stomatitis

Hi. I have been working full time trying to help my little 5 y.o. girl who has stomatitis. She has had all BUT her 4 canines extracted and although the condition has improved a LITTLE, she still suffers gravely. I am very afraid of putting her on long term depo-medrol yet, here we are on her second round. I keep promising myself that I will find a better solution by the time its affects wear off, but have had no luck. We tried the very expensive Atopica, but it makes her very nauseous. She stops eating as a result, so it is not an option.

These are my questions:

1- Should I have her last 4 teeth pulled? Her doctor thought he was doing a good thing by saving them. Because her leftover symptoms are mostly in her throat, he is not certain that it is being caused by those teeth. I've read that ALL TEETH need to come out. I've read that only some need to come out.  HELP!!!! I'm so confused! Has anyone had a similar situation and found a solution?

2- Someone on this forum (Caroline, I think) mentions a miracle concoction by some Texas clinic??? I am trying to find that clinic. Does anyone have any information on this?

3- I've been researching a drug called LDN- 'Low Dose Naltrexone'. It seems very promising. Presently used in humans but also in cats, off-label. Supposedly very effective and safe but difficult to find someone who will prescribe it. Any feedback?

Thank you. I am praying for some answers for our amazing little luv-bug. It hurts us terribly to see her like this.

Mommyto6 said:

2- Someone on this forum (Caroline, I think) mentions a miracle concoction by some Texas clinic??? I am trying to find that clinic. Does anyone have any information on this?

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I believe this is the clinic:

http://www.vetdentdallas.com/

You can PM txcatmom or Carolina for more information.

Sending mega vibes for your kitty!   

Edit : Corrected link to clinic web site.

Hi, Mommy to 6.  Actually, this is the clinic in Dallas that has the proprietary blend of meds....

http://www.vetdentdallas.com/

Similar name to the other one.  If you call, ask to speak with Kelly or Jim.  They are very helpful and can work with your vet long distance and ship meds.

My Lucy uses the meds even though she's never been to Dallas.  They are definitely helping her some...especially after they increased the strength a couple of months ago. 

txcatmom said:

Hi, Mommy to 6.  Actually, this is the clinic in Dallas that has the proprietary blend of meds....

http://www.vetdentdallas.com/

Similar name to the other one.  If you call, ask to speak with Kelly or Jim.  They are very helpful and can work with your vet long distance and ship meds.

My Lucy uses the meds even though she's never been to Dallas.  They are definitely helping her some...especially after they increased the strength a couple of months ago. 

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Thanks for the correction! I copied the wrong link from another thread. I've corrected it in my post.

Mommyto6 said:

1- Should I have her last 4 teeth pulled? Her doctor thought he was doing a good thing by saving them. Because her leftover symptoms are mostly in her throat, he is not certain that it is being caused by those teeth. I've read that ALL TEETH need to come out. I've read that only some need to come out.  HELP!!!! I'm so confused! Has anyone had a similar situation and found a solution?

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I've seen web sites where vets insist that all teeth have to be removed but it seems to be far from sure that that is true. If the remaining teeth show no inflammation how can they be a cause??? I would think leaving the front teeth would make it easier to pick up food. Very, very little seems to actually be known for sure about stomatitis. Just my 2 cents...  

Thank you so VERY MUCH! So glad I found you guys.

I'd also love to hear from someone who's gone this route and has something to share, good or not-so-good. It's a little scary to act blindly without knowing outcomes--if this is an off-label drug with no animal studies, that is.

Thanks again.

There is also a specialized online group of people whose sole focus is the management of stomatitis in their kitties. Posts 4 and 5 in this thread reference it: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/255058/stomatitis

There's another reference I'll send you by private message.

if this is an off-label drug with no animal studies

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No worries there.  Here is what the clinic says about the contents of the meds...

"The medication is a cocktail of FDA approved medicines including an antibiotic, an H2 antagonist, an immunomodulator and several probiotic and nutritional agents.  We use sub-clinical dosing for each of the Rx drugs.  The preparation is free of chemotherapeutic meds or steroids."

