Checkers Update

Status
Not open for further replies.
Barb & Checkers (GA)

Barb & Checkers (GA)

Member Since 2009
I will move this post, if it doesn't belong here.

We have good news and bad. Good news is, that Checkers' bg is still under control. :mrgreen:
Yesterday, doc was pleased with his numbers. I still check randomly, and keep a journal, which I brought with me.
I had so much trouble with Google, that I just deleted the SS.

Bad news is hurting my heart. Checkers couldn't lay down yesterday. He was clearly in pain, when he tried to lower his rump.
He ran, jumped up on sink, showed no other sign of pain, except, couldn't lower himself to lie down. He screamed when I touched him.
He didn't want to eat....not that unusual for him.
Got him in to vet, got ex-rays, which showed disk deterioration/arthritis, in lower spine, at L8.

He was put on Tramadol, 12.5mg. It is safest drug for chronic pain, having few, and mild side effects. Mostly sedation, and nausea. He did throw up, half hour after taking it.
He had a very bad reaction!
He was hyper, running from one end of the house to the other. He wouldn't let me near him, and wouldn't stay in the room with me. I thought he was suspicious that I'd take him in car again, so I didn't call vet about it, right away.
His pupils were dilated to huge. I thought from pain.

By the time I realized it was the tram doing this, the clinic was closed, and I don't drive at night, if they wanted me to bring him in. I chose to wait it out, as he calmed down somewhat. Around midnite, finally lay down in front of me, but wouldn't come up on the couch with me.
By day's end, he still wouldn't eat, so I syringed some food into him. I also gave a spoonfull of kibble, just to get something into him.
His bg this morning was still only 118, hour after breakfast, which he greedily ate.
Today he is fine, like nothing happened yesterday. Doc thinks maybe all the running he did, somehow helped him.


Here's the problem. Doc says the only thing I can do now, is give Metacam on a *as needed* basis, for short term use.
Neither he nor I want to use Metacam. We discussed the dangers and the black box warning, etc.

How am I going to know if he's in pain, until it gets really bad, like yesterday. Cats hide pain.


There isn't another med for long term use, that is as safe as tramodol, for cats.
I am going to try accupuncture. as doc suggested. Just a thought...no guarantee of pain relief.

Having gone through agonizing back pain for so many months myself, the thought of my baby having to go through the same thing, is breaking my heart.


Any thoughts would be welcome. Sorry this sounds so confusing.
 
Hi barb,

I'm so glad to hear checkers BG's are staying good for you .. that's wonderful!

I don't have any experience with pain meds, but I know others on here will be able to help you figure out what is best for checkers .. It's hard to see our furbabies in pain (when they let us) I know you are going to take excellent care of him ..

I thought I had read on here someone else trying out adequin? Not sure if that is spelled right or not, but maybe you could look into that? Hopefully others will peek in here and get checkers back on the road to feeling good!
 
Awww Barb of course you and your posts belong here!!

Sorry to hear Checkers is in some pain, i don't have any advice to give but just wanted to let you know that we're here for you and Checks! :YMHUG: Are you going to try accupuncture? I know it can work wonders for people in pain and lets hope it can work some wonders for kitties too. I wonder would a chiropractic visit do anything for Checkers? I know there are some chiropractors out there that do also work with cats/dogs.....just a thought.

Good to hear Checkers and his BG are doing good!
 
Hi Barb....nice to see a Checkers update!

Excellent on the blood sugar....very, very nice work, there Checks!

Sorry to hear about the pain......hate to see kitties in pain. How about low dose Buprenorphine (Buprenex) for pain? I have used Bupe for pain with Zoe many times and it works well....does make her sleepy for a little while just have the medication is given, but then she is ok. I last used it in April I think when she had Pancreatitis. Or possibly Adequan injections for arthritis pain? I am going to be starting Zoe on the Adequan for her arthhritis...she has it in her hips which make it difficult for her to jump and she walks very stiff legged.

Take care, Barb....
 
