2/11 Mocha "Up Up and Away in my beautiful balloon!"

Who remembers this song from the 70's? Apparently Mocha does. It is her theme song.

amps= "HI" again!

I bumped her again this morning by .5 (since high dose for her "hi") and now the vet search is on to find a place that can help get us thru this journey. Not confident in the current vet and he has a very short leash on her insulin supply (no refills, including syringes!) and his knowledge base is very limited. I said a fur shot to him once and he looked blank and said "What?' He did not know how to test her ears and there is a laundry list of issues. I wish we were not having that added to our full plate of things here but it is, so have to go with it.

I hope to get to the bottom of what is the issue soon. Thanks for the wisdom here and the encouragement that things can turn in time.

Colder than an ice cube here.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...ing-4-blue-again-5-00-am.152448/#post-1601674

 

I remember that song. Hope Mocha comes down soon. Good luck with search. Cold here in PA also.

 

I too remember that song (having been born during the Eisenhower administration)

There must be a vet that will work with you somewhere in Chicagoland...

 

I lived in Berwick, Pa for 3 years.....lovely covered bridges. Spring is welcome yesterday.

 

I remember that song too but there was also a song from that time period. "What goes up, Must come down" Do you remember that one?

I don't like your vet's short lease on you and lack of knowledge. Do you have any other choices?

 

When I asked around before the majority were for a vet in Chicago and that is not possible for me with my pain issues and driving is bad enough in the burbs.

I did get one suggestion that is about 20 minutes away and that is about the limit for me. I tried to make contact this morning for Monday (when we get above freezing) and I was told they were busy with surgery coming in.....Mocha has upper respiratory issues with eyes having secretion about once a day (but not today) and I don't think she should be out in this below freezing temp or me either. But, you are right, you would think we should have some great options. Hope this other one pans out.

 

Good luck with the dosecrease and the vet search.

 

I like your song selection much better! Now, that one is in my head. Or, "I feel good" it is about time for that one to play for Mocha.

I am glad you agree something is wrong with his "attempt to control" when this is a serious health issue. I need to cut the leash. I have been with him for 23 years, and he is generally more conservative in treatment but his attempt to interfere has to stop.

I have one lead from another member here and I am trying to get info on will they test her for this on a first appt? I have too many red flags from our vet now and I need a helping hand instead from a vet.

Have a great day!

 

Kari -

I put some feelers out about vets to friends in Chicago. (Your note above says Berwyn, PA. You're still in Chicago?). How far is the South Loop? Is that too long of a drive? The U of IL vet school has offices in the South Loop.

Like others noted yesterday, if you're going to get a blood draw, get both IAA and IGF (for acromegaly) tested. It's cheaper to get both tested than to have to send blood a second time if you get a negative result. The shipping is the most expensive part of the process. If Mocha's behavior doesn't seem off, I doubt that pancreatitis is contributing to the high dose.

 

What suburb are you close to? Buffalo Grove 24 hours specialty center is very good--
I also use as my primary vet Dr Hanover-he does house calls (depending where you are)--what is your travel limit and what towns? I may have some suggestions as I have worked along side Dr H--
Golf Rose animal Hospital in Schaumburg has been pretty good to many of the people I know-

 

I am Northwest burbs of Chicago, like Schaumburg, Elmhurst or Roselle vicinity. I cannot travel to the south loop, way too far with sitting. I need a 20 minute radius or so and preferably away from high traffic because of my car accident I avoid it.

She was not interested in food this am (seldom happens) and when I gave her one of those salmon pure bits she came around. It seemed she wanted more water in the wet food, which happens when her count is high. As far as eating, I am thankful to note she eats "more" but less often....it was round the clock for so long and then has tapered over time. She is near matching her cycle for kibble pre dx at this point, though no kibble for her. I am glad to cross of any issue from her list. I will get both the insulin resistant and acro tested.

 

Buffalo grove is hike. It is a good 30 minutes or so. Would Hanover come to Wood Dale? I had one vet come to the house for vaccine and it was so bad for Mocha, he man handled her and she screamed. Said goodbye to that vet. She has been abused by a man pre adoption and this vet was a huge man and I think his size alone was too much for her. But, I would love the idea of someone coming here that had an understanding of diabetes.

Schaumburg is a good option. I will look that up. Has anyone gone for diabetes? Is there more than one vet? if so, do you know a name? Wow...open 24 hours....like that for emergencies.

Sounds like you know my area....so anything is welcome! Thanks.

 

I'm glad you increased the dose. I also hope you find a vet near you.

Please let us know if she starts eating less. Sending hugs and warmer weather wishes your way.

 

Really, Berwick, PA? My cousins live on a 300 acre pig farm there....small world. Best of luck Kari, you're doing a great job so hang in there

 

I hesitated to mention it because it because small town. A pig farm? Did not know they had any. I remember the nuclear power plant that resulted in test drills at our high school and I did not like that it was a few miles away. Thankfully, nothing happened but as a kid I thought it was a terrorist target. Thanks for the kudos. I struggle to go up in dose or see if time is on her side but I know otherwise now.

