Just Diagnosed- please help..

My 8 year old male cat got diabetes from a steroid treatment for asthma in Oct.. the steroids actually "cured" his asthma- no attacks since but it brought on diabetes with a vengeance. He was on 3 units of insulin 2x daily & went into remission for 3 weeks in DEC. In Feb he was diagnosed again & we have worked up to 6.5 units of insulin w/ BGs still in the high 400's.. They used to be in the 600's so I guess we're making progress..He got a massive kidney infection 3 weeks ago & they ran the acro test & it came back as 162 I believe. I'm just concerned because he has a thick bulge at the base of his tail & he's been holding his butt off the ground for a month & his neck now seems rock hard. We thought he was holding his butt off the ground from the kidney infection pain but the infection is gone now. He also gained a pound in a 3 days but then it went down 1/2 lb- he's currently 18.11oz but he'd been holding steady at 18.5 oz for a number of months. The vet said he looked normal, no edema or anything. She said it could be pain from neuropathy (he has it bad), an injury or something. He's had xrays/ultrasound etc..& nothing seems out of the ordinary by the tail except the bulge. He does have slightly enlarged organs which I guess is normal for a acro/diabetic cat. Another vet specialist said it maybe the acro kicking in.......vertbrae growing & being painful...
Or I wonder if by keeping his tail slightly elevated all the time- that has scrunched up to his neck & made him tense.


I have a few questions:
Does the IGF # increase dramatically in the end stages?
How quickly does this progress?
Do you think the steroids could have accelerated the acro tumor?
Do you think the tail bulge/hard neck is acro related?
Any advice? I'm freaking out that he's in the accelerated or end stages of acro possibly..... :cry: I've read everything here that is available I just wanted to get my personal concerns out.

 

Hi there,
First off, no need to be panicking - the acro part of the picture is no reason for alarm. I have two acro cats and they are doing just fine. Shadoe's dose is 14u BID - her IGF-1 was 120 and Oliver is now at 26u BID - his IGF-1 was 325.
You said you had the acro test done; did you also have the test for IAA done?
What insulin are you giving your cat?
Do you have a record of your cat's BG numbers? You are home testing, yes?
I don't know about steroids affecting the tumor. and not sure what you mean about a tail bulge or hard neck.
What has your vet said about your cat's condition? I don't know about this accelerated or end stage of acro. Your cat can lead a perfectly fine life with insulin as needed and a few precautions.

The IGF-1 value is much like a snapshot; it will vary over time. Think of a faucet .... it could be a slow drip or it could be turned on to be running more. One thing you know is that your cat has a functioning pancreas, unlike other diabetic cats. There's plenty of acro info available but not everything is to be found on this site.

 

Hi PunkyP,

Acromegaly is not a death sentence -- the IGF-1 can vary greatly over time which makes home testing blood sugar very important.

Norton had Acro - and by the time we discovered this, he had brain tumor symptoms like walking in circles. At this advanced stage, we felt it important to focus on quality of life rather than try a risky surgery that he might not recover from.

As it happens, he developed an intestinal cancer probably unrelated to the acromegaly. The cancer was aggressive and we helped him cross the bridge.

Norton's IGF-1 was 331, and he needed a total of ~15u insulin per day.

Norton's neck was stiff and seemed painful. He found relief from a daily dose of Prednisolone - a steroid - but it was definitely worth it to have him feeling better.

BCP Vet Pharmacy has Prednisolone available in chewy treats -- it can be hard to pill acro-cats since the acromegaly can cause excess tissue growth in the throat. Hiding pills in pill pocket treats or mixing with food can help.

 

Oh I'm so sorry to be so late to this. I do hope you will come back and post again. I wanted to send a warm welcome to our group. We would love to help you. Phoebe and Gayle have posted alot of info already so I won't say much more.

We look forward to hearing back from you!

xxx
patti

 

Thank you so much ladies for your words of support! I'm still learning this site & I am so thankful for everyone!! I will be a regular from now on & hopefully I will learn enough to be able to help others (like you ladies) in the future soon!

 

Glad to see you are back!
If there is any topic we have not mentioned that needs to be addressed to help you and your kitty, just let us know!