? Help Needed - Blood Pressure Treatments. Amlodopine Making Saoirse Sick. UPDATED: 20 Apr 20:00 GMT

Saoirse now has very high BP (180s and 190s systolic when unmedicated - intraocular pressure measured by opthalmologist yesterday and it's in reference range for her age ). Saoirse was prescribed amlodipine (Ceva: Amodip) towards the end of last week. I'ts lowering her blood pressure just fine but it is making her really, really sick. I am struggling to get her to eat anything because of the GI discomfort they're causing her (her appetite is OK - she's hungry and she wants to eat) and I also think the amlodipine is making her mouth sore. (Grumbly after managing to eat something - totally unprecedented behaviour - and gum inflammation is a documented side effect of amlodipine.

Has anyone in the UK experienced similar issues with the Ceva generic? Did you get better results on Norvasc or another generic? If yes, please can you let me know which preparation worked best for your cat.

STOP PRESS:

Just spoke with the vet and she is prescribing Benazepril (ACE inhibitor) instead. Any experiences with this med you can share (especially pitfalls) would be greatly appreciated.

Item last: I would be grateful for any information on any other treatments, nutraceuticals or supplements that might help lower blood pressure.

This is really serious. Side-effect free, Saoirse eats well and enjoys her days. My girl has plenty of living left to do. I am desperate not to fail her.





When the med dose wears off she's so much better in herself. I can't not do anything about the high blood pressure but life on this current medication would be no life worth living. I'd be grateful for ANYTHING members can suggest or recommend to help with the hypertension. (I've already been to Tanya's Site so I know the theory; I badly need practical help.)


Mogs
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Mogs, I can't offer practical help. Only prayers, lots of them.

 

Mogs, I wish I had some answers for you, but I am sending loads of prayers and healing vines to both of you. I hope someone chimes in with solid information that will make Saoirse feel better soon! (((Hugs))) for you and scritches for Saoirse and Luna.

 

Grateful for the prayers, Sandi and Lucy.

 

(((Mogs))),
I've given Fortekor (is that the same thing?) to an old kitty we adopted who had advanced kidney disease and also high blood pressure. The drug seemed to increase Elliot's appetite, and he put on a kilo in the first couple of months that he was here (he had been seriously underweight prior to rescue). I did not notice any adverse effects from the drug in his case. It did not, however, do anything to address his high blood pressure.

Sending purrs and prayers to you and to Saoirse

Eliz

 

Nothing useful to say I'm afraid but keeping all paws crossed for a good outcome. You've already had your share of worry and hard work recently...

Hugs

Diana

 

I sadly don't have any experience with any of those meds either but I will be keeping Saoirse and you in my prayers. You'll get this figured out....you always do and that gorgeous little lady of yours has a very majestic and determined look on her face. Hopefully the change of meds will be the ticket to Saoirse feeling better very soon!

 

The mouth is definitely involved. Minced up Saoirse's food and tried hand-feeding it to her. She was licking at the food but highly reluctant to take a mouthful and I think she doesn't want to chew either. She'd take Liquivite but I think it might be stinging her mouth. She really wants to eat it - much more keen to do so than with the minced stuff - but then she starts giving this irritated growl and her expression becomes a cross between confusion and frustration: she likes the smell and taste of the Liquivite and wants to eat it but then something goes pear-shaped and it's like she can't understand why the food is doing something it shouldn't; something really uncomfortable. :-(

A positive: Inspired by her initial very keen interest in eating the Liquivite I just added some water to some of Saoirse's regular food and blitzed it up into a very smooth, thick, soupy consistency. I managed to feed her a reasonable amount by offering it to her to lick it off my finger. She ate it readily this way. She gave a very, very brief grumble as soon as she finished but it was a significant improvement compared to the Liquivite growls. I wish she could comfortably eat the Liquivite; the best she has eaten at a sitting over the weekend was when I gave her Liquivite.

Any ideas on what I might do to soothe her mouth? I'll give her another dose of bupe later but that will only mask the symptoms, not address what's causing the discomfort (gum inflammation?). I feel a vet house call coming on again (and a dental not far behind).

This is so hard: there's a medication that will successfully lower her blood pressure and I can't give it to her.


Mogs
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We've had cats on both. I know with Amlodapine we had to work Sophia's dose up slowly, we couldn't just put her full dose right off the bat. I don't remember a lot about using Benazapril, must have been uneventful .

