Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex

Discussion in 'Feline Health - (Welcome & Main Forum)' started by Morgan Williams, Feb 7, 2021.

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  1. Morgan Williams

    Morgan Williams Member

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    Has anyone's cat been diagnosed with Eosinophiloc Granuloma Complex? We started seeing a new vet Friday and I was telling her all of Arizona's concern areas and what our last vet had suggested for each. She stayed the day for a glucose curve because I told them her sugar was getting low because of how she was acting. I told the vet I wanted to try to find a new food since I'm just not sure Hill's W/D is working well for her, plus the advice I've received here on it. I left Arizona there and picked up uo that after after the curve, blood tests, and general overview. When picking her up the vet suspects Eosinophiloc Granuloma Complex and said it could be the reason for all of her issues along with why we can't get her sugar to fully stabilize. She thinks she's allergic to the hills food and we are trying to get some Royal Canin Selected Protein PR ( pea and rabbit) canned food approved and shipped to us to begin a food trial. I disbt realize how much it was, but basically it'll be $160/month just for this food. I'm thankful I just got a big raise at work and am due for another next month. She said the bad thing is, Eosinophiloc Granuloma Complex is normally treated with steroids and we all know diabetics and steroids don't mix. To help ease the butt / anal gland swelling along with her little skin scabs, we are on a low two week dose and steroids and antibiotics to see if it helps. We go back in two weeks for another curve and to look at her anal glands again. She said Arizona may have to be sedated for a full anal gland cleaning and to apply medication into the gland itself. I'm hoping we can get this diet going ASAP (and it helps) to avoid that since Arizona is going on 10 years old now. This vet said she had done research on the complex over the course of the entire day trying to figure out the best course of action for a diabetic. She also lowered her insulin dose to 5. She said she knows the steroids, even a low dose, will mess her up this week, but she rather it be high than low like it was getting. I've bought a meter for at home , but am not entirely sure what her sugar should be at different times in the day. Her last vet only did it in the middle of her doses at the most even point, but I'm at work during the day. I can do it in the middle of the night (midnight) if concerned I guess. Any advice ?
     
  2. Maggies Mom Debby

    Maggies Mom Debby Well-Known Member

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  3. Maggies Mom Debby

    Maggies Mom Debby Well-Known Member

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    Oh, btw, you might be able to find a less expensive food that meets your needs. I went to chewy.com and found a variety of limited ingredient diet canned foods. Search for wet cat food, than look at the choices for limited ingredient diet.
     
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  4. Morgan Williams

    Morgan Williams Member

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    Mar 22, 2020
    Thanks Debby. I haven't posted here in awhile and forgot to change the forum before submitting. I'm not looking for any medical advice per say, just mostly if others have gone through with this with their diabetic cats. I'm 100% going to listen to my vet along with doing my own research. She's very knowledgable about diabetic cats, just not with the complex she's believed to have. We aren't 100% without the food trial and further testing. I'm mostly just looking for support.
     
  5. Critter Mom

    Critter Mom Well-Known Member

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    Hi Morgan,

    I'm not 100% sure but I think that Elise might know something about eosinophilic granuloma complex. I'm going to tag her in the hope that she might be able to give you some pointers.

    @tiffmaxee

    (Elise, apologies if I've misremembered here.)


    Mogs
    .
     
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  6. tiffmaxee

    tiffmaxee Well-Known Member

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    Yes. I have a cat with ECG. I disagree with all that you have been told. It’s often caused by an intolerance of the protein she’s eating. I switched Mocha to a novel protein, one that she never had before. My vet said it could occur again in two years. Steroids is one way to treat it but having had a sugar baby I didn’t want to go that route. I’m currently feeding her Primal raw frozen venison and only that protein. Her treat is also venison. There are a couple of other medications you can try if you can’t get rid of it with a diet change but I urge you to try a diet change. You need to switch cold turkey and keep on only that protein.
     
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  7. Critter Mom

    Critter Mom Well-Known Member

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  8. tiffmaxee

    tiffmaxee Well-Known Member

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    Where are the lesions? Mocha got them on her lips. One of our members treated with atopica but it has lots of side effects. She also gave prednisolone which led to diabetes for her cat too.
     
