Anyone ever had a good experience with steroid shots? Lucy got one for her stomatitis.

[txcatmom]

It can have SO many triggers.

This is so true.  All the reading and research I've done have left me totally drained.  You can't really pursue every possibility.  There are too many.  Just the number of supplements that could help makes my head spin.

The original vet we chose for Lucy thought it was very important to do a biopsy while they had her under for the extractions.  There are different types of stomatitis and she wanted to know exactly what we were dealing with (and I believe some are not immune mediated.) 

Sadly the vet we had so much hope in had to leave her practice because she found out she had cancer about a month after we met her.  Her partner took over.  Though he has a good heart and I'm sure is competent in many ways, he was not as thorough as the vet we chose.  He did NOT do the biopsy or the x-rays that are essential for determining that all the root was removed.  I signed an estimate that included those things and fully expected they would be done.  We'll never know how the surgery would have turned out with the excellent technique that is required.  I just have to hope that there is some benefit to having most of the teeth out (those areas do look better.) And maybe he got lucky and got all the roots.  Wish we had that biopsy, though.

 

[carolina]

Oh no.... But if you paid for the biopsy, can't you demand it? Yeah, my understanding is that a successful extraction for stomatitis will have x-rays done during the procedure, as you can't leave even a tiny piece of root inside. Cats' roots are extremely brittle for some reason.... On my talks with Bugsy's dentist, he said it is a difficult procedure, not like the regular extractions you would do in a "normal" cat - it is more extensive, precise, per se. They need to extract the teeth very carefully, and clean each cavity very very well.
But at the same time, he had told me it doesn't work on all the cases even if 100% done right. That it might and it might not work - it is a shot on the dark. It works for a lot of cats..... but for a lot it doesn't.
Unfortunately there is a lot to be known about stomatitis. There isn't ONE answer, THE answer. It is one of those diseases that each cat is an individual cat, and what works amazingly well for one, might not do squat for another
It is a pest of a disease.

 

[txcatmom]

But if you paid for the biopsy, can't you demand it?

I just okayed the estimate but didn't pay for it.  It was when the bill was much lower than I expected that I realized that the x-rays and biopsy were left out.  They'd have to put her under again to do the biopsy now, so we'll pass on it for now. 

 

[fluffypurrcat53]

 I am sorry that you are facing this STomatis, I think it is the root of the problem that has been the misery of my cat Karl Kat. He was a rescue in 2008, and suffering from severe STomatis then, and an abcess on his lower jaw and neck. He was a skinny 7 pds. He would have lived another week or two at the most before dying of starvation. He was young, perhaps 3 years old and never a mean bone in his body, a deserted or lost pet.

          After treating his abcess which was the worst the vet had ever seen, being tested for Leukemia which was negative, being neutered, he was quickly adopted into my family of either other cats.This was in the summer of 2008. He went to the vet for his stomatitis and the vet thought the calcivirus responsible. It was thought his best chance was taking clindamycin a nasty tasting bitter antibiotic and getting shots of steroids that lasted about 4-6 weeks and the pain came back with a vengeance each time.

           Saving up money to remove his infected teeth was his only hope. He had his first tooth removal, all his molars upper and lower removed in one session. They were so bad, many broke off into pieces. The cost was slightly more than $500.00. If I had known then what I knew later, I would have insisted they remove his canines even though they looked healthy. ( all teeth need to be removed and very deep so no tissue of the virus remains.) He did fine for awhile and could eat what ever he wanted, He was very healthy for about 5 months needing no shots at all and blossomed into a 14 pd beautiful boy.This was the summer of 2011 to Jan of 2012. No steroids that whole time. By January 2012, the pain was back and he went back and got another steroid shot, but two weeks later he was still in pain, drooling terribly and allways on the clindamycin, he looked bad and felt bad, Every two weeks from January to May he had steroids and they just were not working. He only had one choice left, remove his four canines, In June 2012, three canines were removed, the lower left looked good so the vet left it, bad choice, but I had no say in the matter, he never recovered from those three canines being removed, he looked like he would die, terrible pain, having to take liquid Torb every day, and hiding and looking for a place to hide. His one remaining canine also was poking into the empty socket where a tooth had been and was getting infected.

   I begged the vet to take this tooth out or at least file it down. In Late August he went in or would die, and the last tooth was not filed, but taken out. He looked the worst I had ever seen him. The vet put him on liquid prednisone, saying he would have to stay on it the rest of his life most likely. But by late Sept, he looked good, the best I had seen him in a long time and I know the danger long term steroid use can have and quit giving it to him. He looked good all of Oct, Nov, Dec, and early January 2013. By Feb, or March 2013, I noticed he was losing weight but I thought no steroids he is just a normal weight for once, about 10 pds not 13-14 pds. My hubby watched him grow thinner and said take him to the vet. My hubby is good at noticing things like that before I do.

