Hi everyone, my 11 year old domestic long hair Yoshi was just diagnosed last night with either having small cell GI lymphoma (75% probability) or IBD + polycystic kidney disease (25% probability). I was hoping that someone could tell me their experiences with IBD and lymphoma, and if anyone could give me hope that she has IBD and not lymphoma.
Yoshi has been sick for about 2-3 months now. What started with diarrhea progressed to vomiting constantly and not eating. She had multiple blood tests, urinalysis, and ultrasounds done but nothing showed up being abnormal. I started treating her as if it was a dietary issue but no food helped change her diarrhea.
A few days ago the vomiting got even worse and she refused to eat anything. I took her to the vet yesterday to get fluids and gave them permission to run more tests. They did another urinalysis (came back normal), another blood test (came back normal), checked her kidney enzymes (came back normal), and finally did another ultrasound and took some x-rays. The ultrasound showed that her kidneys were abnormally shaped (this was noted before as well with her previous ultrasound, but since her kidney enzymes are normal the vets didn't look much into it), and one big change since the last ultrasound: her intestinal wall had thickened significantly. They thought that maybe they had missed this in the last ultrasound, or it just developed very fast.
So this leaves two diagnoses really: lymphoma, or IBD + polycystic kidney disease. Her abnormally shaped kidneys could be because of the lymphoma attacking her kidneys and changing their structure, or from the polycystic kidney disease. I know that the only way to get a firm diagnosis is with a biopsy, but the vets really don't want to do that with her because it's invasive, she's an older cat, and they believe her kidney issues would cause complications. Even with a proper diagnosis, she wouldn't be able to undergo chemotherapy because the damage to her kidneys will be rapid, and the chemo wouldn't really give her a better chance of surviving for a long time. It's also a very stressful and expensive process, and I don't want to have her last months (if it's lymphoma) with that much stress.
So the vet believes it is more likely to be lymphoma, based on the structure of her kidneys and her symptoms. BUT there is still the chance that it is IBD. What we're doing now is giving her anti-nausea medication, an appetite stimulant, and Prednisone. Basically the plan is to continue to try to get her to eat, give her the meds, and hope we can extend her life for as long as possible, as long as she is still happy.
Obviously I'm hoping that it is IBD and not lymphoma. Does anyone have any thoughts? I know that the chance of it being lymphoma is much higher, but I can still hope that she has years left with us. She's still at the vet getting fluids, but she ate a little bit and hasn't thrown up since yesterday afternoon (a big improvement). I got to visit her and she seemed very lively, cuddling, purring, meowing at everyone for attention. She did not look like a dying cat.
Thanks for reading, and hopefully someone can give me some insight about her condition. Even if you just have to be honest and reassure me that it is lymphoma, I would just like to hear some people's stories and opinions.
Yoshi has been sick for about 2-3 months now. What started with diarrhea progressed to vomiting constantly and not eating. She had multiple blood tests, urinalysis, and ultrasounds done but nothing showed up being abnormal. I started treating her as if it was a dietary issue but no food helped change her diarrhea.
A few days ago the vomiting got even worse and she refused to eat anything. I took her to the vet yesterday to get fluids and gave them permission to run more tests. They did another urinalysis (came back normal), another blood test (came back normal), checked her kidney enzymes (came back normal), and finally did another ultrasound and took some x-rays. The ultrasound showed that her kidneys were abnormally shaped (this was noted before as well with her previous ultrasound, but since her kidney enzymes are normal the vets didn't look much into it), and one big change since the last ultrasound: her intestinal wall had thickened significantly. They thought that maybe they had missed this in the last ultrasound, or it just developed very fast.
So this leaves two diagnoses really: lymphoma, or IBD + polycystic kidney disease. Her abnormally shaped kidneys could be because of the lymphoma attacking her kidneys and changing their structure, or from the polycystic kidney disease. I know that the only way to get a firm diagnosis is with a biopsy, but the vets really don't want to do that with her because it's invasive, she's an older cat, and they believe her kidney issues would cause complications. Even with a proper diagnosis, she wouldn't be able to undergo chemotherapy because the damage to her kidneys will be rapid, and the chemo wouldn't really give her a better chance of surviving for a long time. It's also a very stressful and expensive process, and I don't want to have her last months (if it's lymphoma) with that much stress.
So the vet believes it is more likely to be lymphoma, based on the structure of her kidneys and her symptoms. BUT there is still the chance that it is IBD. What we're doing now is giving her anti-nausea medication, an appetite stimulant, and Prednisone. Basically the plan is to continue to try to get her to eat, give her the meds, and hope we can extend her life for as long as possible, as long as she is still happy.
Obviously I'm hoping that it is IBD and not lymphoma. Does anyone have any thoughts? I know that the chance of it being lymphoma is much higher, but I can still hope that she has years left with us. She's still at the vet getting fluids, but she ate a little bit and hasn't thrown up since yesterday afternoon (a big improvement). I got to visit her and she seemed very lively, cuddling, purring, meowing at everyone for attention. She did not look like a dying cat.
Thanks for reading, and hopefully someone can give me some insight about her condition. Even if you just have to be honest and reassure me that it is lymphoma, I would just like to hear some people's stories and opinions.