Note: I’m Finnish so I’m using the European BG values. I’ve been really worried about my Eddie, his diabetes was diagnosed at the end of December but it has been really hard to control. His BG has gone a bit down but not enough, despite upping Lantus. He’s now on 4 units twice a day and the dr said I should up it to 5 units twice a day. The last time I did a curve, the values varied from 9 to 19 which seems a lot. 5 units also feels like a lot. The dr said it might be acromegaly but her in my city we have no way of testing that she knows of. She said she’d try to find out. But even if there’s a way to test it, there’s nothing I can really do because operations aren’t done in Finland and neither is radiation therapy. Radiation therapy might be done somewhere far south but I am really poor so I don’t think I could ever afford it. This is just really hard because Eddie is so important to me and has been with me for ten years. Otherwise Otherwise he’s doing okay, no excessive drinking and I don’t think excessive peeing either. His thyroid and kidney tests were all great. But his fructosamine was pretty high, over 600. I guess I’d just like to know if this situation sounds like it could be acromegaly. Edited to add: he is mostly on diabetes food, sometimes steals something else from my other cat. He also eats a lot of grass outside because he loves it
Maybe yes, maybe no. It is hard to tell since almost all BG data show an essentially flat curve, that is preshot and mid shot BG are about the same. Sometimes a flat curve i due to dose being too high. Your SS also show you do not test everyday, at least for preshots so it is hard to tell how consistent BG are. For test for acromegaly, your vet sends samble to Michigan State University (MSU) https://vdl.msu.edu/Bin/Catalog/Catalog.exe The test for acromegaly is the IGF-1 and is test number 20005 I would also recommend the test for Insulin Autoantibodies, IAA, test 20031. MSU is the only place in USA that does the testing.
Since you are in Finland, the blood for the IGF-1 test would go to the Royal Veterinary Clinic in London, who does the testing for Europe. There is a medical treatment called cabergoline, that is given orally once a day should Eddie test positive. There have been people from other countries go to England for surgery, and I think Utrecht in Netherlands also does it. But that is much more costly. Which food specifically is Eddie eating? Many so called diabetic foods from the vet are still too high in carbs for a diabetic.
Adding, this is the link to the blood test at the RVC website: https://www.rvc.ac.uk/pathology-and...s/diagnostic-laboratories#panel-diabetic-cats You want the one called Diabetic Cat Profile (limited).
Thank you for the tips! I’ll have to see how expensive the blood test is, unfortunately there’s no way I could travel, I’m on disability and have very little money. Edited: had a look at the link and the prices, I think I’ll have to ask about how much it is to get only the acro, insulin resistance and maybe cushing, the other tests I’ve already done, like fructosamine etc. Eddie eats Kattovit Diabetic, Smilla diabetic and Purina Pro Plan diabetic and sometimes FelinePorta grain free. Also sometimes raw cat food but he doesn’t want it now, maybe because of the heat so I haven’t offered it to him in a month or so. As you can see, he’s a bit of a picky eater (though loves eating and is hungry) so I have to have options. As for blood sugar testing, my doctor told me not to test so often because it stresses Eddie out. I will start testing pre-shot values when I raise his dosage and then maybe do a curve in a week or two, depending on those values.
You don’t need to test for Cushings at this point. The last test on the list does just IGF-1 and is cheapest. Is the food you are feeding wet or dry food? You don’t need to feed special diabetic food. Any low carb wet or dry will do. Food available in Europe on this list UK Cat Food List
Mostly only wet food, I have some diabetic dry food that I sometimes sprinkle on top of wet food when he’s being picky, sort of as a treat. I’ve always given him his shot on his neck but yesterday I thought I would start doing it on his side/hip because I read that insulin is absorbed better there. I just took his pre-shot BG and it was 8.8, which is the lowest value I’ve ever gotten from him. I don’t know if it’s just a coincidence or because I changed the injection site but we’ll see. Thank you for the list!
