Metronidazole for Diarreah Dialated Pupils

[lesliel76]

Hi, so my cat had a stint of Diarrhea. The vet suspects IBS and so do I, bc he get this about every 6 to 8 months as he's gotten older. Hes about 15 going on 16..

The vet gave him Metronidazole to clear up. He's had this in the past and it worked great. This time they double the dose to 250 a day bc he had the problem for a while and he weighed in at 17 pounds.

The diarrhea is gone but now he has black dialted pupils with no green showing. I cannot pinpoint if he had this before the medicine bc I have been busy traveling etc. But feel I would have noticed such a jarring thing. Unless this is related somehow to the diarrhea.

I called the vet and they said wait a few days after discontinuing the medicine.

It's been 72 hours and still black eyes. It has fluctuared a bit from a tiny bit better with a sliver of green to stone black.

I did not check his blood work last visit as I was trying to be more financially cautious.

He is acting fine otherwise. Playing eating sleeping cuddling etc.

Has anyone experienced this!???

 

[stephenq]

Hi, so my cat had a stint of Diarrhea. The vet suspects IBS and so do I, bc he get this about every 6 to 8 months as he's gotten older. Hes about 15 going on 16..

The vet gave him Metronidazole to clear up. He's had this in the past and it worked great. This time they double the dose to 250 a day bc he had the problem for a while and he weighed in at 17 pounds.

The diarrhea is gone but now he has black dialted pupils with no green showing. I cannot pinpoint if he had this before the medicine bc I have been busy traveling etc. But feel I would have noticed such a jarring thing. Unless this is related somehow to the diarrhea.

I called the vet and they said wait a few days after discontinuing the medicine.

It's been 72 hours and still black eyes. It has fluctuared a bit from a tiny bit better with a sliver of green to stone black.

I did not check his blood work last visit as I was trying to be more financially cautious.

He is acting fine otherwise. Playing eating sleeping cuddling etc.

Has anyone experienced this!??

I have not.  Bumping this.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

What happens when you shine a light in his eyes?  Any reaction?  I would be concerned with his sight.  You said he was acting normally,so it doesn't sound as if there is a problem,but they way you describe his eyes, it sounds like there is

 

[mingsmongols]

Sounds like he may be having an adverse reaction to the metronidazole, probably dose related. Can he chase a lazer light on point or is he acting like he's having some trouble balancing?

 

[stephenq]

Hi, so my cat had a stint of Diarrhea. The vet suspects IBS and so do I, bc he get this about every 6 to 8 months as he's gotten older. Hes about 15 going on 16..

The vet gave him Metronidazole to clear up. He's had this in the past and it worked great. This time they double the dose to 250 a day bc he had the problem for a while and he weighed in at 17 pounds.

The diarrhea is gone but now he has black dialted pupils with no green showing. I cannot pinpoint if he had this before the medicine bc I have been busy traveling etc. But feel I would have noticed such a jarring thing. Unless this is related somehow to the diarrhea.

I called the vet and they said wait a few days after discontinuing the medicine.

It's been 72 hours and still black eyes. It has fluctuared a bit from a tiny bit better with a sliver of green to stone black.

I did not check his blood work last visit as I was trying to be more financially cautious.

He is acting fine otherwise. Playing eating sleeping cuddling etc.

Has anyone experienced this!???

You could also call the ASPCA poison control hotline and ask about overdose effects, phone number in my signature.

 

[lesliel76]

He has no trouble getting around. He just climb up to his cat hammock. I brought some new toys home and a wand and he has no trouble seeing it.

When I shine a light they do not go down he just squints. After he eats they seem to get better with a small sliver of green.

I'll call the vet tomorrow again and see what they recommend. I am concerned he could lose his sight.

Does anyone know how long it takes for an antibiotic to leave a cats system?? Tomorrow morning will be 4 days since his last pill. I see different info on the Internet, read 3 days to 2 months.

 

[mingsmongols]

I think it really just depends on the cat. I'm not sure how likely it is that he indeed is having an adverse reaction to the metronidazole with just one symptom. I'd talk to your vet about the odds. Have you thought about going to a specialist, a veterinary ophthalmologist?

