Bandit (stomatitis) update (long)

Discussion in 'Feline Health - (Welcome & Main Forum)' started by Steph & Cuddles (GA), Mar 11, 2010.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Steph & Cuddles (GA)

    Steph & Cuddles (GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    Bandit had her vet appointment today for the stomatitis that hasn't been getting any better. I thought it had after her full mouth extraction last Sept.. and it HAS a bit.. but still really angry red, and hurting I'm sure. They didn't do x-rays, because, like I thought, it was more for the asthma. I think her asthma is fine.. it's the stomatitis that's really bothering her. She's still on pred.. but the vet wants to go back to pred every day for now, while also giving antibiotics. Every other day pred, has her doing that gagging/gurgling sound a little more often than while on it every day. (If she ever gets off pred, I do plan on giving her Flovent for the asthma. No use if she's still on pred tho.)

    So... vet looked in her mouth & cringed. Says it still looks like hamburger back there. :sad: I can't imagine how that feels to swallow. & the fact that she's eating fine too. We talked about all the options, and she also has another kitty patient with bad stomatitis like Bandit.. and the extractions didn't do anything either. She said the only thing that's controlling it right now, is the depo medrol shot every 3 months. If that's what it takes to get her better, and pain free.. I'll do it! But not before exhausting all the other options. (she also said medrol pills would be another option too. said a higher chance of diabetes than the pred, but the depo medrol SHOT had an even higher chance of diabetes than the medrol pill.) My old vet had put Cuddles on the medrol pill for her allergies. She was on the pill every day for a good 1-2 years I believe, before becoming diabetic. Even tho my old vet didn't know what he was doing, and put her on W/D & insulin.. she did come off insulin with a diet switch.. even after getting insulin for almost 3 years.

    She even went to the back, and searched on the VIN to see if there was any updated information about stomatitis. While she did that, I pulled up Lynette's stomatitis site on my phone (I printed it out, but forgot it at home!). http://www.felineoutreach.org/Education/Stomatitis.html when she came back in the room, I showed her the 'treatment' part, about using:
    She said there wasn't much more on the VIN (veterinary information network), but talked with another one of the vets (Dr Dutton for those who knows Blue Cross. I saw Dr Bennett today.) Dr Dutton was telling her about the thinking that it could be something in the bloodstream that causes this kind of reaction.. I put it in my phone so I'd remember! LOL Hemobartonella?? She said it's also called something else, but couldn't remember it. I haven't googled much yet (just got home a bit ago & ate).. but will start researching it.

    The most used meds for that, is doxy, or zythromax. I know the shelter uses doxy a LOT! If kittens get an infection/URI, they give doxy first, and most of the time it knocks it out. But if it doesn't, I believe they move onto zythromax, or more expensive antibiotics then. (shelters gotta do what's cheaper & works) I asked her which she thought would be better.. the doxy or zythro. She said it really didn't matter, but she thinks the zythro is a little easier on the stomach, and is SID, whereas doxy is BID. I know zythro's not that expensive, so I went with that. She gave me a prescription that I took into Costco, and had filled. She gave me 5 tablets, and Bandit gets 1/10 of a tablet, SID. :razz: LOL I'll be using the pill splitter in VERY good light tonight to get that figured out!

    Meanwhile, she wants to continue the pred every day, to help with the inflammation. She even showed me under her lips, where her teeth used to be, there's still a thin line of bright red there. :sad: UGH! NO TEETH! Just very frustrating. It was hard for her to get in there & see, so there's no wonder why I didn't see it. (Has anyone tried to look at the gums of a toothless cat? There are lips, cheeks, tongue everywhere. LOL)

    My question is..... while I was at Costco (wasting time, wandering around.. pharmacists all went to lunch at the same time & closed the pharmacy :roll: ) I was wandering around in the supplements/vitamins aisles, picking up some more allergy pills & such since I was there.. & saw CoQ10. I remembered seeing that on Lynette's site.. so I pulled it up again on my phone, and checked it out. Seemed like the same stuff.. so I bought a bottle. (nearly $20 for a bottle. eek) The stuff I got is 100mg, and 130 softgels. The brand is TruNature. They had another bottle that was something like 300mg! But it only came with 75 softgels! (& were way bigger) I wasn't sure the dose, so I got the smaller ones, and can always double up if I need to.

    But does anyone know if the CoQ10 shouldn't be given while I'm trying the pred & zythro? I'd hate to make it less effective, or interact with something. She does want to see Bandit again in a week.. so I think I'll give the pred & zythro a try for a week at least.. then if that's not working, then go on to the CoQ10.

