Possible anemia-Desperately needing support

[iPappy]

HEMATOCRIT UPDATE:

TOSIE’S HEMATOCRIT IS 33.8

I AM SO HAPPY, MY WIFE AND I ARE DANCING AROUND THE ROOM LMAO

WOW!!! That's outstanding!! I'll dance with you too!!!!

 

[anxiousvesper]

WOW!!! That's outstanding!! I'll dance with you too!!!!

Tosie will be getting a spoonful of her favorite food in the word today to celebrate!! Mashed potatoes!!

 

[BellaBlue82]

HEMATOCRIT UPDATE:

TOSIE’S HEMATOCRIT IS 33.8

I AM SO HAPPY, MY WIFE AND I ARE DANCING AROUND THE ROOM LMAO

HOORAY!!!! Oh such wonderful news!!!

As far as poopoo problems, I've found Proviable DC to work well for little Sadie. I also give her B12 to help with nutrient absorption in her tum tum. But yes, always check with the vet before starting!

 

[anxiousvesper]

HOORAY!!!! Oh such wonderful news!!!

As far as poopoo problems, I've found Proviable DC to work well for little Sadie. I also give her B12 to help with nutrient absorption in her tum tum. But yes, always check with the vet before starting!

Luckily the vet was able to get us a probiotic paste really quickly so we’ve picked that up and will be giving it to her tonight! Apparently cats love it because it’s chicken flavored lol. I definitely want her to get another b12 shot at her next appointment because it helped her so much, so thank you for recommending it to me!!

 

[fionasmom]

Thank you so much for sharing the good news!

 

[iPappy]

How did Tosie's mashed potato party go?

 

[anxiousvesper]

How did Tosie's mashed potato party go?

She was very pleased!!! I’ve never met another cat that goes as wild for mashed potatoes as she does

 

[iPappy]

She was very pleased!!! I’ve never met another cat that goes as wild for mashed potatoes as she does

Something about a cat eating mashed potatoes is just so cute to me I hope she's doing well today!

 

[anxiousvesper]

Very happy news!!!

We got Tosie’s results back and her kidneys are great! PLUS we may have finally figured out what’s causing her anemia!!! Tosie’s folic acid levels are very low, which can cause this exact kind of anemia apparently!

She’s been prescribed a folic acid supplement which she will be begin taking today. We’re really hoping this is the answer we’ve been searching for and that we may be able to finally but this whole terrifying ordeal behind us.

We see the vet again in a month, but I’ll update you guys if anything changes

 

[fionasmom]

 

[anxiousvesper]

Sorry it’s been so long since the last update! I kept trying to update on here but for some reason, it wouldn’t let me!

Tosie is amazing!!! Her hematocrit is at 50% and that’s AFTER reducing her steroids. It was a 33% before reducing the steroids. Now she’s on a lower dose of steroids and a daily dose of folic acid for her folate deficiency, and that seems to be what caused her dramatic HCT increase!

The internal medicine specialist is fairly certain at this point that she does not have IMHA (we are all crossing all of our fingers that this is true!!) and that this was all caused by a severe, genetic folate absorption disorder. The treatment of that would just be one easily absorbable folate pill a day for the rest of her life.

She had more labs done last month to check her organs again and everything is in perfect order. Her spleen is no longer enlarged, her heart murmur is gone and she is not anemic anymore. All of her organs are in perfect health!

We take her for another checkup tomorrow to see if it’s safe to lower her steroid dosage even further. Her brother will be coming with her to have his own HCT test, since they believe the folate deficiency is genetic and none of us want this to happen to him if we can help it.

I’m obviously still a little nervous and think I probably will be for a long time… this whole ordeal has been pretty traumatic. I still have nightmares on a regular basis that I’ll wake up to her having gone into an anemic coma or seizure. It’s still scary every time she has to blood drawn…I can’t help but stress about the results before they even come in. I hope this will get better with time.

Right now though, everything is wonderful and really looking up. Thank you all so much for being here and supporting my little family through all of this. I can’t imagine what it would’ve been like without the outpouring of love and support I got from all of you

 

[di and bob]

You are SO welcome! Thanks for the amazing update, there are still miracles out there!

 

[fionasmom]

Thank you for this great update! Please continue to let us know how you are doing.

 

[BellaBlue82]

Such good news!! Thanks for the update. Wishing Tosie and her brother years of happiness health and love.

