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#1
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chronic pancreatitis
Does anyone have experience with chronic feline pancreatitis?
Seamus was diagnosed by ultrasound Feb 1, and has been on torbutrol for the pain since then. He is no better when I have tried to wean him off the pain med. He has a great appetite, no vomiting or diarrhea (soft stools when the torb is decreased), just the signs of pain - hunching, very quiet, not running or playing (he is normally *very* active). This is his first bout with this, and it is a long time to have to see him like this. He is getting 1/2 of a torb once or twice a day before meals, then he will play. I am also concerned about keeping him on the opoid that long. When will he feel better? Teri |
#2
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chronic pancreatitis
teri wrote: Does anyone have experience with chronic feline pancreatitis? Seamus was diagnosed by ultrasound Feb 1, and has been on torbutrol for the pain since then. He is no better when I have tried to wean him off the pain med. He has a great appetite, no vomiting or diarrhea (soft stools when the torb is decreased), just the signs of pain - hunching, very quiet, not running or playing (he is normally *very* active). This is his first bout with this, and it is a long time to have to see him like this. He is getting 1/2 of a torb once or twice a day before meals, then he will play. I am also concerned about keeping him on the opoid that long. When will he feel better? Teri Pancreatitis is hard to diagnose and often seems to resolve by itself no matter what you do. Our cat had the symptoms you describe (although the vet did not do ultrasound) and on a hunch the vet sent out for a pancreatic enzyme assay (called TLI). Unfortunately this kind of test takes 3-4 weeks to get results and by the time the results did come back, my cat had completely recovered. But the vet said the test did show evidence of pancreatitis. I think this test is not certain either, but the best test currently available. While our cat did show signs of pain (hunching, walking very slowly) she was also not eating. Thinking it might be some kind of infection the vet also prescribed an antibiotic and he gave us an appetite stimulant. Once she started on the antibiotic, it only took one dose of the appetite stimulant and she started eating again. After that she began to recover. I guess my point is that it's hard to be sure that a cat has pancreatitis--the vet isn't even sure that our cat really had it despite the assay. However, if your cat has been in pain from pancreatitis for a month, I'd think I'd want the vet to see if anything more can be done. It is a painful condition and I think sometimes vets prescribe Fentanyl patches to control the pain. But it seems to me that in a month it would have started to heal and become less painful. -Yngver |
#3
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chronic pancreatitis
Hi Teri,
Sorry your cat is not feeling so well. Our cat, Bob, also had chronic pancreatitus. I'll tell you some of his story to see if it helps. His started six months after his diabetes diagnosis (which happened right after a steroid shot for allergies...) Bob would throw up, have diarrhea, a high fever and just be listless. He was in pain and would yowl if we picked him up. During his first six months after diagnosis, he probably had about three major attacks that sent him to the hospital, some for a week at a time. He was always treated by an internist vet, a specialist. He was on an IV and his fever watched carefully. He usually had to be force fed. The internist said anti-nausea drugs do not work with cats. The treatment was basically supportive care to get him through the episode. They also always sent him home with metronidizole (sp?). The vet said once a cat has pancreatitus, it changes the lining inside of the pancreas which is why it often becomes a chronic problem. She also said that the way to treat it in dogs is to fast them and rest the pancreas. Because of the way cats are built, they cannot be fasted without possible liver damage -- so treating it gets more complicated. At the end of that six months, we were frazzled and a few thousand dollars shorter. At Christmas, we found Bob again in pain and we didn't know what to do. My sig. other thought maybe it was time to let him go because this was no way to live, but I told him I could not think of letting Bob go yet. We took him to the hospital again, he got better and voila! No more attacks for a year! Bob had a wonderful, pain-free year, relaxing on his window. I told you all of this because watching your cat go through such pain can be harrowing, plus the expense and the vet trips -- but they can have long periods of a wonderful life. In case you're wondering, Bob died that next year of cancer. It was not related to his pancreas problems. Good luck with your cat, Rhonda teri wrote: Does anyone have experience with chronic feline pancreatitis? Seamus was diagnosed by ultrasound Feb 1, and has been on torbutrol for the pain since then. He is no better when I have tried to wean him off the pain med. He has a great appetite, no vomiting or diarrhea (soft stools when the torb is decreased), just the signs of pain - hunching, very quiet, not running or playing (he is normally *very* active). This is his first bout with this, and it is a long time to have to see him like this. He is getting 1/2 of a torb once or twice a day before meals, then he will play. I am also concerned about keeping him on the opoid that long. When will he feel better? Teri |
#4
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chronic pancreatitis
"teri" wrote in message ... I am going to start with the small frequent feedings, but every three hours is not going to work on weekdays. I don't think that's such a good idea. I've had the best results by spacing the feedings no less than 12 hours apart- gives the pancreas time to rest and heal between meals. Feeding stimulates pancreatic secretions which tend to aggravate the condition. |
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