Ghost has seizures

fionasmom

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I do agree that vets often don't go right to the more expensive meds or the compounds as they possibly do think that they are saving you some time and money but if you think that you need this for the ease of giving Ghost his meds I would ask for them.
 
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Angel7472

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I understand the whole concept but the problem here is that he won't even eat a tiny bit with the meds. He just walks away. If he even smells the meds he WILL NOT take a single bite. He was eating the tuna and now he just refuses. I just tried baby food and he took a tiny bit and as soon as the meds were in it he walked away again.
I've resorted to the syringe because he refuses to eat it. I put all the food up and he still refused. He went over to the regular food dish and sat there. I put the food with meds and he just sniffed it and sat there. There was no eating it at all.
So, I've tried lickable (multiple kinds), tuna, tuna water, and baby food. All was denied today.
I do appreciate the help but at this point I'm going to have to get the kitty bag and dose him that way. I always give him a few treats after his meds just as a reward for taking the meds. This morning I managed to do it myself and he wasn't completely awful. One small step I guess.
 
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Angel7472

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Soooo, here we go again. Ghost has upright refused his meds now. It is a knock down drag out fight. I usually win but it's seriously traumatic now. I called the vet and told them what was happening and was there anything we could do and was basically told "no". I was told to scruff my cat and shove the meds in. I had to explain to the girl what compounding a med is. This is the vet I'm supposed to feel confidence in. I'm not sure I will take any of my pets there anymore.
So, I called the expensive vet and explained the entire situation. They have no ideas other than compounding the medication into something the cat will eat but there is no guarantee if he will actually take it. He does have an appointment on June 2 though. She told me to call at 7:30am to see if there is a cancellation in the morning.
I've tried peanut butter, Fancy Feast kitten food, tuna and tuna water, kitty burrito(holding him down),lickable treats(multiple kinds), and injecting Greenies pill pockets.
Today as soon as he saw the towel he ran and I had to wrestle with him. He then flung his head and kicked at the same time just as I pushed the plunger. The meds went flying out of his mouth and across the floor.
 

FeebysOwner

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Man, that stuff must taste awful! If you can try various compounds, ask about the extended release version that is only required once a day. Maybe a pill form instead of liquid? Also, has the vet considered trying phenobarbital or Zonisamide, instead?
 
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Angel7472

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Man, that stuff must taste awful! If you can try various compounds, ask about the extended release version that is only required once a day. Maybe a pill form instead of liquid? Also, has the vet considered trying phenobarbital or Zonisamide, instead?
Nope. Nope. and oh Nope!
The Dr wouldn't even get on the phone with me. I was told that everything is by mouth. OK? I get that but what good is it if it lands all over the floor?
Didn't give me any options and acted like I was an inconvenience for them. I asked about the compounding and was told "We don't do that". The expensive vet was so much more of a help than this vet.
Soo, quick question. My cats groom each other. If they do this and he has the trans-dermal stuff and the other cat licks his ear would that cat get dosed also? My husband asked me that and I didn't have an answer.
Once a day! Heaven!!! I'm tired, emotional and started crying while on the phone talking to the good vet. She was very helpful but she said that her hands are tied and that she was so sorry she couldn't do anything. Her vet has to lay hands on my cat and I completely understand that.
 

FeebysOwner

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Soo, quick question. My cats groom each other. If they do this and he has the trans-dermal stuff and the other cat licks his ear would that cat get dosed also? My husband asked me that and I didn't have an answer.
Good question! Did you have a vet that you were able to talk to about compounding - or, perhaps, even call a compounding pharmacy yourself and ask questions? Just general questions should be able to be answered in terms of things like your question.

Regular vets don't do compounding, but they certainly can provide a prescription to turn over to a pharmacy that does. Call Wedgewood Pharmacy (Feline Medicine (wedgewoodpharmacy.com), but there are others as well (e.g.; Compounding (vetrxdirect.com), and ask your questions. See if they can give you enough information to direct your vet as to how to write a prescription. .
 

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Soo, quick question. My cats groom each other. If they do this and he has the trans-dermal stuff and the other cat licks his ear would that cat get dosed also? My husband asked me that and I didn't have an answer.
I think the other cat would smell it and know not to lick it.
 
