Need advice quitting pred.

[nancy and payne]

If you remember my ketone/DKA prone cat Payne, we are doing really well!
Payne was Dx 10/11/10 and had DKA three times. She was also Dx IBD and put on
pred. 5mg. once a day. We use ProZ and have had high BG #'s always. Recently we
tried TR but found that it was too much insulin, but what we did learn was she
thrives on t.i.d. I have been slowly decreasing the pred. 1st. 2.5 daily then 2 wks.
later every other day. We have been doing that for 2 wks. and she has not had
any for 3 days and I seen 2 YELLOWS so far today!! Never have we seen that! Plus
the big swings up are tapering off, can I safely stop the pred. now? Thanks.

 

[carolynandlatte]

I just posted on your other thread. To help keep your feedback together and for 'peer review' purposes, here is my response:

I have never used pzi, but my cat used pred (for ibd/lymphoma) for 1.5yrs. We had to go up/down on her dose a lot, and tried quitting for a while once it caused the FD (tried leukeran as an alternative). The e/o day sounds good, but stopping cold after that...Im not sure. I always went e/o day, than every 2-3 days, etc because I didnt want to risk cutting it too quickly. You have to be very careful when coming off pred. I would not feel comfortable telling you exactly how. That is best for you and your vet to determine.

IF you have not already, Please consult your vet for the appropriate way to reduce/get off pred.

If IBD symptoms continue, maybe discuss the use of budesonide instead of prednisolone. It often has a lessened effect on BG's.
IBD symptoms will come and go, so its likely treatment will need to be continued on/off, if not on a daily basis.

Its great you are seeing some lower BG's w/o the pred! Maybe with a great reduction or a switch, less insulin will be needed at some point.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Seems OK to stop based on my experience. My Thunder was on 5 mg BID for two weeks then on 2.5 MG bid for three (or four) days then 2.5 mg SID for three (or four) days then stop.