New member, vet appt tomorrow, requesting acro/IAA tests-need justification

Hi! I’m a new member and have a cat that’s potentially acro/IAA. I have a vet appt tomorrow am and am going to ask if he’ll collect blood and send it for the tests @ Michigan State.

I will add a link to my intro post once I remember how to - I’m kinda new to forums

I am new to this part of diabetes, and am hoping someone can simply explain why it’s important to know these results so I can have the conversation with our vet. I had mentioned insulin resistance a few months ago and he said that once a cat can’t be regulated at doses more than around 6+ u, you can assume the cat is insulin resistant and it will get an oral med to take with or instead of insulin.

I guess I just want to know if there’s anything specifically different that can be done with the results of the tests other than just knowing they’ll need high doses and an oral med?

Please se be gentle with me LOL and don’t overload me with too much info - I’ve got lots to prepare for the appt tomorrow but want to have my info ready for this too

I’ll let everyone know what he says. Thanks in advance!

@Wendy&Neko ?

intro thread: https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/thr...ant-regulate-please-help.246567/#post-2782820

 

First of all, it's always good to know what you are dealing with. If there is an underlying secondary condition, it can change dosing strategies, possibly type of insulin, and get you thinking about treatments (if acromegaly). You do NOT get an oral med to take instead of insulin if a cat is insulin resistant. You give a cat as much insulin as they need, and each cat is different (ECID). If the cat has acromegaly, one of the possible treatments is an oral med, but that would be in addition to insulin as needed. And there are other options not involving oral meds.

Acromegaly also comes with some potential side effects, so it's good to know to be on the lookout for them. A simple example regarding Neko - she had some red on her gum line. Her vet was thinking bad tooth, pull it. I went to a dental specialist instead, and since he knew about acromegaly, he realized the red spot was on some soft tissue growth on the gum line, that was being rubbed by the tooth above it. The solution was to shave the tooth above a bit. And no teeth were lost. On the less simple side, acros can be prone to heart conditions (organ growth from excess growth hormone). That means if fluids are indicated for your cat, you should get the heart checked first. Heart issues can sneak up on you silently.

To sum up, knowledge is power, and gives you a plan going forward.

 

@Wendy&Neko THANK YOU SO MUCH. That last bit about fluids and heart issues is going to be KEY since he currently gets daily sub-q for his kidney issues (only 50mL daily though and i'm hopeful his bloodwork will indicate that maybe he needs less frequent sessions - which we would all love. Thx Again!

 

Neko was getting fluids for kidney disease. Not a high amount, but it sent her heart into failure and a trip to the vet where her heart issues were diagnosed. By some miracle she got over it that time.

 

How much were you giving Neko via sub=q? And how often?

 

This is 5 years ago, so my memory is fuzzy. The spreadsheet says fluids every day, but I don't remember how much. I think it was less than 100, maybe 75ml? I remember it wasn't on the line on the fluid bag. Anyway, less than two weeks after starting fluids was the heart episode. SCL diagnosis at the same time.

 

@Wendy&Neko wow I will take this as a precautionary tale. Was he already Dx with acro when this happened?

 

Neko was dx'ed with acromegaly in 2012 - the fluids/heart issue happened in 2016. She had been diagnosed with a slight bit of HCM a couple years earlier, but also was part Maine Coon who are more prone to it. She had also had an echocardiogram six months prior to the heart incident, and declared all clear.

@Suzanne & Darcy I'm pretty chuffed at myself, just looked back at my old posts, and it was 75 ml sid.

 

I think you said you have a vet visit today (Thurs)
Good luck and keep us updated

 

Hi! I just posted an update in my newer thread on the main forum. While we could have done the acro IAA tests today, we (I) chose to hold off til we see how he does on the Levemir - mostly for financial reasons. I def want to do the tests but today put a dent in the wallet