7/6 Ruby AMPS 204/+7 142/+10 121 hypercalcemia

Katherine&Ruby

Katherine&Ruby

Member Since 2020
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/7-3-ruby-amps-221-3-177-9-157.265362/

We had our 1 year since SCL diagnosis check up and ultrasound today. We are still waiting for the radiologist's report about her SCL, but her preliminary bloodwork showed a worrisome uptick in Ruby's calcium levels, with a total serum calcium level of 11.6. Oncologist said that idiopathic hypercalcemia is common among cats who have cancer, and there are two options: put her on high carb W/D food or prednisolone. :facepalm::facepalm::facepalm: I was really hoping to take her off of the pred, but it doesn't look like that will be a possibility. Will spend some time reading about hypercalcemia here, but I wasn't expecting any bad news and it's been a bit of a blow. :( Please share any experience or advice you might have on it.

ETA: The doctor drew more blood to have it sent out for an ionized calcium level check. Depending on the outcome, she will refer me to Internal Medicine to work on it.
 
Oh no, so sorry Katherine to hear about the hypercalcemia :( we were looking forward to the good news today, i can imagine how disappointed you must feel :bighug:

Hope you will get some answers about how to manage aa soon as possible :bighug:
 
You know that I know nothing at all, I went up to the search section and typed in
idiopathic hypercalcemia and members were talking about
Here arer 2 threads I found about it
One says do not ever give Fosamax and I agree , the side effects ruined a friend of mine
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/thr...sodium-for-hypercalcemia.178338/#post-1968651

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/thr...lcium-level-any-thoughts.171537/#post-1874347

One said also send the blood work out for
an ionized calcium level check which I see the doctor did

I just feel awful for you and Ruby, Like I said hopefully there will be a couple of options to treat it

Googled some article's
https://www.petmd.com/blogs/nutriti...y/feeding-cats-idiopathic-hypercalcemia-31742

https://endocrinevet.blogspot.com/2012/11/nutritional-management-of-idiopathic.html?m=1

I will stop now lol ,you know how to research more than I do :bighug::bighug:
@Katherine&Ruby
 
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:bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
I see Diane linked Judy (and Boomer's) thread, that was the one cat I could think of with idiopathic hypercalcemia. Why idiopathic instead of linked to the SCL? Hopefully the ionized calcium will provide some good news.

W/D as a solution? Huh? Good to see a consult with an IM doc may come out of this. Ruby is "complicated" enough it's worth a discussion with the IM vet. I found Neko's IM was really good at balancing multiple conditions.

Paws crossed on the ultrasound results too.
 
Diane Tyler's Mom said:
You know that I know nothing at all, I went up to the search section and typed in
idiopathic hypercalcemia and members were talking about
Here arer 2 threads I found about it
One says do not ever give Fosamax and I agree , the side effects ruined a friend of mine
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/thr...sodium-for-hypercalcemia.178338/#post-1968651

https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/thr...lcium-level-any-thoughts.171537/#post-1874347

One said also send the blood work out for
an ionized calcium level check which I see the doctor did

I just feel awful for you and Ruby, Like I said hopefully there will be a couple of options to treat it

Googled some article's
https://www.petmd.com/blogs/nutriti...y/feeding-cats-idiopathic-hypercalcemia-31742

https://endocrinevet.blogspot.com/2012/11/nutritional-management-of-idiopathic.html?m=1

I will stop now lol ,you know how to research more than I do :bighug::bighug:
@Katherine&Ruby
Click to expand...
Thank you, Diane! I've been reading up on it all. There isn't any literature to support it but I'm going to stop Lactulose and switch to larger doses of Miralax for Ruby's constipation. Looking back at Ruby's labs the calcium levels seem to go up around the time she started Lactulose last summer. I'm also going to try adding chia seeds to her raw food to see if that also makes a difference as I really do not want to go to high carb food.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
:bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:
I see Diane linked Judy (and Boomer's) thread, that was the one cat I could think of with idiopathic hypercalcemia. Why idiopathic instead of linked to the SCL? Hopefully the ionized calcium will provide some good news.

W/D as a solution? Huh? Good to see a consult with an IM doc may come out of this. Ruby is "complicated" enough it's worth a discussion with the IM vet. I found Neko's IM was really good at balancing multiple conditions.

Paws crossed on the ultrasound results too.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Wendy, for the good wishes! W/D is a solution because it's high in fiber and it might inhibit calcium absorption. I would much prefer to add my own fiber to her food like psyllium. Still need to research the effects of various fibers on calcium levels. The big reason I don't like the idea of seeing an IM is they might pressure me to take her off the raw food and feed her prescription foods rather than working with me to figure out how to modify her existing diet. I told the oncologist I was feeding Ruby commercial food to get her off my back about pathogens and cancer. Last time I checked both of my cats are still alive despite eating raw food.
 
Neko's IM was a fan of raw food. Said it was the best thing for her, in spite of being on chemo. I guess EIMID. Maybe if the IM gets pushy, you could ask for a vet nutritionist reference? I agree, W/D doesn't seem to be special and adding your own fiber makes more sense.
 
Bandit's Mom said:
Hi Katherine, sorry to hear about the hypercalcemia! I am sure you have seen this page from Tanya's website. Their support group may also have ideas on it:
http://felinecrf.org/diagnosis_calcium_phosphorus_pth.htm#hypercalcaemia

Is her phosphorus level okay? Is her vet checking for other conditions like metabolic acidosis?

:bighug::bighug::bighug:
Click to expand...
You beat me to it, Bhooma. I was going to link the ckd bible, too. ;) I am sorry about the hypercalcemia, but I feel confident that you will be able to get that number down. And I hope the iCa will be a better result. Paws crossed for a good radiology report.

About the pred, since she’s already on pred, was the vet suggesting an increased dose? Or was the vet just saying that Prednisolone would be one of the recommended hypercalcemia treatments and she’s already on it so it’s obviously not working to keep the calcium down (although it is working on the inflammation as far as we know.)
 
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