4/29 Six - pancreatitis, triaditis, or ???

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Amy and Six

Amy and Six

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Background: In February Six suffered a pancreatitis attack. His spec-fPl value was 16. Symptoms included lethargy and inappetence.

This past Monday I took him to the vet for a spec-fPl. Vet and I wanted a follow up value after the attack...because of other animal issues/life it took a while to get the follow-up, but quite frankly, I wasn't concerned. He showed no sign of p-titis. Numbers good. Eating, playing, wanting to go out, talkative...all of his normal things.

The vet called today and his spec-fPl is 20, higher than his attack in February. (Normal is under 3.5)

I am currently trying to take deep breaths and not freak out.

He is showing NO signs of pancreatitis as he did in February. His signs were very different than our civie who suffered an attack a few weeks ago. I have been on high alert for signs from any of our kitties.

The vet is calling an internist who saw Six in November. She did an ultrasound of his liver/pancreas (i think the pancreas...can you see it in an ultrasound...mind on overload right now) when trying to figure out what was going on with him. My vet called her in Feb to confirm there were no concerns (growths) from the ultrasound. There weren't any according to the internist.

So I have a cat who appears to be healthy (16 pounds...in fact, he put on weight since his attack) and normal other than his diabetes and heart murmur. Also, he's started acupuncture two months ago for his diabetes and just had a treatment yesterday. He loved it and it relaxed him - not to mentioned I think his numbers dropped while .

I need help - support. I've read everything on this board (including jojos post on the old board) and what I've been able to google for feline pancreatitis. I'm sure there's more out there and would welcome specific sites to visit.

Is this what chronic pancreatitis might look like?

Should I be treating him for p~titis even without him showing any symptoms like he did in February. Seriously, there are NO signs. Very, very normal cat.

Who should I talk to on this board about this?

I'm going to cross-post this in health too.
 
Re: 4/29 Six - pancreatitis help

a few other things...

besides the acupuncture...he takes zentinol daily as well as two chinese meds for pancreas support.

i have a pancreatitis tool kit including fluids, regulan, cerenia, pepcid and bupe at home if he would show signs of a flare-up...but since he is showing no signs, i haven't been treating him for p~tits.

it makes me wonder if his value ever went down.
 
Re: 4/29 Six - pancreatitis help

Amy and Six said:
She did an ultrasound of his liver/pancreas (i think the pancreas...can you see it in an ultrasound...mind on overload right now)
Click to expand...

Yes, you can see both the liver and pancreas in an u/s.

If this was my kitty, I think the first step I would take would be to ask for a copy of the results to make sure it is indeed Six's. I once had one of the other vets at the hospital (not our primary vet) leave us a msg with test results; one of the tests she read left me completely puzzled b/c I knew we hadn't ordered it. It was a test to rule out cancer, and I only knew it b/c we had ordered it years before. Turns out, when I picked up a copy, that the first page was Meowzi's, but the second page belonged to a dog that wasn't even a patient at our hospital. MSU had faxed it by mistake, and the vet just read the value without checking the name of pet.

Not sure what sites you've read and what you're looking for. Also not sure how you'd treat - for CP, you treat the symptoms and offer supportive care to help kitty be more comfortable, until the flare clears. CP can't really be cured, although the right tools may make it clear faster. Without symptoms ... confused_cat

Was he fasted for this test? Did they (eta: vet/tech) process it (eta: the blood sample) correctly?
 
Re: 4/29 Six - pancreatitis help

So what did you vet have to say about the number and how Six is acting OK? what was suggested that you do?
 
Re: 4/29 Six - pancreatitis help

(((Amy))) I have no answers for you since I have no idea about pancreatitis!!! Just wanted to come by and offer some support. I agree with making sure they are indeed his test results and would you consider doing another test to make sure? I am dumbfounded also because I know nothing about this but you would think you would see some kind of sign! Hope you have a good night!!!!! Hugs from me and Scrabble!!!!!
 
Re: 4/29 Six - pancreatitis help

Just remembered - Shadow (D & Shadow) doesn't show symptoms when he has a CP flare. The only thing noticeable is he seems to drink more. I don't believe he shows any visible signs of discomfort or pain. I don't remember how/if D treats a CP flare.
 
Re: 4/29 Six - pancreatitis help

((((Amy))) I am so sorry this is happening...
I don't know much about it myself...but I was under the impression that the Bean knew something was wrong and the kitty certainly acted as if something was wrong....
No symptoms now of anything with Six....could there be a mistake? Very strange.....
I hope it turns out to be a goof....he is acting fine? So weird....
 
Re: 4/29 Six - pancreatitis help

Can you find out what the herbal supplements are? Sometimes herbals can have unexpected side effects. The Zentinol (SAMe) is pretty safe unless you're giving massive quantities.
 
Re: 4/29 Six - pancreatitis help

(((Amy & Six))) Praying for abundant blessings your way :YMHUG: thinking of you both & am here cheering for Six's health.
 
Re: 4/29 Six - pancreatitis help

First, let me say thank you in advance. I feel like that I'm constantly saying it lately. I think I need to get some sage to burn in our house to get rid of whatever the heck is going on around here. I'm feeling slightly better for the moment - paws crossed it lasts. I keep looking at him - he's not a sick kitty - and trust me, he was one sick kitty this past Fall and until the diabetes became manageable.

