Late last week it seemed like Lazlo's appetite was off. Saturday, when he wouldn't eat, it was rather obvious. Of course it was the weekend, right? 
Thankfully, we're still armed with anti-nausea meds, the appetite stimulant, etc. Theoretically his ulcers aren't back, because we've kept him on the pepcid a/c daily. We've also kept him on the 5mg of pred since the chemo ended back in January. But, just in case it is ulcers, I put him back on the sucralfate. The thinking was I'd use the cerenia (anti-nausea med) for a week depending on how he did OFF of it, and the sucralfate for two (it healed his bleeding ulcers inside of two weeks the last time he had to be treated).
As re: the cancer (for those that don't know, Lazlo had large cell lymphosarcoma, expressed as a "massive" tumor in his stomach that went into complete remission after a six month course of chemotherapy on which he did REALLY well), typical remission is 9 - 18 months. So this would be early, as he finished his chemo at the end of January. But he also had a very aggressive form of cancer.
AND it could always be something else, just unrelated. :nod:
The good news is he's not hiding, and he's still grooming. :rub: He's sleeping more than usual, but I wouldn't call him lethargic at all.
But he was acting nauseous to a "T." He'd sniff and sniff and sniff the food. He was hungry - but NOTHING smelled appetizing. And I've got quite the arsenal. :lol3: He also was "meatloafing" a lot, another sign of nausea.
So I started him on the cerenia Saturday (anti-nausea medication). It helped. He'd eat, but the only thing that worked was Fortiflora. It was very hit-and-miss through yesterday. I chatted with the vet. She likes the plan, and said to use the appetite stimulant if needed.
So it came to that. I gave him the appetite stimulant (we use mirtazipine). The good news is - it's working. He's been asking for food every 20 to 40 minutes (that's how it works with him at first. Mirtazipine is given every 3 days, and this wanting-to-eat-urgency will slow down, but he'll also start eating more and not just nibbling if he follows the same pattern he had before. :cross: ).
He's eating his food, not just treats. (His treats are freeze dried meat or liver. We have lamb, salmon, cod &chicken, Stella & Chewy's freeze dried raw chicken, and for liver we have chicken, beef, and lamb). His food (not the treats - though the S&C is complete food) does have to be coated in Flortiflora, but at least it's not requiring as much as it was. :lol3:
SO.... we don't have answers, but we have solved a problem.
What happens next? We'll see how he does on Friday without the appetite stimulant. If his appetite disappears, we'll give him one more dose. We'll keep him on the anti-nausea med, and the sucralfate. If his appetite is still non-existant after another dose of mirtazipine, we schedule the ultrasound to have a look-see and see what's going on in there. :cross:
If his cancer is back? I'm not sure. Right now, I'm just hoping this isn't that. :heart2:
Thankfully, we're still armed with anti-nausea meds, the appetite stimulant, etc. Theoretically his ulcers aren't back, because we've kept him on the pepcid a/c daily. We've also kept him on the 5mg of pred since the chemo ended back in January. But, just in case it is ulcers, I put him back on the sucralfate. The thinking was I'd use the cerenia (anti-nausea med) for a week depending on how he did OFF of it, and the sucralfate for two (it healed his bleeding ulcers inside of two weeks the last time he had to be treated).
As re: the cancer (for those that don't know, Lazlo had large cell lymphosarcoma, expressed as a "massive" tumor in his stomach that went into complete remission after a six month course of chemotherapy on which he did REALLY well), typical remission is 9 - 18 months. So this would be early, as he finished his chemo at the end of January. But he also had a very aggressive form of cancer.
AND it could always be something else, just unrelated. :nod:
The good news is he's not hiding, and he's still grooming. :rub: He's sleeping more than usual, but I wouldn't call him lethargic at all.
But he was acting nauseous to a "T." He'd sniff and sniff and sniff the food. He was hungry - but NOTHING smelled appetizing. And I've got quite the arsenal. :lol3: He also was "meatloafing" a lot, another sign of nausea.
So I started him on the cerenia Saturday (anti-nausea medication). It helped. He'd eat, but the only thing that worked was Fortiflora. It was very hit-and-miss through yesterday. I chatted with the vet. She likes the plan, and said to use the appetite stimulant if needed.
So it came to that. I gave him the appetite stimulant (we use mirtazipine). The good news is - it's working. He's been asking for food every 20 to 40 minutes (that's how it works with him at first. Mirtazipine is given every 3 days, and this wanting-to-eat-urgency will slow down, but he'll also start eating more and not just nibbling if he follows the same pattern he had before. :cross: ).
He's eating his food, not just treats. (His treats are freeze dried meat or liver. We have lamb, salmon, cod &chicken, Stella & Chewy's freeze dried raw chicken, and for liver we have chicken, beef, and lamb). His food (not the treats - though the S&C is complete food) does have to be coated in Flortiflora, but at least it's not requiring as much as it was. :lol3:
SO.... we don't have answers, but we have solved a problem.
What happens next? We'll see how he does on Friday without the appetite stimulant. If his appetite disappears, we'll give him one more dose. We'll keep him on the anti-nausea med, and the sucralfate. If his appetite is still non-existant after another dose of mirtazipine, we schedule the ultrasound to have a look-see and see what's going on in there. :cross:
If his cancer is back? I'm not sure. Right now, I'm just hoping this isn't that. :heart2:
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:lol3:
:grphug2:
:Leaf: :sun:
