Healing Vines Needed for Marshmallow

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Thanks everyone.

Critter Mom said:
Hi Shane,

Any news on Marshmallow yet? And how are you holding up? Pancreatitis flares are very hard on both bean and cat.

:bighug::bighug::bighug:
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Mogs, I saw her last night. It's now morning in California and I'm going to see her before work. Hopefully she can come home this afternoon. The vet still doesn't think it's pancreatitis but I'm just nodding and smiling and waiting for the blood work to come in...
 
Good morning, Shane. :)

I'm glad that you got to visit with Marshmallow last night and that you're seeing her this a.m. Please give her some 'get better soon' scritches from me, and have as good a day as you can manage at work. :bighug:

If you get a chance, please let us know how Marshmallow's doing today.
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Quick update!

1) Marshmallow has a UTI.

2) The pancreatitis test was normal and so was the other blood work. I'm cautiously optimistic. I read on the IBD Kitties site that some cats test negative on the pancreatitis test but if you give them an ultrasound, the pancreas can show up as inflamed.

The plan of action is: Give her antibiotics for 10 days, then take her back for a recheck. I don't want to pay for an ultrasound if I don't have to so for now I will treat symptomatically if I see any pancreatitis-type symptoms.

She is still at the vet on fluids. Turns out they didn't give her any anti-nausea meds because she didn't seem nauseated to them. When I visited both last night and this morning she was licking her lips. I told the vet she isn't a lip-licker normally so please just give her some Zofran. He said okay. (He acted like he was indulging me, but whatever, as long as she gets what she needs.)

He has agreed to call in a scrip for ondanestron to my pharmacy so I can give it to her at home if she needs it. I can pick her up after work tonight, and tonight I'll have the conversation about him giving me some pain meds in case I think she needs it. He's opposed to giving what he considers "unnecessary" medicine, which I am too. But if she seems to be in pain again like she was on Sunday night, then I want to have them.

Thanks everyone for the healing vines and I'll let you know how she is tonight. Can't wait to get my furball back home!

(@Shiloh & Rhonda, here's today's update.:))
 
Oh, Shane, I'm so glad the test results were good and that the vet has identified the issue. :cat:

granadilla said:
Turns out they didn't give her any anti-nausea meds because she didn't seem nauseated to them. When I visited both last night and this morning she was licking her lips.
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[clenched teeth] I'm sayin' nuthin' ... [/clenched teeth] :rolleyes:

Good idea to ask about the pain meds. If you have them to hand, you have the choice available to respond to any pain - and UTIs can be very painful. If Marshmallow doesn't appear to need them, then you can withhold. I wish that vets wouldn't treat so many of us as though we're eejits ... :mad:

Delighted your darling girl is coming home tonight. :D


Mogs
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@granadilla so glad the blood test results came out normal. I am sure that is a big relief for you. While the UTI is annoying, it beats having pancreatitis and kidney issues.
If I recall from reading Dr. Pierson's site, I believe UTI is more common with feeding dry food. So now the challenge is finding a wet food for her sensitive tummy.
Can you force feed Marshmallow canned food if she won't eat it readily? That's what I did with Bonnie for awhile to jump start her back into recovery.

Have you discussed giving Methylcobalamin Cyanocobalamin shots with the vet? You can do the injections at home. IBD cats often have normal blood work (Bonnie always does) and methyl B12 is great for absorption of nutrients in an IBD cat especially when vomiting, vomiting and diarrhea are present.

It will be so good when Marshmallow is home again with you!
 
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Critter Mom said:
[clenched teeth] I'm sayin' nuthin' ... [/clenched teeth] :rolleyes:
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Tell. Me. About. It.

I figured that having a conniption wouldn't give me the result I wanted, so I just said, "hey, indulge me on this. She doesn't normally lick her lips so I know it's either a sign of dehydration or nausea. She's on fluids, so let's go with nausea. Even if you don't think she needs it, please just indulge me and give her some Zofran." He nodded and smiled (much like I do when I don't agree with him!) but he said he'd do it, which is all that matters.

