Patches and Weight Loss

I took Patches in for his biannual check and he lost a pound.  Patches has IBD that has been controlled with steroids for 4 years now.  He is symptom free but he lost a pound for no reason.  I called to get his blood test results and they were normal.  My vet clinic has a time from 3 to 4 in the afternoon for calls, because of a work conference call I couldn't call until almost 4 so I didn't get to talk to the vet.  I got his blood work results and I am calling again tomorrow afternoon to talk to the vet.

My big concern is that this is lymphoma, either it was always lymphoma and it was kept in check with the steroids or it has moved into lymphoma.  Darn work call, now I have to think about this until tomorrow afternoon.

I'm sorry you're concerned about Patches. You have managed his IBD very well over the years.     So he lost a pound in six months? Is he still eating the same amount? My opinion is that if it was always lymphoma, then you would have started seeing more dramatic symptoms and weight loss sooner than 4 years. 

     

That fear is always in the back of your mind with an IBD cat. :cross: that talking to your vet will ease your mind.

I talked to the vet and she said that the only thing that showed up on his blood work was borderline abnormal for his pancreas.  I know that the general blood work isn't very good for diagnosing pancreatitis.  Since he isn't showing any symptoms we're going to check his weight again in a month.  If he is still losing then we're doing another ultrasound.  It has been 4 years since his last one and I know that IBD even with symptoms that are well controlled is progressive.  

Keep us posted!  

I took Patches in for a weight check today, I know it was supposed to be last month but Alice had her yearly this month so I took them both in at the same time.  Patches is still loosing weight, he is at the lowest point he has been at since he was really sick and had fatty liver.  

He is getting another ultrasound on March 3.  They are also drawing blood to send to Texas A/M to check his cobalamin/folate levels.  He still has no other symptoms.

Alice is getting a dental that day also, might as well drain my bank acct all at once.  

At least you're keeping your sense of humor about this .

I sure hope the ultrasound doesn;t show anything untoward, yet hope it shows something that can be treated, if that makes any sense at all.  Do you weigh everything that he eats?  I weigh Callie's intake every day so i know those days where she eats less than normal.  Plus I add digestive enzymes to her food to try to get her to gain weight.  I know sometimes with pancreatic issues that isn't good, but that's not alwys the case. Have you tried those, or has your Vet advised against them? 

We didn't really talk about Patches, he was a tag a long on Alice's wellness check.  I wasn't even charged anything for Patches.  Since he is symptom free other than the weight loss I am going to wait until the ultra sound is done.  She will call me with the results shortly after she does the ultrasound and she always takes time for questions on those phone calls.  I know digestive enzymes are kind of iffy, they really help some kitties and have an opposite effect on others.  If nothing but the IBD shows up on the ultrasound it may just be a matter of trying them and seeing which effect they have on Patches.

I took Patches and Alice in today and I just talked to the vet.  Nothing showed up on Patches ultrasound other than a little inflammation in the fat around the lymph nodes which is 'normal' with IBD.  The results from the B vitamin absorption test will be back on Tuesday.  She wants me to separate them at meals to get an idea of how much Patches is eating.

Alice didn't need anymore teeth pulled but some hinky things showed up on her blood work.  I didn't have the complete workup done because it hadn't been long since she had it done.  The blood work they did in the office showed high blood sugar and possibly very early stage kidney disease.  I told her to go ahead and send blood and urine out for testing that would discount possible stress induced abnormal results.  They are both almost 12 so I know CRF is a possibility.  She said if it is kidney disease it is in the very early stages and it would be years before it became a huge concern.

:cross: that the full results are good.

I forget the level that they were checking but it was normal.  That means the high blood sugar result was stress related rather than diabetes.  The urinary test results will be back the beginning of next week.

I'm glad nothing too alarming showed up on Patches' ultrasound.

I just heard back from the vet and Alice had bacteria in her urine, she had no symptoms at least that I seen, so she is going on an antibiotic.

Patches results were back and his B12 levels were fine.  His folate level was high.  She said that is often an indication of his gut flora being off so she wants him to go on a probiotic.  Of course she recommended the old standby that vets use fortiflora.  Their office closes at six today so   I am going tomorrow and pickup the antibiotic.  I am going ahead and getting the fortiflora from them to get him started while I get some better probiotic.  I asked about the digestive enzymes and she said she would rather just go with the probiotic for now.  She said that kitties who need digestive enzymes would have some different blood test results then Patches has and they also usually have issues with oddly colored and soft stool.  Since he isn't showing any of the symptoms she would rather not try the enzymes yet.