Multi Question - Cerenia/constipation and Pepcid &/or Curcumin

[Sgans and Eegie - GA]

Hi.

First question - has anybody with an IBD cat experienced constipation when they took Cerenia? Seems that Eegie did, and when he started pooping again, he started regurgitating again. They seem connected.

Second question - It had been STRONGLY suggested that I get Curcumin (got CurCuVet SA50 in the mail today). Then, read that it can interfere with Pepcid AC, which is what I started giving last night when the Cerenia apparently wore off. Pepcid seems to be helping the stomach/eating/no-regurgitation so far, but Curcumin seems to have SO many strong indications! Has anybody done both and been successful?

Sorry 2 questions, but they seem kinda related...

 

[Tiger(GA) and Ruth]

My Tiger has recently been diagnosed with the earliest signs of IBD. (Also Chronic Pancreatitis and earliest stages of CKD) I have used Cerenia off and on since last November for flare ups and I do not find it to be constipating for her. I noticed in one of your posts Eegie was taking Reglan, one of the side effects of Reglan is constipation.

As for the regurgitating,
If your pet is about to vomit, he feels nauseous. His abdominal walls are beginning to contract. He may drip or drool saliva, or begin licking his lips right before he retches. Often there's a heaving motion, where your pet's abdominal muscles begin to contract several times before he actually empties the contents of his stomach onto your floor.

If your pet regurgitates, chances are he'll simply open his mouth and out will come part of a meal, or the water he just drank. There's usually no warning with regurgitation -- for him or you. It's passive, whereas vomiting is an active process.

Constipation can cause nausea and vomiting. It is odd that when he pooped, the vomiting started?

 

[Sgans and Eegie - GA]

Sorry - I wasn't clear. He's been off Reglan for well over a week and the constipation started after he was off it - it was very short term, wasn't working, so I'd switched to Pepcid, then got the cerenia shot. Good to know you didn't get constipation from it, @Tiger and Ruth !

Thank you for the info on regurgitating, but it's not that info I need - unfortunately, I'm VERY familiar with it within the past few weeks, but it had been resolved with the cerenia. As it appears the cerenia wore off last night, he regurgitated. As the cerenia wore off yesterday, he started pooping (actually, the evening before or so). I'm very very familiar with the difference between regurgitation and vomit.

So - I associate the cerenia with both, but am unsure about the chicken/egg part. The Pepcid HAS stopped the nausea/regurgitation for now, and I want to introduce the Curcumin for his many issues - so I'm concerned with whether I can use them both together. Warnings say that Curcumin may interfere with Pepcid, but anecdotal stories say it hasn't for some cats. I was hoping to get some input on whether anyone's used them both together, as I don't want to give up the Pepcid, since it's working.

But it IS great to know that I probably shouldn't think the Cerenia caused the backup he had... I just have to figure maybe when it slowed down, his tummy got worse again too...

Thank you!

 

[BJM]

A couple of thoughts:
1) Giving the curcumin with food may help reduce possible stomach upset
2) The dose makes the poison - you could test with a tiny amount rather than the suggested dose and observe for responses.
3) Is there a local vet with background in alternative medicine available to consult.

 

[Sgans and Eegie - GA]

Hi @BJM - thank you.

I could try giving the curcumin with food at the beginning, that's a good idea. I'm definitely testing with 1/4 the dose, AND decided to retain the full Pepcid dose. I know the Pepcid works, so I suppose I can watch for the possibility of the curcumin interfering with the Pepcid. I plan on doing that during the day, so I can observe. At first, I was just going to switch him, using small amounts of curcumin, so I could do a test by elimination - but I can't have him not able to keep his food down. This week, I'm too tied up with work to stop my class to try to get him to eat tiny bits and clean up regurgitated food.

As for the vet - I went to one some time ago, and she was so condescending, I won't go back to her. Now, we're SO broke, my credit cards are so built up with vet bills to my current vet, I can't even pay a specialist, even if I could find one I trusted. My vet was a STRONG advocate for the curcumin - and wasn't so excited about the Pepcid (he kept wanting to continue Reglan, which wasn't working and was high in sugar). He came around on the Pepcid, but he still would prefer the curcumin. I just don't want to stop what's actually working.

Thank you for the suggestions though - I'll definitely aim at starting out with food... - Wish he'd eat it sprinkled on, but I know THAT won't happen...