Diabetes/ possible pancreatitis Questions

Hello I new to the site.
My poor 8yrs old black male cat has been wobbly and growling since last night. Took him to emergency vet..tests done he has diabetes and ins now on Insulin..and painkillers..till at Vet.Still wobbly but eating well. Possible pancreatic. ..won't know until tomorrow.
I can't bear him beening in any pain...so anxious. I will have to take out a loan for his treatment.
Many thanks
Lulu xx

Lulu68,Once a cat is stabilized that has diabetes, they usually do very well and live for years on insulin injections. These injections are very easy to give with a very small needle just under the skin, so you can learn through repetition how to give them and they become easy after just a few days. I hope you can find out how bad he is and is able to go home after stabilization.  Go back and read older threads in this same section there are sure to be many on diabetes. I wish you well. I'll pray that maybe your little one just has pancreatitis and the diabetes is temporary. Give him a kiss from me!

I understand your worry - one of my cats has diabetes, and has been on insulin for about 4 months. He is now pretty stable, has his injections twice a day and a blood test every month, and is doing well. I find it very easy to do it all at home. Pancreatitis can be tough - my daughter's cat was very ill with it but survived. She is now on a special diet but four years later is well. It sounds as if your vet is keeping him free from too much pain right now, and I hope you both find good answers.

Thank you so much,just found out he has diabetes and pancreatis. He is on pain relief and his insulin. His glucose was very high His legs are still wobbly. Vet stated he may have to have an operation regarding his pituitary gland. Haven't slept..Feel so sick. Can't even visit him as I am crying so much..xxx

I highly recommend that you post for additional advice on the FelineDiabetes.com message board.

Being wobbly and growly aren't symptoms of diabetes. Did the emergency vet do bloodwork? if it was, do you have the results? You can call the emergency vet and request a copy of the bloodwork results. A fructosamine test needs to be done to determine diabetes along with common symptoms like excessive peeing, sticky sugary smelling, pee, excessive appetite, weight loss, etc.

The fPL test will determine if your cat has pancreatitis or not.

Did the vet say why surgery is needed on the pituitary gland? Cushing's disease is one condition where the pituitary gland is affected and may cause diabetes. I don't know if surgery is needed or a common way to treat the disease.

If you're not sure what is going on with your cat, you  need to start asking the vet questions so you understand the medical condition your cat has and the best way to treat it Don't rely on the vet to always fully explain everything to you and definitely don't expect the vet to do what's best for your cat. Don't sit back and let the vet do whatever he / she wants because he / she has a DVM. It's important to be pro-active in your cat's vet care  

Thank you.
Elijah has diabetes and pancreatis. He is on painkillers and insulin and will be home possibly tomorrow. If he has an "Acronym' in the P. Gland then it would be taken out. But more discussions and regulating his insulin in the next 2 weeks. Vet gave me print outs on what was said. But I will ask questions.

Here's a recent pubished veterinary article on the current methods of treating feline diabetes: http://jfm.sagepub.com/content/17/3/235.full.pdf+html You may want to share with your vet. Veterinary medicine is always changing and it's hard for vets to keep up with current treatment methods.
I'm not sure what an acronym is? is that a kind of tumor?

Hello and thank you.
The vet stated it was a growth/tumour.

I think you may have misheard the vet. Can you get him to spell it for you?

Sorry it is acromegaly.

Oh, acromegaly. That can certainly affect the diabetes. Have you been able to at least browse around the FelineDiabetes.com message board? There's a forum there just for cats with acrogmegaly and a few articles about the disease. Here's the basic info one: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/acromegaly-the-basics.373/ and one on pituitary gland surgery: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...treotide-study-pituitary-tumor-surgery.36291/

Thanks for everything.
Elijah is home lots of P. Killers and his low dosage insulin. He is not peeing on his own..Vet used catheter to extract yesterday. Monitor him at home now till tomorrow. .If he still hasn't peed...will take him back.
Lulu

Back again still no peeing..taken off orymorph at vet said it might be stopping him from peeing..still on gabepentin and Hipovase. Watch Elijah walk.wobblying all over place..back orymorph. .walking better..It he doesn't pee by 1pm then back for a sedation and catheter. . Don't know wot hat to do.. can't see him suffer like this...so sorry but feeling so helpless. X Lulu

I was looking around at diabetes threads and posts and came across this. I hope and pray that you didn't stop posting because of bad news. The only things I have to offer is, don't hesitate to get a second opinion if there is anything that feels off or you can't get understandable answers and don't take out a loan. Whatever your credit rating is, find the best credit card with no interest for as long as possible. Loans charge interest, the credit card is cheaper if you can pay it off in time.

