Pig 5/7 amps 108; +2 137; +4 113; +6 110; +9 194; +11 199 ** Initial Results!! **

Yesterday's

We have arrived in Pullman! Well, okay. We have arrived in Moscow, which is about 10 miles outside of Pullman. We ended up pushing pretty hard today. I think we drove a total of 17 hours. Some of it was unintentional as we got caught in a mountain pass in rainy, foggy weather. This slowed progress greatly. However, he was doing so well and I have perfected (sort of) the art of dosing on the road. Not to mention, he finally decided to use the LB in the car. Once he did it at a stop, he was all for doing it while moving. He filled the thing to the brim!!

We did have a bit of a fiasco with the pmps. I had neatly proportioned out all of his crushed medications in one small container with his proportioned food in another small container. As I was filling syringes and pulling Cisapride, there was a hand spasm and half the food and meds went down the side of the seat.. *sigh* Well, there goes the deposit on the rental car...

No worries. It is about him and getting him on the road to recovery! I could not be more impressed with his travel skills. I knew he would do well, I just did not know he would do this well!

On that note - I would heartily recommend the La Quinta Inn in Moscow to anyone looking to travel here to WSU. Not only is the entire chain cat friendly (first one we stayed at was okay.. second one even better... third is flipping amazing!), but they gave us a 25% discount off the room because we were clients of WSU hospital!! I was able to spend the same amount of cash on a larger, better equipped room. It is clean and totally kitty safe! I have learned what to look for at the past two. No box springs to hide in or furniture to get behind... Wonderful find! Tomorrow is day one of his process and I am nervous, scared, and excited all at the same time...

 

What an adventure! I hope you can get some rest today.

 

You’ve been to Amsterdam, Moscow...if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you’re having a fabulous road trip on another continent!

Glad he decided it was okay to use the LB on the go, hopefully that makes the return trip easier.

So do you just get to relax and take it all in today? Try to do something fun or distracting. We are so excited for you and Pig, he’s really something special and I’m sure he will win the hearts of all the staff and impress them with his awesomeness!

 

Glad you made it safely up to WSU, even if there were some hiccups(aren't there always). Hoping you got all of them out on the drive and it will be smooth sailing from here. Great to hear that Pig did well on his trip. I wish I had some advice for getting cat food smell out of a car

Paws crossed that everything goes well at WSU and Pig doesn't get too cranky with all the poking and prodding.

 

Glad you made it safe and sound! Good luck tomorrow!

 

That does sound nice, but I do not think rest will even be possible until we are on the other side of this thing. My stomach is doing these insane roundabouts, making me sick with worry... I know he is in good hands, but I cannot help but be very, very anxious about it all... Once we have him safely treated then we can rest... lol

 

Thank you so, so much! Yes, he is handling the whole thing far better than I. I really wish I had his chill

The funny thing is that the first hotel we stopped at last night (I needed to see the room first) had this gentleman behind the counter who I swear, in all my exhaustion, was speaking Russian. Maybe my mind was linking the two, but it turns out he was speaking English. His accent (foreign to my ears) was just very thick and I was very tired and not paying attention...

We will be able to breathe a sigh of relief once he has gone through SRT and we are headed to recovery!

 

Oh yes!! I surely hope so! He is usually very well behaved at the vet and we have never had an incident. However, this has been a very long journey for him. Yet, he is still mastering it like a pro and handling it far better than me!!

 

Thank you!

 

Hopefully this SRT works as well for Pig as the Cabergoline has been working for Amethyst! I still cannot believe her progress! How is she doing this morning??

 

I just gave him his amps... I was waiting to base my pre-CT scan dose off his numbers. I may be being a bit conservative, but considering that he ate the whole way after pmps last night and we still saw a low blue ps this morning, I decided to give only 1/3 of his regular dose (15uL). My theory is that, at this point, his depot is so very, very large that it does not take much of a daily dose to hold his numbers in a good range. I have seen it time and time again. The only real impact was only ever with a full skipped shot. Of course, as the depot drains the effects will become more visible, but for now, better safe than sorry.

I also cut his Gaba in half, if that, and did not give prazosin at all. He had MiraLax, EZ Egg, Cisapride, Gaba, and the insulin. Something Dr. Fidel mentioned to me that I had never heard before, she had me stop his Omega 3's a few days before we came up as apparently the antioxidants found in the fish oils can hinder the effects of the radiation. This I had no clue on! I will continue to update today as we go along! I am hoping they will allow me to tape the exams...

 

The first day will be his longest day on anesthesia, and longest time away from you. Catch up on sleep or do some exploring. I found I needed to so something to relieve my nervous tension. Radiation days are much faster.

