Prednisolone or....?

daftcat75

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Krista's current vet no longer feels comfortable working with the two or three teeth she has remaining and recommends a board certified dentist. There are only two or three in a very large metropolitan area here. It could be awhile before Krista can get seen. She has roots that are resorbing that may be giving her issue. Her last remaining canine may also be giving her issue.

I know pred cures nothing but can mask more troublesome symptoms. Krista's current vet thinks maybe a low dose of pred would be appropriate for her IBD, which I do not suspect to be problematic in the first place. But...if a low dose of pred can reduce inflammation in her mouth and keep her eating until we can see the dentist, I might be willing to try it with her.

Pros or cons to putting a 15 year old cat with history of IBD, pancreatitis, and liver disease on a low dose of pred for maybe a couple of months?

Thanks in advance!
 

jen

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I had my 16 year old IBD/Pancreatitis cat on Prednisolone. Especially if it is just temporary and under the vets supervision and recomendation. If it will help her then why not. Sounds like it might ease her discomfort a bit. It is also typically used in cats with IBD issues. Long term steroid use isn't good but this won't be long term.
 
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daftcat75

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I had my 16 year old IBD/Pancreatitis cat on Prednisolone. Especially if it is just temporary and under the vets supervision and recomendation. If it will help her then why not. Sounds like it might ease her discomfort a bit. It is also typically used in cats with IBD issues. Long term steroid use isn't good but this won't be long term.
She doesn't really have IBD issues as long as I avoid her sensitivities. I feel like these vets are fixated on her gut when I can clearly see her mouth is bothering her. But if her gut gets her medicine that will help her teeth, then maybe it's the necessary bridge until we can get more qualified hands in her mouth.
 
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daftcat75

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What formulation(s) worked best with yours? Pill? Liquid? Transdermal? Would this replace the buprenorphine I am currently giving her or can she get both? I know these are questions for my vet but they haven't been as available lately as I would prefer.
 

jen

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The buprenorphine question would be one for the vet or someone else on here. I am unsure. But I used pills for mine because I never had an issue pilling her. I only had her on it temporarily to make her more comfortable for a bit until it was time. I love the idea of transdermal but I know in many cases it doesn't always work as effectively. Definitely something to try though.
 
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daftcat75

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Krista doesn't like the "wet willy" (transdermal,) But for bupe, it is so much easier than the buccal. I probably do lose a little dose because I get maybe one smear before her ears close up shop and she wiggles away. But I'd undoubtedly lose a lot of dose to the buccal (down the hatch or down her chin.)
 

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Our guy is 12 and has been on a very low dose for 2 years. We have not seen any negative side effects. He does have IBD, but none of the other issues you mentioned.
Maybe you could ask about putting her on denamarin too, to help her liver if she's not already.
Edit: We also get his medicine compounded. It's a bit more pricey but very reasonable. This makes giving him these medications so much easier, it's compounded with chicken flavor. I have not been brave enough to taste it, but he seems to like it OK ;)
 
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daftcat75

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Denimarin is a horse pill that can’t be broken and she won’t take it. Her liver function tests all look good anyway. I’m less worried about her gut than her teeth. 😿
 

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Oh shoot, I didn't realize Denimarin is that large.
If it gives her relief and is short term, I would try it. She might feel better if her teeth aren't bothering her all around. We know some folks with a small mixed breed dog who woke them up by crying out, scratching at her mouth, and kept them up all night. They took her to the vet and noticed her teeth were bad and got her in to do a cleaning. Every tooth in her head was loose and every single one fell out. This little dog is now playing Benjamin Button and acts 10 years younger than her age, and seems to feel great!
 

PushPurrCatPaws

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a board certified dentist. There are only two or three in a very large metropolitan area here. It could be awhile before Krista can get seen. She has roots that are resorbing that may be giving her issue. Her last remaining canine may also be giving her issue.

I know pred cures nothing but can mask more troublesome symptoms. Krista's current vet thinks maybe a low dose of pred would be appropriate for her IBD, which I do not suspect to be problematic in the first place. But...if a low dose of pred can reduce inflammation in her mouth and keep her eating until we can see the dentist, I might be willing to try it with her.

