Background: my cat started scratching himself pretty violently when we moved to Florida. We tried herb-based solutions and food switches (in case the move was coincidence with a food change, which is not impossible since we got new food after the move), but nothing worked. Eventually, we resorted to depomedrol injections. That was 9 years ago.
Several months ago, my cat had an unrelated dental procedure, and they did bloodwork to check his suitability for anesthesia (we did the procedure to remove the damaged teeth and it all worked out well, fwiw). They noticed that his blood glucose levels were extremely high, indicating diabetes. After 9 years on corticosteroids, zero people in the room were surprised at this news. I decided to try to combat this by trying alternatives I had not explored the first time (due to lack of knowledge), such as compounded antihistamines. However, within a few months, he was doing substantially worse off. Vomiting tiny amounts of liquid every night at roughly the same time, not having an appetite, and being generally lethargic.
I took him back to the vet for more bloodwork and the vet said there were three notable things:
1. Diabetes vanished (we both expected/hoped for this, as we figured the steroid was the cause and discontinuation would 'cure' him)
2. Markers for Pancreatitis were present (this was from a urine sample actually, not sure what kind of tests they did).
3. CKD was indicated due to high creatinine levels, around 2.6. I understand this is indicative of Stage 2 kidney disease.
I was pretty devastated by this news. We assume that what happened was that the corticosteroid was masking the symptoms of CKD and Pancreatitis by suppressing inflammation (the primary method through which both of those diseases operate), and that discontinuation of it to combat the diabetes had caused those symptoms to surface. I immediately pushed for resuming the corticosteroid, but was meant with some resistance due to the diabetes issue. After some failed trials of oral pred (10 people could not pill this cat, I swear to God) and compounded liquid pred, we tested his blood again right before resuming depomedrol injections. His creatinine levels had risen to 3.5, which I understand is indicative of Stage 3 kidney disease.
The depomedrol injections were not as successful as before for some reason. Before, his symptoms were controllable with an injection every 2-2.5 months. Now, his symptoms were controllable only if injected every 2-2.5 weeks. He also has a strange side effect involving watery eyes (basically huge eye goobers) that form as a result. I have heard this can be a result of overhydration, which I suppose is possible considering he drinks like a horse instead of a cat. The strangest thing of all though is that we reran his bloodwork and his creatinine marker was down to 1.8, which is indicative of early Stage 1 kidney disease.
My vet had no explanation for this, and after searching extensively online, neither do I (which I find really odd because the internet usually has so many different experiences recorded on it that I thought I would have found something). The closest things I can find are mentions that chronic pancreatitis can also cause increases in creatinine and that dehydration can throw off bloodwork greatly (meaning the two original tests showing higher creatinine could have been done when he was dehydrated). However, the vet checked him for dehydration both times and found he was sufficiently hydrated, and I trust him. I've found stories of creatinine levels varying based on treatment, but that was only in Stage 4 cats, and we're talking drops from a creatinine level of like 11 to a creatinine level of 6 with binders and other treatments. Even at his worst test, his levels were never close to those stories' levels.
Has anyone else heard of or experienced anything like this? I would normally just chalk it up to a miracle and be happy, but I'm wary that there is some unknown cause behind this that may need to be addressed.
Several months ago, my cat had an unrelated dental procedure, and they did bloodwork to check his suitability for anesthesia (we did the procedure to remove the damaged teeth and it all worked out well, fwiw). They noticed that his blood glucose levels were extremely high, indicating diabetes. After 9 years on corticosteroids, zero people in the room were surprised at this news. I decided to try to combat this by trying alternatives I had not explored the first time (due to lack of knowledge), such as compounded antihistamines. However, within a few months, he was doing substantially worse off. Vomiting tiny amounts of liquid every night at roughly the same time, not having an appetite, and being generally lethargic.
I took him back to the vet for more bloodwork and the vet said there were three notable things:
1. Diabetes vanished (we both expected/hoped for this, as we figured the steroid was the cause and discontinuation would 'cure' him)
2. Markers for Pancreatitis were present (this was from a urine sample actually, not sure what kind of tests they did).
3. CKD was indicated due to high creatinine levels, around 2.6. I understand this is indicative of Stage 2 kidney disease.
I was pretty devastated by this news. We assume that what happened was that the corticosteroid was masking the symptoms of CKD and Pancreatitis by suppressing inflammation (the primary method through which both of those diseases operate), and that discontinuation of it to combat the diabetes had caused those symptoms to surface. I immediately pushed for resuming the corticosteroid, but was meant with some resistance due to the diabetes issue. After some failed trials of oral pred (10 people could not pill this cat, I swear to God) and compounded liquid pred, we tested his blood again right before resuming depomedrol injections. His creatinine levels had risen to 3.5, which I understand is indicative of Stage 3 kidney disease.
The depomedrol injections were not as successful as before for some reason. Before, his symptoms were controllable with an injection every 2-2.5 months. Now, his symptoms were controllable only if injected every 2-2.5 weeks. He also has a strange side effect involving watery eyes (basically huge eye goobers) that form as a result. I have heard this can be a result of overhydration, which I suppose is possible considering he drinks like a horse instead of a cat. The strangest thing of all though is that we reran his bloodwork and his creatinine marker was down to 1.8, which is indicative of early Stage 1 kidney disease.
My vet had no explanation for this, and after searching extensively online, neither do I (which I find really odd because the internet usually has so many different experiences recorded on it that I thought I would have found something). The closest things I can find are mentions that chronic pancreatitis can also cause increases in creatinine and that dehydration can throw off bloodwork greatly (meaning the two original tests showing higher creatinine could have been done when he was dehydrated). However, the vet checked him for dehydration both times and found he was sufficiently hydrated, and I trust him. I've found stories of creatinine levels varying based on treatment, but that was only in Stage 4 cats, and we're talking drops from a creatinine level of like 11 to a creatinine level of 6 with binders and other treatments. Even at his worst test, his levels were never close to those stories' levels.
Has anyone else heard of or experienced anything like this? I would normally just chalk it up to a miracle and be happy, but I'm wary that there is some unknown cause behind this that may need to be addressed.