Fort Collins also had hotels that gave discounts to pet patients at CSU. We got a suite. And they had free buffet dinners during the week, so I didn't have to leave Neko for long. Make sure there is no room for him to get behind a head board of the bed. That was my nemisis! Bed was too heavy to move, cat too far to reach. I stuffed pillows at the ends.

I'd love to hear whatever details you can find on the procedure. I didn't find anything on the website, and it's different from the SRT we are used to here. Time to build a body of knowledge on the WSU experience here.

BTW: following on from yesterday. Neko's radiation oncologist in charge was Dr. Hirota Yoshikawa. I see he's now at NCSU. Very nice man (cat person). Strangely enough, both times Neko was at CSU, she was seen by a radiation oncologist with Japanese heritage. (her name means cat in Japanese).

 

Great news to hear you made it. That last leg was one LONG haul. You are almost halfways there with the treatment. After this week, it is just some driving then insulin reductions.

Please record the front of the building and the lobby. Just curious how it all looks.

Glad to hear Pig is doing good. Too bad you donated some of the meds to the car carpet gods.

 

At Fort Collins (CSU) I stayed at a low end hotel. No discounts there. Unfortunately there was a McDonalds nearby, which I went to a few times.

 

Yes...This nervous tension is terrible. I am a mess. I can't even think straight. I will have too, though.

Its funny you mention the headboard. At the second stop we went over the room with a fine tooth comb because I learned my lesson at the first one. We noticed the same issue and came up with exactly the same solution... Pillows! Great minds..

Yes. I am going to try to record the exam for informational purposes... They may only allow audio, but I will see..

I remember the Neko story now and I am just in love with it. She was a very, very special lady...

 

Done! I don't know if we can get video inside. I want permission first. I did get the hospital from the outside, though and it is huge!

 

We almost did this, but there was no way I could meet his needs in the room I saw. It was tiny. So, a bit more money and a lot more comfort... After the discount it was only about 60 dollars more...

 

We are anxiously waiting in the lobby right now. My nervousness got us here 30 minutes early... He is far more chill than me.

I did make the right call with his dose this morning. He was at 113 @ +3.5. That is a bit lower than I would have liked, especially considering the anesthesia might drop him. I will make sure they are aware of this.. I almost could have skipped....

 

Pig is going to do great and you are already doing amazing! Hugs and anti anxiety vines your way.

 

Ha Ha. Like I told you, I cheaped it out. I think I paid $50/night or even less than that.

Good progress reports today. I remember how exciting it was with Leo.

 

Good luck with Pigs first day.

Thinking of you.

 

I would not be able to do any of this without this board... Thank you, Stacy! It means a lot!

 

Its almost too much for me... Lol. I am trying to keep it chill for Pig..

 

Thank you!!

 

He just went back into imaging. They are going to do all of that at once, except for the abdominal US, which may need to be done tomorrow morning b4 the SRT to avoid conflicting with the anesthesia...

I however am a mess..

 

When my daughter was in surgery, I had all of my friends texting me ridiculous videos and memes to keep me distracted and laughing. It really helped. Hang in there.

 

Thank you.... Yes, we are going to work on the new post for the vlog.... It should be up soon. I cannot bear to be too far away from him.. No sight seeing!

 

You are doing fine. Pig is in good hands. It is mostly their full time job.

CSU allowed one of their radiologist vet students to show me the facilities, including the SRT and the CTscan machines. She also showed me his CT scan and the SRT treatment - on multiple screens. But there was definitely no "watching" during treatment.

 

Good luck.

 

Deep breaths and a good night's sleep, preferably with kitty snuggles. We're all wanting details and sending loads of support.

 

Sending you and Pig all the best luck and positive energy I can muster. I hope it goes well.

 

Thinking of you guys. Hope everything goes smoothly.

 

How exciting! Wishing Pig all the best for Day 1

 

WOOOOHOOOOO!!!!

Have I ever said just how amazing Pig is? Because I am not sure that I can say it enough! He did marvelously! I will say he was a bit more frightened at the Vet office than usually, but really that is to be expected. He had about 1.5 hours of consultation and about 1.5 hours (or a little less) of imaging. At +4 he was at 110, which concerned me a bit, but I will address that in a second. They did end up doing his abdominal US today instead of tomorrow. So.... Drum roll please...