 

@Melanie and Smokey -

What happened when you gave the amlodipine to Sophia, Melanie? I'd really like to hear more about your experiences. I started Saoirse on 1/6 tablet, then 1/4 tablet of a 1.25mg tablet for a few days before going up to the 1/2 tablet. She experienced negative side effects from the first dose.


Mogs
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Yes me! I had a cat with renal failure on it for years, dose of 2.5mg daily, he never had any problems with it. Sadly he finally succumbed to the renal failure but it kept him going just fine. Datasheet here: http://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/Elanco_Animal_Health/Fortekor_2_5_for_Cats_and_Dogs/-46121.html

 

Fortekor is benazepril, an ACE inhibitor. The vet dispensed the benazepril Rx for Saoirse this evening. (UK brand Rx'd: Benazecare)

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Hi Alexi,

Thanks for your reply. It's encouraging to hear positive experiences. Did the benazepril do an effective job of lowering BP in the absence of amlodipine?


Mogs
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I never had his BP measured. ACE inhibitors are used in humans as a treatment for high blood pressure, and for renal protection in diabetes, they reduce protein loss from the kidneys. I have just checked the Amodip data sheet and the list of side effects includes nausea and gingivitis among other things, might be worth a look to see if any of her symptoms match the known side effects? http://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/Cev...1_25_mg_chewable_tablets_for_cats/-69427.html

 

It will be 2 years on the 5th since we lost Sophia so its been a little while and I don't remember her exact dosages. We compounded all of her meds. I know she had some vomiting and lethargy from meds. She was a little hot mess when we adopted her. Geriatric (at least 16-18), emaciated (only 4 pounds when found, we got her up to 7 by the end), she was blind and declawed and abandoned outside during a MN winter. She was thought to be thyroid, but found to be CKD. She didn't even get out of her bed to go potty when we first brought her home. Our vets found a pretty fast heart beat every time they examined her and put her on the 'lodapine. She loved to eat, but would do some vomiting and stop eating if the meds were increased to quickly. She like to go on walkabouts around the house and learned to go to her litterbox so when she didn't get up much or started pottying in her bed again, we'd know something was wrong.

 

In our case, Mogs, Elliot's BP remained high in spite of the benazepril. But I don't know whether it would have been even higher without it...
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Mogs @Critter Mom , is there any update on Saoirse?
Hoping you're seeing some improvement....

Eliz

 

UPDATE:

Benazepril is working - possibly a bit too well? Five hours after first dose BP has gone from 189/142 down to 147/113 (optimised values) / from 177/132 down to 136/102 (non-optimised). Saoirse's BP tends to run lower at night. (Systolic BP Reference range: 135-170 per my vets; target BP range 145-160 per opthalmologist.)

I'm so grateful I was in the fortunate position to get the oscillometric BP monitor for Saoirse.

I know it's early in the proceedings but Saoirse thus far seems better on the benazepril. She has not had anything like the awful reaction amlodipine produced in her. Waiting to see what effect it might have on her GI tract.

Saoirse's mouth is still very sore. I've given her some bupe but I'm still having to assist feed (wet food and water blitzed to the consistency of a loose purée which she'll lick from my fingers but not from her dish). She can manage her Snackies better so as a standby I've ordered her some Ziwipeak venison air-dried food in case things get desperate. (If I have to resort to that I may have to give her water via syringe; she hates that. ) I know she needs a dental and this is forcing the issue. I only want her main vet to do any dental work Saoirse needs but he's on hols at the moment.

Mouth issues aside, and Saoirse seems more comfortable now (HUMONGOUS anti-jinx). She was a bit groggy earlier but now her overall posture is more open and relaxed-looking, the tail switching has stopped, and she looks quite content in herself this evening; even played with her birthday gizzit for a while!

Prayers and healing thoughts and vibes for Saoirse's sore mouth would be greatly appreciated.

My thanks to all of you for being here for us.




Mogs
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I HAVE TWO SUGGESTIONS THAT MAY HELP:
1) Nordic Naturals Omega 3 oil drops for cats and small breed dogs. It may help manage blood pressure and inflammation. It's win-win.
2) If your kitty's mouth is sore, UBIQUINOL or CoQ10. This helps the gums, but has the added benefit of helping heart function, which is going to help with managing blood pressure.
Make sure you get UBIQUINOL, and NOT UBIQUINONE, which is not as easily absorbed by the body.
About 1mg Ubiquinol per pound per day. You can give both together with food. Some Ubiquinol products come with rosemary as a preservative. Avoid that because cats hate that. Mercola sells a pump version for pets--very convenient, they also have a pet oil. Both products are excellent, but you can still use Nordic Naturals, which I think is a better oil, and get a capsule version of Ubiquinol for the same bang.

