12/29 Esse AMPS: 347 Vet update and PMPS pg 3

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Michele and Esse

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Morning, all!

AMPS: 347

WCR: Happy, hungry, purring. Snuggled a lot last night, and life continues on.

We have the vet appointment today for her lump...will let you all know what happens. Hope everyone has a great day with lots of blues and greens!!

Best-
Michele
 
Re: 12/29 Esse AMPS: 347

Thanks, Barbara...we could use them. I'm going to ride for a while this morning, and her appointment is at 3:30 this afternoon...I just hope it's a fatty lipoma or something equally benign...

Best-
Michele
 
Re: 12/29 Esse AMPS: 347

I will definitely try to do an 18 hour curve this week sometime...I've still got some school stuff (I'm the ASB secretary), and I have some lab time scheduled, but I'm hoping to get the whole curve done on New Year's Day or thereabouts. I am going to be home all day (shampooing carpets...), so can do an 16-18 hour curve no problem then.

I can definitely get more PM shots before I get to bed; I just haven't, because her numbers haven't been so wonky that I'm terribly worried. OTOH, you seem to be concerned, so I'll do better tonight and hopefully tomorrow night.

Best-
Michele
 
Re: 12/29 Esse AMPS: 347

((Michele and Esse))
Wishing you well at the vets'...know you will update as soon as you can....
Hoping for good news.... :) will be sending positive vines....
 
Re: 12/29 Esse AMPS: 347

Sending lots of good vet vines. (((Michele & Esse)))

Should always get a before bed check every night if you can, no matter what the PS is. Many kitties run lower at night and those are typical action cycles. You can miss lots of info by not getting them.
 
Re: 12/29 Esse AMPS: 347

i second the recommendation for evening spot checks.
we're missing half the picture here.

good luck at the vet's today. hope the lump is nothing serious...
 
Re: 12/29 Esse AMPS: 347

Jill, I'm almost always missing most of the picture. LOL. I will definitely get bedtime checks; right now, when school is out, I can actually get decent evening times...I can stay awake past 7:30! LOLOL.

I am off to the vet in a few minutes. The vet we have today is one that I like a lot...even though she didn't give me the Lantus rx before. So...I'm going to try again, face to face, and see if I can't manage to explain that the pen and the vial are the same meds, just a different delivery system, and that I can save close to $500 this way (which will likely end up being spent there. LOL...).

I'll update when I can after our visit. Thanks for the vines and the prayers sent my way; Esse and I can feel it.

Best-
Michele
 
Re: 12/29 Esse AMPS: 347 Vet update

So. I got the "good" vet, who I really, really like. She and I talked about the pen, and while she understands my need for "free", she wants to more closely monitor Esse; in giving a 5 months supply, there's no guarantee that I would bring Esse in, and that's how they do things at that clinic. I understand; I don't agree, but I understand. I am going to talk to the pharmacy to see if they'll dispense one pen (which she will write for), and we can take it from there.

Full exam except blood. No additional lumps, and the lump that is there, Dr. says it's most likely a fatty lipoma. We won't know until I can afford the aspirate and cytology, and that wasn't in the budget right now. But since everything else was fine - especially lymph node exams and no pain at all - we agreed that waiting until mid-January was feasible and reasonable.

The reason I was unable to afford the aspiration and cyto was because Esse has badly infected ears. Cocci in one, rods and cocci in the other...and no s/s of it except what I thought was a personal hygeine thing - I've cleaned her ears for a while, just thinking it was schmutz. But it's not...so cyto on that, since it's an active, fullblown infection and one that is apparently longstanding came first. She is now on Baytril, Dexamethasone SP, and micronazole, bid q12...so, at insulin times, she'll get the drops.

