using prednisone to treat p~itis - thoughts?

[Gwen and Morris]

Just wondering what people here thought about using prednisone to treat p~itis. In a roundtable discussion that was sent to me http://www.idexx.com/pubwebresources/pd ... rticle.pdf they discuss it briefly. One of the participants says that the biggest contraindication for corticosteroids would be concurrent diabetes in a cat. Then, another participant says, Dr. Richard Nelson at the UC-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine has put cats with pancreatitis and hard-to-regulate diabetes on a two-week tapering course of prednisone to get the pancreatic infl ammation under control. During that time, you don’t worry about the diabetes that much. Then after the two weeks when the cat has been tapered off of the prednisone, you manage the diabetes. If the pancreatitis improves with prednisone therapy, the diabetes itself becomes easier to regulate.

Morris was diagnoses with diabetes at the end of July & we have not even been close to reglated yet. Now that he was diagnosed with pancreatitis a little over a week ago, I have another problem to research!

 

[Deanie and Boo (GA) and Scout]

If the pancreatitis improves with prednisone therapy, the diabetes itself becomes easier to regulate.

That was certainly my experience. Boo always had much better numbers on steroids than off of them. Controlling the pancreatitis was the key to comtrolling his diabetes.

My vet's take was that it was worth trying because he was so miserable at the time. We just figured we could adjust the insulin if his glucose went up.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

I would try it if I was in your situation.