Definitely try Benazepril as an alternative. Give with a meal, as it helps with side effects.

 

It's good to hear that there is some improvement, Mogs.

I do SO sympathise. I am also blitzing food to a puree (with warm water)...different foods, multiple times a day, in hopes that my Sophie may eat even a teaspoonful of this or that...
Sophie is in a similar situation to Saoirse in having a sore mouth. In Sophie's case her emergency dental didn't fix her mouth problem, so...I'm just trying to get food into her any way I can for as long as I can. The vet has just started her on steroids to see if that helps. Is that a possibility for Saoirse also...?

Hugs,

Eliz

 

@MsBliss -

Thank you so much for your suggestions!

I actually bought some Mercola ubiquinol to trial with Saoirse but I've not yet had the opportunity to do so. It's so helpful to know it might help her gums. I've also got an omega 3 supplement (Moxxor).

As soon as I'm sure that Saoirse's safe on the benazepril I'll try the other supplements.

I'm very grateful to you for this information.


Mogs


EDITED TO ADD:

If getting Saoirse to take the Mercola ubiquinol in her grub proves problematic, where might I get the ubiquinol capsules?


M
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The most palatable version of Ubiquinol is Mercola. I'm glad to know you already have that. Most other human Ubiquinol products are problematic in that they have sorbitol, rosemary, polysorbates, etc. I haven't found one that is designed for pets except for Mercola, so I hesitate to recommend. I suppose you can check vitacost. com. I haven't checked there in a while to see what's up. Btw, if you ever meet anyone with a cat that has Stomatitis, tell them about trying Ubiquinol. It can be the missing element that leads to a response. Capsules are also a pain to use as far as measuring the dosing and the mess; often the oil squirts out and the ubiquinol is separated in the capsule. If you ever use a capsule, put it in a baggie and refrigerate it after it is punctured. It will not stay fresh if left out.

 

So very glad to hear things are a little better with Saoirse. Sending a boatload of healing vines and keeping her (and you) in our prayers. for you and for Saoirse.

 

Mogs...I just saw your post. I freaked out when I saw title and had to get myself up to date here. That bp monitor is sure coming in handy! Glad that Saoirse is finding comfort at the moment. Wish I can offer some sound advice on those drugs, other than my cat Woods took amlodipine for about 2 years, no side affects. She had lost her vision due to high bp (at age 20) so she was on the amlodipine until she passed at 22. My rat terrier is on Benazepril for her murmur...been about 3 years now...and her heart hasn't changed (she's 15). She's a dog, but hopefully Saoirse can get her bp in check with it. I also bought the ubiquinol from Mercola and krill oil in February after learning Peek-a-Boo started having elevated kidney values (plus his hcm). He had no problem with eating the squirt in his food. Sending colossal hugs to you and major heart healing vines to Saoirse....I'll keep checking in for updates.

Dawn

 

@MrWorfMen's Mom -

Thank you for keeping us in your prayers, Linda. We keep you in ours always.

That photo of Saoirse was actually taken in March, three weeks after her op and not long after the rehospitalisations for IV fluids. What we're going through is so frustrating; when she's good, she's great and it's doubly difficult to see things knock her off kilter because I know that if I can get the right treatment regimen in place there's every chance she'll do really well.


Mogs
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She does look very regal in her photos...a stunning black cat I must say!

 

So happy that there has been improvement Mogs!!

 

No experience with this just hugs....

 

Mogs, thinking of you and Saoirse...hoping she's improved....sending healing hugs of comfort

Dawn

 

Mogs, you know I am ALWAYS sending healing vines to Saoirse. And hugs for you!!

 

Hey Mogs, How is Miss Saoirse doing? .

 

It's a relief to have Saoirse off the amlodipine. Will post an update tomorrow, Linda. My fatigue symptoms are really bad right now and, more importantly, I really don't want to jinx anything ... ... ...

@Rachel and @Dawn and Peek-a-Boo (GA) - thank you both for the prayers and hugs. Needed and appreciated.




Mogs
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No problem! I completely understand, but you know how we worry around here! When you feel up to it.....!