Dr. and I did discuss the diabetes - at length. I told her about pulling Esse from the 4 units bid to zero and following the Tilly protocol, and she thought that was a good thing (and I nearly slid off the chair when she said that). I told her about this board (and she seemed familiar with it...Hi, Dr K!!), and agreed with the step-up that we've done. She asked when I was going to 2.50, and I told her probably in a few days, when I got more nighttime data, and she said that she wanted numbers at 2 weeks on 2.5U. Basically, she agreed with everything we've done, asked me questions about ketones, and was quite happy that she didn't have to explain somogyi and dawn phenomena to me, but really encouraged me to get a few nighttime checks just to be sure she's not bouncing from a 2 am low (Ahem...like you've been saying...).

She also said to expect some weird numbers - between the infection perhaps hiking the sugar, and the steroid perhaps hiking the sugar, she said to not panic if I get some spikies...since the steroid is topical (they all are) rather than systemic, the spikes should be shorter-term.

And she said overall, Esse is doing very well, and that her coat and skin are very different than when she was diagnosed. She agreed with Wellness, and suggested that I could do Core dry occasionally (but not a lot), and that she thinks we're totally on the right track; and said, with Lantus, we have an 80% chance of going into remission...which she thinks is possible with Esse (which is why we need the night numbers...I know, I know...). Esse has put on a few pounds since diagnoses, but she wasn't worried with that as much as she'd be with a weight decrease; Esse's heart and lungs are just fine, bladder palp was wonderful, bottom exam was "clean...", and other than the infection and the lump, Esse seems to be on the right track.

So...while the lump is still an unknown, and I had to make the financial choice as to which to treat now and which could wait (and I hate, hate, hate that...), she's pleased with the progress and the control of the diabetes which we've managed so far.

Did I say I like this vet? I will only let her do my animals from now on...

Best-
Michele
 
Re: 12/29 Esse AMPS: 347

Sounds like a great visit....so happy that you like the vet and that she is understanding.....
(not too sure but the dry CORE, but I won't mention it...k?) ;)
Surprising about the ears, huh? Well , guess you will get lots of practice with the meds... :lol:
Glad the doctor didn't seem to freak about the lump though....that's good...at least there is time to
relax a bit and not go into overdrive about it now...
sigh...relief, isn't it? :)
 
Re: 12/29 Esse AMPS: 347

Encouraging news from your vet. She sounds like a keeper. And I'm pretty sure if she felt that the lump was something to investigate NOW, she would have told you in no uncertain terms. That's why I say, encouraging news. Hope the little ears get cleared up soon too. Now take a deep relaxing breath. :D
 
Re: 12/29 Esse AMPS: 347

whew, that sounds encouraging about the lump. I've been thinking about you guys so I'm glad you got in today.
 
Re: 12/29 Esse AMPS: 347

Pat, indeed about the Core. Although, there are days where I've run out of catsicles, and wish I had something to put down for all of them....but since I've managed to switch all 9 from dry (even the holdouts...) to wet, I think that bringing in dry at this time is, well...silly.

Yes, CD, if it were something she was alarmed about, she'd've said 'do it now...it can't wait'. But we discussed which to do first, and she wants to see the infection gone. Her reasoning, which I completely agree with, is that should Esse need general anesthesia to remove the lump, complications are far more often with a concurrent infection than without one; and two, that if we can get the infection gone, her numbers might stablize a bit more, which would be easier on her if she needs general anesthesia. Thirdly, since the lump was, as I told her it would be, clean edges, small, attached by a small (something like a string) and not grown into a muscle or skin, and non-painful at all, she thinks it's probably lipoma...but the only sure way would be to aspirate, and even then, sometimes it comes back inconclusive...which would mean general anesthesia to remove it.

She, out of all the vets I've seen recently, doesn't think I'm a whackadoo. She understands that I'm working for my cat's best interest, and is willing to support and help me in that. And she and I share similar senses of humor, too...and if I can laugh with someone, then I can work with them about my precious babies. She will be doing Malachi's neutering when the time comes, too...

And yes, it feels good to know she's there, and is willing to work with me, is familiar with the Tilly protocol, and agrees with it (mostly), didn't castigate me for taking her off it when she was wonky, and agrees with my dosing, and didn't try to get me to buy the H/D. :)

Now, since I forgot to ask her, I'll ask you all. I grabbed a serious deal on some extra-lean ground beef (4.8 pounds for $7), and as I was splitting it up into freezer packages, I was thinking perhaps the cats could eat some of this. Only one meal a week, and raw, but what are your thoughts on extra-lean ground beef as an occasional 'raw food' kinda thing?

