12/29 Xander AMPS 145 +3 78 PMPS 93 +3 79

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Mary & Jude said:
Keep us posted, Albert. What did you decide about the gaba dosage??
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Definitely!

I will be dosing him in 45 minutes so still debating on the dosage. 🫨

I think 100mg is absolutely safe and has proven to let the vet do whatever they have to without any issues, I just know he'll be loopy for a good while afterwards. I'll either do that or open it up to take about 1/4 out I think.
 
The vet was very nice! I definitely liked the setup, giving him an area to walk around and explore. First time he's done that at an appointment. The vet techs treated him like a movie star, taking pictures of him 😄

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The vet didn't seem too concerned with his eating, especially since he hasn't stopped completely and is acting completely normal in all other regards and thinks it is hairball related. She ran a diagnostic blood and urine panel to rule things out such as pancreatitis, since his latest bloodwork was when he was sick during diagnosis. She suggested I use laxatone to help with hairball maintenance, which appears to just be basically petroleum jelly. She also prescribed cerenia and transdermal mirtazapine that I can try as I feel needed.

I think i am going to hold off on the meds for now and see if he sticks with eating well, as well as give some petroleum jelly tonight to help it pass. I also have some fresh egg yolk powder on the way to help with hairballs. I think the gabapentin made him hungry because he was super interested in his +9 snack.

She mentioned an ultrasound as another possible test for the future to rule out IBD. She also mentioned his teeth looked pretty good. He could use a cleaning but nothing worrisome causing eating issues. He also seems to be at his ideal weight, so he may need even less than the 220 calories a day I aim for.

The vet was also totally fine with me managing the diabetes on my own and wrote me a refill for his lantus. I mentioned his nadirs in the 70s and she said that is a bit low :rolleyes: Oh well, I have that part under control.



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Awesome news, Albert! I like her. Did you happen to show her your sugarsheet? LOL! That seems to always get this 🤯 response when I bring it out. I had one vet say to me, "no one does this!!" And she wasn't being especially laudatory toward me with that statement, either :smuggrin:.

It sounds like your inclinations/suspicions about his eating were spot on, according to her assessment--in other words, not a big deal. If it were me, I'd give the meds a try just to see if they increase his appetite and alleviate any nausea. That way you'll know if he's feeling a little nauseous, and you can use them when necessary. The mirtazapine works well for Jude to stimulate his appetite. He takes Ondansetron for nausea, but we have the transdermal Cerenia on order (supposedly Cerenia also has anti-inflammatory properties which will be helpful when Jude is experiencing an FIC flare).

We've used laxatone around here in the past (not with this iteration of kitties, though), and it worked well to alleviate or help the hairballs to pass. By the way, do you think the egg yolk is working to control hairballs? We don't have a lot of hairballs around here. The triples have them very occasionally (and it's anyone's guess which one is passing them), and since I've started on the egg yolk, they haven't had any. So, I think it's working?

Helen and Noogi said that gaba made him hungry, too. It doesn't do that to Jude.

SO GLAD HIS TEETHIES ARE LOOKING GOOD.

Of course the techs treated him like a movie star because he's a knock-out!

Glad things went well for you and Xandie!
 
So glad to hear the vet visit was positive one!! 😀

Also super happy to hear that there doesn’t seem to be anything of great concern going on. Yay for good teeth! Nice to have those extra meds on hand in case you need them.

Good luck with the petroleum jelly, hope that gets things moving along.

Wishing you both a relaxing evening.
 
Mary & Jude said:
Awesome news, Albert! I like her. Did you happen to show her your sugarsheet? LOL! That seems to always get this 🤯 response when I bring it out. I had one vet say to me, "no one does this!!" And she wasn't being especially laudatory toward me with that statement, either :smuggrin:.

It sounds like your inclinations/suspicions about his eating were spot on, according to her assessment--in other words, not a big deal. If it were me, I'd give the meds a try just to see if they increase his appetite and alleviate any nausea. That way you'll know if he's feeling a little nauseous, and you can use them when necessary. The mirtazapine works well for Jude to stimulate his appetite. He takes Ondansetron for nausea, but we have the transdermal Cerenia on order (supposedly Cerenia also has anti-inflammatory properties which will be helpful when Jude is experiencing an FIC flare).

We've used laxatone around here in the past (not with this iteration of kitties, though), and it worked well to alleviate or help the hairballs to pass. By the way, do you think the egg yolk is working to control hairballs? We don't have a lot of hairballs around here. The triples have them very occasionally (and it's anyone's guess which one is passing them), and since I've started on the egg yolk, they haven't had any. So, I think it's working?

Helen and Noogi said that gaba made him hungry, too. It doesn't do that to Jude.

SO GLAD HIS TEETHIES ARE LOOKING GOOD.

Of course the techs treated him like a movie star because he's a knock-out!