 

[lesliel76]

So I took him back to the vet got a full bloodwork done and blood pressure. It turns out he has high blood pressure but no signs of anything else. Hes now on medication for that since Monday.

My concern is his eyes are still dilated.

I told the vet my fears and worries but they feel like we are doing everything we can. I am going to get him check for his blood pressure again in 2 weeks to see if the medicine is helping. The vet also suggested it could still be the metronidazole in his system.

I am concerned there's more to it than this.

I read online that blood pressure is usually a sign of an underlying cause but the bloodwork ruled out a lot of that. Next would be a urine test I guess.

I just want his eyes to go down it scares me to look at him like that.

Anyone else have anything similar??

 

[mingsmongols]

Well dilated pupils can be a symptom of high blood pressure. Secondary conditions wound affect either the thyroid, kidneys, or heart. Did your blood work have a thyroid panel on it. That's normally an additional test beyond the normal blood work for kidney function.

 

[lesliel76]

Yes I did the extra panel of blood work for thyroid. This came back normal.

I almost wish it was the thyroid because I am scared it's something more serious and not as easily treated.

 

[mingsmongols]

I can see why you would be, the other possibilities are not very nice ones, it still may be a side effect of the metronidazole and go away on its own in time but I think you should really consider going to a teaching hospital. They'll have veteranary oncologists and cardiologists on staff all in one place.

 

[mingsmongols]

If it's primary then it would probably be diet related because I doubt he smokes or drinks. What kinda food are your feeding him and are you a smoker?

 

[lesliel76]

No I'm not a smoker. He is overweight but not anymore than most house cats.

He gets wet food fancy feast 2 times day a small can split between 3 cats. Then free fed crunches buffalo blue sensative stomach.

I have 4 cats total(long story)..so getting the right mix of food for everyone is super hard. I known they arnt getting top of line best food ever but it is the combo I fell into that seems to agree with everyones stomach and tastebuds. I had another cat that threw up everyday for a most a year so I need to be careful. It's also fits in my budget.

What is a teaching hospital and any recommendations in the Brooklyn NY area?? The animals hospitals I have been too seem like for emergency only and cost super much to just walk in the door.

 

[mingsmongols]

Your not feeding anything unusual or extreme and if your other cats are fine then that kinda rules that out. There veteranary colleges that provide continuing education. You have the best veterinary college in the united States about four hours away from you. https://www2.vet.cornell.edu/

 

[mingsmongols]

There got a hospital run by the main college in Stamford Connecticut about an hour from you.

 

[lesliel76]

Thank you for the recommendations. I will have to look into this further. I don't have a car so anything outside the city is a great expense. Maybe there's something more local. I'll research.

The only positive thing I can say for the most part he is acting totally fine. Eating, playing, using the box, purring, and resting. The one thing I notice is he is drinking more water and peeing more. I told the vet this but she didn't think much of it said it doesn't go with hypertension whatever that means.

 

[mingsmongols]

I'm sure you've got a specialist group somewhere relatively close by in such a large city. Excessive thirst is another symptom of hypertension. Did they give you some meds to control his BP?

 

[lesliel76]

Yes he started Amlodipine. He's been on this for 5 days. Maybe it will take a while to work and get his eyes to come down.

I read that more water intake was a symptom but my vet said it wasn't which I thought was weird. I am going to get his urine checked when I bring him back for his blood pressure to make sure it isn't kidney disease.

I need to find a new vet too. I had a Dr that I really loved at this place but she left. It has been really hard to find a good vet shockingly. You would think in such a big city there were better options but a lot are just wanting to rip u off.

 

[lesliel76]

Thanks for all the info Mings. I appreciate it!

 

[mingsmongols]

No problem. Controlling the blood pressure will really help with coming up with a diagnosis. If it's within normal range and the dilated pupils stay then that suggests one thing vs if they both go back to normal but the thirst stays. You might want to consider getting his blood sugar checked along with the urinalysis.