Robbie Post Vet visit for enema 567?

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RobbiesMom

RobbiesMom

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Hi gang - just looking for some feed back here. Robbie ended up in a bit of a crisis today and had to go for an enema at the Vet. I've been thru this with him 6-7 times and typically he comes home, throws up some liquid and poops and rests and it's over. this time was very different - he came home, threw up 3 times, tried to poop got some out and was breathing like he was in a lot of pain, even open mouthed panting. I called the vet back - he said it is common after this kind of enema for the throwing up 3-5 times and that this could go on for 2 hours or so. He was more concerned about the panting because of Robbie's asthma. So suggested the inhaler if that continued. Amazingly at the Vet he thought Robbie looked very good - except for what he could feel inside him which he said was a large amount of very hard poop. This and he's been on miralax and lactulose every day for a week now. (the lactulose longer) As for his diabetes he wants me to go to 5.0 for am and pm as long as his numbers are where they have been for amps and pmps. He after 3 more weeks he wants to do a fructosamine (sp?) test and see where we are. He also wants my SS sent to him asap (I didn't have it as this was not a planned visit really)
SO now to the 911 part - by the time the poor guy had settled down enough for me to do anything it was 40 minutes after his shot was due - before the vet visit (2 hours before his shot was due) he was already 319 (I'm guessing the stress of the constipation was contributing factor) so I didn't even test him since he was hardly able to be calm long enough for me to shoot him. I decided since he won't eat while he feels this way to go with a 3.5 (from his 4.5) and that's what I gave him 40 minutes ago, assuming he'll feel well enough to eat soon. I JUST tested him cause he's lying down and he's 567!!! He's NEVER been this high. I really don't know what to do - he's in such distress - I'm guessing that's the reason for the number? I guess I just would LOVE some feed back and some input - I'm so upset I feel AWFUL - he's been pooping every day but only small nuggets and I should have taken him in a week ago. He's seems to have cleaned out (of course he's just walking around our house going wherever he is at the moment the mood strikes him and he's a MESS and won't let me do much to clean him although I've tried. It's just disgusting for him and pretty bad for us too).
Thanks for some thoughts.
 
The number has got to be stress and/or pain related. I think the reduced dose was the right thing to do. Poor guy has had a bad day. I wouldn't sweat the high number, Ellen. I would, however, try to encourage eating.... have you got any plain meat baby food? I'm thinking something bland and easy to stomach and digest, like chicken? In tiny amounts he'll hopefully keep down. And I would watch the "other end" for any hint of blood just in case the enema caused any problems. Did the vet say that he's empty now?
Carl
 
So sorry you guys are having such a nightmare Ellen. Poor Robbie and Momma! I would let him chill awhile. Tomorrow is another day for cleaning him up, etc. Maybe if he can relax awhile he will eat something for you a bit later. I’d test again later if he doesn’t eat just to make sure you aren’t going to low without food on board.

Sending you guys some peaceful vibes, and hopefully things can get back to normal quickly for you guys.

Hugs :YMHUG:
 
Thanks guys he's sleeping now so I want to leave him alone. I don't have any baby food but I have some chicken and he loves that so maybe he'll eat some in a little bit. I know he's stressed and in pain - I just feel so badly for him and GOOD LORD he stinks... he's so messy he doesn't even seem able to clean himself. He starts and than stops like he's thinking YUCK :oops: poor baby.
I'll watch him but man he'd have to go pretty far down for 567 to turn into something dangerous ... I HOPE.
Taking off the 911 now.
 
I've gone through the same sort of thing with Thumper's civvie sister, just not as often. It's awful to watch them get in the litter box then get out & throw up. Do you have any anti nausea med? Maybe next time you could ask the vet for some? I wouldn't worry about his blood sugar tonight, pain & stress can cause it to go up. Poor guy, I'm sure he's miserable and I know you are too. Maybe you could confine him to a bathroom so it would be easier to clean up after him?
 
