05/29 bailey uk. any1 no abt gabapentine for neuropathy

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=119401&p=1248301#p1248301

not a great day for him today.his legs aren't good and hes been generally miserable.it started off well him waking me up with his usual medling.when his demeanor changed I thought Id check(again) around his little body for lumps,pain etc....BUT what I have found today when I feel down his spine (I felt and checked everywhere) and I get to the lower end of his back he went for me! he MUST have pain somewhere around there. his xrays didn't show anything but would a slipped disc or that kinda thing show up??? I cant tell you how many things and conditions ive googled! if his demeanor doesn't change in the next few days im afraid he'll be going back in to the vets for these other test sooner than I first thought poor iccle guy! I just want him well and pain free.:-( its so distressing!

hes cuddled into me tonight fast asleep,on his back with his legs in the air so doesn't look like hes in pain at the mo.i do worry! :cry:

 

Re: 05/28 bailey uk.bad day for him today! :-(

Hi Anna and Bailey,

So sad that Bailey seems to be in pain today - I hope he's feeling better very soon. Sending lots of healing vines and hugs your way, Anna.

Take care, Anne.

 

Re: 05/28 bailey uk.bad day for him today! :-(

Hi Anna!

I am so sorry your Bailey is not having a good day... I have not following your posts, but I'd say that's the result of DM. In February, when my cat Juno was feeling miserable and so were I, I could easily feel his spine too and he was too weak to walk. It was a sad thing to see. Just like you I kept checking him everyday for lumps, but the vet didn't find anything else besides DM. He also developed very serious asthma attacks several times a day, which lasted for around two months. I hope your Bailey will feel better very soon.

:YMHUG:
Cristina

 

Re: 05/28 bailey uk.bad day for him today! :-(

(((Anna))) I'm so sorry Bailey has had a bad day today. :YMHUG: Did you vet X-ray all the way down the spine? I've had two cats now with spondylitis (arthritis of the spine). I didn't get Neko X-rayed, but it's common for acrocats to get this and I can tell from the way she stands/walks.

You might want to talk to your vet about pain relief for Bailey. It does sound like he can get sore. A common one for cats is buprenorphone, also called Buprenex (trade name). It is a controlled substance, so I have to get a prescription to a compounding pharmacy for any volume of it. It's a liquid you squirt into their mouth, onto the soft tissue, such as the cheek. I get my made up with chicken flavor so Neko likes her happy juice now. I started out with some prefilled syringes from the vet to see if it would work for her. It's something you can give just on days when you think he's sore, although I give it to Neko every day now.

 

Re: 05/28 bailey uk.bad day for him today! :-(

ive seen the xray and I cant be sure its the whole way down. my vets good so il get him in asap. Bails is a big boy so no I cant just feel his spine,nor is he weak barr his back legs. its just like around the area 3/4 of the way down his back,he reacts when I press around it.its definitely NOT just dm weve determine that.
he seems comfortable now.snooring like a trooper cat_pet_icon

 

Re: 05/28 bailey uk.bad day for him today! :-(

i think the fact that he went for you when you touched it says there's some sort of owie right there. Pain can definitely increase blood sugar. Bupe is a good pain-killer - i also gave it to punkin twice a day for months. Hope your vet has some idea of what is hurting him there. poor little guy. sending our best feel-better thoughts to mr bailey!

 

Re: 05/28 bailey uk.bad day for him today! :-(

I agree with Julie -- it's worth discussing this with your vet. If there's a pinched nerve, it may not show up easily on an x-ray. Something like a slipped or compressed disc can be hard to image unless you know to look at a particular spot. I'm guessing that to get a good spinal film they may need to sedate Bailey In the meantime, something for pain may be very helpful. It's also worth considering that pain can contribute to high BG numbers.

 

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=119450

ive also read up tonight on gabapentine that's meant to be great for cats suffering from neuropathy or other back troubles that are do to with the spine or spinal cord so am speaking to the vet tomorrow so will certainly discuss this! do any of you guys know about this drug?

today has been a better day.my friend called tonight who used to stay and look after him when I was on holiday.he hasn't seen her for many months but he ran back and forth with excitement.his neuropathic legs flopping all over,sounding like a herd of elephants on my laminate floor but he didn't seem bothered.that was before plonking himself on her knee. <3 bg numbers up the wall but drinking,eating and urinating not increased!
will let you know what vet says. I do know hes going to do another xray and scan. one to see whether his spleen is still enlarged and another to check muscles and other areas. were making progress. he and I are determined to get my boy right.i wouldn't want to be in pain so theres no way I want my boy in pain any longer than he needs to be.ive given him metacam tonight to see if its eased anything as not only is it a pain killer its also an anti inflammatory( don't worry I know the dangers of kidneys etc and have no intention of keeping him on this for any longer than me going to the vet but I als don't want him suffering with pain)

not sure what I did with this condo.have edited it all wrong.been a looooong day!

