02/09 Sue and Ruben-Need help w/ BG# and Chronic Diarrhea

Status
Not open for further replies.
S

Sue and Ruben

Member Since 2010
Hello all,
I am perplexed and need help for what has now become a chronic situation. He has had diarrhea since late october (but #'s were still good in the blues and greens) Blood tests came back normal except he needed b12 shots, which we started him on. In addition, he was treated with flagyl, tylan. his diet was changed to all natural chicken (balanced), added oat bran. He also began a regiment of budesonide. Nothing has helped the diarrhea.

Then, in mid january, almost overnight, he went from double digits and low 100's to 300 and 400's. Over the next couple of weeks, his dose was raised as high as 5 units but the numbers stayed the same. i spoke to Dr. P and we thought it could be rebound so we dropped him back to 1 unit and kept him on 1 unit for 4 days. Still no change. Numbers still in the 300's. The strips are good, just got lantus refilled so it is not that. So far, no keotones. Two issues. What is causing the incredibly foul-smelling diarrhea and the high BG's? In treating the diarrhea, nothing seems to have helped. Tomorrow off to get IAA and IGF-1 test and urine analysis. Considering PLI test for pancreatitis. Overall, cat is not losing weight, eating well, playful. Any help, ideas, people who have had these symptoms with their cat and can provide feedback would be most helpful and appreciated. thanks. Sue
 
Re: 02/09 Sue and Ruben-Need help w/ BG# and Chronic Diarrhe

Gosh Sue - the first thing that popped into mind s giardia - has he been tested?
 
Re: 02/09 Sue and Ruben-Need help w/ BG# and Chronic Diarrhe

has his stool been checked for parasites? parasites are sometimes the cause of chronic diarrhea.

the high BGs *could* be from the addition of oat bran to his diet. instead of using oat bran in an attempt to firm up his stools i would try a high quality probiotic such as Renew Life Ultimate Flora Critical Care Probiotic.

high Bg numbers *could* also be from budesonide. budesonide is a glucocorticoid steroid. others have used it. hopefully, they'll chime in with their experiences.
 
Re: 02/09 Sue and Ruben-Need help w/ BG# and Chronic Diarrhe

Gabby went through about 2 mos. of diarrhea. We ran a bunch of tests (which came back negative) so you may want to suggest a fecal culture to your vet. It should include:
C. Perfrinigens Enterotoxin
C. Dificile Toxin
Campylobacter
Shigella
Salmonella
Pleisomonas
Edwardsiella
Aeromonas

You should also test for giardia.

Keeping Gabby on Flagyl for about a month seemed to have kicked the problem.

The probiotic that Jill suggested is very good. I found it in the refrigerated supplement section at Whole Foods. (Start with 1/4 to 1/3 of a capsule twice a day.)
 
Re: 02/09 Sue and Ruben-Need help w/ BG# and Chronic Diarrhe

Thanks for the replies. I sent out a fecal sample the other day, should have results tomorrow. As for the budesonide, I don't think that caused it. The budesonide started on jan. 20th and his numbers started to climb before that. The oat bran was just stared in the last week so I don't think that is a factor.
 
Re: 02/09 Sue and Ruben-Need help w/ BG# and Chronic Diarrhe

i went through 2 rounds of flagyl at about 10 days each with no impact at all. i would be reluctant to try it again. i also tried fortiflora which worked great in the past, but had no effect this time, even though i used it consistently. ps: my cat is an indoor cat which i forgot to mention. thanks. keep suggestions coming.
 
Re: 02/09 Sue and Ruben-Need help w/ BG# and Chronic Diarrhe

Belle had liquid putrid smelling diarrhea for the last year of her life. Nothing actually cleared it up, but food changes sometimes temporarily helped things. She was put on prednisolone which seemed to help, but not only did she get diabetes, the diarrhea came back. I gave her Fortiflora and the smell went away, but not the diarrhea. She also tried Cholestyramine. It didn't seem to help, but you may want to ask about it. There is a version with no sugar. Dehydration ended up being my biggest concern, and was an issue for her.

Good luck.
 
Re: 02/09 Sue and Ruben-Need help w/ BG# and Chronic Diarrhe

Atlas had diarehhea for nearly 9 months. We tried everything, including different food trials.

He is almost food allergic to everything and we started using a unique proteins. We use raw food whenever possible. When we switched to raw rabbit he had firm poo in 3 days after 9 months of loose stink you out of the house poo.

Rabbit is the only thing that keeps him firmed up. Anything else causes a loose stool if fed too much.

Also if it is a food allergy it cause inflammation of the intestinal linings and can affect the BG. When if first starts out...it may not be noticable in the BG, but as it progresses to the whole tract it will trigger a rise in BGs that generally won't respond to increased dosing.

There are some commercial raw food available in the unique proteins. These are rabbit, venison, lamb, and bison. (Currently, Nature's Variety is out of rabbit until April. We are using Primal instead.)
 
