Another Update!!!
Thanks for checking in on my little girl to see how she is doing. Maddie is "so-so" for the most part. She is still not herself, less active, less energy, seems a little depressed BUT is eating great!!! We got the results back on the other tests we ran and two of them came back normal, which we figured they would. We repeated the insulin/glucose ratio test and it is actually a lot worse now than it was 3 weeks ago. This is the test they use to basically diagnose an insulinoma. Her level last time was in normal range but on the high end of normal (which indicates a high probability of an insulinoma) Now her level is in the high range, not even in the normal range anymore so, what this means is the tumor is most likely growing pretty fast. I can't believe the values are that much worse in only 3 weeks. This would explain why her glucose levels are declining more rapidly now than before surgery and why overall she seems worse than before surgery.
The surgeon suggested we explore her again to see if we can locate the tumor. He feels that if it is growing, we might be able to find it and remove it. I honestly do not know what to do. I want to do everything possible to try to help my baby BUT I don't know if I can put her through all of that again. If I knew for a fact we could find the tumor and remove it, I would be a little more inclined to do it however, unless it is a big tumor (which they typically are not) there is no way of knowing for sure until you are actually doing the surgery. It could be like trying to find a needle in a hay stack. I would never forgive myself if I put her through all of that again for nothing. On the other hand, if we find the tumor, she will hopefully gain some time with us and have a better quality of life. This is a VERY, VERY tough decision to make and I'm honestly sooooo lost right now. My DH wants to go ahead and try again but I don't think I do. I just don't know. He wasn't there to see her go through all of that like I was, it was heartbreaking. The surgeon and internist are supposed to make some calls to see if maybe a CT scan could possibly locate it and/or if we inject dye if it would pick it up. The internist had her tech call me today with the orders to go ahead and start the pred, hopefully that will help her glucose levels some for now. I am hoping she will be able to tolerate the pred, she seems to be panting a lot more since her second dose of it which is worrying me. I am feeding her every 2-3 hours which she is loving and added/mixed a higher protein food to her diet.
So that is where things stand for us at the moment. My heart literally aches and I do a lot of crying. I will speak to the internist monday or tuesday, hopefully I will have more insight on some things then.
Thanks again for thinking of Maddie and keeping her in your thoughts and prayers. We need every bit of them!!!!
Carrie and Maddie
