? Claudio Treating with insulin only

Since the vet will not write a script for cabergoline and I cannot get a ride to an IM vet, I have no choice but to continue with Lantus only.
JanetNJ, you did insulin only also? Is there anything I should be aware of or to look for while going this route?
Wendy&Neko, You have any words of wisdom?
Or do I just go with the rise and fall of the tide ?

Claudio has dropped from 7.75U (6/29) down to 5.25U as of today. A 2.50 decrease in dose in 1 month is good news to me. His snoring and wheezing is gone. And he is more alert. He is still lying about and limping due to his arthritis. He is at the once a month shot now on Adequan. I really don't feel it is helping much. I feel for him as I have arthritic knees.
Lately he's been teetering between 5.5U and 5.25U. Guess my next move will be either fattening or skinnying
( is that a word,lol) his dose.
TIA.

 

Wondering out loud whether the IM vet would do a video consult with your Vet's records in hand, and with your notes/spreadsheet.......

BTW I think handsome Claudio is doing really well! Look at all those greens and blues! Nova needs to take a lesson in maintaining her numbers for longer than a day.

 

Great to hear from you Linda. Hope all is well with you.
That's a good idea. But... I doubt it since it would be a first time consult/exam. They may want a hands on and visual in person visit. But I can call to find out. Thanks.

You had me worried the other day. I didn't see any entries on Nove's SS. I was afraid something happened . Happy to see all is well. Phew!!

And yeah, he's got all those greens and blues. But look at the dosage !! Also it may be that the tumor is in idle mode right now. I need a fingers crossed emoji.
Please give Nova a head scritch from me.

 

I hope you get some good advice from those who were/are in your shoes. And it can't hurt to ask about the consult. The dosage is just the effect the tumor has. When and if it starts to act up, you will deal with it the way you have been--dosing to manage it the best you can.

Yeah, my google sheets decided it didn't want to let me update on my phone while camping. Thanks for caring.

 

(windows key plus a period)

 

Susan, you are not alone in treating Claudio just with insulin. Before cabergoline, it was the most common treatment cause the others involved either a lot of money and/or travel, so wasn't an option for most. Having said that, you are doing an awesome job with him. Kudos to you. I've seen a couple other acro spreadsheets where people have managed to keep their kitty fairly well regulated on just insulin. I do like Linda's idea of seeing if they will do a video consult. Heck, specialists are doing that for humans too!

For now, just keep an eye on the usual acro symptom suspects. Some cats need to have their Adequan injections more frequently than once a month. Maybe see if the vet is OK with every 3 weeks to start? At some point you may have to start giving pain relief meds for the arthritis. Neko ended up on buprenorphine twice daily. It made a huge difference in her quality of life and got her interacting with us more and playing again. Some people's vets prefer gabapentin to start, it was my vet's second choice. Gaba didn't do much for Neko, but it's ECID which works. I've also heard of some using CBD for pain, but I have no knowledge of it. @Pamela & Amethyst is one who uses it.

The other more common side effects to keep an eye on longer term are heart, kidney, or GI issues. Regular blood work, maybe every six months for now, will identify kidney issues. I had Neko on lower phosphorus foods in case, and it turned out to be a good idea. The vet can also check the heart at checkups, listen for murmur or gallop. Not an issue all acros get, just on the list. GI issues will unfortunately be noticeable (vomiting or constipation/diarrhea).

 

Thanks for the kudos.

You must have been reading my mind. I have been thinking about switching to a low phos food to hopefully delay any kidney problems that may come up. I also have been adding about 2 TBSP of water to his meals for the past year.
Was also thinking about getting a base line for heart, kidney and bp.

I want to push for some pain meds. Seems he can only go about 3 feet before he lies down. Sometimes he can't get into the litter box fully and pees outside the box. Thank GOD for pee pads !!

He doesn't come to me for testing but if I get him, he is very compliant. Or at 16 years old, he figures why fight.
I put his food or snack down and he looks at it. Then looks at me and back at the food. He won't eat it until after the test.

 

Baselines are a good idea. It was helpful for me. Neko's heart baseline was just fractionally on the large side, but with Maine Coon heritage, not unexpected. I forgot about the BP, that's also a good one to have.

As for the LB, sometimes one with a entry helps them walking in. As long as he doesn't then stand and shoot out the doorway! If he can't crouch down as much, you can get a tall side storage box and cut a door way in it. And yes, pee pads are life savers!

 

Already ahead of your suggestion. I have been doing the storage box with a "door" cut out for a couple of years. People laugh at me when I tell them I am making a litter box for my cats. Both of them are as big as a Maine Coon, but are just REALLY large tuxedos. They are bigger than my son's Shih tzu dogs.