hi all,
not really looking for advice, just trying to see if anyone has dealt with similar experiences. I have a 13yr old cat (her name is Eris) who started having balance problems a few months ago. after going to multiple vets trying to find answers, i was referred to a veterinary neurologist. I elected not to get an MRI (can't afford it, and I don't plan on doing surgery even if I could afford it either,) but the neuro thinks she has a meningioma on her cerebellum (balance issues, intention tremors, eye movements, etc.).
We put her on prednisolone and she responded great with no side effects, she was on 2.5mg daily until a few days ago until we switched to 2.5mg every other day, and she got worse almost instantly. still not falling as much as she was, and not hiding or anything, but I can tell she's frustrated and is having a harder time jumping onto things. I know daily prednisolone isn't good for her, but I'm worried the every other day dose just isn't enough. I'm going to talk to my neurologist about it tomorrow.
I just hate that there's very little out there about this, about what to do for palliative care, about what to expect. My neuro says the average lifespan after diagnosis is around 4 months, but it's "on a bell curve" but no one has the information to actually tell me what that means. I'm trying to take everything one day at a time, but it's hard not knowing how long I'm going to have her. I'm in my late 20s now and have had her since I was a teenager. i don't know what i'm going to do without her.
Thanks for hearing me out - I've been having a lot of processing to do lately and it's difficult to do that by myself.
ps: I know there are payment plans/etc., but I've decided I don't want to put her through surgery/radiation/chemo. I just want her to be happy as long as she can be.
not really looking for advice, just trying to see if anyone has dealt with similar experiences. I have a 13yr old cat (her name is Eris) who started having balance problems a few months ago. after going to multiple vets trying to find answers, i was referred to a veterinary neurologist. I elected not to get an MRI (can't afford it, and I don't plan on doing surgery even if I could afford it either,) but the neuro thinks she has a meningioma on her cerebellum (balance issues, intention tremors, eye movements, etc.).
We put her on prednisolone and she responded great with no side effects, she was on 2.5mg daily until a few days ago until we switched to 2.5mg every other day, and she got worse almost instantly. still not falling as much as she was, and not hiding or anything, but I can tell she's frustrated and is having a harder time jumping onto things. I know daily prednisolone isn't good for her, but I'm worried the every other day dose just isn't enough. I'm going to talk to my neurologist about it tomorrow.
I just hate that there's very little out there about this, about what to do for palliative care, about what to expect. My neuro says the average lifespan after diagnosis is around 4 months, but it's "on a bell curve" but no one has the information to actually tell me what that means. I'm trying to take everything one day at a time, but it's hard not knowing how long I'm going to have her. I'm in my late 20s now and have had her since I was a teenager. i don't know what i'm going to do without her.
Thanks for hearing me out - I've been having a lot of processing to do lately and it's difficult to do that by myself.
ps: I know there are payment plans/etc., but I've decided I don't want to put her through surgery/radiation/chemo. I just want her to be happy as long as she can be.