Since I last posted....

I spoke with the vet (she had left a message about the value and I had called back).
My vet passed along this information...

According to the internist...when she sees cases like Six's (high spec-fPl value but no symptoms) there are often other factors at play. She mentioned triaditis - the triple combo of pancreatitis, cholangtiohepatitis (inflammation of the liver and bile ducts), and inflammatory bowel disease. With that said, Six is not showing any signs of any of the aforementioned.
I'll look into them...but I'm just not seeing it.

Her recommendation, if there were symptoms we should treat the symptoms, but without them, she wouldn't recommend treatment.

She (the internist commenting to my vet) went on to say, "But you know, Six is a different kind of cat" (referring to his Fall illness and the many, many tests that pointed to nothing). I interpret this comment as "I'm not really sure what's going on." :lol:

She did say that we could do a scope/biopsies to attempt to confirm the IBD, but as I said to my vet...if he's showing no signs of IBD why would we even try to treat it. In fact, the same is true about all of it...if there aren't symptoms, why am I going to treat a healthy cat. My vet saw him on Monday - she saw a healthy cat as well. For right now, a biopsy isn't even an option to me...I'm sure the internist was simply listing the options to help dx.

I am going to take Six to the vet on Thursday to check his liver values. We're taking a civie up for a shot so she said I could just bring him. As my vet said, that's one easy thing we can do to see if those help clarify. In the meantime, we are just going to keep plugging away.

I'm making a list of all the wonderful suggestions...e.g. copy of the report to confirm it's Six's number, ingredients in the Chinese meds (only 100mg of Zentonil sid...so that's not a concern), see about how it was processed...all of those things.

So that's all I know folks.

I was talking to the vet when I shot Six this evening...I thought it was an empty shot (I know, strange thing to think), but his PMPS 105 and +2 86. One good thing.

Second good thing...called Merrick about the Cowboy Cookout 5.5oz cans I have. 5 out 7 cats disapprove of the food. Near riot this morning. :lol: The woman on the phone said the consistency I described is not the right consistency. I told her about the 3.2oz cans I had tried and their consistency...she said that's what the 5.5oz cans should be like too. SO I'm guessing those are going back...I have two cases and an open one. All the same lot number....so I guess I'm going to have to order the food from Merrick to get a different lot number, but that's more $$$ than the store...doesn't make sense to me.
 
Amy, I hope you can get to the bottom of those test results, that sounds scary. Glad Six is feeling good.

I order Merrick from PetFoodDirect. There is usually a coupon posted in Supply Closet but if not you can probably call and ask for one. I've found their prices to be very reasonable even with shipping costs. Cowboy Cookout, in particular, is a staple in our pantry.
 
Amy
I have no info to give on any of these issues other than to send our hugs your way.
I am glad to hear that Six s not sowing any symptoms but I would be bothered by
what the numbers are showing.
I hope all goes well for Max's buddy.
 
(((Amy))) (((Six))) I sure hope that this all turns out to be nothing at all. You are right not to jump into a treatment when there are no symptoms. Listen to Six. He knows what's what with his body. It's perfectly understandable that you might have gotten some other cat's or dog's test results. Screw-ups are not uncommon and occur even in highly reputable hospitals (many years ago I was scheduled for a breast biopsy and the nurse came in beforehand to shave my head!!). So hang in there and try not to get upset. Another test might have a totally different result.

Ella & Stu, who sends a big HI to his pal Six
 
Hi Amy-

I feel for you. I've have two cats with pancreatitis - Boomer had CP and Biscuit had AP. I was given pred for Boomer's CP and IBD. His CP had since resolved (negative on blood test) and I like to think it was from the reiki I gave him for 3 months. He's been CP free ever since. After that he stayed on pred for IBD (which he's had since he was a baby). The IBD was diagnosed by a blood test too - not a biopsy. This test was sent to Texas A&M and they found he had B-12 insufficiency and problems with his small intestine. Then he got diabetes from the pred so we switched to budesonide which is a steroid but it doesn't absorb the same way and doesn't cause his BG's to go up. Now he's OTJ. He's been doing fine on budesonide until recently - except for the last three weeks he's had some kind of flair up. I've switched my food to NO GRAINS and he's doing better so far. At one point my vet was throwing around triaditis too, but not anymore.

Biscuit's AP was horrendous - he had a cyst on his pancreas. He didn't make it. :cry: He was only 3. I wonder to this day how on earth he got such a horrible disease!

Now with your boy - he's not having any symptoms! That's great, but confusing. For both my guys the main symptom was vomiting and a fever for Biscuit.

For the IBD, have you ever considered feeding grain-free foods to see if that helps? Wait - if he's got IBD shouldn't he be puking or having loose poop? Oh - wait - I've heard inappetence can also be a symptom. There are tons of food choices.

I hope this is a vet screw up!!!!
 
Hi I can't offer any advice or additional info - wish I could. I wanted to drop on in and offer support from Mannie and Me. I hope all is OK with six, and you. ((((HUGS)))) to you both.
 
Amy, good grief, such a lot for you to handle. I have no experience -- only hugs, and sending vines and snowflakes, several cases, wrapped in healing thoughts.
 
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