Lethargy after an IBD flareup?

christinaroo

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I haven't posted here in a long time, which is actually a good thing! My IBD darling Dutch has been flareup-free for nearly a year, maintaining on 2.5mg prednisolone daily. (I'm so glad she's a good pill-taker!). She had a flareup that started last Thursday, with her usual abrupt onset of vomiting. As per usual, I upped her medication to 2.5mg twice a day, and her vomiting got under control on Sunday. She was drinking water and passing urine throughout the weekend, but we visited the vet on Monday just for safety's sake. She got some subcutaneous fluid and Cerenia for nausea, and or vet did a CBC just to check organ function (everything seems to be fine).

But, she is just not bouncing back the way she has in the past. She's only 5 or so - she's a rescue so we can't be sure. But even though the vomiting stopped on Sunday, she is incredibly listless and isn't grooming well. She will eat her 'kitty soup' if I bring it to her, but won't always finish it. I make her a soup of baby food and limited-ingredient canned to tempt her into eating and to keep her fluid intake up. She's not interested in cuddles or lap time, and seems to just park herself on her chair or in her box/bed. She was more active and engaged during her days of vomiting!

Is it the increased dose of prednisolone? A hangover from the flareup? I feel like I'm overly concerned, but I'm just anxious to have my sweet friendly kitty back. And I know the poor thing is tired of me running over and checking on her every 30 mins, shoving soup in her face :)

Anyone else have experience with this? Thanks in advance, this site is so valuable to me when I feel like this. 
 

goholistic

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How is Dutch doing now? Is she eating enough (to avoid fatty liver)?

That's so great that she hasn't had a flare-up in almost a year! You must be taking good care of her.

I have a cat that has pancreatitis/IBD flares (may be lymphoma, but I never had the biopsy done). I found that when he has a flare, it takes time for the inflammation to go down. He probably doesn't start to fully recover for about a week. You may want to ask your vet about doing 5 mg of pred once a day. I wonder if the larger dose all at once might give the inflammation more of a "jolt" to go down rather than spreading the dosage out.
 
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christinaroo

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Thanks GoHolistic, she did bounce back. It was actually kind of funny since it happened all of a sudden. She was sleeping on her favorite chair and ignoring the world, barely acknowledging any attention, very lethargic. I happened to be looking at her when he raised up her head, looked around, stood up, did a 'halloween cat' stretch (arched back), and decided she was all better. I guess she just needed to sleep off the IBD hangover.

Sometimes I think she does these things just to make me worry, knowing she'll get all the attention she could possibly want once she's done! 
 

goholistic

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I'm so glad she's feeling better!  
  I definitely think sleep is a big factor in the healing process.

Let's hope for another flare-free year!  
 

denice

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I am so glad he is feeling better.  My IBD kitty does the same thing.  He will look like he feels miserable one minute and the next minute he's fine.
 

tizanmi

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Are you able to refill your prednisolone prescription? I am trying to find a pharmacy/vet who has it, with not much luck. My cat is highly dependant on it.
Thank you.
 

denice

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My vet and I gave up on prednisolone the last time the supply situation was this bad, which has been quite some time ago now.  Patches was switched to dexamethasone and has done well on it.
 
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