7/27 Guinness AM 306+8.5 222 Back from Vet

Good Morning Lantus Land!

I know it's been a long time since I've posted an update, but my life has been incredibly busy and I'm finding it hard to find the time. Guinness's numbers have been doing ok. He seems to surf a little high and then drop quickly with no warning. Monday he was doing great surfing the blues and then back up (probably a slight bounce). I suspected him to drop again last night when I was at work, but came home to find out he had stolen my dh and dd's bread they were going to use for dinner, so now he's REALLY up.

We are packing up this am to take a drive to see a Veterinarian Specialist who supposedly has experience treating diabetic/acro cats. I made them ask him a few times that he has treated an Acro cat because I don't want to waste my $ or time (or his). I'm hoping he can give me some direction as to how to treat Guinness at this point now that the decision has been made not to get any radiation therapy done on the tumor. I also want to find out what to expect as far as his remaining months/years go.

As far as mood here, it's up and down and touch and go. We (the beans) are tired and frustrated. Guinness has always been an inappropriate eliminator around the house, but he's stepped up his game recently. Peeing wherever and whenever the mood strikes him. It's really starting to become a problem and is exhausting me. The other day he peed on our kitchen sink. I hadn't seen him get up on the kitchen sink in months, so I guess it's encouraging that he's jumping up on things, but peeing on the kitchen sink is not good for anybody.

Well, I will try and post an update after the vet. I'm hoping I will have something of interest to share with all the other Acro cat owners.

Re: 7/27 Guinness AM 306

Hi Linda and Guinness! I was just wondering where you'd been :smile:

Sorry things are so tough for you now but hoping the specialist can help.

My Danny has become an inappropriate pee'er. I've combated it mostly by putting out puppy pads (taping one to the wall where he goes). People tell me I'm crazy to use them "it has a pee attractant", but at least I'm controlling where he is attracted to :roll:

:YMHUG: Hugs to you and Guinness and do let us know how it goes with the specialist! :YMHUG: :YMHUG:

Re: 7/27 Guinness AM 306

Ditto on wondering where you'd been. I hope you get some good info from the vet!

Re: 7/27 Guinness AM 306

Good morning Linda!! So sorry to hear about your frustrations. Tarragon is an inappropriate eliminator and sprayer if he can find carpet. Which is why, we now have laminate everywhere. I tried absolutely everything: feliway, newspaper, strips of plastic with the pokie things up, valium. Nothing worked. He only does it against baseboards. I do know the frustration you are going through though. I would dream about it at night and spend all my time on my hands and knees with a flashlight trying to find the latest puddle.

I hope you get some answers at the vet. Keep us posted! Know I am thinking about you.

So we are back from meeting with the vet specialist who has experience with Acro cats. I really don't think I have anything new to report, but I do feel MUCH better about the path we've decided to take. He was very impressed with my care of Guinness so far and felt that I do have a handle on how to keep his BGs in control without over controlling them (dropping him too low). His explanation of Acro and what it is and will do to Guinness was very straight forward and not sugar-coated, which I appreciate very much and I did not get the impression that he felt I should radiate the tumor (if there really is one). We did discuss the possibility of this being a false-positive report and the only way I could know for sure was to get the CT scan, but at this point I would not treat him any differently, so I declined. He didn't seem to think that Guinness has pancreatitis and although the number was there, he said that if they are not displaying symptoms they don't usually treat it. He said Pancreatic numbers fluctuate as would the ultra-sound result that showed it slightly inflamed. It helped to quell my feelings that he just doesn't seem pancreatic (no symptoms).

He also really isn't showing any outward signs of Acro...not sensitive to light, no big paws, etc. He did say that that could be because he is in the very early stages of the disease. He also feels that Guinness's first trip to Lantus was because of normal diabetes and not Acro and that the Acro is now just showing up (all opinion). He did mention that it's possible that Guinness's pancreas is not working correctly AND he has Acro. He also mentioned something about Insulin toxicity creating insulin resistance. I need to do some more checking on that, that could be showing a false-positive on the Acro (he did not seem to think this, this is my interpretation of something I read online). I don't want to get my hopes up, but I did read this from a study: " However, increased IGF-1 concentrations have been reported not only in acromegalic cats, but also in nonacromegalic insulin-resistant diabetic cats, suggesting the possiblity of false positive results." It's just something to consider as I move along in the process and watch for changes in Guinness.

All in all, I feel a lot better about our direction now. I feel ok if I have to keep increasing his dose and I don't feel as scared of the lower (but not too low) numbers.

I will try and pop in when I can for updates, but I'm just finding I can't keep a daily condo, my life is too busy. In fact, I have to leave now and pick up my daughter from school. I miss talking with you all. Thank you all for all your help and support. This website and board has truly been a blessing!

it's good to hear from you, linda! i was wondering how things were going.
i'm glad you feel better after talking with this specialist. i'm not sure i agree with his thoughts on pancreatitis given guinness' test results, but that's just because we've seen many kitties with pancreatitis without apparent symptoms. overall your visit sounds like it went well. i bet you're relieved to have spoken with someone else who has dealt with acromegaly.

take care of yourself and don't be a stranger...

Just know that Jesse and I will continue to send good thoughts to you and Guinness :YMHUG:

Hi Linda!!! To be honest, I'm not on here as much as I used to either. I just had to concentrate more on work so I could make enough money to be able to afford Champ's test strips!!!

I really feel awful for you. As much as we love our cats, it doesn't make it any easier to put up with something as unsanitary as finding cat pee wherever they feel is a good place to go that day...including in your kitchen sink! You've got a hard row to hoe, that's for sure, and I don't envy you the decisions that you have had to make and probably will have to make in the future. Guinness is one lucky mister, for sure, to have you in his corner!!!

We all miss you, but we also know you have a family to care for and a life to live (what life??!!). We'll take what we can get!! Take care of yourself and keep us posted on how everything goes with you and Guinness!!

I'm glad you found a vet you're comfortable with. I think your plan to treat Guinness as a normal diabetic who has an amount of insulin resistance is fine. If it IS acro, the tumor can fluctuate in activity. You just need to be aware of potential sudden changes in insulin needs, and that his pancreas may or may not contribute to the mix.

linda - thanks so much for sharing your report of the vet visit. i feel better hearing that he thought just treating the numbers with changing insulin dosages is a good plan- i'd been wondering if the "right" thing to do was to explore the radiation, even though it's so expensive.

i notice when you're not on and miss you, but i also understand your need to do other things. i hope you'll drop in when you can.

hugs, julie