11/13/19 Update, took Lily to the Vet

Calicos are Best (GA)

Calicos are Best (GA)

Member Since 2019
I wasn't able to get Lily into the vet early in the morning, but they did fit me in at 2PM! (thank goodness) Had to wait a little bit as there were so many sick kitties today. I wrote down all of the meds you guys suggested. I had a feeling I wouldn't be able to get them all. I tried to be very respectful to my Dr. as I am not a doctor myself. I let her know that I am a member of a Feline Diabetes group online. I showed her a list of all the meds. My vet carries Cerenia, so this is the anti nausea kind of medicine I got. I was written a prescription for Cyproheptadine, for an appetite stimulant. My doctor said she could not prescribe me Buprnophine as it is for pain and she can't do that.

I did confront the vet about Metcam. I told her that I heard it can cause renal failure. I asked her why it was used if it has such a strong warning. She said that it can cause kidney failure if used incorrectly. She said that she has had a patient who misused it in the past and caused their own cats to go into kidney failure and she had to help turn it around. I believe what you guys warn, but I also want to trust my vet. I definitely heard what you guys said loud and clear. I am still kind of nervous about it. I don't have any other good vets I know about. The one I go to is privately owned and they only are a vet for cats. I remember when my Mom used to be too assertive, she told the doctors what to do because she was a nurse. lol. Sometimes it didn't turn out so well.

Lily is still not too interested in food. Her interest comes and goes. I suspect because of pain? I thought she might be before I went back to work. I had to make up hours at work today. She was meowing before I left at 4:30 PM. She ate 1/8 can of fancy feast and some small dabs of baby food. When I got back she wasn't as interested. Lily's sugar was 163 about an hour ago. I gave Lily .25 units of insulin and 100 cc of fluids at 7:30 PM. I tried to give her 1/2 tablet of cypro, but I don't know if it desolved in her mouth or she spit it out? Maybe next time I will crush and put in a syringe.

The Vet treated Lily like she did on Monday, for pancreatitis. Lily was given more Metcam & Cerenia injections. I tried to ask about other options for meds and injections. Wasn't successful. I am trying my best to trust in the vet. I don't know how to get access to the pain meds. (unless I change vets and find one who will do this...not sure who that might be) I dunno my vet beats the emergency room. I am really hoping Lily will perk up. I might try to syringe her some more of the liver shake. I FORGOT THE HILLS AD CANS!!! I'll have to go back tomorrow after work?
 
Buprenorphine is for pain. So is Metacam. Why won't your vet prescribe a commonly used medication for your cat? Yes it is a narcotic. Often a vet will give you a small amount to dose your cat.

Your vet is treating your cat for what is presumptively pancreatitis but hasn't done any lab work to confirm a diagnosis. What if it's not pancreatitis?
 
Maybe just from Lilly's past history? Or maybe just common treatments for a cat who is not eating? I think even if the lab work was done I get the feeling that I won't be getting any pain meds.
 
Still very sleepy. This is such a long week. Going to get ready for bed and keep an eye on Lily tonight. I'll have to keep praying she gets better. All I can do is work with I got. Anti Nausea medicine, appetite stimulants, and subcutaneous fluids are better than nothing. We'll see how she does.
 
Tina was on Metacam for arthritis for over a year (actually more neuropathy, but that's another vet issue). I've also read studies showing the drug was initially given in higher doses, which caused kidney damage. The doctors tend to believe it's safe if given in smaller doses. I had Tina on just .3ml once daily even though vet said I could give up to .6ml. It was helping her. I didn't leave the practice but changed vets.
We found Tina's kidneys had gotten worse, and the new vet said to immediately stop the Metacam and double the gabapentin. The change worked very well. .
My first vet didn't want to prescribe buprenorphine either, when I asked about it. Said it was for extreme pain. Well . . . we do have to stay civil with our vets unless and until we have another one lined up;) I haven't asked the second one about bupe yet, since the gabapentin is helping so much.

Yes on subQs!! It makes sense the fluids would help pancreatitis. I hope that's the right dx. We do have to eventually trust, but when we see mistakes made by vets, it's harder. Get better Lily:bighug:
 
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Interesting @Tina Marie and Jan ! Thank you for sharing! I can always shop for new vets. There are things I really like about my vet and other things I might have difference of opinion on. As long as I don't despise my vet. And the last one I had I did not like at all. They would tell me the most ridiculous things about diabetes. Maybe I'll keep my eyes open. I am happy for the most part. I just worry about Lily.

Thank you everyone for the get well wishes, love, and support. I am going to continue to pray and hope she gets better. Goodnight everybody! May you and all your kitties be happy and in very good health. :bighug:
 
Hope Lily feels better soon. If vet suspects p'titis definitely should be on bupre. P'titis is painful and bupre is a pain med. At least vet should give some to try to see if it helps. If not at least give some gabapentin at a good dose.

Ollie get bupre every 8 hrs for life. Maintenance dose but I have room to increase when needed.
 
I know people say pancreatitis is often very painful and I was given bupe for Max but didn’t use it often. For Max ondansetron or cerenia and cyproheptadine worked well. Metacam does have a black box warning. I’d use nothing if that was the only drug my vet would give me. There are professional articles recommending the use of bupe.http://cms2.netnews.cz/files/attach...Treating-and-Managing-Feline-Pancreatitis.pdf
 
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Thanks for the update. I sure hope Lily shows some sign of improvement soon. I think I'd be shopping for a new vet - you can still see this one - but I'm a little surprised that she's treating for pancreatitis but hasn't done any tests to confirm that's what Lily has...that seems odd to me.
 
I don’t understand why the vet wouldn’t prescribe buprenophine. It is an incredibly common pain medication that vets use all the time and has such a large window of error that even giving a bit more doesn’t hurt (literally).

I’d try again for it.
Here is an article written by IDEXX about pancreatitis that recommends using buprenophine. I’d show this to your vet along with all the other sources other members have linked: https://www.idexx.com/files/spec-fpl-treatment-for-feline-pancreatitis.pdf

I also want to echo Sienne that your vet is treating for pancreatitis but not confirming that it is. If money is an issue, then I would understand putting money into supportive care instead of diagnostics but even in that regard, vet hasn’t covered everything.

I’m sorry about Lily and how she’s feeling. I know how stressful it is and you don’t want to butt heads with your vet. But as Lily’s only voice and advocate, I’d call the vet again, say you think she is really in pain and would feel better if they addressed that. Good luck! :bighug::bighug:
 
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