His abdominal US was entirely normal. He was actually very clear with no constipation and his bladder was not at all enlarged. He has been doing wonderfully on this the past few weeks and I cannot help but think that the lower numbers are a major factor. He had no thickening what so ever and all was clear. The black flakes that I am seeing in his fecal matter are owed to a mild case of IBS or rather, a mild reaction to a food. The issue here is that this has been happening for a while, so now the trick is doing research on that and addressing his diet. I will need to really do my homework here, but I know the starting point is a good novel protein. He also had a small blood clot in his bladder which Dr. Fidel said was likely owed to a bladder tap or sample collection for a sediment culture. Around the time of his diagnosis he had 3 taps done in a relatively small time, I am willing to bet that this is when it occurred. She did say that it was very secure on the bladder wall so not a concern at the moment. It can break free and cause and obstruction, but that is not likely. However, it is something that I must keep an eye on. Dr. Fidel did say that the only time they should ever tap the bladder and not express it is in the case of a culture. Any other regular test does not need to be entirely sterile. Something to keep in mind.

I also learned a lot about his digestion and Manx as well. Dr. Fidel is positive that all of his digestive issues are neurological as a result of that sacral spinal deformity. I have always thought this and have found research confirming my theory, but Dr. Fidel confirmed it even further. She said to not worry about the diarrhea as it is most likely neuro as well and that the diarrhea is better than constipation in his case owing to the fact that he has decreased motility. As long as he has no anal gland issues that it is not a worry. As it would seem, the 'Rumpy Riser' (what they call Manx cats that have that sacral spinal issue like Pig) is actually a recessive gene and not often seen. She was actually really surprised to see that he had the butt end that he does. They run DNA testing there to search for patterns between breed and condition and Pig is only one of very, very few kitties born this way that she has seen.

His echo was totally clear! His heart was just the right size with no enlargement. He has no murmurs or irregular beats. His lungs were entirely clear and healthy. All in all, his chest is on point!

Now, as far as the SRT .... Turns out this amazing little man is the PERFECT candidate! His tumor is a bit square, but more circle and just the right size. She said that typically she wants them to be of even measurement all around and his is just this. He has a .8cm tumor and that is the right size for their machine. She explained their process a bit better than what I was explained earlier, but it seems to be true SRT, just stronger and in one sitting. She allowed me to video his CT Scan results and her explanation of how they do things there. I am in the process of uploading it to the Vlog as we speak. I hope this will answer some questions regarding WSU's approach to treating these kitties. I also have a few audio files to upload directly to the thread. As it turns out, she has been treating Acro kitties for a VERY long time. For over 10 years!

Pig's appointment is scheduled for 9:00 am in the morning. All we need to do now is figure out the right dose for this and get him there!!

I am so happy with his reports I could just cry! In fact, I almost did when she was discussing it all to me... I am sooooo happy!!!

 

Everything sounds perfect. Pig is amazing. Do have the link for the vlog? I would like to follow it.

 

YAY!

The single dose SRT is great. For Leo - it was a whole week at CSU. I took him back to the hotel each night.

 

My issue now is with dosing. As I mentioned, he was at 110 @ +4 (without food) on a 15uL dose. He will need to be food free for 6 hours prior to tomorrows foray. He was a bit low when he woke up so they fed him almost a whole can of diabetic diet food to boost him up. Not sure what it is going to do to his digestion, but I know it sky rocketed his numbers... So much for diabetic food. Yet, I am still glad they did this as it kept him from going hypo. My question or puzzle now is, what dose to give tonight? Obviously he gets no shot tomorrow as he will be going in for SRT an hour after his scheduled time.... Dr. Fidel suggested I dose about 10u tomorrow after his procedure, but that would throw his time schedule way off and add in all sorts of unpredictability in the depot. I will let him ride without a shot and use R later in his no-cycle to tamp those rises down...

But, what amount to dose tonight? @Wendy&Neko should we stick with the 15u or bump it up some? His depot is probably pretty unstable right now and draining. I imagine he will rise before shot time again, which is in 1hr 45minutes...

 

Pig's Vlog is in her signature.
Pig's vlog is also here

 

Sure thing! It is linked in his signature as PIGS SRT VLOG or you can access it via the acro forum!! Or you can just click here!

 

Have been looking watching and following closely. I read each post out loud to DH, and share your you tube video with him. He asks now, throughout the day, "anything new on Pig?" We are sending positive thoughts, energy, hugs.

 

I am so very excited! I agree with you. It makes me feel better that we can manage this in one sitting and not have to haul him back and forth. He was not a fan and is pretty wiped out now... He has a bald belly and a pink arm band right now.. But, he is full REM sleep and dreaming about food, I imagine.. They did give a mild sedative with the mask anesthesia for today, but tomorrow it will be all mask and much shorter time under. She even said we did not have to stay an extra day for recovery time, but I think we probably will do just that. Also, she said typically she would suggest a follow up and intensive monitoring by his regular vet, but that it seemed he was being so well managed at home that she did not feel that was necessary! Thank you to the FDMB because you guys are freaking amazing! So, we will go see Dr. Stropes in about 3 months for a good check up, which is about normal.

