Tricia Cinco(GA) & Harvey
Member Since 2011
4/13 Recap
Harvey
1.75 units bid
AMPS: 180
AM+2.5: 80
AM+3.5: 49
AM+4.25: 50
AM+4.75: 51
AM+5.25: 49
AM+6: 69
PMPS: 204
PM+3.25: 81
PM+4.25: 66
PM+5.25: 87
PM+7: 156
Cinco
2.0 units bid
AMPS: 327
AM+2.5: 212
AM+3.75: 230
AM+6: 257
PMPS: 289
PM+3: 189
PM+6.75: 173
Earlier Today
Harvey
1.75 units
AMPS: 182
AM+2.25: 210
Cinco
AMPS: 287
AM+2.25: 256
Yesterday at Tricia's House of Chaos
Please forgive the very late condo, again. We spent all day at UCD with Harvey and Cinco and just got home in time for t/f/s. It has been a long, difficult day.
Cinco and Harvey both had appointments at UCD in Oncology.
The good news is that Harvey's Intestinal Lymphoma appears to be stable. They did b/w and an u/s and found nothing unexpected. They did a pancreatitis test to rule that out, but the Oncologist that saw him, Dr. Burton, who is a faculty member, thinks that his tummy upset may be caused by the Pred. She is reducing his dose by half, to 2.5 mg per day. Paws crossed this helps with his BGs. My big mistake was taking a copy of his SS without doctoring it. When they saw those 30s and 40s, I got the lecture on risking a hypo and they advised me (with input from an IM) to reduce his dose to 1.0 bid. They said he appeared to be "headed for remission"! Seriously??? I respectfully declined to follow their advice. It says a lot for the credit that I've built up with Dr. Burton that she took my refusal in good stead, although she did reiterate her concern about the lower numbers (Note to self: next time, change the low numbers before providing the spreadsheet). They want to see Harvey back in 1-2 months to check on his lymphoma again. I'm fine with that. I will not be following their advice to take him to see the IM, or his regular vet, in two weeks to check on his BGs.
Now the bad news: Cinco's b/w showed an increase in the total bilirubin from last week, and in his liver enzymes, as well. They weren’t sure he should have chemo today, so did another ultrasound. They found that his common bile duct is significantly dilated, which signifies a bile duct obstruction. They could find no clear evidence as to what is causing the obstruction. His pancreas is even more inflamed than it was last week. They cannot tell if these changes are caused by a spread of the lymphoma or something else without doing surgery, nor can the bile duct issue be resolved any other way. The oncologists consulted with several other specialists (IM, Neurology, etc.) and the consensus was that he is not a good candidate for surgery, and that chemo should be discontinued. The bile duct issue will only get worse. This (the obstruction) is the same problem that took my male Siberian, Kisa, and after trying everything to save him and watching him suffer and die, I made a vow that I will never put another cat through that.
After discussing it with the doctors and with Mark, we tentatively scheduled Cinco for euthanasia tomorrow. They gave him fluids and a shot of Ondansetron. Dr. Couto, the Oncologist, told me that, if he appears comfortable and is eating, it would be perfectly fine to postpone for a few days, possibly even a week. He was his usual feisty self on the drive home, trying to break out of the carrier, and when we got home, he went straight to his dish and ate most of the breakfast he turned down this morning! He has since had an entire 3 oz can of Soulistic chicken, and an ounce of another. Mark and I decided we are going to take this day by day and let Cinco tell us when he is ready. When we can’t get him to eat, even with Cypro and Ondansetron, and/or he is clearly uncomfortable, we will let him go. He’s a fighter, and I know he isn’t going to give up easily, so I’m going to take my cue from him. I will not let him suffer. They were wonderful at UCD and told me I don’t need an appointment – I can bring him in whenever he is ready. His doctors are heartbroken, especially Dr. Moore, who held him and cuddled him during the fluids administration.
I can’t believe I am going through this again so soon. It really hit me out of the blue and I am still reeling. Please pray that I can stay objective and will recognize it when Cinco says he is done.
Sending healing vines to all in need, and hugs to all their beans.
