Experieces With Weening Off Pred

[psychomama]

Psycho has been on Pred since April for suspected IBD. He started at 10 mls per day and is now at 2.5 mls per day. No symptoms have returned , his main ones being imtermitent vomiting and inappetance.
His weight was 11.6 in April and escalated to 12.8 at his highest ;right now he s at 12.4.
I have 2 quetions -
Do cats have water weight gain with Pred? and
Is it normal to see some drop in weight as he is weened off the meds?
His appetite is good ,he s just eating less. Weather may be a factor as we started in the spring and now it s 90 here and humid.
Any feedback would bevappreciated.

 

[Kieka]

Please, talk with your vet about weaning off the medication. Or get a second opinion from a different vet if your vet is reluctant to wean him off it.

The vet should be able to give you a better idea of what to expect. I would imagine that the weight gain is a result of the medication. But if it's because he is eating well and the medicine is maintaining that or it is water weight I am not sure.

 

[denice]

My IBD cat was on Pred for 7 1/2 years for IBD. He was weaned down to 2 1/2 mg and began loosing weight so we went back to 5 mg a day. Some cats can't be weaned completely off of it. My cat's flairs were also vomiting, anorexia and he was prone to constipation. Weight is usually what is watched closely but there is also a blood test for B12 and folate levels. Measuring those levels is a good indicator of how nutrients are being absorbed in the intestines.

 

[psychomama]

Please, talk with your vet about weaning off the medication. Or get a second opinion from a different vet if your vet is reluctant to wean him off it.

The vet should be able to give you a better idea of what to expect. I would imagine that the weight gain is a result of the medication. But if it's because he is eating well and the medicine is maintaining that or it is water weight I am not sure.

Everything we ve done is under the Vets supervision to include the initial dosage to the timing of the lowered doses. I have been in constant contact with the Vet letting him know how he s doing.
I just wanted some experiences of those who have dealt thevweening process.

My IBD cat was on Pred for 7 1/2 years for IBD. He was weaned down to 2 1/2 mg and began loosing weight so we went back to 5 mg a day. Some cats can't be weaned completely off of it. My cat's flairs were also vomiting, anorexia and he was prone to constipation. Weight is usually what is watched closely but there is also a blood test for B12 and folate levels. Measuring those levels is a good indicator of how nutrients are being absorbed in the intestines.

He

My IBD cat was on Pred for 7 1/2 years for IBD. He was weaned down to 2 1/2 mg and began loosing weight so we went back to 5 mg a day. Some cats can't be weaned completely off of it. My cat's flairs were also vomiting, anorexia and he was prone to constipation. Weight is usually what is watched closely but there is also a blood test for B12 and folate levels. Measuring those levels is a good indicator of how nutrients are being absorbed in the intestines.

That s interesting you bring up weight because with this last ween the Vet asked me to weigh him and let him know his weight now and then again in 3 weeks before another ween. I fear lymphoma but that has not even been brought up by my Vet.

 

[Kieka]

Everything we ve done is under the Vets supervision to include the initial dosage to the timing of the lowered doses. I have been in constant contact with the Vet letting him know how he s doing.
I just wanted some experiences of those who have dealt thevweening process.

Yay! We've had people try to wean without vet supervision so I am leery when it isn't stated in the initial post.

 

[1 bruce 1]

In the past 8 1/2 months, we've gone from anywhere between 1ML a day to .5ML two/three times a week, depending on his symptoms and severity.
It's such a crapshoot.
(Pardon the pun, ours is prone to constipation too...)

 

[LTS3]

I just got Leroy off pred. His IBD hasn't flared up since His weight hasn't changed.

Hot weather can cause any cat to not eat much.

 

[psychomama]

Yay! We've had people try to wean without vet supervision so I am leery when it isn't stated in the initial post.

I understand you never know. I would never do that for fear of harming him. We have a wonderful Vet who I trust. I will do what he suggests. Thank you. I appreciate your concern for my baby.

 

[psychomama]

I just got Leroy off pred. His IBD hasn't flared up since His weight hasn't changed.

Hot weather can cause any cat to not eat much.

How long was he on Pred and what were his symptoms? At his highest weight on Pred he was 12.8 back in June he s now 12.4

 

[LTS3]

He was on pred for 7 months. His IBD symptoms were frequent clear vomiting and weight loss. We discovered early on that chicken caused an IBD flare up with soft poop / diarrhea and an upset tummy. He weighed 9 lbs at diagnosis. Normal weight is 10 lbs.

 

[silkenpaw]

Has Psycho had an ultrasound or a bowel biopsy? My cat has biopsy/documented IBD and she's still on prednisolone 5 mg every 3 days. My vet has never mentioned trying to wean her off it completely.

I don't know about water retention in cats on steroids. I've always been told cats are relatively resistant to steroid side effects such as diabetes, so maybe they don't retain water, either. My own cats have actually urinated a lot more than usual when on prednisolone.

No, I would not want to see weight loss as you are weaning meds.

Psycho appears to be on liquid medicine. Just out of curiosity, is it prednisone or prednisolone? Do you have the medication compounded? How many mg is in 10 ml? And how do you get him to take 10 ml (or even 5 ml) of that nasty tasting stuff? He must be a very patient cat. I have to hide the pills in pill pockets and shove them down Bassie's throat.

Good luck with your Psycho. I hope he does well.

 

[1 bruce 1]

LTS3 I'm happy to hear of your successes!!!

psychomama I hope things go well for your kiddo =)

 

[psychomama]

Has Psycho had an ultrasound or a bowel biopsy? My cat has biopsy/documented IBD and she's still on prednisolone 5 mg every 3 days. My vet has never mentioned trying to wean her off it completely.