  9. Morgan Williams

    Morgan Williams Member

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    Mar 22, 2020
    Elise, we are switching her food as soon as we can get the vet approval through the website. I have already put in the request and the money so we have to at least try that. She's never had rabbit before so we have our fingers crossed. We live in Alabama and I've honestly never seen any other types of cat food other than chicken on the shelf so I immediately got what the vet suggested. The vet was highly hesitant to even give her steroids, but her butt is so swollen that they are unable to fully express her anal glands and this has been an issue for the last year( ish - december 2019 was when she went on the hills and started getting insulin) , which has been very consistent with the food allergy theory. The steroids are a super low dose and we have the vets personal number if anything happens or she is weird. She is also on a small antibiotic for some skin issues she's having. When I say food allergy , I am agreeing with what you said, the protein intolerance, which is what our vet said. I feel like what you said is basically what our vet said. I probably just didn't convey it well. We just need to look into other food options once we settle if it is definitely ECG. On the Royal Canin food, we are looking at $160 / month alone for food. It is a lot to me, but we will make anything work for my sweet angel. Can you describe ECG a little for me? I'm having a hard time understanding it. Is it just a food intolerance that causes an immune response throughout the body? When your cat has the responses, does it mess its glucose numbers up? She goes through periods where she's stabilized then she has to be adjusted again because she's unstable again. The last few times her sugar has been low and we've lowered her dose.
     
  10. Morgan Williams

    Morgan Williams Member

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    She has spots on her upper lip, and a couple spots on his side/ thigh area. It always pops up when her sugar is out of wack.
     
  11. Morgan Williams

    Morgan Williams Member

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    Ths spots also aren't huge or big red raised spots like I saw online. Her vet said they aren't far enough along to look like the typical ECG lesions, but are still present enough to point towards it.
     
  12. tiffmaxee

    tiffmaxee Well-Known Member

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    Mocha is not diabetic. I diagnosed her myself as they would come and go. I bet the chicken is the cause. You can’t get rabbit cat food where you live? It’s a shame to have to but RX food. There are several types of EGC so I’m not sure it’s because your cat is not that far along. Have you seen this? From all I have read and from my vet who is an internist EGC has nothing to do with diabetes. Steroids are f used to treat it can cause diabetes though.
    https://www.merckvetmanual.com/inte...n-diseases/eosinophilic-skin-diseases-in-cats
     
  13. tiffmaxee

    tiffmaxee Well-Known Member

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    Can you order from chewy,com? Their have rabbit cat foods. Read the label carefully to make sure it’s the only protein though.
     
  14. Morgan Williams

    Morgan Williams Member

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    Mar 22, 2020
    After reading your comment about what you feed yours, I started looking on chewy. I found a couple we can look into and discuss with our vet. Arizona isn't a regular diabetic, she because diabetic from a blood parasite that caused liver failure which caused severe pancreatitis damage so she's unable to regulate the sugar now. We have to be very careful with what she eats now because it can spike her levels sky high. I'll do my research on the foods over the next two weeks when we go back to the vet, and I'll propose some new foods to look into. I'll buy whatever she needs , but I would prefer to look into more cost efficient foods if possible haha
     
  15. tiffmaxee

    tiffmaxee Well-Known Member

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    Nov 15, 2013
    I had Mocha on rabbit but coincidentally or not she developed military dermatitis so she’s now eating venison. I hope the food change helps.
     
  16. Morgan Williams

    Morgan Williams Member

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    Does Mocha have issues with anal glands when she was eating the food that was affecting her?
     
  17. tiffmaxee

    tiffmaxee Well-Known Member

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    No. Just the EGC on her lips and dermatitis on her ears and above her eyes.
     
  18. Morgan Williams

    Morgan Williams Member

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    Mar 22, 2020
    Arizona is having the lesions on her lips and a couple on her side/thigh area, chin acne which is suspected to be more of it, tiny scabs on her back above her tail, and then swollen butt which is impacting her anal gland causing a thick secretion when expressed. She's always been a little sickly her entire life, but these issues, aside the chin acne, are new to when she started the hills w/d food. Thank you. I'll do more research on it. I opened your link to read through when I have more time. I appreciate any more you have to share.
     
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  19. tiffmaxee

    tiffmaxee Well-Known Member

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  20. Bellasmom

    Bellasmom Well-Known Member

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    Bella has always had problems with his anal glands and I bought from Amazon this powder called Glandex I just mix with food and it helped so much, also when his are acting up I will apply warm compresses which he loves, the glandex is awesome and we haven’t had hardly any problems since giving it, I also changed food to NomNomNow
     
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