Pros or cons to putting a 15 year old cat with history of IBD, pancreatitis, and liver disease on a low dose of pred for maybe a couple of months? ...
It may not be all that long before you can get in to see a specialist dentist. Have you tried contacting one your vet recommends yet? Maybe they can get Krista in more quickly. Sometimes you only have to wait 3-4 weeks. Maybe you can do a phone consult with the dentist first: it might be best for the vet dentist to give you advice on whether to give Pred or not, prior to any tooth or gum appointments. I imagine Pred can also mask inflammation in the mouth and on the gums, so you will want to taper it properly before meeting with dentist for the actual visit.

If you are more concerned about her mouth, teeth and gums at this point rather than the IBD, I'd probably recommend consulting the vet dentist.
 

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It may not be all that long before you can get in to see a specialist dentist. Have you tried contacting one your vet recommends yet? Maybe they can get Krista in more quickly. Sometimes you only have to wait 3-4 weeks. Maybe you can do a phone consult with the dentist first: it might be best for the vet dentist to give you advice on whether to give Pred or not, prior to any tooth or gum appointments. I imagine Pred can also mask inflammation in the mouth and on the gums, so you will want to taper it properly before meeting with dentist for the actual visit.

If you are more concerned about her mouth, teeth and gums at this point rather than the IBD, I'd probably recommend consulting the vet dentist.
That sounds like a very good idea :wave3:
 
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daftcat75

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Oh shoot, I didn't realize Denimarin is that large.
If it gives her relief and is short term, I would try it. She might feel better if her teeth aren't bothering her all around. We know some folks with a small mixed breed dog who woke them up by crying out, scratching at her mouth, and kept them up all night. They took her to the vet and noticed her teeth were bad and got her in to do a cleaning. Every tooth in her head was loose and every single one fell out. This little dog is now playing Benjamin Button and acts 10 years younger than her age, and seems to feel great!
That's the difference between stomatitis and resorptive lesions. If she had stomatitis, I'd have every last tooth pulled out of her head by now. But FORLs, we just have to wait for them to go bad because as my vet keeps reminding me, "you can break a jaw trying to pull a healthy tooth." But now that we're down to the last three or so teeth in her head and her single remaining canine, my vet is no longer comfortable doing work with her mouth.

I only get so many chances to medicate this cat and I don't want to waste them on conditions that aren't bothering her.
 
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daftcat75

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It may not be all that long before you can get in to see a specialist dentist. Have you tried contacting one your vet recommends yet? Maybe they can get Krista in more quickly. Sometimes you only have to wait 3-4 weeks. Maybe you can do a phone consult with the dentist first: it might be best for the vet dentist to give you advice on whether to give Pred or not, prior to any tooth or gum appointments. I imagine Pred can also mask inflammation in the mouth and on the gums, so you will want to taper it properly before meeting with dentist for the actual visit.

If you are more concerned about her mouth, teeth and gums at this point rather than the IBD, I'd probably recommend consulting the vet dentist.
I am not at all worried about her IBD as long as I avoid her triggers.

She just had X-ray films done yesterday without the pred. I can call the vet dentist back tomorrow to see if they recommend holding off on the pred. It just tears at me that I have to keep her eating through pain until we can address this.

Fortunately! I found a vet dentist two hours away with a 7:30am consult and exam next week. Miracle of miracles! Every other vet dentist I called had waiting times from next month (Nov 19--I'm keeping that one until next week's tells me I don't need it) all the way out to Dec and Jan. One of them didn't have any consultations until April! That's a consultation. Most of these places are another two to three weeks after the consultation for the procedure, if they determine that one is appropriate. Krista does well with car rides and hotels. I got us a room 10 minutes away from this dentist's vet hospital. We'll stay a couple of nights in case the consultation runs long.
 
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daftcat75

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Her current dr never returned my call about getting her rx for pred. I am calling dentist tomorrow to make sure records requests are being served better than returned calls. I am also establishing a baseline this week/weekend to see what we’re working with before we see the dentist. It will be a wait time after the consultation and before the procedure, assuming he can and will do one. So I have to see if she can do that wait on her own or maybe I stick a feeding tube in her to get us from here to there. I’ve revived her food journal and tracking every gram she eats. I’ve weighed her today and we’ll weigh again Monday to see if we’ve stopped the weight loss or if I need to get even more food into her. Scary times right now. But as long as she still dances over my sleeping body at all hours of the night looking for food or loving, I’ll keep doing my best to do right by her.
 
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