Lulu68 said:

Thank you.
Elijah has diabetes and pancreatis. He is on painkillers and insulin and will be home possibly tomorrow. If he has an "Acronym' in the P. Gland then it would be taken out. But more discussions and regulating his insulin in the next 2 weeks. Vet gave me print outs on what was said. But I will ask questions.

Click to expand...

Lulu68 said:

Sorry it is acromegaly.

Click to expand...

Hello @Lulu68,

I am a human doctor, not a cat doctor, but I understand that the diagnosis of acromegaly is similar in both human and feline medicine. Any specific advice that I give you about your cat, however, should be checked by your vet. 

Your vet was very much on the ball to diagnose acromegaly, it is a relatively rare cause of diabetes.   Most cats with acromegaly are resistant to insulin and may need increased dosage of insulin; your vet will advise you about this. 

Below I shall attempt to give you an update on acromegaly, how it is diagnosed and managed and any complications that can occur.

The diabetes in acromegaly is because of a tumour in a small gland at the base of the brain called the Pituitary gland.  This gland controls most of the glandular secretions in the body, both human or feline, and tumours involving it cause diabetes and also an increase in adult growth hormone.

You will understand that diagnosis and management of Acromegaly may be rather complicated as acromegaly is due to a tumour in the front part of  the pituitary gland.  The tumour causes the patient to produce excessive growth hormone at a time when normal growth has ceased.   The result is to increase the size of the lower jaw and the forehead.  The hands and feet  in humans, or the paws in cats, become large and the patient will increase in weight.  Both humans and cats with acromegaly can develop a characteristic appearance.  The growth hormone also increases the size of many body organs, so that enlargement of the heart could be a complication.

1. Diagnosis: 

1A. Most cases are diagnosed because of insulin resistant diabetes, but with an increase in weight.  Patients with diabetes, due to pancreatic damage, lose weight, but the diabetics due to pituitary tumours, usually gain weight due to the over-production of the growth hormone and increase in size of the cat. 

1B. There is increased plasma growth hormone, or insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) concentrations in the blood of suspected cases and this blood test is taken on suspected cases. Unfortunately, feline growth hormone assays are no longer available. However serum IGF-1 concentrations are often dramatically increased in acromegalic cats (as in humans).

1C. X-Rays:  An MRI or CAT-scan will demonstrate enlargement of an area in the skull at the base of the brain called the 'pituitary fossa', the pituitary gland lives in this indentation in the bone of the base of the skull.   Incidentally the acronym 'CAT' stands for Computerised Axial Tomography-  and has nothing to do with felines!

Your cat is particularly unfortunate as it may have pancreatitis as well as acromegaly and this can contribute to the diabetes.  Insulin, a hormone that controls blood sugar levels, is produced by glands inside, but not part of, the pancreas and pancreatitis can interfere with these glands and result in a fall of the insulin levels, causing diabetes.    As this type of diabetes  respond well to insulin, your cat may not be so resistant to insulin as usually occurs in acromegaly.

2. Management of acromegaly:  

2.A  Medical treatment works in humans, but unfortunately does not do so in cats, therefore the treatment has to be radiation of the pituitary fossa.  Nearby structures such as the optic nerves, that cross over near the pituitary fossa, can unfortunately be damaged by the radiation, so that the cat could go blind. 

2B. The basic management, if radiation is not performed, is control of the diabetes by insulin and also control of any cardiac problems that may have occurred.

I hope that this helps,

With all best wishes,

Geoffrey

Thank you so much for the information.
I had my boy put to slumber 23.11.2016..He also had spondylitis and it caused his back legs to go. He's free of pain and resting in my back garden between the rose bushes where he used to sit.
Thanks again.

I'm so, so sorry. Such a very hard thing for you both to go through. Even when we know it is right, it still hurts. I have been there and know how hard it was for me. It sounds like your boy rests in a beautiful place that he loved. What a lovely, thoughtful thing for you to do!  (((hugs)))

This was such a terrible combination of problems for you to deal with, and I am so sorry to hear the outcome. You tried, but ultimately did the only thing possible for him. The moderating team offer you their condolences at this sad time. In accordance with TCS practice, I shall now close this thread out of respect for Elijah, and I hope that when you feel ready, you will open a tribute thread for him in the 'Crossing the Bridge' forum, where people can pay their respects and express their sympathy. RIP sweet boy.