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Angel7472

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I think the other cat would smell it and know not to lick it.
You would hope. I can smell it and it does smell awful. I accidentally got it on the tip of his tongue when we were struggling and he started foaming at the mouth.
 
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Angel7472

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We have a compounding pharmacy that's @ 40 min from my house. But the vet he's seeing wouldn't even give me a script or anything. It was we don't do that. All I said was thank you and she hung up on me.
As I said I have to deal with these people till June 2nd then the other vet who told me about the compounding pharmacy will call a script in and get er done;)
Until then I gotta find ways to get him his meds because if I don't it could cause seizures from withdrawal. Of that I'm sure.
 
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Angel7472

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Vetrxpharmacy.com...Unfortunately, we do not compound Levetiracetam in liquid or as a transdermal gel. If you are able to find a pharmacy to compound into a transdermal you will most likely be administered into the inner ear pinna so no cats can get to it.

So the Wedgewood pharmacy does actually do the transdermal gel and they have a cool little twistie applicator that administers the exact dose. Or even the extended release tablets so I'm not fighting with him every 8 hours.

Got my appointment moved to today!!! Woke up bright and early and called in for any cancellations and they happened to have one:yess:

So going to ask if this can be done and will deal with the liquid as best I can. At last there may be hope at the end of this long ordeal.:woohoo:
 

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sorry about Ghost, but they do like to make the decisions. Okay, sorry that was useless. If the transdermal doesn't work. here are some thoughts

I give Sweet Gum her medicine on a chunk of tuna, not the tuna water, but squished into a chunk of tuna. Yeah, it may not be the best thing in the world for her but it gets the medicine down and without it she wouldn't be walking much so I'm good with it.

I had one with grand mal seizures like Ghost. He was the kind of cat who fought pills to the point where I had to take him in for any pill. period. no discussion there. And I am a person of decades of cat pilling. Anyway, when the seizures started the vet said, you can give him this pill, but he fights so hard the fight could trigger a seizure. After that I didn't medicate him for them, he only had a few more until the day he started training them. He was 17, it was enough. Keep going hope in the next paragraph.

The vet didn't suggest a transdermal (maybe they didn't have them then) or putting the pill on something he liked, they just did that with dogs, since they figured cats wouldn't eat food with a pill in it. Sweet Gum's medicine is a powder I sprinkle on the tuna. Now, if you got the compounding pharmacy to turn his medicine into a powder that tasted okay and sprinkled it on the tuna it might work. If it does stick to whatever kind of tuna - brand, packed in water, or that packed in oil -- you got him to eat. They don't like to change that. Sweet Gum has been eating a chunk of tuna a day for the last 8 years. (ice cube size, I freeze them in ice trays and thaw them)
 
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Angel7472

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He was doing ok with the tuna but then he just started to walk away from it and now he only sniffs it and walks away.
I wish it was easy. This morning my husband was running late and he helped. It went smoothly. If it's just me it's like I need 4 arms. Yes he makes the typical gagging cat noises but he swallows it. It's more in the afternoon he just says no and fights me tooth and nail. If he so much as sees a towel he runs. I had to almost tackle him yesterday afternoon. He got away 2x and I had to grab him. After I got him I put him in the towel, hold his head and just as I squeeze the plunger he kicks and flings his head at the same time so that the liquid goes flying out of his mouth and across the floor.
I was in tears and it takes a bit to get me there.
 
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Angel7472

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So...just came back from the new vet and we are going transdermal. The compounding pharmacy will call me in @ 24hours to set it up. :woohoo:
We are also only going to do it every 12 hours and see how he responds. There's no hard and fast rule about timing of medication with the meds he's on. So since his seizures are controlled and it's been over 2 weeks then we're going to try the 12 hour thing with the understanding that if he has seizures again he goes back to 8.
Can I tell you how relieved I feel rn!!! And better yet Ghost will be a bit happier I'm not shoving something in his mouth constantly!!!
 

fionasmom

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Are you using Wedgewood? Not saying that you have to by any means but they were very nice to me last week about Jamie's new meds for his HCM. They brought a pharmacist to the phone to answer questions for me when I had not even submitted a prescription. We fight Jamie as well with meds. So far one food that has worked, but it might depend on the size of the pill you are trying to disguise, is Temptations Meaty Bites.
 