             End of April I had to admit he was losing too much weight. So he went to the vet and the vet thought he looked normal and good, but the fact he had lost 2-3 lbs since his tooth extractions more than 6 months ago was a bad sign, he said he thought either kidney disease or cancer. So I paid for a full blood panel and waited for the results. Three days later I got the bad news, kidney disease and not early either, probably a result of long term steroid use. Worse then this though was a severe blood disorder, he was SEVERELY anemic. On May 6th, 2013, his HCT was 10.5, and he retested, thinking it may be wrong. but it was not, On May 10th it had dropped another half point, to 10. He had almost no red blood cells or white blood cells, He was given a sentence of a Terminal disease. possibly cancer or the kidney disease as a result, all due to the use of steroids. I would not give up on my boy, and the vet said he had non regenerative anemia, the kind that is auto immune, his own body destroying his own blood cells just like the auto immune disease, Stomatitis. He was started on Procrit to stimulate the kidneys into making new red blood cells, given anitibiotics and steroids again, anything and everything to help him get better, not to cure the kidney disease but he need not die from anemia, and cats can live for years with kidney disease, ( I have another cat almost 19 who was diagnosed 3 years ago and has no anemia.) Despite Procrit and a good diet, on May 20th, his HCT had dropped down to 9, it could not go much lower. He was still eating, still able to jump, he looked like a healthy cat, but had gotten skinnier, He weighed  8 lbs 12 oz on May 20th, by June 10th, he was 7 lbs plus.

        By June 3rd, he had lost his appetite to where I had to assist feed him by syringe, I wish I had started sooner, I was giving him 30 ML every 2-3 hrs and at least once from the period of midnite to 6 am. He still drank water eagerly and was grooming himself. He had slowed down a lot, played no more, he was quiet and just slept or lie arouond watching the other cats play. By June 9th, he looked the worst I had seen him since his rescue. He was having trouble keeping his food down, and his fur was getting scruffy, his eyes still had a spark of life.That same day, June 9th, a Sunday, he was having trouble walking, unsteady on his feet and had been hiding in new spots where I had to find him, afraid he would crawl off and die. On the 10 of June he had a surge of energy and was able to make a high jump I had not seen in weeks, I thought he was turning the corner, Then on the night of June 11th, he began the downward spiral. that he could not come out of. By the morning of June 12th, he was so weak, he wobbled as he walked and I had to support his skeletal frame. He cried out in pain after walking to the litter box, It was a cry I had never heard before. My heart was breaking, He could no longer keep any food in his stomach, even with medicine. The very worst part was when I looked into his eyes, there was a blank stare, not the look that says, here is my cat, It was an empty painful look.

                       I told my husband it was time to take our baby in, only 8 years old and his body could take no more, the anemia was that severe, he was in the process of dying, his body was shutting down. We cried as we sat with our baby and they gave him the shot to make him drift off to sleep before he got the shot that would take him out of his painful body that was failing him. I am 100% sure that this all came about as a result of the steroid use, What else could I do, it was either let this sweet boy suffer an agonizing death  from the severe stomatis that he had when I rescued him, ( so severe, he could not even eat. ) or give him the steroids that would help him temporarily live the life of a normal cat. my cat had almost five years with us, and out of those five years, he had been in pain most of the time, had all his teeth , molars included removed, but if  the canines  had been removed at the same time as his molars, perhaps he would be alive now, but that is just a possibility . Steroid use was off and on for 4 years, with injections at the start every 6 weeks, for a period of at least a year till the first dental procedure. Steroids are never good, but sometimes you have no other options so it is as others will say, it is the quality of life, not the length of life. In my cats case, he had some good times where he looked like a normal cat and got to act like a normal cat, but he had more pain in his life then I think he deserved.

           I know this is NOT what you were asking for, you wanted positive stories , well he had some positive times, one timeframe was five months of complete freedom of pain from the stomatitis, no injections of steroids, no pills or anything. But these were the exception to the rule, Even with all his teeth removed, he never had complete relief. Everything was temporary , at least in his account. Perhaps if all his teeth had been removed at one time, he would have survived and would be here now. but that is not what happened. I am telling you this, because if I can save one more cat from having to go through what my sweet boy did, it is a story worth telling. If I had to do this all over again, I really do not know what I would do. Would I take the few months or years of happiness with my boy, even though I know his life is going to be cut short? If I do not, I will have no life with my cat, he would have been euthanized more than 4 years ago.

                Steroids may be a lifesaver in the short run, but for the long term use, they are a disaster waiting to happen. Untill more is known about this deadly disease, there is not much we can do , except to use steroids, have teeth removed, improve the diet and try to take as many immune suppressing agents in the environment out of the home, such as cleaners, etc. I wish you well and hope that you get good advice and have good success for your cat whatever route you go.  I just lost my cat, my best friend to another deadly disease as a result of steroids and Stomatis, all auto- immune related.

 

[txcatmom]

I'm so sorry for your loss, Fluffypurrcat.  Even though steroids can eventually have negative side effects, I don't think anyone could argue you should have withheld them if they were the only choice to relieve your cat's pain.  That's how my vet and I felt, anyway, when Lucy received steroid shots.  To withhold it would have been cruel.  They gave her obvious relief.  And a short pain free life is better than a long painful one.  And cats can suffer for months, even years, while their humans search and search for a steroid free alternative treatment. 

An update on Lucy....

In December Lucy started receiving long-distance treatment from a Dallas clinic (referenced earlier in this thread.)  They have a proprietary blend of meds developed by a renowned veterinary dentist.  The "cocktail" is steroid free.  The meds are giving Lucy relief, though it took until April/May when they bumped up the strength of the meds some.  We may revisit extractions some day if we move to a city with a dental specialist.  I'd feel better if all dental material were out of her mouth before medicating her.  (She had extractions behind the canines, but the remaining teeth may need to come out and x-rays need to be done to make sure no roots were left behind.) 

 

[susan angley]

may i ask what treatment you are refering to that had no side effects? my cat Max has had 2 depo shots that really help but i am scared of them...thank you

 

[Columbine]

This thread is from 2013. Some of the members may no longer be active

If you have questions about treatments, why not start your own thread? You'll get more targeted replies that way too [article="24982"][/article]