Pig 2/25 amps 348; +3 325; +4 283; +6 268; +9 286; pmps 274

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LuvinThisPig

LuvinThisPig

Member Since 2017
Yesterday's

He is doing alright today. His ps have not been where I would like them as of late. This morning's amps was at 348. I fudged the R scale a bit and gave him .75u since he was 2 points shy of the cut off. Also, I feel it is a good idea to up the scale again by .25u across the board. Anything below the .75u just does not seem to really do much of anything anymore.

I have been struggling to decide on whether to put the money out now and get him to an IM. I am very, very close to having all the funds to get him to SRT in Washington. However, the IM bill will set me back a minimum of $500, thus pushing SRT even further away. But, I am starting to think that it might be a good idea anyways just so I can know what is going on with him. My concern is this, I put out the $500 now and push back treatment, then WSU needs to do their own evaluation when we get there. If I had the free money it would not be such a concern, but this could quite literally derail the treatment thing for quite a bit longer. Yet, it will be at least a month before we could head that way anyways.

Making these Acro choices are very difficult. He does not breathe heavy. His appetite is always on point. He drinks / consumes adequate water. His lab values were only slightly elevated a mere 2 months ago and other than the pot belly and high sugar, I see no ill symptoms. He has not vomited in a very longtime. He has no coughing or anything. He is just always so very, very tired.

I will need to shop for wigs soon as I barely have any hair left from pulling it all out... lol
 
MJW said:
The radcat raw chicken is 33kcal per oz. A 10 pound cat needs 200 kcal. Pig needs more than 6 oz of radcat chicken, especially since he has high BG.
I had Yum on 6 oz a day when she was well regulated, 11 oz a day or more when she was in the blacks. She weighs between 9 and 10 pounds.
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He eats quite a bit. Usually, he will get about 2oz with shots and 2.6oz during the day for a total of 6.6oz of food. This seems to hold him fairly well. He has not lost any weight and he is not ravenously hungry all the time. There is no way I could give him more than 4oz of raw a day. Not with his megacolon the way it is. Sometimes it seems as if the megacolon is harder to manage than the Acro... ​
 
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Take a look at Black Kitty's SS in Sandy's signature. She had a tab for R scales and they changed over time. It's an easy way to track your R scales.

LuvinThisPig said:
I have been struggling to decide on whether to put the money out now and get him to an IM. I am very, very close to having all the funds to get him to SRT in Washington. However, the IM bill will set me back a minimum of $500, thus pushing SRT even further away. But, I am starting to think that it might be a good idea anyways just so I can know what is going on with him.
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A question for you, do you think Pig has something going on beyond acro (and possible IAA) and megacolon? My vet wanted me to see an IM vet when I got the acro diagnosis, to get a diagnosis and treatment plan, but instead I used the money to go to CSU sooner. I knew the diagnosis and knew what the treatment plan would be, thanks to folks here. At CSU I saw an IM vet who arguably knew a lot more about acromegaly than any local IM vet would. Unless you are one of the lucky onces that has a nearby IM with an interest in it. Maybe get the name of the IM vet and do some research. Lethargy is an acro symptom. I wonder if he's feeling some pain? It is speculated they might get headaches as human acros do.:bighug::bighug:
 
I was wondering about headaches and acro. I hadn't read about headaches in human acros.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Take a look at Black Kitty's SS in Sandy's signature. She had a tab for R scales and they changed over time. It's an easy way to track your R scales.


A question for you, do you think Pig has something going on beyond acro (and possible IAA) and megacolon? My vet wanted me to see an IM vet when I got the acro diagnosis, to get a diagnosis and treatment plan, but instead I used the money to go to CSU sooner. I knew the diagnosis and knew what the treatment plan would be, thanks to folks here. At CSU I saw an IM vet who arguably knew a lot more about acromegaly than any local IM vet would. Unless you are one of the lucky onces that has a nearby IM with an interest in it. Maybe get the name of the IM vet and do some research. Lethargy is an acro symptom. I wonder if he's feeling some pain? It is speculated they might get headaches as human acros do.:bighug::bighug:
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Wendy, you echo my exact thoughts. I, personally, do not feel there is anything else beyond what I know going on. I really have no reason to think there is as I have not noticed any new symptoms.
I worry. However, it has always been my plan to wait until we go to WSU for anything like that. The closest IM to me has no experience with Acro and has self confessed that the only thing she can do is clear him for radiation and an ultra-sound. All of which will be done upon our visit to WSU. So, my instinct is to wait. However, it does become a little unclear when his numbers are higher an he feels so awful. However, all of this disappears almost completely when we hit below a 300 and even when we are close to one.
Thank you.... :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Wendy&Neko said:
I wonder if he's feeling some pain? It is speculated they might get headaches as human acros do
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I have him on 50mg if Gabapentin and I have noticed a difference. He is definitely more mobile. I have also been doing some research into canna. I wonder, do you think this might help with any pain he may have over the Gaba?
 