Critter Mom said:
I wish that vets wouldn't treat so many of us as though we're eejits ... :mad:
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Sometimes (definitely not all the time), it seems to happen with male medical professionals. I had a male eye doctor PAT ME ON THE NOSE about 5 years ago. I was a grown woman at the time, not a toddler, and yet HE PATTED ME ON THE NOSE. In some ways I know more about my health than my docs do, just like we know our kitties better than our vets do. Sigh.
 
Cat Ma said:
@granadilla so glad the blood test results came out normal. I am sure that is a big relief for you. While the UTI is annoying, it beats having pancreatitis and kidney issues.
If I recall from reading Dr. Pierson's site, I believe UTI is more common with feeding dry food. So now the challenge is finding a wet food for her sensitive tummy.
Can you force feed Marshmallow canned food if she won't eat it readily? That's what I did with Bonnie for awhile to jump start her back into recovery.

Have you discussed giving Methylcobalamin B12 shots with the vet? You can do the injections at home. IBD cats often have normal blood work (Bonnie always does) and methyl B12 is great for absorption of nutrients in an IBD cat especially when vomiting, vomiting and diarrhea are present.

It will be so good when Marshmallow is home again with you!
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Yes! Much better to have a UTI than something more dramatic. I was so worried yesterday.

She is such a dry food addict! I can force feed her wet if need be. The last time I did that is when she went hypo and went OTJ, and she hasn't touched wet food since. She now seems to have an aversion to ALL wet foods, little fuss pot. She used to eat one or two brands of wet food (just a tablespoon per day -- I'd put out the tablespoon in the morning and it could take her all day to eat it), but since the hypo incident, she won't go near any wet. But I'll get some duck wet food and see if she will eat it.

The vet gave her a B12 test a couple of weeks ago when she had dental work. Her levels were fine so he didn't want to give her injections. I'll ask again. Especially because when she's on antibiotics she gets diarrhea and I know that she was feeling nauseous, so it might be a great thing to add.

Very happy to be able to take her home tonight!
 
Bonnie has never had a B12 test. Research shows the benefits of B12 shots in IBD cats. And the vet emphasized this would help her. When I had her on a change of diet and just Budesonide, she wasn't keeping weight on and was lethargic. The B12 shots have done wonders.

Note: Bonnie gets Cyanocobalamin B12 injections, not Methylcobalamin.
 
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Cat Ma said:
Bonnie has never had a B12 test. Research shows the benefits of B12 shots in IBD cats. And the vet emphasized this would help her. When I had her on a change of diet and just Budesonide, she wasn't keeping weight on and was lethargic. The B12 shots have done wonders.
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Note: It was the ER vet that emphasized B12 shots could help Bonnie based on her symptoms and medical history. Again, she was never tested for B12. It was Bonnie's regular vet that tried to talk me out of giving B12 shots, saying "B12 shots hurt cats" (BALONEY). Once her regular vet got the ER report, he agreed I should proceed with the B12 shots.
 
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I only just now saw this (thanks to my crappy internet connection) --- so just wanted to say Bat-Bat & I are sending healing vibes to Marshmallow for a speedy recovery! Give her an extra scritch under the chin for us - and here's a big hug for you! :bighug: - Robin
 
The key is the using a smaller needle. Neither of my cats have any problems with it.
 
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Thanks for the tips! The needle length on our vets' syringe I'll ask the vet about using a different needle should she need a B12 injection in the future (currently supplementing methyl B12 orally).
 
No, I did. Zobaline is the oral Methyl B12. Cyanocobalamin B12 shots are what I give Bonnie for IBD.

Can't find the strike-out correction key.
 
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Giving methylcobalamin via injection would get round GI tract malabsorption problems. Zobaline is methylcobalamin and folic acid and as far as I know it's only available as a tablet. I'm all confused. :confused:


ETA:

Strikeout is [ s ] and [ /s ] - obviously without the spaces. (Had to go to a BBCode site to find that out.)

Saoirse got cyanocobalamin injections at the vets.
 
Pass? :confused: I started the Zobaline based on the recommendation from Tanya's site to give B12. I wanted to see whether Saoirse would be able to benefit from oral supplementation 'cause it would save her trips to the vet. Historically, Saoirse has had B12 malabsorption problems, hence the cyanocobalamin injections she got previously. The oral supplement seems to be helping her, though. Her coat has improved a bit since I started it a few days ago.