 

Anna - people also gabapentine for neuropathy. When I talked to my vet about pain relief for Neko, gabapentine was her number two choice after buprenorphine. I know some of the acrocats who have general pain issues use it quite successfully. I think it's worth a try. I also add fish oil to Neko's food as it's also an anti inflammatory and safer.

 

Hi Anna,

I wouldn't give him any more metacam at all. there is a black box warning for it in the US, meaning that it has significant dangers for cats. It's a dose-related problem, but even though there are occasions that people have said it has helped, it has also caused other (liver) problems. I don't think it's worth the risk. Ask the vet for buprinex/Buprinorphine. That is safer.

When you say he has neuropathy, do you mean that he is walking down on his hocks in back? For example, that his entire foot all the way up to his "knees" is down on the floor? The neuropathy typically resolves as the blood sugar comes down out of the high ranges.

I have used gabapentin. It didn't seem to make any difference for punkin, but he didn't have neuropathy. We used it in our efforts to reduce his pain so he would want to be held again. Some cats seem to do very well on it though.

 

no I know about metacam.iv read about all the warnings but as a one off it cant hurt. I had it left from when he had the first bout of cystitis 3 months ago.just til I can get hold of the vet tomorrow. it seems to have settled him tonight!
yep hes walking on his hocks quite significantly so although hes still able to get onto end of my bed (his favourite place) the window ledge,so he jumps ok.just struggles walking.sits after a few steps! ive read it causes pain in the back too so before bails fgoes into be sedated in a weeks time lets see if this gabapentin or the other buprinex do the trick.my vets reluctant to get bails back in for sedation so soon after the last hence the weeks wait unless an emergency so lets see what he says!

 

would you make sure to include all medications in the comment section of his spreadsheet, please? that kind of information might be important to know. i'd also put when he had metacam before on there, if you can figure out when that was. most people giving meds list every single dose in the comments, or some people add a column for just meds.

hehe i don't know what a "one off" is! Our english isn't exactly the same - which is pretty funny. ;-) Can you explain?

did he get the metacam before he was diagnosed with diabetes?

 

another thought - if Bailey's got any arthritis and if that is the cause of his back pain, adequan can fairly quickly increase his production of fluid in the joints and is very safe for cats. Many people start with oral cosequin (available without a prescription in the US) and if they don't see adequate improvement, they switch to adequan or dausequin.

Laser and acupuncture are both used to relieve pain as well. punkin had both - there is a video of him getting acupuncture in my signature line. the laser therapy was very effective.

i'm just thinking these are safer alternatives (along with the Bupe) for relieving pain.

what was the metacam dose?

 

haha Julie,a one off means just that here,as in one time (one off) and never to happen again.he hasn't had metacam for about 2/3 months and it was for 3 days only when he had his first bout of cystitis and they gave it him for the inflammation and pain but im very much aware of the dangers.so it was just that as it was all I had. a one off! ;-) oh and he had 6 units! will add to spreadsheet from now on.everythings a learning curve!!

the vet was meant to phone me today and hasn't so now weve got to go all weekend without knowing what to do and weve had a really bad day today. but then ive been out to the theatre(kept my phone on vibrate in my bra the whole time just in case.hahahah) and I came back to my boy a little playful so that was a nice surprise.i just want him right :-( it MUST have something to do with this back pain.i hate that I cant do anything.
there is NO WAY my boy would go thru accupunture etc he has to be sedated for anything and I have to medicate as vets cant unless sedated so that rules hat out but have written down the medication you suggested.do u not think hes a little young for arthritis at 8? its so hard not knowing whats wrong. if I did,id fix it whatever the cost!!!

 

Interesting - I knew what one-off meant. I guess being Canadian means we know some of the lingo. ;-)

Anna - Adequan may not be available outside of the US. In Canada and a few other countries, we get something very similar called Cartrophen. It's a shot that contains a form of glucosamine that is easily processed by kitties. It's actually off label for cats, primarily designed for dogs and horses. But I get Cartrophen in pre-filled syringes from the vet and do the shots at home myself.

I get buprenorphine and cerenia for my cystitis kitty - it's a better option for that pain and inflammation.

For Bailey's pain have you tried applying some gentle heat? I had a very arthritic kitty (spine, hocks, who knows what else) and he loved his heat. He had a pad that warmed up with body heat and loved to be in the sun. I think it gave his arthritis a lot of relief. He loved laps for that reason too.

 

i read somewhere that a fairly large percentage of cats over the age of 7 have some arthritis. i can't find that source now, however, so take it for what it's worth!

i'm just throwing out ideas for why his back might be so touchy. could be something else entirely, i don't know. it's just another thing for you to explore.