    She saw the part where she talked about pain management, and anti inflammatory.. and said just to keep her on the pred, and that should be enough. Said pred is anti-inflammatory.. so we'll keep her on that, while we give the zythro a try. She did mention clindamycin for a month, then clavamox for another month.. but that was before she talked to Dr Dutton about that hemobartonella stuff.

    I know there's not lots of info out there, or even much known about stomatitis... but I'm desperate here, and you never know what might spark someone's memory or who may see this who didn't see the updates before.

    OH! & sorry for adding this if it doesn't have anything to do with this.. but being jobless, and flying through my severance pay.. I was thinking about changing at least most of my cats to dry Wellness CORE, or some other non-grain (lower carb) food. At least until I get another job. I have 4 cats that are eating over a case of Friskies a week! :shock: & I've tried going cheaper with the wet.. believe me. :/ Sophistacat, 9-Lives, Special Kitty, etc.. they won't touch it. grrr! I asked the vet about the dry vs the wet w/ Bandit, and she said if she'll eat it, then not a big deal. I know she will, because I've run out before, and gave some CORE (that I'm feeding a stray right now) and they all went NUTS over it! Especially Bandit! Didn't seem to slow her down.. she obviously didn't chew it, but didn't seem to bother her throat any more than wet does. (she seems to LICK the wet food more, and takes longer to eat it.. I wonder if that's more painful since she has to swallow so often while licking the wet food?) I may still have to buy a case here & there of the Friskies for Cher. I don't want her to balloon up again. But thinking of giving the other 3 some dry/grain free food for now, to save money.

    PLEASE.. any insights/suggestions welcome!
     
  2. ceil99

    ceil99 Member

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2009
    I just posted on your other thread........but here it is.............. :smile:

    My civie, Lucy (GA) had stomatitis for about a year before she passed early last year. She was given depo shots and it helped tremendously. Vet was concerned about steroid induced diabetes and other complications since she was almost 14 when she was diagnosed, but she was really miserable and I thought it was worth the risk and knew I could test her for the diabetes and keep an eye on her. She tolerated the depo well and never raised her BG at all. :smile:

    She was started on the shots once a month for about 3 months, then went to one shot every 2 months, and then finally about one shot every 3 months.

    Did your vet ever mention depo shots?
     
  3. Steph & Cuddles (GA)

    Steph & Cuddles (GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    Yep. I don't want to jump the gun though on the depo since Bandit's 'only' 10. Want to try everything else first!
     
  4. Dale

    Dale Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    One of our vets puts stomatitis kitties on a liquid antibiotic mixed with liquid steroid which is at a lower dose than shots. It helps Rosemary but I hate the thought of giving antibiotics 10 days out of every month but I guess it's better than getting diabetes and her being in so much pain. Still wish we could get to the "root" cause of this disease. I'm also using Biotene vet mouthwash and gel to help keep plaque off her teeth. Just some thoughts for ya.
     
  5. Steph & Cuddles (GA)

    Steph & Cuddles (GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    Dale.. do you know the name of the liquid steroids? I'll definitely bring it up with my vet if this doesn't work for her. So she'll be getting antibiotics the rest of her life? Guessing that's what pulse antibiotic therapy is..? Guess it's not that big of a deal if I have to do that... it's either that, or take Bandit into the vet every 3 months for a shot. :/ I'd really like to avoid any steroid shots if possible.

    Bandit had her first dose of zythromax (& pred) last night.. so just crossing my fingers!
     
  6. Steph & Cuddles (GA)

    Steph & Cuddles (GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    Hmmm well I found this about hemobartonella. Not sure if this is a new link that hasn't really been studied yet, because this talks mostly about anemia & jaundice. Things that aren't seen in Bandit.

    http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_fe ... nemia.html

    (I love their website, but find it hard to read.. so I copy the page & paste it into Word to read. I've emailed them asking if they can change their background!)

    Also.. the vet asked me if we've tested her for FIV. I told her I got her as a little kitten 10 years ago.. so she was tested at the shelter, but that was at 2 months old. Started to worry it was a false negative. :sad: She looked back in the charts a bit, and found that they DID test her again for FIV in 2006, and it was negative. Poor Bandit... just has to be the oddball cat that doesn't seem to fit into any category. :/ At least I know she's really negative for FIV/FeLV though!
     
  7. Dale

    Dale Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    Called the vet and they said in the amoxi they use 10 mg of liquid dexemethesone. Helps with infection and calming the overactive immune system.
     
