Reglan Question for HL kitty

Zeesa has been doing fairly well on the Reglan that the doctor gave me. I'm just wondering if anyone knows if there are any side effects to this med, because she seems to be much more sleepy and irritable since I've been giving it to her. For instance, she wouldn't move all day if we don't pick her up and sit with her. Maybe it's just the natural course of this disease... I'm not sure.

Good news is that she has not lost anymore weight... she's maintaining, which is better than nothing, right?

-Amanda

Here's a link where you can check out medication uses and their side effects. I've used Reglan in a couple different cats. It's worked really well and I've never seen any side effects from it, but all cats are different.

http://www.peteducation.com/category...cls=0&cat=1459

This is what it said about Reglan. Metoclopramide is used to prevent vomiting and esophageal reflux (stomach acid backing up into the esophagus) in many animal species. It may aid in the treatment of hairballs in rabbits. It is also used to prevent side effects, such as vomiting, resulting from chemotherapy. Because metoclopramide increases the movement of stomach and intestinal contents, it can affect the absorption of many oral drugs. Contact your veterinarian if your pet experiences constipation, behavior changes, sleepiness, or staggering while being treated with metoclopramide.

Hi, glad to hear your baby is improving. That she's maintaining her weight is a great thing and a big step on the road to recovery!

I use Reglan on occasion with my little girl who has liver disease. I've never seen side effects from it, but I use as little of it as possible, and only when absolutely necessary. From what my vets tell me, it's one of the safer meds available.

If Zeesa's on other meds along with the Reglan, maybe that's compounding her sleepiness. The dosage may be making a difference too - how many times per day do you give it?

It's important to give your vet a call about this. He should be made aware of what you're observing and will best be able to advise you.

I give her .5 of the Reglan 2-3 times a day. Maybe I should cut it down a bit.

It's hard to know if it's helping or not... I think it is but she occasionally will throw up especially after spending some time in her litter box (straining to poop).
We are able to get about 80 mls of food in her on an average day. The doctor said 100 ml is what she should have but between throwing up and our fear of her throwing up 80 mls is about all we can manage. Hopefully my doctor will call me back soon, if not I'll just keep calling and calling and calling...

I give my girl only 1/4 of a Reglan tab 1 -3 times per day, at my discretion - for the last couple of weeks she hasn't had any at all. Maybe your vet will advise you to try a lower dosage - it may help.

I'm surprised she's straining to poop, since Reglan is also a motility drug - if anything, it usually causes loose stools. Ask your vet if you can put a little pumpkin (canned pumpkin, NO spices), about 1/4 teaspoon per meal, into her food. It's already very soft and pureed when it comes out of the can, so maybe it can be tube fed. It'll help get her system "going" again.

Doctors at AMC are notoriously tough to reach, especially outside of "calling hours", which is usually just a 1/2 hour in the afternoon! Glad you're going to keep trying to speak with him. Since they work in teams, you may want to ask for another doctor from that team to call you if your original vet is too hard to pin down.

She's been on the Reglan since Thursday, but she's been struggling with pooping for a while. She strains and then makes one or two tiny little little hard ones... just another thing for me to worry about.

Thanks for all your advice... I'll ask him about the pumpkin tomorrow.

I've used Reglan in the past for my Gabby and it made her VERY irritable--she was a different cat on this drug. It scared me to death! My vet explained that this drug has some effect on the brain which can explain the behavioral changes in some cats when they're on it. Oddly enough, the first time Gabby was on it, she did fine. The other occasion that I gave it to her was when she experienced the bizarre side effects. I've not given it to her since then.

My darling Olivia went to the vet's office because she vomited 4 times in 8 hours, and was given an injection of Reglan. When we got home, this poor cat started acting very unusual, she was walking very slowly as if totally lost and then she was literally crouching down and walking backwards a few steps. She was completely spaced out, would lie down for a few minutes, stretch out rigidly and roll over, and then dart up, walk around slowly, then backwards, then sit down, to floping down. She would stare at her water bowl for 4-5 seconds, unsure of what it was, and would continue this over the next several hours, always unsure of the bowl and never drinking any water. In the meantime she would act very lovingly toward me, and enjoy her favorite activity: being brushed. Then she would space out again.
She eventually developed uneven looking respirations, panting like (80 breaths per minute) and twitching. She would flop out on the floor, it was very distressing to watch this. Long story short, I put her in a darkened room with a tent like place for her to go into to lay down, in order not to stimulate her. She developed a very severe side effect known as "Extrapyramidal side effects" or "EPS". Another medical term also applies here: "tardive dyskinesia".

The vet did not tell me this, he minimized it, ("it will go away in 12 hours"). I figured this out on my own as I am a registered nurse. If your cat is on Reglan, and is not the same cat as before taking the Reglan, do yourself a favor and google "EPS". Your cat could be having mild, moderate or severe side effects. This is a very powerful anti-emetic, this one crosses the blood brain barrier, and blocks dopamine. Also please do some research on the effects of daily reglan ingestion. This can also lead to the EPS as well as tardive dyskenesia.

OMG, I take this medicine! It says it causes sleepiness on the label but what it does for me is gives me extreme thirst.