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Angel7472

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It's Shamrock in Elburn here. That's who they use specifically. The meds I have now is 1ml generic Keppra liquid every 8 hours. This stuff is stinky. My stinky tuna didn't even mask the taste. The vet that he saw originally won't compound. They actually told me they don't do that. So I took him to another vet.
 
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Angel7472

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Welp...bad news. We tried the transdermal meds for the very first time last night and it was super easy. He loved getting petted and ears massaged. But here's the bad...he had another seizure at 3:30am. It wasn't a little one either. It was a full blown grand mal, frothing at the mouth, and wet himself. This time it took him a while to compose himself unlike times before. It was a good 10 minutes before he was fully himself. He was still twitching when he took himself to our daughter's bathroom and laid down on the padded bath mat. NEVER seen him do this. He just laid there while his body had little spasms. I wet a towel down to wipe him up as best we could. He just didn't look like himself afterwards. It was a little scary not gonna lie. It was just different if that makes sense.
Anyway, woke up early and called the vet first thing this morning (even before coffee:lol:). Told her what was going on. She asked if I wanted him seen and I told her that I don't feel that him being seen is going to really make a difference. Just more trauma for him in all honesty. I asked for the vet to call me to discuss dosage of medication and possible going to the extended release tablets or going back to every 8 hour dosing. They may even switch him to something else all together.
 

fionasmom

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I am so sorry to read this. While I don't have much advice, I agree that you are doing the right thing to modify the meds to see if that helps. Seizures are so tricky to control and it seems any number of ways might work...or not.

There are some disadvantages associated with transdermal drug delivery. Although transdermal medications have been employed in human medicine for decades, little research on the subject has been done in animals, so we don't have much idea about whether drugs are actually getting through the skin or indeed having any measurable effect. The amount of a drug absorbed through cats' relatively thick skin is unpredictable and absorption may be erratic (PetPlace)

Just the other day, I found out from Jamie's vet that she does not want him to go onto transdermal meds because of the above reason. I hope that your vet has something new that she is able to try.
 
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Angel7472

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I was wondering about that and whether he would be getting the correct dose. The vet has yet to call me. They said it was going to be a very busy day today since they're down a vet today.
My husband and I already came to the conclusion that since he's doing well on this drug we will be giving him liquid at 8am (before work) and 8pm. I will be doing the transdermal at 4 pm since it's me alone.
I think what he does is he feels a seizure coming on and he comes to us. He was right outside our bedroom door when we heard him. I'm not exactly sure what exactly woke us up but I heard him and woke my husband up and he jumped out of bed while I grabbed a blanket to gently subdue him. He had already wet himself when we found him. So I'm not too sure how long the seizure was going on. My other 3 cats were in a bit of a panic and doing the neck crane thing. I was hoping that if he had another one he would come get us and he did. He knows we'll take care of him.
 
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Angel7472

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Spoke with the female vet this morning already and she thinks the compound for the transdermal wasn't strong enough. The male vet he saw earlier in the same office never called the original vet for the records even though I signed a request and gave them authorization. So he just assumed he was on a certain dose and made the transdermal at 50mg/1ml instead of the 100mg/1ml he was getting by liquid. Either way we are back to 3x a day again. 8am liquid, 4pm transdermal, 12 midnight liquid again. Only because he was doing well every 12 hours on liquid but because a seizure was sparked he needs to go back to the every 8 hours until he's kinda maintained again. That and we paid $67 for one month of transdermal meds that can't be used exclusively. Which makes me mad.
My other pet peeve is that they only go through this Shamrock place and they're extremely pricey! For a 3 month supply of liquid to be givin 2x daily it's $82. If they'd just call in a script to Jewel or something I can use GoodRX and its only $20 for a 3 month supply 3x a day or 100mg/1ml total 300ml bottle.
Sorry just seem to be ranting here.
But on a great note no seizure last night!!!
 
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