If your vet wants to see the exact ingredients, they will send them to him if he faxes back a non-disclosure agreement they send.  My vet knows exactly what is in it.

They are pretty reputable.  This work was started by a renowned veterinary dentist, Dr. Robert Wiggs, who passed away in 2009.  His associates carried on with his work.

If you join the stomatitis yahoo group mentioned above you will soon see discussions of the Dallas syrup.  I can tell you from being a part of that group that for some cats it is a miracle cure, some are helped by it but need extractions too.  And some it does not help at all.  I believe the clinic gives an 85% success rate when that question is asked.  (I only know that as second hand info because I've never asked.)  I sort of went with a member of this forum's recommendation (Carolina.)  Her cat totally went into remission on these meds.  Then when she switched his diet to raw he was able to go off the meds and still be in remission.  My Lucy also eats raw, but still needs the meds for relief. 

1- Should I have her last 4 teeth pulled?

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Forgot to mention, if I were in your shoes, I'd consider this or the Dallas meds.  I'm going to link a great article by a dental vet in Canada.  He says, "As long as these cats have ANY dental tissues in their head, they need surgery, not medicine."  That means the cat needs x-rays done before, sometimes during, and after extractions to make sure that every bit of root is out.  And, yes, all teeth would need to be out if you agree with this doctor's statement.  We don't have a dental specialist in town, but Lucy had extractions behind the canines.  However, x-rays were not used to ensure all the roots were out (though I was told they would be used.)  If we ever live in a city with a dental vet we will probably revisit the extraction option, having x-rays taken to ensure all root matter is out and removing the remaining teeth. 

Here is the article...

http://www.toothvet.ca/PDFfiles/fcgs.pdf

The "conclusion" section gives a good summary...but I enjoyed the whole article.

Also, I just realized your question about "off-label" use was probably not about the Dallas med but the other you mentioned, Low-dose Naltrexone.  I wanted to mention that I have seen this discussed on the yahoo group for stomatitis...so you could probably get some feedback there. 

Wow! I just found all of these awesome responses to my request for help. Getting used to the site. I didn't get any email alerts. 

You are all really special people. I am so grateful that I found this forum.

I did not get the response I'd hoped for from the 'other' clinic and as a result, I'd decided to go ahead with the surgery. 

Holly is scheduled for the 26th of July but I may change my decision once I contact the proper doctors.

Thanks to all of you who care so much.

Will keep you posted.

Mommyto6 said:

 
Wow! I just found all of these awesome responses to my request for help. Getting used to the site. I didn't get any email alerts.

You are all really special people. I am so grateful that I found this forum.

I did not get the response I'd hoped for from the 'other' clinic and as a result, I'd decided to go ahead with the surgery.

Holly is scheduled for the 26th of July but I may change my decision once I contact the proper doctors.

Thanks to all of you who care so much.

Will keep you posted.

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Just wondering what you had decided about the additional extractions, course of treatment, and how your Holly was doing?

I really would LOVE to join the Yahoo stomatitis group but have just spent a WHOLE HOUR trying to create a new yahoo profile so that I COULD ask to join, and yet when I click on the JOIN GROUP square everythinghing now just goes BLACK (before that it told me I had to create a yahoo profile, which I DID!)  It signed me into an old one with an email address I no longer have, so I created a new one, but this is just too damned technically challenging for a 70-yearold!!!!  Geez, why couldn't it just take my CURRENT Facebook profile?  Oh well.  I STILL want to join the yahoo group because I have two cats with stomatitis and would certainly like to know if ythere's something else I can use.;  They get the dexamethasone shots every month and they get lysine in their food and there's a new something I want to try -- I wrote the name down somewhere but it isn't in my brain yet.  It costs $18.00 to buy online so I will get some on the 3rd when my social security money comes in.  I am really disappointed that I cannot connect with the yahoo group, so I hope peoplewho are i that group also  will share stuff on TheCatSite.com's stomatitis group, to which I have subscribed.