More Concerned for Boo

[goholistic]

 
Does the vet think he's in pain?

Yes. When I describe to her what I observe in Boo, she thinks it is pain. My mom actually takes Neurontin (gapapentin) for her fibromyalgia, and she swears it is the only thing that works. I've read that gabapentin is both an analgesic (for nerve pain) and an anticonvulsant (for seizure activity), so I'm not sure why she would want to use both gabapentin and amantadine together. I would think the gabapentin alone would be enough. 

If you Google amantadine, Stanford School of Medicine, and "what meds" you'll see a lot of uses for amantadine in humans. It looks to me like she's wanting to try these medications somewhat diagnostically.

Thoughts?

Thanks. It does seem to have a lot of uses. Yes, that is my thought as well. I would think, though, that after trying one drug and it doesn't work, that we would stop it. That's what I'm going to say about the pred when I talk to her today. I don't see the point of keeping Boo on it if it's not helping.

 

[catsallaround]

Not sure if it matters and how much is just personal but my mom gets WEIRD on Neurontin.  She gets out right nasty and KNOWS it.  It helps A LOT but she can not function even though it helps so much.  No idea how it is in cats.

 

[jcat]

I'm so sorry you're not getting any answers, or real relief for Boo.

 

[ldg]

Oh man...

Gary tried neurontin (gabapentin) for his clusters. Made him really... fuzzy-headed. He would have stuck with it if it provided any pain relief, but it didn't.

I have NO idea if this would help or not, but given the options you're facing, it may not hurt to try. My left hand was on FIRE for a year or more. Carpal Tunnel was ruled out, etc. etc. etc. I finally saw my OLD GP for something else, brought her up to speed, and she asked if I'd tried vitamin B6 supplementation. No, I hadn't. Apparently it has a lot of functions as re: nerves.

I started taking the B6 supplement .I'm not sure how long it took, but it wasn't more than a few weeks that it was clear this was going to work.

...so just putting that out there.

 

[catsallaround]

LDG-Wow!  I started taking B6 for reproduction support and noticed improvement in arm and had no idea it was connected till when you shared your story.  Will tell Mom about it. 

 

[goholistic]

I gave in. Boo has been on the gabapentin and amantadine for about two weeks (I think; don't have his chart with me). The hyperesthesia episodes have significantly decreased to almost none. That is the good news.

The bad news is that he still seems quite uncomfortable. He sits in the meatloaf position constantly and for hours at a time. I talked to the vet today and asked her about another round of x-rays. But she wants an ultrasound done, and recommends that before more x-rays. So I said fine. He goes in tomorrow for an "in-house" ultrasound. This means that they have a machine in-house, but no radiologist on staff, so I think she said she'll send the images out to be read by a specialist and will be a little easier on the wallet.  

Also, he was scratching his right ear and tilting his head the other day. When I looked in his ear, he had a lot of brownish wax and looked very dirty. Is this a normal color for ear wax, even with an infection? His other ear was squeaky clean. I thought the worst and hoped it wasn't crustiness from a possible brain tumor hemorrhage.  Remember how his left pupil was dilated? This could indicate a problem with the right side of his brain. And now there's a problem with his right ear. 

  This will be looked at tomorrow as well.

 

[cprcheetah]

That's good news about the hyperesthesia.  I know about the ultrasounds, even with my discount because I work for the vet it's still gonna be $300 for Munchies.  Keep us posted as to what they find.  As for the ear usually ear wax is a lightish tan color (I think) dark could indicate a problem.  Maybe he has an inner ear infection or something, I think that could affect the eye.