I don't know about water retention in cats on steroids. I've always been told cats are relatively resistant to steroid side effects such as diabetes, so maybe they don't retain water, either. My own cats have actually urinated a lot more than usual when on prednisolone.

No, I would not want to see weight loss as you are weaning meds.

Psycho appears to be on liquid medicine. Just out of curiosity, is it prednisone or prednisolone? Do you have the medication compounded? How many mg is in 10 ml? And how do you get him to take 10 ml (or even 5 ml) of that nasty tasting stuff? He must be a very patient cat. I have to hide the pills in pill pockets and shove them down Bassie's throat.

Good luck with your Psycho. I hope he does well.

Has Psycho had an ultrasound or a bowel biopsy? My cat has biopsy/documented IBD and she's still on prednisolone 5 mg every 3 days. My vet has never mentioned trying to wean her off it completely.

I don't know about water retention in cats on steroids. I've always been told cats are relatively resistant to steroid side effects such as diabetes, so maybe they don't retain water, either. My own cats have actually urinated a lot more than usual when on prednisolone.

No, I would not want to see weight loss as you are weaning meds.

Psycho appears to be on liquid medicine. Just out of curiosity, is it prednisone or prednisolone? Do you have the medication compounded? How many mg is in 10 ml? And how do you get him to take 10 ml (or even 5 ml) of that nasty tasting stuff? He must be a very patient cat. I have to hide the pills in pill pockets and shove them down Bassie's throat.

Good luck with your Psycho. I hope he does well.

He did not have any diagnostics. His symptoms were bile pukes and hair balls with some appetite loss. My Vet said even with diagnostics we would most likely do Pred anyway so we didnt put him through it.
He s on Prednisolone and I have it compounded into a tuna flavored liquid. I had it done 10x the strength so he only gets a small amount of liquid. 2.5 ml is 0.05 cc. Every time we decrease the dosage I get nervous. Hopefully he ll keep his weight on. Thank you for you well wishes

 

[psychomama]

He was on pred for 7 months. His IBD symptoms were frequent clear vomiting and weight loss. We discovered early on that chicken caused an IBD flare up with soft poop / diarrhea and an upset tummy. He weighed 9 lbs at diagnosis. Normal weight is 10 lbs.

How is your kitty doing?

 

[psychomama]

LTS3 I'm happy to hear of your successes!!!

psychomama I hope things go well for your kiddo =)

Thank you. Best of luck with your kitty !

 

[1 bruce 1]

He did not have any diagnostics. His symptoms were bile pukes and hair balls with some appetite loss. My Vet said even with diagnostics we would most likely do Pred anyway so we didnt put him through it.
He s on Prednisolone and I have it compounded into a tuna flavored liquid. I had it done 10x the strength so he only gets a small amount of liquid. 2.5 ml is 0.05 cc. Every time we decrease the dosage I get nervous. Hopefully he ll keep his weight on. Thank you for you well wishes

Our vet kind of said the same thing. Diagnostics will confer what the problem was, but he was a textbook case and said diagnostic scoping would be fine but not really necessary as the treatment for the symptoms and the actual disease are so similar.
Our guy gets compounded pred too. He likes chicken best! What we don't do...
Unfortunately our compounding pharmacy is in seriously high demand due to their excellence and sometimes we can call on a Wednesday and it won't be ready til Monday afternoon, so we do keep a bottle of the "icky" pred from the vets on hand for emergencies (much to his distaste...)
How much do you decrease the dosage by, and how often? When we decrease, we go about 1/2 ML at a time, which equates to about 1/2 a drop. If his symptoms increase, we up it for a few days. We usually drop down that single drop and wait a few days and watch, and if all is well, drop down a bit more. If it gets worse, we increase. It waxes and wanes.
Currently he's getting about .6 or .7 ML per day. Bad days we increase to up to 1 (he also has asthma, and if his asthma flares up he's gotten up to 3 ML in a single sitting) and good days it's .5 or .6.

 

[psychomama]

Our vet kind of said the same thing. Diagnostics will confer what the problem was, but he was a textbook case and said diagnostic scoping would be fine but not really necessary as the treatment for the symptoms and the actual disease are so similar.
Our guy gets compounded pred too. He likes chicken best! What we don't do...
Unfortunately our compounding pharmacy is in seriously high demand due to their excellence and sometimes we can call on a Wednesday and it won't be ready til Monday afternoon, so we do keep a bottle of the "icky" pred from the vets on hand for emergencies (much to his distaste...)
How much do you decrease the dosage by, and how often? When we decrease, we go about 1/2 ML at a time, which equates to about 1/2 a drop. If his symptoms increase, we up it for a few days. We usually drop down that single drop and wait a few days and watch, and if all is well, drop down a bit more. If it gets worse, we increase. It waxes and wanes.
Currently he's getting about .6 or .7 ML per day. Bad days we increase to up to 1 (he also has asthma, and if his asthma flares up he's gotten up to 3 ML in a single sitting) and good days it's .5 or .6.

Which pharmacy do you use? We use BCP in Houston. We started at 1 ml per day and now we re at 2.5 per day.

 

[1 bruce 1]

Which pharmacy do you use? We use BCP in Houston. We started at 1 ml per day and now we re at 2.5 per day.

A very small family owned pharm in our area.
They're amazing and compounding is wonderful to help them accept medications!!!

 

[silkenpaw]

I guess the biopsy was to make sure it wasn't lymphoma. Luckily, it wasn't

Thank you for the details of your meds. I'm glad Psycho isn't really getting two tablespoons of prednisolone per day

 

[LTS3]

How is your kitty doing?

My cat is doing fine now that the IBD is under control.