Best-
Michele
 
Re: 12/29 Esse vet visit

I'm with CD - this vet sounds like if she thought the lump was a problem, she would have told you what the priorities needed to be.

If your pharmacy won't dispense a single cartridge (most won't), if there is a university medical center nearby, see if they will. When I called around for prices on Lantus, the university med center pharmacy was the cheapest and would dispense a single cartridge.

We posted at the same time. If you are interested in feeding the beef as a meal (you can't really feed it straight since it's missing essential nutrients), check this site out for their pre-mix add ins. It's what I use since my guys major meals are raw. http://www.feline-future.com/index.php?map=OTHER
 
Re: 12/29 Esse AMPS: 347 Vet update and PMPS pg 2

PMPS: 313. Nice, nice, nice, especially since the vet visit was pretty rough on her (they had to irrigate her ears...).

WCR: Not terribly interested in food, would like nothing better than to not see me for the next few hours. I put drops in her ears, and she pinned them back for the first time I have ever seen. Ate several bites, enough for me to shoot, but turned her back on me and called me names like "meanie" and "Bad Mom!" and told me to sleep with one eye open tonight (look, she's 16 pounds; I feel her jump onto the bed; I'll be awake...LOL).

WBR: much happier with this vet, with this vet visit. Rode the Big Handsome for a while today and while he was fresh and practiced bucking on me, after he got that out of his system, he worked like a champ. So this bean is a happy, relaxing bean tonight...

Best to all-
Michele
 
Re: 12/29 Esse AMPS: 347 Vet update and PMPS pg 2

Michelle, if you can get a spot check or two tonight, we can look at maybe increasing Esse's dose tomorrow. I think we're going to need to, especially with a steroid on board.
 
Re: 12/29 Esse AMPS: 347 Vet update and PMPS pg 2

I was thinking the same thing; I even asked if Dr wanted me to, but she said since it's topical rather than systemic, that it shouldn't be quite so bad and to raise it when "it was time" (meaning, I think, in a few days once she settled from the dose decrease d/t the sitters while I was on vacation).

I will absolutely get a +2 (9 pm my time), and maybe a +3. I'll set my alarm for 2 am, which would be a +7, and then I'll grab a +11 (6 am) and an AMPS (7 am). Would that give us the information? I take meds to sleep, which is why I often sleep through the 2 am alarm...but I can get the +2 and +11 at an absolute minimum.

Best-
Michele
 
Re: 12/29 Esse AMPS: 347 Vet update and PMPS pg 2

Will do, Libby...will do. And did you see my question about raw extra-lean burger being a meal once a week or so for the cats? Curious to see responses for that...

Best-
Michele
 
PMPS +2 = 293

They put something on her ears, and I'm having a hard time getting blood...it smears instead of beads. Managed to get +2, and will try alcohol wipe before +3.

Best-
Michele
 
Poor kitty; has been through a lot today, and was very grumpy this last test. Also, the alch wipe didn't do anything...still smeared. Got enough after the third poke, and now I'm leaving her be for a while.

I will get the +11 for sure, and hope to get the +7...will post tomorrow am.

Hope everyone has a quiet night.

Best-
Michele
 
if nothing unusual happens between now and amps, i'd take the dose up to 2.25u in the morning.
we have a ketone prone kitty, steroids in the picture, and higher numbers...
 
Dr. Lisa has discussed beef before on FDMB and on her website:

http://www.catinfo.org/makingcatfood.ht ... nd_Sources

Her main complaints with it are:

1. Common allergen
2. If you buy pre-ground from a store, you are being exposed to lots of bacteria. If you were to grind raw beef at home you wouldn't have as much bacteria as it is a one-time use grinder in between cleaning.
3. Would have to use bone meal instead of actual bone, which does not provide the best calcium:phos, and bone meal is missing many nutrients that real bone has.
 
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