5/13Willy AMPS 132, +4~381, +6~384 furshot

Yesterday's Condo

Had to give Willy his shot a bit early today because my DH and I are running out to talk to the vet.

Pretty sure it was a fur shot.. I normally have a pretty good sense of his timing (as he's walking in circles around his food bowl) but I was off today. Arg! Today was the second day in a row he had a blue AMPS too!!!

Will update about the vet and such when I get home!

We are sending lots of positive energy, prayers, and healing vibes out to all the kitties that need it today! I hope everyone has an awesome weekend!

Re: 5/13 Willy AMPS 132

Nice blue AMPs....will be waiting to hear about vet visit....hope it goes well!

Re: 5/13 Willy AMPS 132

Hi guys .. sorry to hear willy might have had a furshot today .. hope he surfs on his own! Good luck talking to your vet ... have a great weekend guys!

Re: 5/13 Willy AMPS 132

I was really worried/anxious I was going to get scolded for increasing Willy's dose without telling my vet, but once I explained the protocol I was following (with printouts!) she actually seemed eager to learn about it. I pointed out some stuff on his chart such as his bouncing and I explained my goals clearly and she seemed very supportive. I worked myself up over nothing, GAH!!!

I got a copy of his blood tests from February (Feb. 4) but I don't know what they mean. All the tests are normal but he has high eosinophils, absolute eosinophils, high albumin, and low platelet. High BG was 374 on this test and his fructosamine was 603. He's doing so much better now than he was then thanks to the help of all the wonderful people here!!!

She doesn't suspect hypothyroidism because it came back normal when he was first diagnosed and it would be unlikely to change. His teeth are also fine (according to her notes). They have some staining but she noted they were actually pretty clean. She recommended some sort of food, its prescription and low carb/calorie but it is dry (Hills prescription T/D). I told her I'm not comfortable giving him *any* dry and I might just need to find a spray or toothpaste to use. The dental was a good thing, we just loaned someone a substantial amount of money so we would have had to scrape together to get it done (until they pay us back).

I asked for a pen prescription. She gave me a prescription for 3 of them (lol). Assuming I can get a pharmacy to sell one at a time, can they be kept unopened in the fridge? If so, for how long? Once I begin using the pen do I keep it out or in the fridge?

My interview went great! I was basically told over and over that because I am a woman and I have a college education, I can expect to be hired at a higher level and if I don't suck at basic things (like showing up to work) expect to be promoted in 3 months or less because there is a DIRE need for "intelligent" women in supervisory roles if they don't hire me at a higher level in the first place. The guy that interviewed me was pretty awesome and told me what to say when I meet with the hiring manager.

My DH is done with school! Yay!! We get to spend the weekend together!! We haven't had time together in over a month because of how busy he has been with school. He came into finals week with a slightly lower grade than he had wanted in 2 classes because of a family emergency putting him behind, and rather than giving up (like he used to do) he worked his tail off to get everything done/turned in/etc. and he knows he didn't do well on 2 of his exams but he actually tried rather than giving up. I am SO PROUD OF HIM!

EDIT- Googling all his blood test results, it seems like he was most likely dehydrated when this test was done. Since this test I have been adding lots of water to his food so hopefully that is helping. The high Eosinophils seem to be indicative of an infection. The low quantitative platelet is scary!... he has platelet clumps though, so most likely it's nothing.

Re: 5/13 Willy AMPS 132, +4 381 furshot

Wow, it sounds like you have a good Vet that is on board with how you're taking care of Willie. I'm not sure what my Vet will say about Maggie's numbers. I hope everything is okay with Willie healthwise. Great news on the dental, as they can be really expensive.

Good luck on getting the job. It sure sounds like you have it. Is there another part two process? Congrats to your DH, too, on finishing school. Sounds like a nice weekend is being planned.

Re: 5/13 Willy AMPS 132, +4 381 furshot

flip_cat flip_cat flip_cat I love it when the vet gets blown away!!!!

Attie's new vet(s) were awestruck last month and even asked if they could "plagiarize" the protocol!!!!

Vets willing to learn right along with you are precious! Hold them close, respect them, and send them referrals whenever you can!


Edit: Maybe the pharmacy will call and ask if it is 3 refills....15 pens...? I've heard single pens can be purchased through Costco and some hospital pharmacies too. You don't need to be a member to use the pharmacy at Costco.

