been checking in with me every now and again. He did text me back and say the t3 is not likely to add any useful info so I think we will stick with just the t4 for now.

@JeffJ Does Leo and Little Dude eat at night? I need to start a whole different conversation at some point on when I should be feeding him, because the last meal he gets is at PM +3 until the morning. If Wendys thinking is correct about getting some food in them so their pancreas can get jump started and their numbers will remain level, I really need to figure out an autofeeder option so he can eat at night.

And I accidentally said upper left - I meant upper right button, I did try that and it still went off track.

 

Good luck with the bloodwork. Sending prayers.

 

Hope all goes well

 

Good luck with the BW

 

All three of our kittehs are grazers. Leo and Little Dude seem to graze the most. I warm up Fancy Feast probably 6 or 7 times a day for all three. They all start getting fed at 6am by Theresa. And often their last evening meal is around midnight. But we leave it out in case they want to eat more.

I noticed that Leo rarely eats between midnight and 5am. He usually sleeps and does not graze. But he definitely has a preference - he likes the Fancy Feast if it is warmed out of the microwave. He also wants to eat crunchy Friskies, but since he is a sugar cat he can't have that except for a couple of pieces a day.

Leo is about to have his 2 year post-SRT anniversary!

 

You did the right thing by asking him. He definitely knows what test is necessary to adjust the thyroid meds. I would do whatever he says and wouldn’t pay more for additional tests.

 

Wow time flies doesn't it? Happy SRT anniversary Leo, Shmee will bring over the catnip!!

Vet update - My doctor said his urine looked concentrated so he might not need the Desmopressin injection anymore. Dr. McCue said they usually need it about 1-2 weeks, so we will see. After the bloodwork comes back she is going to call Dr. McCue to discuss everything and call me after that. She is out of the office tomorrow so she said unless something looks really bad on the bloodwork she will call me on Wednesday. Shmee was really horrible at the doctor, I felt so terrible for him. God I can't wait until be doesn't have to get poked and prodded this often..... I have NEVER been scared of him. EVER. I was scared of him today. And I was very upset at the vet because I think the girl that started to take his blood was new. I understand she has to start somewhere, but they all know how much he has been through already. It should not have been on him. She poked him like four times before the doctor just had to come in and do it since she could not find the vein. He was VERY upset. When he was finally done he bit me and scratched me multiple times when I tried to put him back in his carrier. I wish our kitties knew we were doing this for their own good

 

Thanks for the SRT congrats. Leo will get a new special thread for his SRT anniversary.

If the last time I was at the doctor, you poked me a bunch then gave me brain surgery...I might be a bit combative on the next trip. Just saying!

Leo saves most of his growls for the vet. Kinda cute, kinda not. He is 12.4 years old and has never bit anyone.

Real busy at work these days. Worked on Sunday, and the auditors were working at their external company too!

 

Deep down they do, I truly believe that

 

I still think his pancreas is working fine. Look what happened 3-4 hours after breakfast. We had one kitty hit red during his trial, cause he had to go on a 3 hour red trip. He brought it down to green on his own - still OTJ years later.

Paws crossed on the bloodwork results.