 

[iPappy]

Sorry it’s been so long since the last update! I kept trying to update on here but for some reason, it wouldn’t let me!

Tosie is amazing!!! Her hematocrit is at 50% and that’s AFTER reducing her steroids. It was a 33% before reducing the steroids. Now she’s on a lower dose of steroids and a daily dose of folic acid for her folate deficiency, and that seems to be what caused her dramatic HCT increase!

The internal medicine specialist is fairly certain at this point that she does not have IMHA (we are all crossing all of our fingers that this is true!!) and that this was all caused by a severe, genetic folate absorption disorder. The treatment of that would just be one easily absorbable folate pill a day for the rest of her life.

She had more labs done last month to check her organs again and everything is in perfect order. Her spleen is no longer enlarged, her heart murmur is gone and she is not anemic anymore. All of her organs are in perfect health!

We take her for another checkup tomorrow to see if it’s safe to lower her steroid dosage even further. Her brother will be coming with her to have his own HCT test, since they believe the folate deficiency is genetic and none of us want this to happen to him if we can help it.

I’m obviously still a little nervous and think I probably will be for a long time… this whole ordeal has been pretty traumatic. I still have nightmares on a regular basis that I’ll wake up to her having gone into an anemic coma or seizure. It’s still scary every time she has to blood drawn…I can’t help but stress about the results before they even come in. I hope this will get better with time.

Right now though, everything is wonderful and really looking up. Thank you all so much for being here and supporting my little family through all of this. I can’t imagine what it would’ve been like without the outpouring of love and support I got from all of you

This is the most awesome news I've heard all day! I'm so happy for you and Tosie!
Still being a little nervous is normal, and IMO not a bad thing. Don't let it make you crazy, but allow it to be a "don't freak out, but don't let my guard down" way of thinking so you can document how she is feeling and take action if needed. I really hope the nightmares subside for you. Those are awful and keep that cycle of fear going.
Sending you tons and tons of hugs!!

 

[Jcatbird]

Wonderful news! I am so happy to hear this! You just made my day. Not only that but you have helped a lot of other kitties by posting all you have learned. Maybe your next dream will be of all the other little lives you have saved by sharing this information here! Wishing you some very sweet rest and dreams.

 

[anxiousvesper]

Hi everyone,

I hope you’re all doing well. Tosie is currently experiencing a bit of a dip, unfortunately. Her HCT is still perfectly normal (it was taken not even a week ago and was 45%) but she has become picky about her food again. She’s also experiencing random bouts of diarrhea and I mean RANDOM!! She will have a perfectly normal poop at 3pm and then by midnight be bolting to the litterbox with diarrhea. We will be calling her specialist in the morning to see what we can do.

Honestly, I’m just coming here because I don’t know what else to do. I’m confused about why this is happening all of a sudden. Her doses of Atopica and Pred have been lowered, so shouldn’t the stomach upset associated with steroids start fading away? She seems very nauseous. She had absolutely horrendous gas yesterday that smelled like rotten eggs and her bowel movements also smell terrible (but they have always been pretty pungent, it’s just worse now and weirdly enough they smell exactly like her Atopic). Her stomach occasionally makes obnoxiously loud gurgling sounds and she is alternating between normal poops to mushy poops to completely liquid diarrhea.

As for her appetite, she’s refusing to eat food unless we put dry food on top of her wet food. Then she’ll eat it without a problem, so long as we continually replace the dry pieces once there are none left on top. This is a bit of an issue though, since she can’t really eat dry food due to the scar tissue left behind from the surgery she had as a kitten.

I know there’s not much you all can do, and I’m so sorry for coming here to rain on the parade…it was so nice to see everyone so happy for Tosie and I feel terrible to bring this news in and ruin it. Has anyone here dealt with stomach upset like this in their cats? Specifically after tapering down on steroids?

