Lactoferrin + L-Lysine healing time?

Hi gang, 

Ok, here's the scoop.  

After 2 months now, I've gone through various antibiotics and one of my cat's eye is still - well,orange (bloodshot) and that opaque hazy look, with reddish inflamed sclera. No eye discharge at all.  Fluorescein stain test - no scratches.  Eye pressure test - no problem, Sight test - not blind.

Vet predication? Virus with 2ndary bacterial infection. 

I have an appointment in a few weeks to see a specialist - Vet. ophthalmologist. 

In the meantime, I'm continuing antibiotic eye drops + L-Lysine + Lactoferrin in his food.  

If this is herpes, or URI related, how long should it take to see a positive effect?   Thus far it's been ~ 2 weeks on L-Lysine (500mg x2 /day ) and ~ 3 days on Lactoferrin (125mg x2/day)

I also put probiotics into his food just to keep him regular I suppose. 

thanks,

Marc

I don't like the sound of your description of the eye's appearance........

I'll give you a couple of reputable Vet Oph sites I have used and bookmarked - with pix.......you can compare. If there are similarities with conditions that require urgent attention, you can take more immediate action

• http://www.northwestanimaleye.com/site/view/226487_EyeDiseases.pml
• http://www.animal-eye-specialists.com/handouts-and-info.html
• http://www.eyevet.ca/index.html#
• http://www.allanimaleyeclinic.com/F...0E0E1BDC2DD6043885256A38004EC56F?OpenDocument

(if you see a possible match, consider taking some closeup pix - use macro camera setting - send to your Vet insisting that they forward to specialist STAT for immediate assessment)

Hope that helps !

Thanks for the links.  

Some of the pictures look quite similar to others, that it's hard to tell.    

My Vet. has seen the cat 3-4 times to try different antibiotics and the eye hasn't gotten worse, nor better.  

The specialist is my only bet right now and there's only one within reasonable driving distance. Appt. 3 weeks from now.  I'm monitoring daily. 

Well, here's an update on my cat's left eye, for whomever is interested or has advice/experience  

I just went to a Vet. Ophthalmologist today and the key points I left with were:

(1) Pressure in left eye is lower than right, yet still within normal range. (R / L: 21 / 13) 

(2) Likely won't need any form of surgery; yet it's Uveitis (aka "They have no idea even if they run blood work, of the root cause") and thereby likely chronic.

(3) Starting with an anti-inflammatory - Prednisolone Acetate Ophthalmic Susp. (1 drop x 4/day, every 6 hrs.) & to report back in 2 weeks. 

I'm calling out for advice because both the office visit $ and the re-check $ was/will be  absurd in my opinion.  Keep in mind, this is Ontario/Canada - we get dinged pretty well here for Vet. services.   

Since it's chronic - this likely means medication (whichever one/combo that will turn out to be) ongoing basis. 

Considering he's been this way with no improvement, nor worsening appearance for over 2.5 months, what if I were to do nothing?

Since the specialist said surgery is likely not needed, nor glaucoma related, then what's the worst case scenario?

He doesn't squint, appetite and playtime are normal, in fact he gets lippy with me if I don't give him his 1/2 hr. play time at night

Strangely enough, specialist said he could see him squinting today: heck I've been with him 3 months, get plenty of eye time, and I don't see it.  

Re-cap:

- First cat; had him for ~ 3 months now, from local shelter. 

(1)Tobradex: 2 wks. - no improvement.

(2) Tetracycline:  2 wks. no improvement.

(3) Ocuflox: 1 month + L-Lysine (until I could see the specialist today).   I've also been giving Lactoferrin for 2 wks. based on suggestions here. 

(4) Prednisolone Acetate Ophthalmic Susp. - to be used for 2 weeks, then give an update to specialist.  Should see improvement in 10-12 days, IF it's the right med.

Edit - When I told the specialist I give L-Lysine and Lactoferrin, he wasn't too excited.  In fact, he said L-Lysine is "ineffective" based on some studies.  Mind you, I've been giving L-Lysine (500mg x 2/day) for a month and it's not doing anything in my case.  Yet, based on the number of people here using it - I'd have to take what he said with caution.