 

Will-O-Bett Farms, use to be cows with fresh ice cream now it's pigs and crops lol. I can understand you struggle Kari....luckily there are great people here to help you and Mocha.

 

Hope you're staying warm, and good luck with the vet search!

 

Oh wow! I am so glad I mentioned this. Our family LOVED that ice cream place. There was a distinct scent downwind from the cows but who cared. That was the best fresh ice cream. I biked there once, and you would know that has a major hill to get there and I got so lost coming home that I thought my legs would fall off. Thanks for following up. So, remember that with great memories.

 

Poor Mocha. I don't think being Up, UP and Away is all that much fun. I hope she feels better soon and you get the vet situation worked out. As for the cold, I sympathize and empathize. It will be 8 below here by tomorrow. Let the sun shine, let the sun shine in...!

 

Just wanted to mention that I don't need a prescription to pick up syringes. I just get them at Walmart. They keep them behind the pharmacy desk but I don't believe you have to have a prescription for them.

 

Sadly, IL has many problems and one of them is believe it or not a "SYRINGE LAW" that requires a script. You would think it is enough trouble to get it for insulin and if you have insulin you should get syringes but I suppose there are addicts that should not have it that ruin it for those that abide by the proper use. Good to know that I can ask you to ship me some in a bind.

 

What? That is so stupid! Maybe I should grab some extra boxes just in case, lol.

 

Connecticut and many states have the same law. It is to deal with drug addiction problems. But my vet writes me a scrip for a huge supply and I order them online.

 

Yep, 4 me! Since my ridiculous vet is so stingy. Thankfully, I got a year's script from a vet I saw once last fall and you can imagine that I am filling his stingy script and hers too! I don't trust him!

 

Yeah, I get that but it just makes it really hard for us who use them for diabetes to get them and I guarantee drug addicts can still get their hands on them easier than we can.

 

That's the legal system.....it is so broken that the people who should be protected are disadvantaged.

 

Scotty was onn ProZinc from January through the end of July 2014, we got up to 13 units twice a day and his blood sugar never came under 350, we would increase his dose he would come down into the high 300's then in about a week and a half back up into the red and black, it was so scary, at the end of July I put him on Levemir and started seeing some change but was not able to get him regulated until November which is about the 10-11 months they say it takes to break insulin resistance in an IAA cat, it is so frustrating and scary but you just have to keep chasing after pulling the blood sugar down as much as you can. I am so sorry you are having a hard time getting supplies with IL law. If it makes you feel any better, in February of 2015 I was able to get Scotty in remission and he stayed there until the first of November. He is back on insulin but is regulated between 70 and 90 on a human meter and yesterday I was actually able to reduce him to 4 units twice a day, I had thought he was going to stay at 4.25 forever, you can get the IAA cats regulated and even in remission so don't give up.

 

Bless you for sharing! I have seen that a few did indeed go into remission. Amazing considering. Keeping the hope and hoping this new vet I reached out to will respond in a way that I feel comfortable going in for a change of Mocha's care. I care about her doctor more than mine @ this point. Crazy kitty mom. Someone will have to step it up for me.

Do you think the insulin change made any difference or just TIME?

 

I do think the insulin change made a big difference but I think time played into it also, on the ProZinc he never came under 350 but his first dose of 4 units on 7/29/2014 brought him down to 60, it scared me and the vet, he did not stay down though and I had to go up to 6.5 units twice a day to get him regulated but I don't think he would have ever come down on the ProZinc. My vet really did not know what to do but he was very supportive of any thing I wanted to try and he never once said that I should think of giving up.

 

Does Mocha go outside? You may want to reconsider vaccines or at least the frequency of them especially with FD... you actually have a medical exemption.
Yes Dr. Hanover would go to Wood Dale but he would probably want to coordinate it with other calls in the area (mine could be one I don't have any specific Dr at Golf Rose and not sure about FD--but they have many doctors so you could call and see if they are educated on it-
Dr H sees many horses as well as dogs and cats but FD is not his specialty-he does all of Drevons bloodwork-he does chiropractic and acupuncture as well.
Golf Rose has a regular clinic and then a 24 hour connected to them--I have been there in a emergency and they were great.... they are very conventional (I am more holistic) but they were not pushy.
If you would like Dr H info PM me and I will pass it along

 

I'm glad you raised Mocha's dose this morning. With high dose cats it doesn't work well to hold a dose long, like the comment on our guidelines to hold a dose for 10 cycles once you see a blue. Not high dose cats. You've got to be a little more aggressive until you're seeing more than one blue. Once they are better regulated, then often a dose can be held longer.

At this point, I wouldn't hold anything longer than 6 cycles until you've gotten multiple cycles with at least blues in several of the cycles on the same dose. So if she were mine, I'd be thinking 6 cycles and increase at this point.

Good luck with finding a new vet. That can be a challenge, especially since you can't travel very far to get to one.