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Weaning Lucas off prednisolone, question..

post #1 of 15
8/30/11 at 5:51am
Thread Starter 
Hello everyone:

I just wanted top know if someone here has successfully weaned a cat off prednisolone. Please I want to hear from you. I'm in the process of weaning Lucas off it and I'm a little scared because I know it can be dangerous. I need to hear from somebody who has done it.

Lucas has been on it for 2 years now and we are slowly giving him a lower dose and he is doing fine. I went to my local vet yesterday and he checked him up and he was surprised about how well Lucas is doing. he is such a strong boy.

Thanks in advance

Tammy
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post #2 of 15
8/30/11 at 9:59am
Tammy, I don't have experience weaning a cat off pred. But I'm sending that he really IS doing as well as he seems to be!!!!!!
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post #3 of 15
8/30/11 at 12:46pm
I don't have any advise, but I do hope Lucas stays well, with or without the prednisolone!!

Genever's been on 2.5 mg a day for over a year, and every time I try to lower it to every other day, she pukes a whole lot. I just can't lower it any more, not yet at least, and the vet is ok with that.
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post #4 of 15
8/30/11 at 2:05pm
The main thing is to take it very slow. Going too fast can cause a rebound effect which will be worse than the original symptoms that he was put on it for. Even if he can't be completely off of it he may be able to be on a lower dose that will still control his symptoms.
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post #5 of 15
8/30/11 at 2:49pm
Thread Starter 
He is just doing so great on a lower dose, but my local vet saw him yesterday and told me some cats die when they stop getting the pred and i know if I go slowly it won't happen, but God! he scared me, he looked worried and Lucas is doing wonderfully, so I don't get it.

I know you have to go slowly because he has been on it for 2 years and most likely the adrenal glands had stopped producing the pred and if you get him off pred too quickly it is dangerous.

When will I stop worrying? Who knows, he is doing great and he is active and beautiful, but still... I worry....Moms always worry...
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post #6 of 15
8/30/11 at 3:14pm
Does the vet want him to stay on the medication? My IBD cat is on 5mg a day down from 10 a day. I think the vet's plan is for him to stay on it. He had a flare the end of last year with liver disease that could've been fatal.
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post #7 of 15
8/30/11 at 3:29pm
Thread Starter 
Since Lucas is on Atopica and doing so great, both my vets want him to be off prednisolone. My Holistic vet wants me to do it a little faster (lower the dose every 4 days) and my other vet wants me to wait longer (lower the dose every two weeks).
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post #8 of 15
8/30/11 at 3:57pm
I haven't weaned any cats off of long term pred, but would love to hear updates from you on what you are doing and any side effects that you might see.

I suspect once Stumpy crosses, I will be able to wean Muddy off the pred. Stumpy causes Muddy some degree of stress, and its stress that triggers Muddy's chronic condition.

I suspect doing it as slow as possible is the way to go. The cautious side of me would be dropping it by about a quarter tablet every 2 weeks, but I've never talked to my vet on the topic.
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post #9 of 15
8/31/11 at 7:54am
No experience to offer on this, but sending loads of vibes that you can do this safely and Lucas holds his own. Argh - it is always such a worry with our furbabies. Hugs to you Tammy and vibes that Lucas continues on this positive track
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post #10 of 15
8/31/11 at 12:39pm
Franklin gets 5mg of prednisolone every other day to treat IBD. The vet say he will likely be on it for life, but at this low dose the risks are minimal. The risk of IBD returning is greater. It becomes harder to treat successive flare ups.

I'm curious, how much is he taking and why are you interested in stopping?
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post #11 of 15
8/31/11 at 2:21pm
Thread Starter 
He was taking 10mg because of his allergies and he also seems to have some kind of autoimmune disease. Now he is taking Atopica which helps with all kinds of allergies, so the vet's plan is to get Lucas off pred and keep him on Atopica.

the pred hasn't really been helping with the allergies. He has been on it for 2 years and he has been sick all the time. Now that he is on atopica and on low allergen diet he is doing super great.

The vets and I think he doesn't need the pred anymore. But if he can't be off it I will be happy if he can be on a very low dose. I just want him to be ok and if he doesn't need the pred, he shouldn't be taking it. The Atopica is better and it doesn't have the side effects Pred has.
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post #12 of 15
8/31/11 at 4:07pm
Tammy, if he's doing well on the 2.5mg, and you're concerned about lowering or stopping it given he's come down pretty quickly ( ), instead of lowering the dose every 4 days from here, maybe make it every week, or 10 days. Then he still has that small dose, but you're giving his system more time to adjust to being without it.

That's probably what I'd do...something between the suggestions (especially since he IS doing so well, knock wood ).

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post #13 of 15
9/1/11 at 5:26am
Thread Starter 
Yes Laurie, that is exactly what I'm planning on doing For my own peace of mind I need to do it that way. And of course, for Lucas' welll being
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post #14 of 15
9/18/11 at 12:11am
My cat Amber had been on Prednisolone twice a day for 2 years and he was doing great! I had gone to another vet and she said long-term use is not good and that he had developed Cushing's Disease and so decreased his dose. Two weeks later he got sick and VERY fast and within a week of the onset of symptoms, he had to be put to sleep.

I took him back to my original vet that last day and he said he has had over a 100 cats on longterm, twice a day Pred use and not one has ever had trouble and that he did NOT have Cushing's. It ends up he had cancer and the Pred was probably suppressing it, and by lowering the dose, it flared up quickly. That last week was awful!

If it's not broke, don't fix it is my advice! I wish I would have never decreased the dose. The cancer still would have taken him but not right then and not that quick!!
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post #15 of 15
9/18/11 at 6:03am
One of my cats has been on it since the end of last year and will probably be on it for the rest of his life. He had had several bad flares of IBD and ended up with two types of hepatitis one being fatty liver disease. I am okay with keeping him on it because I could never figure out what the trigger was. I know it isn't good to stay on it but I certainly don't want to see him that sick again. I would rather he had a shorter life free of the symptoms. There are different reasons for a cat being put on it and I see lifelong use as a last resort to keep a cat free of symptoms.
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