MJW said:
I was wondering about headaches and acro. I hadn't read about headaches in human acros.
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It is my assumption that they do. I have heard this many times before. Especially considering the bone and tissue growth, this makes a tremendous amount of sense. Have I read report of it in a Peer Reviewed Article? No. But, that does not say there is not one, just that I have not found one.
 
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LuvinThisPig said:
have also been doing some research into canna. I wonder, do you think this might help with any pain he may have over the Gaba?
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I never tried it. It wasn't around much back when I was looking for pain meds. There still haven't been any formal studies on it's use in cats, though CSU is doing one with dogs now. There are lots of anectodal stories. Neko's vet's first choice was buprenorphine for her arthritis, and it seemed to help perk her up too. Gaba just made her sleep. ECID on pain relief.

You are unlikely to get an ultrasound at WSU, unless you ask for it. No reason for it before SRT. However, they may want an echocardiogram done - CSU did for Neko the second time. But she had a heart murmur then and slight HCM that her cardiologist wasn't worried about.

Just for interest, I poked around a human acro support site for symptoms. It lists headaches.
 
I think you answered your own question. :) go with your gut. I agree with you his colon issues can out weigh the FD. Some days the IBD and Arthritis lead Phoebe and make me stir crazy. Big hugs :bighug: and head bumps to Pig :cat:
 
Oh what a lovely day of sunny shiny YELLOWS! Wow! This has been a wonderful day with only a few bouts of lethargy!
I also have reduced the amount of food that he gets at any time. I gave 1.5oz raw with shots and 1oz every 4 hours in between. Helping things along, he has been using the bathroom all by himself today! No encouragement needed! Yay!
Now... To see if he will hold these numbers... Pigs, no bouncing.
 
Ella & Rusty & Stu(GA) said:
Your idea to go directly to WSU sounds reasonable and it sounds like the experienced people agree. Whatever you decide, we are cheering for Pig.
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Thank you! I am really excited to do this. It will take a lot of careful planning, but a journey well worth the work. We will be traveling from Westville, OK to Pullman, WA. Quite the journey. It is a good thing that Pig has always enjoyed road trips! And we do thank everyone for the cheering section. I cannot express how invaluable everyone is and how very important this board has been for us! :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Phoebes said:
I think you answered your own question. :) go with your gut.
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Ever the best words of encouragement!! You always know just what to say!
Phoebes said:
I agree with you his colon issues can out weigh the FD. Some days the IBD and Arthritis lead Phoebe and make me stir crazy.
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It is hard, is it not? I have found that blending the food helps tremendously with the colon issues. That and reducing the amount at one time. However, it is hard when they have not had a good BM for a couple of days because it is obvious that it is painful. I see it in the numbers too. Does Phoebes get a grumbly tummy?
Phoebes said:
and head bumps to Pig :cat:
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Right back at you!! :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Jack had the same tummy grumbles, I tried a number of different foods and they did not make much difference.... He could also clear a room when he let a backfire rip.:rolleyes:

He was on Gaba as well. I did try some canna oils, but did not notice any change with the oils. The gaba seemed to do a better job taking the edge off and let him walk a little more normally. For the price it can't hurt to try it. I have not heard of any negative reactions to it.

The IM vet I went to was very open. We had a great discussion, but the end result was next was a US and possibly xrays. This would only answer some questions regarding what to do next. Most likely would be a biopsy or other invasive procedures. Unfortunately by that time we agreed he was not a very good candidate for anesthesia for the procedures.

Anecdotally I would agree with the headaches, as time went on, my boy liked HARD head rubs, like dig your knuckles in and he pushed back against my hand for more.
 
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