Harvey
1.75 units bid
AMPS: 180
AM+2.5: 80
AM+3.5: 49
AM+4.25: 50
AM+4.75: 51
AM+5.25: 49
AM+6: 69
PMPS: 204
PM+3.25: 81
PM+4.25: 66
PM+5.25: 87
PM+7: 156
Cinco
2.0 units bid
AMPS: 327
AM+2.5: 212
AM+3.75: 230
AM+6: 257
PMPS: 289
PM+3: 189
PM+6.75: 173
Earlier Today
Harvey
1.75 units
AMPS: 182
AM+2.25: 210
Cinco
AMPS: 287
AM+2.25: 256
Yesterday at Tricia's House of Chaos
Please forgive the very late condo, again. We spent all day at UCD with Harvey and Cinco and just got home in time for t/f/s. It has been a long, difficult day.
Cinco and Harvey both had appointments at UCD in Oncology.
The good news is that Harvey's Intestinal Lymphoma appears to be stable. They did b/w and an u/s and found nothing unexpected. They did a pancreatitis test to rule that out, but the Oncologist that saw him, Dr. Burton, who is a faculty member, thinks that his tummy upset may be caused by the Pred. She is reducing his dose by half, to 2.5 mg per day. Paws crossed this helps with his BGs. My big mistake was taking a copy of his SS without doctoring it. When they saw those 30s and 40s, I got the lecture on risking a hypo and they advised me (with input from an IM) to reduce his dose to 1.0 bid. They said he appeared to be "headed for remission"! Seriously??? I respectfully declined to follow their advice. It says a lot for the credit that I've built up with Dr. Burton that she took my refusal in good stead, although she did reiterate her concern about the lower numbers (Note to self: next time, change the low numbers before providing the spreadsheet). They want to see Harvey back in 1-2 months to check on his lymphoma again. I'm fine with that. I will not be following their advice to take him to see the IM, or his regular vet, in two weeks to check on his BGs.
Now the bad news: Cinco's b/w showed an increase in the total bilirubin from last week, and in his liver enzymes, as well. They weren’t sure he should have chemo today, so did another ultrasound. They found that his common bile duct is significantly dilated, which signifies a bile duct obstruction. They could find no clear evidence as to what is causing the obstruction. His pancreas is even more inflamed than it was last week. They cannot tell if these changes are caused by a spread of the lymphoma or something else without doing surgery, nor can the bile duct issue be resolved any other way. The oncologists consulted with several other specialists (IM, Neurology, etc.) and the consensus was that he is not a good candidate for surgery, and that chemo should be discontinued. The bile duct issue will only get worse. This (the obstruction) is the same problem that took my male Siberian, Kisa, and after trying everything to save him and watching him suffer and die, I made a vow that I will never put another cat through that.
After discussing it with the doctors and with Mark, we tentatively scheduled Cinco for euthanasia tomorrow. They gave him fluids and a shot of Ondansetron. Dr. Couto, the Oncologist, told me that, if he appears comfortable and is eating, it would be perfectly fine to postpone for a few days, possibly even a week. He was his usual feisty self on the drive home, trying to break out of the carrier, and when we got home, he went straight to his dish and ate most of the breakfast he turned down this morning! He has since had an entire 3 oz can of Soulistic chicken, and an ounce of another. Mark and I decided we are going to take this day by day and let Cinco tell us when he is ready. When we can’t get him to eat, even with Cypro and Ondansetron, and/or he is clearly uncomfortable, we will let him go. He’s a fighter, and I know he isn’t going to give up easily, so I’m going to take my cue from him. I will not let him suffer. They were wonderful at UCD and told me I don’t need an appointment – I can bring him in whenever he is ready. His doctors are heartbroken, especially Dr. Moore, who held him and cuddled him during the fluids administration.
I can’t believe I am going through this again so soon. It really hit me out of the blue and I am still reeling. Please pray that I can stay objective and will recognize it when Cinco says he is done.
Sending healing vines to all in need, and hugs to all their beans.
Mark got caught up in a conference call this morning and forgot to give the boys their insulin. 
I'll be doing a condo later. I feel like Cinco is stable for now (he just finished his breakfast after some Cerenia & Cypro), so I'm running out to ship off the wine basket for the raffle winner. 
