My Max is 11 1/2 years old with acromegaly, asthma, and a heart murmur. Max has an appointment at NCSU in two weeks for evaluation of acromegaly. He has a separate appointment at NCSU scheduled in November for cardiology to evaluate the heart murmur. I have so many questions... not sure what to expect. The owners are not allowed in the building due to restrictions. I guess we will be communicating via telephone. Due to Max’s age and history, I don’t know if SRT is the best option for him? The anesthesia concerns me due to his asthma and heart murmur. I’ve also heard about Cabergoline and I'm interested in that, but I don't know if Max qualifies for that with his other conditions? Has anyone else been to NCSU or seen Dr. Lunn before? Does she prescribe Cabergoline? Are there any contraindications to it and how well do most cats tolerate that? Thanks.
I'm with you. If it were my cat and he was of an advanced age with a heart murmur, I don't know that I would pursue SRT (certainly not without an echocardiogram to assess the heart. And, although Max may have good kidney values right now, his blood pressure could drop during anesthesia and damage his kidneys (this can happen to any cat under anesthesia). I know they do SRT at NC State, because that is where I was planning to take my boy for SRT, but God had other plans so we never made it there. I'm sure that Wendy will be along to talk about Cabergoline. Darcy (who was only 10) was on Cabergoline, and it really reduced his insulin requirements. We did not have any problems with it as far as him tolerating it.
I've heard of cats up to age 15/16 have SRT. Neko had a heart murmur before her second SRT and they insisted on an echocardiogram first. A cardiologist would be able to tell you the story on whether anaesthesia would be OK or not. Dr. Lunn used to work/teach at Colorado State University, which was pretty much the first place to do SRT for acromegaly. She has tons of experience with it and acros in general. She left for NCSU just before I went to CSU. I do know of another caregiver who lived near NCSU that used to see her with her acrokitty Grayson. But that was probably 7 or so years ago. I have communicated with Dr. Lunn via email, she was very willing to talk about things to someone she had never even met. Another one of our members, Julie & punkin did see Dr. Lunn when she was at CSU and Julie always spoke highly of her. Cabergoline is only a relatively recent thing, so I have no idea if she has tried it with cats. I know she was trying to find someone willing to try pasireotide, but hadn't been able to find someone willing to pay for it at the time of our communication.
I believe I chatted on Facebook messenger with the caregiver who had Grayson. She actually lives in a town close to where I live. She was very helpful as well. Thanks for this Wendy. I’m hoping they will help me chose what’s best for Max.
I'm sure they'll give Max a full work up. And then you've got the heart eval later on (too bad they can't do it all on the same day.)