Great news on the BGs! So sorry about the pain though. Hopefully someone will come along and give you advice on an alternative to Metacam.

Hope you have a great day and thinking of you!!
 
Tracy, there is a vet at one of their clinics that practices accupuncture. Check's vet suggested it this morning.

Sherry, I asked vet about "bute". I think I may have asked about wrong drug, because when he said the full name, it wasn't buprinex. What he said was something he uses for horses. Yes, we're rural. :smile:
Adequan wasn't mentioned. I'll research it, to see if it's good for long term use.
This is killing me, cause I don't know when he's in pain, so have to use it prophylactically...forever.

Thank you Devon.

edited to add: Bute and Bupe are definately two different meds.
Unfortunely, bupe and adequan are both said to cause hyper/mania reaction in SOME cats. After Check's reaction to the tram, which is great in most cats, I'm leery (leary?) of trying something else....but will be forced to, when the pain comes again. One or both are said to be for short term use only, though.
Going to ask doctor about both.
 
Great to hear about the BG report for Checkers. of course you belong hear. We miss you! :YMHUG:

Poor Checks on the back pain. Check w/ Joyce/Tuscany, she was going to try Adaquan injections for Tuscany's arthritis.
 
No, you actually have several choices - talk with a vet about what makes the most sense. My Sydney has the same issue and man she screamed when I touched her, a sound like I never heard before. I gave her a 1/2 dose of tramadol and like Checkers, she went beserk. I realized I just had to wait it out, but it took almost 12 hours before she started coming around. That is strong stuff and really should come with a warning label.

Look into these options:

adequan - off label for cats, but can be very effective - after talking with the specialist and general vet, they both agreed that this would not help Sydney

prednisolone - yes will have to watch the diabetes issue - I give her 1/4 tablet (the smallest dose possible) bid

non-scrip things to use:

MSM, chondroitin, glucosamine mix - I use pet naturals of vermont, hip & joint treats - 2 treats bid

http://www.luckyvitamin.com/p-4070-pet- ... -chewables

this is the cheapest place to buy this.



salmon oil - I use icelandic pure - a drop in the food bid

http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywor ... q98xfdcx_b
 
Glad to hear about the BGs, sooo sorry to hear about the pain Checkers has had. My vet also suggested Adequan for Champ. Unfortunately, I guess the only way you'll know if it works for him without causing him to be hyper is to try it. I haven't heard of it causing any adverse reactions in other cats, but maybe someone else has and will post here. Good luck!!!
 
Hillary, is the pred helping Sydney? Are the OTC things helping?
Pred's an issue with his bg. Once a diabetic, always, etc.

All the joints were beautiful, except that one area, near the tail. It wasn't inflammed, so anti-inflammatory drugs weren't in order.
It was ugly and white and messy looking to my untrained eye, not nice clear black lines, like the other disks were.
Bone seemed to be touching bone....painful. Doc doesn't think nerve (s) was being compressed.
 
aw, poor checkers - and poor you. it's hard having your little one in pain, not to mentioned weirded out on a medicine reaction!

what about gabapentin? i think it can be used low dose for long-term.

let us know - we care.
 
Syd had really bad arthritis, it's lower back and legs. I don't know what exactly is helping her, whether it's the pred or the treats or what. What I do know is that she doesn't scream as often or loudly when I do pick her up or hold her. She is very protective and sensitive in the "bad area".

She is moving a bit better than she was.

I don't suggest using pred lightly as there is the issue of diabetes of course. but what's important is pain management and then managing the other issues that may occur after.
 
((Barb))
This has got to be so difficult for you. There are recent reports on fish oil having anti-inflammatory properties. My vet recently suggested fish oil omega-3 fatty acids, 200-250 mg daily. It takes about 2 weeks to show any improvement. It there isn't inflammation, this may not be of much help.

I do hope you find something that makes it easier for Checkers.
 
