Cabergoline and Probiotics dose questions

Dyana

Dyana

Member Since 2009
Does the dose of cabergoline go by the weight of the cat?
I'll be talking to his vet about it today at Sabrina's appointment.

I hope Wedgewood doesn't ship it all the way from Diamond Back in Arizona. I don't like my cat's medicine taking a week to get here. Wedgewood is right in New Jersey just at the bottom of the state.. too far for me to drive.
 
Does this look right? He's 7.4 kg
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Wendy&Neko said:
Dosing is 10 mcg/kg of cat.
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I don't understand how to do the math.
He is 7.4 kg, so times that by 10? = 74 mcg

The prescription say 40 mcg/ml and the bottle has 25 ml.
So does that mean theres 1000 mcg in the bottle?
I am supposed to give him 1.8 ml EOD.
Does that mean he's getting 40 mcg / ml times 1.8 ml = 72 mcg?

Hey, maybe this works... 72 mcg times 14 days is 1008 mcg...
 
I called Wedgewood this morning and they said the processing time is 8 to 9 business days and then 3 to 5 business days for shipping. So, we might receive it by June 24th.
I asked if there is a way to get more than a month's worth at a time, a bigger bottle, or maybe up the strength (mcg?) and give less ml each dose. She of course said my vet would have to call that in. On that thought, since Jackson is on 40 mcg, I asked if there is an option to get it in 80 mcg or 120 mcg. She said the next option is 50 mcg and then it jumps to 100 mcg, so I don't know if a stronger mcg will even work..

I then called my "local" compounding pharmacy which I can drive to. It's in the next county over and they can also can compound the Cabergoline. Yes! Their turn around time for processing is 1 week, and the pharmacist said if there was an emergency they can expedite it to 1 day.
So I sent an email to my vet asking her to call them. Not to call in another prescription, I'll stick with Wedgewood for now, I guess.
 
1.8 times 40 mcg = 72 mcg. Jackson's dose should be 74 mcg, so close enough. Cats seem to like the sweet combo, bacon marshmallow was also common around here. Good call on asking the local compounders. How does their price compare?

Dyana said:
Do cats have to stay on Cabergoline for life?
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It really depends. For cats that go OTJ, I've seen caregivers reduce the frequency it's given, but still stay on it. I see your vet has you starting out at the every other day dosing. There can be some GI issues in the beginning, and EOD may help with that. A lot of people end up giving it every day. But it really depends how Jackson reacts to it, and ECID and even more so.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Cats seem to like the sweet combo, bacon marshmallow was also common around here. Good call on asking the local compounders. How does their price compare?
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The "local" pharmacy that is within driving distance for me only has three flavors, Beef, Pork, or Chicken, so I chose Beef. They said it will be $59 for three months, and will be ready to be picked up by next Monday. What's weird is they never asked me for my credit card.

Wendy&Neko said:
I see your vet has you starting out at the every other day dosing. There can be some GI issues in the beginning, and EOD may help with that.
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Should I get some probiotics or something to help him with any GI issues?

Wendy&Neko said:
A lot of people end up giving it every day. But it really depends how Jackson reacts to it, and ECID and even more so.
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How do they decide to change the dosing to every day?
Is another Acro blood test needed to change to every day dosing?
 
Dyana said:
Should I get some probiotics or something to help him with any GI issues?
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Probably a good idea. He may or may not need them. It tends to be something that gets better over time but if you can prevent it, all the better.
Dyana said:
How do they decide to change the dosing to every day?
Is another Acro blood test needed to change to every day dosing?
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When the Royal Vet Clinic did their first very small sample experiment, they started at EOD but found it wasn't as effective, so recommended every day. The South American research group who has studied a lot more cats, does EOD. Meaning, there is no hard science about when to switch or if you need to. Some people switch to every day if the EOD doesn't seem to be working. I've seen a couple people tweak the cabergoline dose over time if some of the acro symptoms come back. Again, it's a personal decision, not based on studies.

No blood test needed. He has high IGF-1, that isn't going to change significantly and has no factor in how frequently to use cabergoline. The biggest factor in how successful cabergoline tends to be is size of tumour, according to the South American research group. But we don't go getting CT scans cause they are so expensive. The fact that Jackson isn't on a huge dose may be a good sign.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Probably a good idea. He may or may not need them. It tends to be something that gets better over time but if you can prevent it, all the better.
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What would you suggest I get. All I have is Forti Flora at home, right now. I might have some Slippery Elm Bark from years ago.
 
For diarrhea, S. boulardii is a good option. For general probiotic, something with several strains, including L. acidophilus. Any human brand will do. Make sure it has a large number of colony forming units (CFU). Adult cat dose of a human probiotic is between 2.5 billion CFU and 20-40 billion CFU daily. Lower end for maintenance, higher to deal with current issues.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
For diarrhea, S. boulardii is a good option. For general probiotic, something with several strains, including L. acidophilus. Any human brand will do. Make sure it has a large number of colony forming units (CFU). Adult cat dose of a human probiotic is between 2.5 billion CFU and 20-40 billion CFU daily. Lower end for maintenance, higher to deal with current issues.
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If I find this probiotic for humans will it say on the jar or bottle what between 2.5 billion CFU and 20-40 billion CFU is in measurements?
 
Probiotics come in capsules mostly, sometimes sachets. They should tell you how many CFU per capsule or sachet. So you have to figure the percent of capsule to give.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
For diarrhea, S. boulardii is a good option. For general probiotic, something with several strains, including L. acidophilus. Any human brand will do. Make sure it has a large number of colony forming units (CFU). Adult cat dose of a human probiotic is between 2.5 billion CFU and 20-40 billion CFU daily. Lower end for maintenance, higher to deal with current issues.
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Do you know of any brands of probiotics I should look for at the drug store?
I'm not able to read small print very well.
I have some of this in my refrigerator but it expired 10 years ago.
Would this be what I am looking for?
 
Renew Life Ultimate, Natural Factors. I'm more familiar with brands in Canada. Both make multiple options. Maybe go onto the local vitamin store website and magnify the pages where the ingredients are listed so you can pick some good options.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
For diarrhea, S. boulardii is a good option. For general probiotic, something with several strains, including L. acidophilus. Any human brand will do. Make sure it has a large number of colony forming units (CFU). Adult cat dose of a human probiotic is between 2.5 billion CFU and 20-40 billion CFU daily. Lower end for maintenance, higher to deal with current issues.
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I used to have Renew Life for J.D. I found this Renew Life Ultimate with Prebiotics and Probiotics.
Wendy&Neko said:
They should tell you how many CFU per capsule or sachet. So you have to figure the percent of capsule to give.
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I'm sorry, I still don't understand.
If it has 30 billion and I need to give 2.5 billion, then do I give him 1/12th of a capsule?
 
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