I should mention that Tosie had NONE of these stomach or bowel issues before her anemia and subsequent treatment. She was never gassy, always ready for food and was truly the paragon of Perfect Kitty Poops. I know her vet is looking at IBD as the cause for her folate deficiency (and thus, the anemia) but I’ll admit that I’m very confused about how that could be. She had two ultrasounds recently, both showing perfectly normal bowels and organs, with no thickening. She had no history of gastrointestinal issues before this. Am I missing something? I feel like I’m going a bit crazy lol

Also just a little caveat that I feel is hilariously ironic: turns out I am also severely anemic lol. When Tosie was doing poorly I was telling her over and over that she could just give me her anemia and I would take it if she would feel better…well, she certainly started feeling better!! And I am certainly VERY anemic lmfao I think this is a “be careful what you wish for” situation

 

[BellaBlue82]

Hi everyone,

I hope you’re all doing well. Tosie is currently experiencing a bit of a dip, unfortunately. Her HCT is still perfectly normal (it was taken not even a week ago and was 45%) but she has become picky about her food again. She’s also experiencing random bouts of diarrhea and I mean RANDOM!! She will have a perfectly normal poop at 3pm and then by midnight be bolting to the litterbox with diarrhea. We will be calling her specialist in the morning to see what we can do.

Honestly, I’m just coming here because I don’t know what else to do. I’m confused about why this is happening all of a sudden. Her doses of Atopica and Pred have been lowered, so shouldn’t the stomach upset associated with steroids start fading away? She seems very nauseous. She had absolutely horrendous gas yesterday that smelled like rotten eggs and her bowel movements also smell terrible (but they have always been pretty pungent, it’s just worse now and weirdly enough they smell exactly like her Atopic). Her stomach occasionally makes obnoxiously loud gurgling sounds and she is alternating between normal poops to mushy poops to completely liquid diarrhea.

As for her appetite, she’s refusing to eat food unless we put dry food on top of her wet food. Then she’ll eat it without a problem, so long as we continually replace the dry pieces once there are none left on top. This is a bit of an issue though, since she can’t really eat dry food due to the scar tissue left behind from the surgery she had as a kitten.

I know there’s not much you all can do, and I’m so sorry for coming here to rain on the parade…it was so nice to see everyone so happy for Tosie and I feel terrible to bring this news in and ruin it. Has anyone here dealt with stomach upset like this in their cats? Specifically after tapering down on steroids?

I should mention that Tosie had NONE of these stomach or bowel issues before her anemia and subsequent treatment. She was never gassy, always ready for food and was truly the paragon of Perfect Kitty Poops. I know her vet is looking at IBD as the cause for her folate deficiency (and thus, the anemia) but I’ll admit that I’m very confused about how that could be. She had two ultrasounds recently, both showing perfectly normal bowels and organs, with no thickening. She had no history of gastrointestinal issues before this. Am I missing something? I feel like I’m going a bit crazy lol

Also just a little caveat that I feel is hilariously ironic: turns out I am also severely anemic lol. When Tosie was doing poorly I was telling her over and over that she could just give me her anemia and I would take it if she would feel better…well, she certainly started feeling better!! And I am certainly VERY anemic lmfao I think this is a “be careful what you wish for” situation

If it helps to hear from a familiar voice (or text lol) I can say that Sadie's anemia is tied into IBD and malabsorption issues. When she was a kitten her poops weren't completely normal, however after her diagnosis of anemia they did get worse. Regardless of the steroid treatment. I started giving her B12 supplement, probiotics, and every few days food with pumpkin in it as that's supposed to help too.
OH and ironically, she does dip a little when winter comes around!! Like literally right about now. So I typically up her dose a fraction to cover for the colder weather impact. Of course then by spring she perks up again. Totally weird, but that's Sadie lol.

 

[anxiousvesper]

If it helps to hear from a familiar voice (or text lol) I can say that Sadie's anemia is tied into IBD and malabsorption issues. When she was a kitten her poops weren't completely normal, however after her diagnosis of anemia they did get worse. Regardless of the steroid treatment. I started giving her B12 supplement, probiotics, and every few days food with pumpkin in it as that's supposed to help too.
OH and ironically, she does dip a little when winter comes around!! Like literally right about now. So I typically up her dose a fraction to cover for the colder weather impact. Of course then by spring she perks up again. Totally weird, but that's Sadie lol.

Hello again!!! It definitely helps to hear from a familiar voice, so thank you so much for reaching out hopefully her vet will be able to help us figure this out tomorrow when I call her. I’m curious if it’s the folate too. I don’t know if folate is as tough on the stomach as iron pills, but if so, I could absolutely see them contributing to this as well

 

[iPappy]

How frustrating. I hope the specialist has some ideas for you. Make sure and ask what you should do about her food/dry food situation until they can see her or try something new. Hugs for you and Tosie!
Bizarre about the anemia on your part! I've seen things like that happen (and experienced it myself) to believe it's a thing. I can't believe sometimes how we can mirror our ailments, it's actually pretty fascinating.