(Shane - sincere apologies for the frankenthread. :oops::oops::oops:)
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Mogs, I love a good frankenthread! :)

Marshmallow is now at home! She had a snack and went into the closet to take a nap. I'm at the pharmacy waiting for her ondansetron (wow is it pricey, even for the generic).

When should I check her BG again? She was 189 this morning on the vet's meter. I'm sure it's due to stress but when should I check her again?
 
I would wait until tomorrow morning or so. The vet BG # is likely high due to Marshmallow not being a happy camper at the vet. And the UTI. I wouldn't be worried tonight. So glad Marshmallow is home!
 
Mogs, I'm really glad you told me the dose for Ondansetron is 1/4 of a 4 mg tablet. (Is that once or twice a day, BTW?)

I just got back from the pharmacy and the label says "give 1 pill once or twice a day as needed" but the pills are the 4 mg tablets!! So if we hadn't had that convo about Ondansetron, I could have given her a whole 4 mg tablet!:eek::confused::eek:

The vet tech wrote the scrip but she should have known better!
 
Hi Shane,

Very glad to hear that Marshmallow's back home safe with you! :)

Glad the dosing info was helpful. When starting out Saoirse on ondansetron I gave her 1mg (1/4 tablet) as needed up to a maximum of twice a day. Some days the 1mg was enough for her but if I noticed nausea symptoms returning I gave her the 2nd 1mg. She gradually needed more , so currently I give her 2mg BID.

NB - keep an eye on Marshmallow's stools: ondansetron can be a little binding.
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Hi Mogs! She's eating a bit and drinking and sleeping in normal positions (no meat loafing like on Sunday night). Still skittish and quiet but that's probably stress from having been hospitalized. I'll feel better when she's more relaxed and more talkative, but i know she just needs a little time to settle down. Thank you for asking. :cat:
 
granadilla said:
Sometimes (definitely not all the time), it seems to happen with male medical professionals. I had a male eye doctor PAT ME ON THE NOSE about 5 years ago. I was a grown woman at the time, not a toddler, and yet HE PATTED ME ON THE NOSE. In some ways I know more about my health than my docs do, just like we know our kitties better than our vets do. Sigh.
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Believe it or not, I have this same fight with my daughter's doctors. She is 16 and has had severe asthma her whole life. I know her symptoms and triggers, but new docs always question whether I am just overreacting. One ER nurse told me she was fine, and left her in the waiting room for an hour. Her oxygen was so low when we got in the room that the new nurse put her on oxygen and ran for a doc. But I digress...


I am so glad to hear Marshmallow seems to be better. FWIW, we did the ultrasound with Tisha and all it told us what that her pancreas was inflamed, which we already knew. The doc at the hospital said it could be anything from an infection to cancer. Way to narrow it down!

I am so glad Marshmallow is home! Hospital stays are hard on everyone and I am sure she is glad to be back home too!
 
My grocery store pharmacy wanted $33 dollars for 10 pills of Ondansetron. That's $3.30 per pill.
I got the next prescription filled at the Costco Pharmacy where you don't need to be a member to use the pharmacy, and it was something like $28 plus tax for 90 pills, which is about 33 cents per pill.
Sending vines to Marshmellow to feel all better soon.
 
Hugs I am sorry your having such a bad time with the vet, I hate it when they get all superior on me. Its like they are saying "WE ARE THE ALL KNOWING MIGHTY DOCTOR WE KNOW ALL, SEE ALL BOW TO US. " :mad: :mad: :eek: :eek: :mad: :mad: :blackeye: :blackeye: Big huggles to both of you and healing vines and love to marshmallow.
 
@Dyana, was the scrip in your name or the kitty's name?

I went to my local Walgreen's drugstore where I get all my meds filled. If the scrip was in my name, it would have cost me under $5 because it would be covered by my health insurance. Because it was in Marshmallow's name, they couldn't run it through my insurance so I had to pay the cash / uninsured price, which was $95. I went ahead and paid it because I wanted it quickly. I got 80 doses (40 days if she gets it twice a day and for now I'm going to try just once a day).

Next time I'm going to ask them to put it in my name so it can go through my insurance. Or maybe one of my own docs will write me a scrip for it in my name if the vet won't.
 
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