Besides, it was my normal Vet. that sold me the L-Lysine in addition to the Ocuflox.  

Different opinions I suppose. It can't do any harm anyway I wouldn't think.  Plus it should help with potential URI's right?  

I know nothing about eye conditions, hopefully someone who knows about them will see this.  I had seen this at the beginning but didn't post because I really had no experience or advice.  

There are antiviral eye medications as well as anti bacterial and depending on the symptoms a vet may put a cat one one or both....

I have used both lactoferrin and lysine (successfully) for my cat with FHV, but her problem is discharge.  Your description of your cat's eye sounds completely different.  

You've got 2 weeks left on the prednisolone?  Hopefully you'll see some improvement by then.  

I'm afraid I'm not being much help here, either....

White Shadow said:

 
I don't like the sound of your description of the eye's appearance........

Click to expand...

Me neither.

@Marc999, when you say that "opaque hazy look", are you referring to the iris or pupil or....?

If there's no discharge, and the iris and/or pupil has changed in some way, I'd be concerned about something going on behind the eye, such as a tumor/cancer or a retina issue.

Also, is/was your cat on any medications or supplements other than the lactoferrin and l-lysine? Does he have any health issues that were previously diagnosed?

Thanks for all the replies. 

Re: "opaque hazy look".  Looks similar to a reflection from a light shining off an animal's eye at night time.  Opaque may have not been the right word - maybe I'm looking for translucent - around the pupil, not the iris. 

The ophthalmologist thinks it's some form of Uveitis yet to perform any further testing would result in an inconclusive diagnosis.  He thinks whatever it is, will come and go / chronic. 

He doesn't believe any surgery is in my cat's future and he wanted to start with Prednisolone.   There's no damage, pressure is within normal ranges.   

I've only had the cat for 3 months - he's 4 years old and unfortunately I don't have any information on his prior history (he was turned in at the shelter from a family that became homeless apparently).

He does have a level 4-5 heart murmur (that the shelter of course neglected to tell me). 

That's about all I can say. 

The lactoferrin and some probiotics is all me - just suggestions I picked up from the boards here.

The l-lysine was recommended by my regular Vet & the boards here.   But of course after a month of use, the l-lysine obviously isn't the right tool for the issue. 

This study is very scientific/technical, but contains some good information on uveitis: veterinarymedicine.dvm360.com/vetmed/Medicine/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/472780

One thing to know about steroid treatment is that long-term effects of prednisolone can include eye problems, such as glaucoma and cataract (source and study). So while the pred may help reduce the uveitis inflammation, your vet might want to keep tabs on his intraocular pressure. One sign of glaucoma or change in pressure is uneven pupils.

Regarding the image on the right (click to enlarge): This is what happened to my Boo after about a week on prednisolone (uneven pupils). Although the vet is not admitting that the pred caused this, it did slowly go away after stopping the pred and has not returned. I think this is rare, but whatever is rare seems to happen to my cats! 

I looked up feline Uveitis and it can have a wide range of causes including idiopathic.  Hopefully the steroid will clear up the inflammation.  What I read does say that it is a painful condition.

Hmm, I'll keep an eye on the size of his pupils then, for any adverse reactions to the drug.

If Uveitis can be painful, how would a cat let me know? 

He doesn't meow or cry aside from normal call for food or playtime, nor squint that I can tell. No rubbing his eyes either.  

Cats are very good at hiding pain.  It's an instinct left from the wild, a cat that is sick or in pain is easy prey so they hide it.  

Hello folks,

An update on my 4-yr. old male cat with the eye problem:

> 2-week trial run with Prednisolone (eye drops - anti-inflammatory corticosteroid), administered one drop, 4 x per day.   I felt I wanted to ween him off of it, since 4 x / day is just very difficult to maintain for my schedule. I was also seeing some improvement.  The iris and sclera were both much less inflamed.