I had a little Manx cat that had a genetic mutation and he frequently had to have enemas and often would vomit afterwards for awhile.
I would attribute the high number to the stress of being constipated, the stressful vet visit/enema and maybe the asthma acting up all together.
Its just one number and any kind of stress can shoot the BG up in a short period of time.
Maybe you could puree the chicken for Robbie and it would be like baby food and easy for him to eat.
I would just let him rest and worry about getting him cleaned up tomorrow. Poor guy has had a bad day and must be exhausted.
 
Hi, so sorry about Robbie's pain and difficulties. And yours, Ellen, of course.

Just very curious about your use of Miralax with Robbie. What's the vet's reasoning re taking Robbie off Miralax after about a week? If Robbie has frequent issues with constipation, why not keep him on it continually with appropriate dose adjustment up or down or every other day or whatever might work, so he does not end up with diarrhea or dehydration? I must be missing some logic here. I'm trying to understand the situation, but do not. Or does Robbie have a renal insufficiency condition?

Trying to understand because I started using Miralax with Pudge's 2 littermates who do have dryish poops. Miralax withdraws water from the body and uses it to soften the poo, right? To balance this, we add lots of water to the kitty's food and watch for signs of dehydration, right? Is it counter-indicated at a certain age? My triplets are almost 11. Or only if certain other conditions are present? Would like to understand. Anyone have some answers? I sure don't want to set my gals up for kidney insufficiency or failure.

My best wishes to Robbie and you, Ellen, Sophie
 
Sophie no worries he's on miralax vet didn't take him off of it - told us to continue the use of that and Lactulose - he's probably going on Cisapride but we're gonna wait another week now that he's been cleaned out.
He won't eat. I've tried chicken, roast beef and his cat food with and without water - he took a lick of it with water, drank regular water from his bowl than went to the dogs water bowl and drank a lot adn went back to lie down. I tested him an hour ago and he was 481 so still way up there. I'm going to bed (it's been a long day and not a lot of sleep last night) and hope he's OK.

Oh, just checked on him he threw up the water he drank. The vet was really pretty much assuring me this will just take time - it was a rough enema cause he was pretty clogged up - but he's never been this bad. Gosh I hope he starts to feel better soon.
 
Ellen,

SOooo sorry Robbie is going through this misery. I keep copper on 1/4tsp of miralax 2x/day. When first dx he was on 1/2 tsp 2x/day because having constipation and his BG would go up some bc of the pain associated with it. After starting on the miralax, he is so much better. Do add extra water in his food. Can't hurt.

My other cat just had an anal gland rupture. The vet put him on miralax 1/4tsp 2x/day too. I have to check his anal glands and squeeze once per month. YUCK! So far, so good with him. He is like a new cat now once the anal glad healed. Must of really hurt before it ruputured. Might want to check robbie.

So hope he starts feeling better. Enema's are the worst for animals and humans. If they put him on cispiride, he may have more cramps and thus cause vomiting. Be careful with this med's as it causes heart trouble in humans and taken off the market. Not sure if can do the same thing to cats, but probably assume it does.

Good luck! Feel bette robbie

lori
 
Thanks all. It was a rough night. He threw up several times,messed all over the house (thank god pretty much only in rooms that have hard floors or rugs that I was able to clean quickly - I basically followed him around with a towel in my hand for an hour), cried a few times and was in and out of the litter box. We tried to clean him up but that was only partially successful. He finally curled up in his toy basket and slept so I went to sleep too - woke up a few times and his food had not been touched - and he was still asleep in the basket. His BG levels stayed pretty high - I don't even remember what now I was so out of it but I'll get them down on the SS soon. At 4:15 am he was 326 - I wrote that down for some reason and it's right in front of me. At 5am he finally ate.
So by 7am except for stinking to high heven and being a big mess he was pretty good. We tried to clean him up some more and helped a bit. He improved all day and by the time my husband got home at 6pm he was HUNGRY and cleaned up more and his BG was 389. He got his 4.5 and ate his dinner and has spent most of tonight cleaning himself and screaming for food. He's sitting next to me now and there's a slight oder coming from him still but not that bad and I think he'll be good as new or at least before by tomorrow.