Re: 02/09 Sue and Ruben-Need help w/ BG# and Chronic Diarrhe

Beth, i am curious if the BG's immediately started to increase with the diarrhea? Ruben has had the diarrhea since Oct. and only in the last month has the BG been off the charts. until then he was doing great.
 
Re: 02/09 Sue and Ruben-Need help w/ BG# and Chronic Diarrhe

Hi, Sue...

all I can send are hopes that Ruben gets better quickly...
but sending a ton of those!

celi & binks
 
Re: 02/09 Sue and Ruben-Need help w/ BG# and Chronic Diarrhe

Sue,
I don't have any answers, but I have been dealing with the same issue for about the same length of time. I did a lot of reading and Giardia is a distinct possibility. It is also difficult to confirm in stool tests. It just depends if they are shedding cysts or not at the time of the test. Metronidazole is used to treat it, but Giardia is also becoming resistant to metronidazole. My cat did a course of Panacur ( Fenbendazole) for it. The first short course worked to firm her up and get rid of the smell, but the diarrhea came back in a few days. We put her on an extended course, in case she had a resistant strain. She just came off it yesterday, so too early to say it worked.
My vet also was considering a chronic salmonella infection, a possible food allergy and IBD (altho she has no other symbols of IBD). We are changing only one thing at time, so we can find out what clears it up. I wish I had more to offer you, but just wanted to let you know Giardia is a possibility and that there are strains resistant to metronidazole (which my cat hated.....and I did, too, when I had a course of it..it tastes awful!) and Panacur is an alternative. My vet gave us the powdered form and I just mixed it in he food with a little water and sprinkled freeze dried chicken over it. It was totally painless to administer.....as opposed to the metronidazole.
Good luck and I hope you find the solution!
 
Re: 02/09 Sue and Ruben-Need help w/ BG# and Chronic Diarrhe

Sue and Ruben said:
Beth, i am curious if the BG's immediately started to increase with the diarrhea? Ruben has had the diarrhea since Oct. and only in the last month has the BG been off the charts. until then he was doing great.
Click to expand...

No the BG's don't go up immediately. It is like there is a tolerance level that gets breached and is likely different for every cat.

Keep in mind inflammation affects BG. With most allergic reactions it starts out as a small nuisance, but if left untreated or the allergen is not removed blows-up into a full reaction. Allergen are often treated by the body as a form of infection.
 
Re: 02/09 Sue and Ruben-Need help w/ BG# and Chronic Diarrhe

no answers from me, sue, but i just wanted to send you a little support. it sounds challenging.

with Ruben being indoors I'd wonder about food allergies too.
 
Re: 02/09 Sue and Ruben-Need help w/ BG# and Chronic Diarrhe

thanks for the recent replies. we have a vet appt today and i will also ask about the panacur.
 
Re: 02/09 Sue and Ruben-Need help w/ BG# and Chronic Diarrhe

i just bought the Ultimate Flora Critical Care at Whole Foods. Hoping that will make a difference. Negative results on Giardia. Running full fecal screen now on all the other possibilities.
 
Re: 02/09 Sue and Ruben-Need help w/ BG# and Chronic Diarrhe

I just wanted to add that for about 6months to 1 year before being dx with diabetes, Jake (GA) suffered from chronic diarrhea and I mean liquid diarrhea. We had all the tests done and tried all the supplements. It wasn't until he was more regulated on insulin and wet food diet that we got the poop under control. I believe the probiotic supplements are good suggestions so I have no other advice - good luck!
 
Re: 02/09 Sue and Ruben-Need help w/ BG# and Chronic Diarrhe

Lydia & Sid & Jake(GA) said:
I just wanted to add that for about 6months to 1 year before being dx with diabetes, Jake (GA) suffered from chronic diarrhea and I mean liquid diarrhea. We had all the tests done and tried all the supplements. It wasn't until he was more regulated on insulin and wet food diet that we got the poop under control. I believe the probiotic supplements are good suggestions so I have no other advice - good luck!
Click to expand...


I do recall reading something along those lines back in 2010. That sometimes the neuropathy manifests in the intestinal tract.
 
2/13 Sue and Ruben-Need help w/ BG# and Chronic Diarrhe

update: tried the probiotic that others suggested but after 3 days, no change at all. any other suggestions from anyone?
 
Re: 02/09 Sue and Ruben-Need help w/ BG# and Chronic Diarrhe

Sue -- it can take more than 3 days to get any results especially given how much trouble Ruben has been having. If you're using the ReNew Ultimate, I'd give it another day or two then increase the amount to 1/2 of a capsule BID.
 
Re: 02/09 Sue and Ruben-Need help w/ BG# and Chronic Diarrhe

yes, i am using the ReNew Ultimate. i will give it another day or so then increase as you suggest. thank you.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top