  8. Steph & Cuddles (GA)

    Steph & Cuddles (GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    Thank you! Will keep a note of that in case none of this works. :smile:
     
  9. Lynette and Meow Meow (GA)

    Lynette and Meow Meow (GA) New Member

    Joined:
    Jan 12, 2010
    I'm in a huge rush, so pardon the blunt nature and lack of detail, but if it were MY cat:

    1) I'd do oral steroids rather than injectable IF POSSIBLE. Injectable steroids are more likely to have side effects like acute pancreatitis, diabetes, skin tears, etc. Injections can't be "taken back" and if side effects are bad, you're stuck with them until the shot wears off. (My Studley had a SEVERE attack of acute pancreatitis after a steroid shot and I nearly lost him. As it was, he was hospitalized for a week and got a plasma transfusion and it was miserable. I'm not saying NEVER give injected steroids - I had them given regularly to Elsinore, who had inoperable cancer, as it increased her quality of life. But if giving ORAL steroids is an option, I would go that route.)

    2) If finances permit, I'd do cyclosporine rather than pred. Fewer side effects. Worked very well for Latifah. Atopica is the brand name, but much cheaper to buy the generic online - shop around.

    3) For CoQ10 you want the 30 mg strength - every other day - can be given up to every day. Doesn't matter if on other meds - this is a supplement naturally produced by the body, not a "drug". Info on my old site.
    http://mousabilities.com/cats/supps/mis ... html#CoQ10

    4) agaricus blazei is great, as is lactoferrin, though I've personally seen better results with AB. I like the liquid AB - and if lactoferrin, I mixed capsule with water and syringed into mouth. Dose on my old site:
    http://mousabilities.com/cats/supps/atlas.html
    http://mousabilities.com/cats/supps/mis ... actoferrin

    5) Flovent for asthma is great.... you can also be giving Albuterol. Flovent is a steroid - albuterol is a bronchodialator. Albuterol can be given even if already on pred. If asthma symptoms are severe, flovent can be given in addition to low dose of pred - see Dr Padrid's protocol and Feline Outreach site.
    http://www.fritzthebrave.com/meds/inhaled_protocol.pdf
    http://felineoutreach.org/education/asthma.html

    Gotta run - sorry - email or Facebook me if you have ?'s

    Lynette
     
  10. Cheryl & Tux

    Cheryl & Tux Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    I'm sorry to hear that Bandit is having such a tough time, Steph. I don't know anything, really, about stomatitis but I did want to mention that if you choose to use the C0Q10 there is a pure powder available from Now Foods. I buy it for Cammie off iherb.com. http://www.iherb.com/Now-Foods-CoQ10-10 ... /6107?at=0

    I hope that Bandit is feeling better soon!!
     
  11. Steph & Cuddles (GA)

    Steph & Cuddles (GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    Thank you Cheryl! I did end up buying the 100mg pills at Costco.. maybe I'll add it into everyone's food. Would it hurt everyone else? Otherwise, I'd most likely have to squeeze a little out of the softgel, and toss the rest.

    Good to know, thanks! Oral steroids will definitely be a possibility since she just inhales the pills along with Temptation treats. ;-)

    Hmmm again, I asked this vet (her normal vet) about it, and she said it's known in the vet world as a 'cat puking med.' You give it to cats, and it's nearly guaranteed to make them puke. If none of this helps though, I'll definitely keep it in mind. Doesn't hurt to try to see if she can tolerate it. Vet said dogs tolerate it much better, but cats usually don't.

    Oops.. got the 100mg softgels. I'll just squeeze a little out of it though for her dose. Thanks!

    Good to know! Her asthma seems fine on the pred.. but nice to know I could use the puffers for her if I really needed to (on top of the pred). I believe she only has mild asthma... but unfortunately, severe stomatitis. :sad:

    Thanks so much for all the help everyone!
     
  12. Cheryl & Tux

    Cheryl & Tux Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    I don't think that the CoQ10 would hurt anyone else but I guess I'd ask your vet to be sure. I do know that with heart disease you don't want to stop giving the CoQ10 once you start. You could always squeeze some out for Bandit and then take the rest yourself. I just recently was told of some studies which suggest that CoQ10 could be useful in people who have migraines. If I remember correctly one of the studies used a dose of 150 mg/day. If you search for "CoQ10 and headaches/migraines" there are quite a few hits that make for interesting reading. I'm going to talk to my Dr about adding it to my regimen as I do suffer from migraines.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page