I've investigated Cisapride quite a bit on the internet - and while it has been pulled off the market for humans - cats and humans don't always respond the same way to medicine (something we are all probably too aware of) I mean there's all sorts of stuff you can't give cats that humans take all the time, same with dogs the majority of the posters on the yahoo Feline Megacolon site seem really happy with their experience on it and while I've read plenty of scary stuff I just cannot see Robbie going thru this over and over again on top of his diabetes and his asthma issues. He's been getting 3mg of lactulose 2x a day for a long time, metemucil (which used to be all he needed) once a day and now for a couple of weeks also miralax 1/8 teas. 2x a day. We always put water in his food - he also drinks a lot of water and is very well hydrated. Making the decision about Cisapride has been difficult - there also is a lot of scary stuff out there about it - I spoke to my vet and both he and the vet tech who's been there forever have over 20 years a piece experience and told us that they've seen hundreds of cats on cisapride and have never had any of them suffer the heart issues that are sometimes mentioned. Although our vet was very specific a year ago when he first brought up cisapride that he wanted me to investigate it myself so I could make an informed decision. I think I'm going to have to go with it.
 
Ellen, I am so sorry you and Robbie are having such a hard time. I think you have researched mega colon and posted on Health about constipation, right?

It sounds like you are over this last mess (literally) Hope things settle down for all of you. Diabetes is difficult enough without throwing constipation into the mix. There are so many products available to help humans. The only probiotic for cats I know about is FortiFlora but maybe there are others.
 
Ellen,
so sorry about your & sweet Robbie's difficult difficult times. The thought of using plain unflavored Aloe Vera juice (not gel) just popped into my head. Have you tried it? A few weeks ago on Health there was a post, written by a member who's used it for many years, about its use for pancreatitis. It seems digestive and alimentary issues appear so intertwined; perhaps, this would help Robbie. Might be worthwhile asking your vet. Best wishes, Sophie
 
Ellen,

Sounds like you've done an excellent job at researching the cispride med's and you have your vet's backing. That's GREAT! Will you have trouble getting it here in the US since it was taken off the market? So glad you have the support of other groups that have the same issues as robbie. Poor guy! I'm sure he was miserable. Glad to hear he is doing better!!!

lori
 
Hey all - thanks for the good thoughts and suggestions - aloe vera is an interesting one I'm gonna check that out. Cisapride is off the market for humans but not for dogs and cats - according to what I've read and my vets office they just order it - it's not cheap - which I'm kind of dreading but we're now on day 5 since he was cleaned out and he JUST actually went enough for me to feel relieved. Oddly his numbers (which I have GOT to get on the SS) were looking pretty good Friday/Saturday than out of the blue they are high again. We started a new bottle of insulin - but I mean really? We've now as of today officially moved to 5.0 am/pm. Gonna see where that goes. He's feeling a bit better generally - but while I feel I have made the right decision about the cisapride I'm still not thrilled at the prospect and so worried about his over all health. Hanging in there best I can and really appreciate the feedback, ideas and support.
 
Soooo glad he is doing better. Thanks for letting us know. I was wondering how he was doing. Glad the cispiride is working. Bet Robbie is just relieved to get that all out of him.

Keep us updated when you can.

lori
 
Wow, change insulins and suddenly you see one of your friends is having a time of it.

Hoping Robbie is feeling much better and that everything that's supposed to have, has passed!

Good for you for keeping up with it. I know it's been challenging! You're a real trooper!

Robbie - feel better buddy!
Your pal, Grayson
 
awwww Grayson thanks for checking in!!
We aren't on the cisapride yet - Doctor had to order it - going to call tomorrow and see if it's in yet.
 
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