https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/4-30-malcolm-am-11-420.289465/?#post-3175180 Malcolm is now on 8.50 units. Last night/early this morning I tested him about every 2 hours and he got a 194 and a 141 number. His AMPS today was 503. My question is, should I still give him 8.50 units? Also, he got officially diagnosed with Acromelegy. I have another appointment with my vet and a specialist next week for treatment options.
8.5 units is still his dose, until either he's been on it for 7 days, or he drops below 90. But you can definitely celebrate all that blue! That's great progress! Sorry to hear about the acro diagnosis, but it does explain his dose. Could you tell me what his IGF-1 number is? The labs have changed their references ranges, so I'm curious since Malcolm is one of the first diagnosed since then. One very important thing that some one told me when I got the diagnosis - Malcolm doesn't know he has acromegaly. He's the same sweet cat he was before hand. I hope the specialist comes up with some treatment options. The one used more commonly here is the medication called cabergoline. It is the cheapest solution by far and most kitties see some improvement on it. We also had 4-5 go OTJ. There is also surgery (New York) or radiation therapy (lots more places), preferably SRT which is easier on them. But both those options are pretty spendy now and could require travel.
Ok. Good to know about the dosage. I haven't had many blue numbers so I was uncertain and nervous. I was up all night last night checking in and testing him. His results were >1200, so really high, according to their range (61-916). I've joined the acromelegy group and am hoping I can go the cabergoline route. I'm already in debt from all of his diabetes vet bills/meds/food/supplies!
When Neko was tested, anything above 92 was positive for IGF-1. She tested 440, so a lot higher in comparison to Malcolm. Though her tumour was tiny on the CT scan. We have lots of information on cabergoline here too. In the Acro/IAA/Cushings forum. Be careful of what you hear in the closed acro FB group.
Thank you. I will look over the information on here. I'm in the open group, which has been informative a helpful so far. Did the vet require a CT scan for your cabergoline prescription/dose?
Cabergoline was before our time. All that was available in Neko's time was SRT or Cyberknife ($$$!). And no, a CT scan is not required for cabergoline. No one here has gotten it. Some of the researchers did CT scans of cats, but that's because they were trying to figure out characteristics of tumours and how they reacted to cabergoline. Absolutely not an expense you need.