 

Oh thank you so, so much!! This means so much! He is such an amazing guy!

 

What excellent news! He’s a superstar! I love everything about your update.

So he only has one more day (tomorrow) and then you are done? Am I understanding that right?

 

Leo's SRT was all week, with last SRT dose on Friday. We were both toast, but I left CSU directly and started the first day of the drive home then. Maybe you guys can do the same. Even if it is only 4-6 hours of driving on that first day back.

What is the final estimated cost at WSU?

 

I will catch up on this. But I need to know where you got that harness.

 

Yes ma'am! Just one sitting.. I have a video of the consult uploading right now where Dr. Fidel is explaining it all... Hopefully it will be ready soon!

 

Wow! That’s amazing! I’m so happy for you both. One and done! Woohoo! You’re almost there!

 

I do not have one yet, but I did tell her I would like to keep it under 2,000... There will be a bit extra for the US and echo and radiographs, but she said it should still come in under that amount. I can do more on cost if need be, but I didn't want them to become a runaway thing..

 

After buying one off Amazon and one from Chewy that did not fit, I actually found that one at Wally World...

 

Pig is awesome and inspiring! Good luck with everything tomorrow.

 

Great news!! Good luck and many vines your way!!

 

Thank you!! How is Gizmo doing???

 

Yes! We could not be more blessed.. Thank you so much!

 

He is still eating, but not with as much gusto as before. Ultrasound is scheduled for Thursday. Praying for good results, but honestly trying not to get my hopes up. His weight is trending downward again and he is hiding a lot.

 

Great results from the scans! Neko's tumour was 0.146 cm, just for comparison sake. They all differ, hers was considered small. Her second SRT was also just a single dose, which they also do at NCSU. It also takes the costs down considerably vs. three doses of radiation. First SRT, we started driving the next day. The second time, we needed an extra day to chill.

If you are going to skip tomorrow morning, I would almost suggest 30u again. The larger depot carries for a while, but with two reduced doses in a row, you should start seeing him go up quite a bit. I wouldn't be surprised to see him in yellow for PMPS. I typically found with Neko it wasn't until at least 3 cycles after a reduction that I really started to see higher numbers. Remember than in most cats (not named Neko ) SRT takes a couple weeks to start taking effect.

BTW, the colouring is a bit off on the SS, I see a blue 98.

 

I think I am as anxious for his US as you are! Gizmo is a wonder cat too! I will be thinking about you guys as we travel home... Sending all the mojos and good loves! Pig said get well Giz!! We gotta be superstars together!!

 

Yes... I could not be happier! A bit of a diet change, but I think I knew that was coming. The video for the consult is up now and Dr. Fidel explains their process much better than I did. I was not allowed to fully film the inside of the lobby, I think more for patient confidentiality. They allowed audio recording in the exam room and video of the CT scan. I will see if I can get a good shot of the actual machine tomorrow.

I think after such a hard push up here and then going right into the exams, he deserves and need a break. Just a day to chill and recoup before hitting the road home..

Honestly this is what I was thinking. He will not be able to eat after +7 in the cycle, but I can feed him enough to carry him through.. If he dips again I have honey and other things to build it up. If he goes too low then we can probably push the procedure until Wednesday since we will have that day extra.

Yes... I knew that. Actually, Dr. Fidel did say that if he did not show results that we could come back in 3 months. I believe, if I heard her later statement correct (I could be wrong), that if he did not see the results in 3 months and we bring him back, then they cover the second sitting... Now that is amazing. They gave the same offer to another Acro (not on this board), but that kitty is now OTJ for 1.5 years...

Oh man! That was my mistake! With everything going on I changed it to the wrong color! It is fixed now!

 

Video of the CT Scan Consult is now up on his YouTube!

 

How long until I can take this bandage off his leg? It was where his IV was... They did not say...

 

I was told, as soon as she got back to the hotel room I could take off the bandage.

 

Thank you!

 

You both are superstars!! All the vines you need for tomorrow. Loving the vlog!! Feel like I'm with you, but don't have the jet lag from driving head bumps and scritches Pig!

 

Oh thank you so so much! I will for sure pass them along!

 

Pig looks pretty chilled after the CT scans. The scan display looks the same as the display at CSU when I had Leo there in 2016.

Agree with Wendy on cost. Leo's tumor was quite large, so they had him in 3 sessions of SRT (Wed, Thur, Fri). That drove up the cost.

 

This just makes me so dang happy!!!!

HUGS and YARD DANCE!

 

I love this picture! Thank you! I have no clue how to pull them from video...

 

Thank you!

 

For the screen caps, i'm on windows. I did a screen copy after pausing the youtube vid, then used good ole M.S. Paint to trim it. The same M.S.Paint that is probably from 1990s.