Previous post Shmee's bloodwork is in and added to his SS. Some odd numbers... what stood out to me was his extremely high triglycerides. Last time Dr. McCue said this high number (which has now tripled) could be caused by hypothyroidism, but his t4 is now normal..? Both liver levels have gone up.. my vet said any number of things could cause this, including pancreatitis. His moods were very odd today, he sat on my lap and laid with me, but minutes later he hisses at me. He doesn't like us to touch him sometimes, like he might be in pain again... its so hard to figure out. He has been extremely hungry still, up until dinner then he didn't want to eat. He did after bout a half hour. Being picky? I gave him .10 of the Bupe gel just in case he is in pain because of his moods, and now he is very hungry again. He really grabbed into me again when I tried to give the Desmopressin shot. From the vet visit and today my arm is a mess. This probably isn't as significant as the rest but I am curious - what does Abs Eosinophils mean? He was 456 last time and 86 this time.... Thank you to everyone that keeps reminding me that he no longer has to have insulin and no more IGF harmful growth hormones.... but man this is getting ridiculous and still don't know if all his terror and pain that he has gone through is worth it. I really hope my view changes but I cannot believe what I have done to him. He should not have been in this pain and his poor body going through whatever all these numbers mean.... I hate it. The doctor gave me Alprazolam (like valium?) to "try out" before his next vet visit. I have to try it out because it could make him hyper instead of sleepy. She also said it makes them ravenous / very hungry. Well he is already extremely hungry so I cannot do that to him... Its supposed to be like a sedative since the Gaba did nothing for him Friday for the vet. Another thing I do not understand at all. It used to work very well for him and it was very clear when he was on it. Very wobbly and sleepy. This time, nothing. The vet said sometimes they just become immune. I am not buying that. Maybe he is just under too much stress for it to even work... I don't know. I am already dreading the next vet visit.... which we will probably have to have within the next few weeks since his cortisol level is still not going up. Oh yeah - my vet said increasing the pred. could be making him in a bad mood. Which really freaks me out now because I am going to have to increase it again since his cortisol is so low. Does that mean he will be even meaner? Ugh. I hope Dr. McCue calls soon because I can't wait to get his opinion on everything. If there is someone that likes to interpret bloodwork please tag them here for me. Thank you!
Hi Amanda - almost bedtime here. For pred, Leo has gotten it for one year for his Small Cell Lymphoma (SCL). You may want to look on the web for side effects. It did not make him mean at all. It did help make him hungry. Long term, pred can produce Cushings as a side effect.
Yes, you can become tolerant to gaba and bupe and other pain medication. Even Benadryl. It may not have the same sedative effects once it’s taken for a while. That’s how narcotic tolerance develops, that can lead to drug abuse in humans. Gaba is not in the opioid group but you can still develop tolerance to it. Eosinophils are white blood cells that are usually associated with allergy. Alprazolam is generic for Xanax and is a benzodiazepine. It specifically treats anxiety. Prednisone can definitely cause mood swings. I always said frosty had steroid induced psychosis bc he would behave bizarrely around food, and it’s a thing in humans. I think once they get the levels right he will calm down. Hope this helps.
It wouldn’t produce cushing’s In Shmee because right now his body isn’t making any cortisol at all. And the body needs some cortisol to function properly. The reason he is getting so many blood tests is they are trying to get the dose just right so that he has enough cortisol - like any other cat. But not too much so it would cause cushing’s. Every cat is different in how it reacts to medication. Shmee is clearly on edge from all the vet visits as it is and has some bad days sometimes. It’s normal. Once the hormone levels are stabilized and are in a good range, I think it will get better.
So sorry you are going through all this. It sounds like his hormones still need tweaking and that unfortunately takes time. My hubby was on high doses of pred for a bout of kidney disease (which normally happens in toddlers). The havoc it caused in our lives was so bizarre but eventually once they started tapering down and discontinued he was back to normal. But 5-6 months of total chaos and making sure he was not left alone for 1 second literally. I got so good at organizing and scheduling chaperones, the whole thing was just so surreal.
(((Amanda))), I'm going to think positively that Shmee will soon return to his old personality . You and he deserve a break. I'm sorry I can't comment on the test results, but I hope that the vets will be able to get Shmee stabilized on just the right combination and amount of medicines. Hang in there and remember that Shmee loves and trusts you. s and scritches,
Maybe it's just the stress from all the testing & meds? Hope he calms down & you all have a relaxing Sunday
I could be wrong, but the articles below list our iatrogenic cushings. They don't mention cases of cats without pituitaries. In our case with Leo, we think he has some symptoms of this including very thin skin, as a result of his longterm pred dosage (16 months). This article discussed longterm prednisolone effects including iatrogenic cushings - caused from long term pred. It's not an issue with Shmee now because there is no longterm use yet. https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/steroid-treatment-long-term-effects-in-cats another article here: https://icatcare.org/advice/cat-health/hyperadrenocorticism-cushings-disease
No they did not, and I remember I think it was Mandy that posted in here a while ago that that might be a good idea. I asked both vets about it, and they said it wasn't needed. I wish I would have just done it. Wow... Yes the stories I am hearing about leveling out these hormones help me to realize this is normal, and hopefully once we have a plan in action it will get better and it gives me hope for our future. I am trying my best. I hate to torture him but I hope he knows me well enough that he knows I still love him very much. Like Paul said one time - I think deep down they know there is something wrong and we are trying to help. Wow. Yes this helped a lot. I wonder if he is allergic to anything... Dr. McCue said after his last bloodwork that rarely some cats will have a bad reaction to the additives in the liquid medications, and we might have to think about switching to pills. I would be open to that but liquid is so much easier, I really hope if that happens the pills can be crushed into his food :/ I do not want to shove pills down his throat the rest of his life, but I could always try pill pockets again too. For the Denamarin a while ago he figured out fairly quickly there were pills in there... like you said about Frosty - they are too smart for their own good
Sending you hugs for all you are going through with Shmee. I agree that the pred can cause mood swings as it does in humans and can cause some aggressive behavior. Take care of your arm and make sure you disinfect it well.
No, it wouldn’t in Shmee because Leo is producing his OWN cortisol, PLUS getting prenisolone. So he’s getting more corticosteroids than he would normally need. Shmee is NOT producing his own cortisol, so the prednisolone is simply replacing what he would normally make. It is not to provide any extra corticosteroid like it is for Leo, so he would not be suffering from any side effects from EXTRA prednisolone like thinning skin, etc, as long as the dose is correct for him and not too high. Right now it seems to possible be too low according to Amanda, and it will take time to get to the correct dose. @Amanda & Shmee I think that eosinophil # is very non specific and we don’t look at it in medicine unless the total white blood count is high. You didn’t mention it being high so I don’t think it means anything concerning. Probably just day to day variation.
Well then can they tell you the WBC? I’m sorry that they mixed things up. I don’t know the difference between a senior panel and other panels for cats. All I know is I just keep dishing out money for Frosty and let them do whatever they want.
I'm sorry I deleted that comment because I was incorrect. I just searched "WBC" on my sheet but it was showing me the WBC from the past urine test, which he did not get this time. He did get a WBC this time with the blodowork - my mistake. He was at 8.4, normal range 3.5 - 16. It did go up slightly from the 09/10 test - which was 7.6.
Yeah so the wbc is normal. I wouldn’t worry about the eosinophils. You can ask Dr. McCue to confirm (always a good idea) since I’m a human not animal specialist but I doubt it means anything. I think the main thing is to get all the hormones - thyroid and cortisol into normal range , which will take time, but once that happens he will feel better and hopefully feel less irritable.