Glad things went well for you and Xandie!
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Haha I did not, I had my post-it note full of questions and didn't want to come on too intense. But if I happened to have color ink in my printer, I probably would have included that in the papers I brought 😄

I have the cerenia on hand but didn't pick up the mirtzapine yet, I wanted to get other's opinions. Does Jude have any side effects? I think the hard part will be telling when to use which. I'm going to see how tonight goes since he ate beautifully today and try out the cerenia next time he hesitates.

I looked at the ingredients for laxatone and see corn syrup, molasses etc so I think petroleum jelly should be a pretty close substitute. I used it before and think it helped it pass. He LOVES petroleum jelly like a weirdo. He starts feverishly smelling around once I put it on his paw yet can't find where it is..
I admittedly stopped using the egg yolk powder after a previous bout of finickyness but am going to start back up once the fresh batch comes in. I think it was helping, its hard to tell.

Also, next time I will stick with the 100mg gaba dosage. I ended up taking just a tiny bit out of the capsule, so he probably got around a 75-80mg dose but he still had a bit of fight in him this time. He was wobbly afterwards but it wasn't anywhere near as bad, I think he was just pretty weak with the super high glucose at diagnosis.

I need to work on taking these complications in stride and not letting my anxiety/OCD take over 😶 New years resolution!
 
Oddly even with the reduced doses and stress of the vet today, his PMPS is 93 which is the lowest its been in a while. Can the gabapentin have this effect?
Not sure if I should resume his usual dose? I believe he will have an appetite and continue eating this evening
 
Albert & Xander said:
I have the cerenia on hand but didn't pick up the mirtzapine yet, I wanted to get other's opinions. Does Jude have any side effects? I think the hard part will be telling when to use which. I'm going to see how tonight goes since he ate beautifully today and try out the cerenia next time he hesitates.

I looked at the ingredients for laxatone and see corn syrup, molasses etc so I think petroleum jelly should be a pretty close substitute. I used it before and think it helped it pass. He LOVES petroleum jelly like a weirdo. He starts feverishly smelling around once I put it on his paw yet can't find where it is.
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Jude does not suffer any side effects from the Mirataz; it just boosts his appetite. You might try just the Cerenia first to see if he does have nausea. If he does, it's possible that relieving it will give him the desire to eat, and you won't need the Mirataz.

You know, corn syrup + molasses are sugar, so is that something you need to be giving him???
 
Mary & Jude said:
Jude does not suffer any side effects from the Mirataz; it just boosts his appetite. You might try just the Cerenia first to see if he does have nausea. If he does, it's possible that relieving it will give him the desire to eat, and you won't need the Mirataz.

You know, corn syrup + molasses are sugar, so is that something you need to be giving him???
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Sorry thats what I meant, since it has sugar in it I can't give that to him. But since the main ingredient is petroleum jelly, I think I can substitute it with plain petroleum with similar results
 
Albert & Xander said:
Oddly even with the reduced doses and stress of the vet today, his PMPS is 93 which is the lowest its been in a while. Can the gabapentin have this effect?
Not sure if I should resume his usual dose? I believe he will have an appetite and continue eating this evening
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Yes, I think the gaba can have that affect--it's supposed to relax them.
 
If he's in any pain, resolving that pain can lower the BG. That's what happened when Neko started buprenorphine for her arthritis. Gaba is supposed to help pain too. Gaba does have a reputation as stimulating appetite.

I have had good results with egg yolk here, except current IBD kitty cause I think she's allergic to it. :rolleyes: I presume you've read this article. We did have one member who was a vet that started with egg yolk powder for her kitty, but switched to another source of lecithin. I don't know what the dosing was though.

If you give Mirataz, give a nausea medication first. Making a nauseous kitty hungry to eat can lead to food aversion.
 
So glad you liked the vet and it was a good visit.

And glad she was super good about you managing FD, since you’ve got that under control so well Albert.

It’s good to have all the meds available, if you feel you need them (hope you won’t)
Sending hugs to both of you, and Flare too 😻💖🐈🐈‍⬛
 
I've had 2 of the 3 cats I gave mirtazapine to have the not so fun side effects. They would cry, a LOT. And constantly move around like they just couldn't get comfortable. All the while looking at me and crying. It actually made me tear up, because I couldn't help them, but had to wait for it to wear off. The Mirataz (ear rub on) way much gentler. 1 had only a little unease, but nothing like the pill version. The other had no side effects at all. I've personally found Elura to be the best choice of all the different kinds though. It's a liquid and my cat HATES the flavor so bad, she drools some after.😅 But it's the most powerful we've tried. .
How was his hydration?
Glad the trip went well. And LOVE that room! They ask need to do that 💖
 
Albert, Just FYI, Jude's Mirataz is also transdermal, not a pill. I had heard warnings about side effects (vocalization + anxiety), and I only gave him a 1/2 dose to begin with. It worked just fine, with no side effects, but it didn't last as long as I needed it to. Then I gave the full dose. Again, he had no side effects, and that time the dose lasted much longer.
 
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