> Under agreement with my Vet., I then administered Prednisolone eye drops for another 2-weeks, at a rate of 2 x per day.   Stable improvement, no better, no worse.

> This past week, I've begun to administer Prednisolone at a rate of 1 x per day.   It was fine for 2 days, then surprise.......I woke up yesterday morning to find his eye shut.  When I looked at his eye, his iris and sclera were completely inflamed and the 3rd eye was very visible.    He was rubbing his eye with a paw quite a bit, so...

(1)  Gave a 1/4 tsp.sea-salt / 1 cup distilled water eye wash.

(2)  Administered Prednisolone 2 x per day instead of just the one. 

(3)  I also mixed up a batch of 2 x diluted apple cider vinegar and dabbed/rubbed it between his shoulder blades (god knows why I did that - the internet told me to!!)

(4) I also increased the dose of L-Lysine again, back to 500mg x 2 per day. (although whether this is a Herpes case is a complete unknown)

> By this morning, he had opened his eye and is able to keep it open.  Although the iris is inflamed again, the sclera is less inflamed and the 3rd is not showing.  So, improvement noted.

> Will continue 2 x / day of Prednisolone.

Or - do I drop the Prednisolone, and start a full regime of salt water eye wash + castor oil for example (as per suggestion from Dr. Pitcairn's 'Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats'.   Not that I'm advocating this natural remedy but it seems to have some neat ideas throughout.

Comments, or suggestions welcome.  I have no doubt my Vet. will suggest continuing the Prednisolone, perhaps indefinitely.   I am not interested in going back to the Ophthalmologist, since it's quite $ and I have a strong feeling he'll be suggesting another drug in addition to Pred.  The good news is that the Ophthalmologist brushed off the idea that surgery would ever be needed in my cat's case.  

Gee, @Marc999. What a challenging case.    Do we think this is allergies? Or autoimmune? Does it have to be eye drops? What about an oral steroid? I think trying to get to the route of the problem would be helpful in determining what treatments are needed, but I know that's easier said than done. Have you considered going to a holistic/integrative vet?

Marc999 said:

(3)  I also mixed up a batch of 2 x diluted apple cider vinegar and dabbed/rubbed it between his shoulder blades (god knows why I did that - the internet told me to!!)

Click to expand...

You're not crazy. I have done this at the early signs of a watery eye from Sebastian's FHV, and it did help, along with the l-lysine.

GoHolistic said:

 
Gee, @Marc999. What a challenging case. 

  Do we think this is allergies? Or autoimmune? Does it have to be eye drops? What about an oral steroid? I think trying to get to the route of the problem would be helpful in determining what treatments are needed, but I know that's easier said than done. Have you considered going to a holistic/integrative vet?

You're not crazy. I have done this at the early signs of a watery eye from Sebastian's FHV, and it did help, along with the l-lysine.

Click to expand...

Well, the root of the problem is seemingly elusive.  It's not an allergic reaction, since I've given him the same food varieties/brands since I've had him and based on the assessment of the Ophthalmologist, it's a virus.

The Ophthalmologist also mentioned that it's incredibly difficult to diagnose, let alone effectively treat a particular virus in felines, even after identification via extensive blood work or various other tests.  Thus his course of action is an anti-inflammatory I suppose, and let the body fight the virus on its own.   

Now, did he tell me anything new that my Vet. didn't already tell me? No - not really - but at least the drug I was sold, was a different one than I had tried with my regular vet. (Tobradex,Tetracycline,Ocuflox).

I did see improvements while dosing @ 4 x per day and improvement leveled off at 2 x per day.   Both for 2 week periods.

Yet, I think dropping the dose to 1 x per day may have just shocked the body, while the virus was still on the mend.  

My purpose in dropping the dose was two-fold.  One I don't think it's healthy for long-term use?

Two - I don't have the time to continue dosing @ 4 x per day.  6 a.m., come home @ noon, 6 p.m., midnight. That's just bonkers.

I'll scout around for a holistic Vet. Considering there's at least 1.5 dozen Vets in town, you'd think one would be open to alternative treatments.