Thank you, everybody.
Checks had a wonderful day today. Despite the bizarre, manic behavior yesterday, the tram may have had a good lasting effect. I'm not willing to put him through that again, though.
I don't even know if he was physically uncomfortable. I was likening it to how certain things like Nyquil, make me want to jump out of my skin.

He made up today, for what he didn't eat yesterday, eating a whole can of food (small FF size) for supper, and asking for more. He's been active and playful. One would not know anything was wrong yesterday.

I'll gather all my info, and make an appt with Dr Dave, to discuss treatment options.
 
Hi Barb - awesome on Checkers BG - that is wonderful. :cool: :cool:

I have very little experience with pain management in cats. I do have a friend with a kitty with arthritis in the rear, near her tail. She takes her cat in for acupuncture every two weeks, It has done wonders for her cat. After treatment she is pain free, and can move freely. For her she needs to have it repeated every two weeks.

I wish I could help on the drugs... I just know so little. I urge you however not to use metacam. It is a killer when used repeatedly - I know... been there, and I will never ever use it again, for anything.

I wish you luck - it is so hard when things like this affect our furbabies, even harder to see them in pain. Good luck with whatever path you choose for Checkers. Give him a big hug for me.

It is so great to hear from you. I am so glad that Checks had a great day today. I hope too that all is well with you!
 
Hi Barb & Checkers,

I'm so sorry to hear about Checkers' disc problem. I can't recommend any medicines for his pain, but I hope that you will be able to find something that doesn't make him hyper. It is good that he returned to his normal disposition today. Accupuncture might work. Anyway it's something to look into and it would not harm Checkers. It sounds like your vet is reasonable and cautious. But the Metacam route is froth with danger, as we know. There must be another solution!

Nice to hear that Checks' bg is great. Good boy!

Thanks for all your visits to Rusty's condo and for your support. How did your area survive the latest floods? I was thinking of you. We are sending Checkers some beautiful healing vines and thinking good thoughts that his back will improve.

Many hugs

Ella & Rusty
 
Barb:

We've dealt with arthritis pain with Gus. Tried cosequin, adequan, nothing like that worked. Tramadol had the same effect as in Checks. I took Gus to a pain mgmt specialist. First she tried amantadine/gabapentin which she said typically works wonderfully in cats with arthritis; however, Gus has congential arthritis. She put him on bupe and he's done so much better. He has been on it long term and has never had any side effects. The dosing range is pretty good on it and I have him on the lower end of the dose.

I think it's worth a try. Start low and see how he does.

We miss you....you always have a home here. Glad his BG is so great.
 
My senior, Mario, is on Adequan for his arthritis, and it seems to have helped him quite a bit. We started it back in April-ish, and while he still has arthritic symptoms, I can tell he is much more comfortable than he was before the adequan, and I can tell when the injection is wearing off and he's ready for another. His arthritis is at the very least in his hind knees and hips and possibly his lower back; however, he has never been x-rayed. We've been going off his symptoms.

Best wishes to you guys!!!

Amy
 
I am more familiar with dogs and medical issues - but Adequan is supposed to be a very safe option to try. A friend of mine has a Boxer with very bad hips & they started up the Adequan injections and Accupuncture when the pain medication she was on just wasn't cutting it anymore. (She was also on a good quality Glucosamine supplement) They saw marked improvement after about 6 weeks of it - and just recently added a accupuncture with electric pulses that REALLY seems to keep her pain level manageable. She is positively frisky afterwards!
 
Moonie has arthritis and is now on Dasuquin..Vet has offered us Adequan, but we are waiting a while till she really needs it-- Both my cats have had buperenex(?) and it workked really well--Of all, that would be the pain relief I would at least try for very bad days--Hate to tell you that I have RA & am on Tramadol myself--
It's just OK..(I havent gone nutty yet--wait let me ask DH- :lol: :lol: )
Hope you can find a happy medium in pain relief for Checkers--Sorry you are going through this!
Bupe is good for all round pain relief--Prayers for Checkers to feel way better--Love & Hugs to you Barb & Checks!!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top