Re: 5/13 Willy AMPS 132, +4 381 furshot

She didn't mention anything about the tests and she looked them over when I asked about hypo-t (he has dry skin), so most likely I am being silly. I wanted the copy in case I ever need to take him to ER vet late at night or something. I got such good advice here about the situation with the vet and so much support and it would NOT have turned out like this if it weren't for the awesome people here... what appeared to really work is coming prepared with his SS and the journal article / the charts for the dosing protocol and then backing those up by showing I have an understanding (at least a small one) of what I am trying to do. TBH, I thought I was going to be looking for somewhere else to take my 4 guys after today. I overreacted.

I need to figure out the pen situation... I called Walgreens and they won't do one at a time. It's too late to call around, so I I'll try tomorrow. I was trying to explain it to my vets assistant girl she didn't get it and seemed to be getting frustrated and was in a hurry so I let it go figuring we may be able to find the singles somewhere. I still have a few weeks before I will NEED them but there was one time I went to get a refill and they somehow were completely and totally out of Lantus.

I am supposed to have an interview with the hiring manager whenever they call (next week). DH still has one year to go but he's done with this semester. his classes are reaaalllly hard (computer science). The program he's in only has a 15% graduation rate and half the people he works with tried it and couldn't manage so they changed to related things. We are going to a grad party that's being thrown by the department. They named it something that has to do with robots---- I don't get it. ohmygod_smile



Edit-- That's awesome about your vet! I was worried badly about mine-- moreso than my interview. We're kinda close in age so I think she feels she needs to validate herself... I was respectful but very firm. I was specific and I made sure to state what I wanted the outcome to be and what I was trying to do. I showed her the information in a way where I was enthusiastic to share it with her and not trying to shoot down her opinion. She seemed interested in it, so I hope we can learn together.

Costco, I think we have one here... thanks for that! I wish it was 15 pens but she wrote "3 pens (a 3 month supply)". lol. The prescription does not even look the slightest bit legit. She was really confused. The vet (I could hear her in the hall) was like "can you even get the right dose with those? Does she know?" I'm like "yeeeah! you can use them with a syringe!" We're all learning!

wow, good things happening for you! awesome about the job, especially in this economy! and your husband's graduation - and the vet! wowser.

btw, mooky = oogie = yucky, i suppose. i made it up, but mooky describes what the pet toys are after the pets have been at them loving them up for awhile. i'm testing to see if mooky and oogie make it into some kind of official dictionary before i die! :lol: not really, but it would be fun.

Hi Stephanie & Willy,
I think you should call your vet and tell her that Lantus comes either in a 10 ml. vial or in a box of 5 3ml. Solostar pens. Tell her that it is difficult to get a pharmacy to sell single pens (or 3 pens from a box of 5), because people expect to buy the whole box of 5. Ask her if she would please write you another prescription. If she is confused about writing the prescription, here is how my vet would write it:

Lantus (Insulin Glargine) one box of 5 3ml Solostar Pens, 100 IU.

Here is how Canada Drugs Online describes it on their invoice:

Lantus (Insulin Glargine) 5 x 3ml Solostar Pens 100 IU.

Hope this helps. Good luck! And good luck with your job search!

Ella & Rusty

Awesome news about your vet Steph! You are one of the few that lucked out on a having a great vet......if only i could find one. I'm thinking about making the switch to the pens next go round and even went to costco too (in Canada tho) to price out Lantus, i found out that they sell the vials for $60 there as compared to over $85 which is what i'm paying at the pharmacy, they also quoted me $92 for a pen(s?) i wasn't quite sure how many pens would be included or if it was just a pen, Marje did tell me that you can get a single pen from Costco for around $40 tho, if that helps at all.

I asked for Leo's labs too the last time i was at the vet, he had high platelets too as well as a high white blood cell count (not crazy high but just over the limit) Whoever did the analysis put comments on the bottom of the form explaining what all this meant. It was all stuff that was secondary to diabetes. I wish i was home so i could look at it and let you know if Leo was high in the same stuff Willy was.

Good news about the job interview too, hopefully you get the job. Is the economy still really bad in the States? I know Julie said something about it, and its not the first time i've read on here that it's pretty tough to get a job these days down there.

Oh and sorry about your fur shots......I finally went back to Leo's vet to get his shoulder blades shaved and it makes it a TON easier giving him shots now.....although he does look kinda goofy with that haircut.