Cabergoline and diarrhea

Discussion in 'Acromegaly / IAA / Cushings Cats' started by Adrienne Mulligan, Oct 5, 2021.

  1. Adrienne Mulligan

    Adrienne Mulligan New Member

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    Sep 11, 2021
    I don't know if there is another thread where this is discussed, but my Tanky needs help!! I read that GI problems were a potential side effect, and since I started Tank on it, he has become very finicky about food, not eating well. Then today, he had horrible diarrhea. Had anyone else had to deal with this? It was bad enough that his bum is sore and messy and it hurts him when I clean him up, so I'm inclined to stop the Cabergoline. The dose is the standard dose, I had it compounded. What to do? Will he acclimate over time? Should I reduce the dose? Or stop for a while and then start in at a less frequent interval AND lower the dose?
     
  2. Suzanne & Darcy

    Suzanne & Darcy Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jun 4, 2020
    I am sorry. How long has he been on Cabergoline now? How much does he weigh and how many mL does he get (and what is the strength of the Cabergoline, i.e., how many mcg/mL). You could definitely try going to every other day dosing.
     
  3. Howiesmom

    Howiesmom Member

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    Aug 11, 2020
    Howie had diarrhea for a few days when he first started Cabergoline but it went away. That is common side effect. I used S Boulardii to help with it.
     
  4. Suzanne & Darcy

    Suzanne & Darcy Well-Known Member

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    Jun 4, 2020
    I don’t know if you are familiar with Slippery Elm Bark, but you could try it for nausea- along with doing every other day dosing. Just don’t give it at the same time as Cabergoline. I would separate them by an hour or so.
     
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  5. Adrienne Mulligan

    Adrienne Mulligan New Member

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    Sep 11, 2021
    He's been on it for 4 days, he weighs 16 lbs but he's a little overweight, so I went with slightly under 10 mcg/ kg... He gets a 60 mcg capsule once a day.
     
  6. Adrienne Mulligan

    Adrienne Mulligan New Member

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    Sep 11, 2021
    Ok, I will try that. Thank you!
     
  7. FrostD

    FrostD Well-Known Member

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    May 27, 2020
    I thought you said it's compounded? What's it compounded in?

    Mr Kitty gets diarrhea for a little bit after his dose, then is back to normal. I do every other day, so it's basically diarrhea every other day....well I guess I should say unformed stool. It's nothing too bad so I personally don't do anything.

    Like Suzanne said, a lot of people use slippery elm bark. Some use plain canned pumpkin, other s give a boulardii probiotic...or a combination of all of them. There was a discussion here.
     
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  8. Adrienne Mulligan

    Adrienne Mulligan New Member

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    Sep 11, 2021
    Ok, it's just a capsule from a compounding pharmacy, not mixed in a liquid or anything. I'm thinking maybe the antibiotic for his teeth may have messed with his GI bacteria, making him more susceptible to GI effects of Cab. Plus, he's prone to constipation and has had to have a clean out, which I want to avoid again at all costs, due to anesthesia needed, so I give him lactulose to keep his stool slightly soft. I don't give it every day, but I do give it 3 to five times a week. So all those things together could have been what happened. I started probiotics today and I'm stopping the potential offenders, then I'll ease him back into cab. Thanks for your help everyone!
     
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  9. Suzanne & Darcy

    Suzanne & Darcy Well-Known Member

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    Jun 4, 2020
    Maybe he won’t need the Lactulose anymore? I do understand, though, the urgency of serious constipation and the need to avoid the anesthesia! And, as you said, the Clindamycin may be playing into things. When I had a cat with a tooth problem who could not be put under anesthesia, we did one week out of the month on Clindamycin.
     
  10. Adrienne Mulligan

    Adrienne Mulligan New Member

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    Sep 11, 2021
    I'm sorry I sort of disappeared on you, Tank got pretty sick. I think it was a combination of all the meds he was on. I realized after a couple of days that his diarrhea was black and tarry... Likely bleeding into gut because he's on plavix ("blood thinner") and I stopped that, and stopped lactulose and antibiotics, and gave SQ fluids a couple of times, and he slowly began to improve. He's still not back to normal, but he's close. I'm probably not going to put him back on cabergoline, because I definitely noticed that he seemed uncomfortable from day one of taking it. I've been able to control his glucose much better using the freestyle libre sensor and giving 5 units 3 to 4 times a day. This works better for him than larger doses twice a day. So I think I'm just going to try that for a while.
     

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