Need advice on antibiotics

Hi All,

A quick re-cap: I have a 9 y.o. kitty who was dx in January but went on an 8 month remission after just 3 inulin shots and a total switch to a low carb diet. He had a relapse recently and now his numbers are in upper 200s up to 390 every day.

Someone on the forum suggested to check him for dental issues. My vet said he does have inflammed gums and one tooth that "doesn't look great" but she said they won't do teeth cleaning until his diabetes is under control. She said that if I am worried about a possible infection being a cause for the relapse, she would give me a week worth of antibiotics to give to my cat "preventively," as an adjunct to Lantus shots. She said that while that wouldn't take care of the bad tooth (of course), it would "lower his bacterial load."

My question is- can atibiotics given without a verified infection (his blood work didn't show any signs of an infectious process going on and there was no UTI) actually hurt rather than help him? Or is it worth a try to give ABs for a few days in case his relapse WAS caused by gum/tooth issues..?

Thanks,
Eva

 

Not sure enough to give an answer on the antibiotics question, but I just want to say...

Rusty had bad teeth, and he had a dental about 2 months ago -- about a week after dental (including extractions), we had to reduce his insulin dose by 50%.

 

A dental cleanup should not rest on regulated diabetes; where is the logic there?
My Shadoe was not really regulated and she had her first dental ever - 4 teeth looked iffy, Xrays showed one had to be extracted (upper right canine?) and after the dental her dose needs went into a scary free fall downward.
Dental made a huge difference for her, for the better.

For a/b, I am giving Shadoe zeniquin after a short time on clavamox, and a few weeks of metronidazole, - we have tested her and have not found any infection, but something is there and she is greatly improving with the a/b.
Her BG numbers have come down and also her dose too.

 

Antibiotics are sometimes given without a verified infection. It is generally not recommended since it contributes to bacteria becoming resistant to antibiotics.

 

Some vets want an animal's diabetes to be somewhat controlled before a dental. Uncontrolled diabetes adds risk to anesthesia and vets would like to minimize the risk.

 

She said they don't like to put animals under for the dental, when the BG is high. She didn't explain why.

I wish she were more receptive to thinking about teeth...She said that the "theory that bad teeth contibute to all sorts of other problems is controversial" and she was never able to see in her practice a relationship between bad teeth, heart problems, high BG, etc. Not sure what to do about that...Should I insist on dental, even tough my cat's BG is high?

E

 

Could they be helpful though, in case his inflammed gums are a breeding ground for bacteria? Not sure whether I should give him the ABs or not. Sounds like the risks are low and there might be some benefit, am I reading it right?

 

Are you using insulin now or do you want to try the antibiotics instead of insulin? With the BGs approaching 400 I would not put off starting insulin.

 

I'm supposed to start Lantus on Monday. She said don't start over the weekend in case there are some complications, cause she doesn't work over the weekend. She said I can start the ABs today and continue concurrently with shots.