 

[worriedsomuch]

How is Boo's eye? I have been keeping up with the thread but haven't posted. I always like to know how Boo is doing because you've been so helpful to me with my Grace and they have similar issues. Grace tilts her head, as you know, when her ear bothers her. She was holding it at a tilt frequently before. Thankfully once she used the Tresaderm drops, she stopped. It took awhile though, even when the drops were done, like another few days before the behavior diminished. When she went to the vet last week, she also had that very dark wax which the vet said was her allergies, no infection was present as far as he thought. I don't think she has a hemorrhage. Also, can I ask why you are so convinced now it's a brain tumor? My vet told me that a brain tumor would be clear within a few months or less of symptoms. I know you told me that Boo has twitched for years so there's no way the twitching is due to a tumor (if you go by my vet). Boo wouldn't be with you now. My vet told me if Grace's twitching was related to a tumor, she'd have other very obvious signs by now such as circling, falling over, and other strange behavior.

Also, about the meatloaf position, I know this might sound stupid of me, but I only found out from this site that this is somehow bad. Why is it bad? My cats like to sit in this position all the time. I never worried about it before until reading this site. Grace likes to do it quite often and I found myself panicking the other day because of the idea on here that cats who sit like this are ill. Since she's lost a few ounces (close to half a pound), I have been concerned when she sits like this. However, I need only look around and see that even my nearly 2 year old girls like sitting this way also.

 

[goholistic]

Okay, I dropped Boo off at the vet this morning. I think they are going to do x-rays, too, even though I said I can't afford all of this right now. I think the doc is going to give me a discount and work out a payment plan. Blame Sebastian for depleting my funds! @cprcheetah, I did read that a really bad ear infection could cause uneven pupils, but he would probably be displaying other serious symptoms, wouldn't he? Like loss of balance, circling, etc. 

Hi @WorriedSoMuch. Good to hear from you. I'm glad the Tresaderm drops helped Grace. Boo's eye seems normal for the most part. There are occasions when it seems more dilated than the other, but its not constant. I'm not convinced, per se, that Boo has a brain tumor, but with all his neurological and behavioral symptoms, it's something that I have to consider. All I know is that whatever is going on with him is getting progressively worse and it really started to show in November 2013. He is a different cat. Not the Boo I know and love. 

 

I think any worry over the meatloaf position really depends on if it's normal for the cat or not. Boo was not a meatloaf lounger. He used to sprawl out comfortably. If you look through his photo album (link is in my signature), you'll see how comfortable he has looked in the past. Now he just sits in the meatloaf position very rigidly and doesn't move. If sitting like this is normal for your cats, then there's probably no need to worry. This position (this frequently) is not normal for Boo.

 

[scarlett 001]

Deep ear infections can on occasion affect the eye. My girl wee Rexy once had a deep ear infection and it affected her eye dilation/constriction. This was probably over 7+ years ago and she is still with me now. *So* it is possible that eye strangeness can turn out to be not so terrible. Her right eye pupil is always slightly smaller than the left one all of these years later, although it does dilate and constrict.

Right now, Murchie cat has an ear infection. He had loads of brown wax and junk in one ear. Sounds like your description. No other symptoms (other than he has mild pancreatitis symptoms). Treating with surolan as likely an ear infection (with some abrasion due to infection making it a bit more dramatic). This is just in one ear. So one can get a crappy ear infection that presumably in our case is not connected to anything horrible. p.s. I will admit that for a brief moment and similar to you, I panicked that the ear infection and junk in the ear could mean a tumor in the ear (yes, that was a useful self-diagnosis!!!!), but vet never even mentioned this as the ear looked like a typical ear infection and I did not ask...

Just thought my 2 stories might be somewhat relevant to you, and possibly a bit reassuring too.

 

[goholistic]

Thanks for sharing your stories @Scarlett 001. I'm getting frustrated with all the "coincidences." Someone once told me, "there's no such thing as coincidences" (you know who you are). I noticed the dilated pupil after starting Boo on the prednisolone (which is now completely tapered off), so I'm wondering if the prednisolone brought on an ear infection, which affected his pupil. Ay ay ay....

I got a call from the nurse and x-rays showed a large amount of stool in the colon, so they would like him to pass that before they do an ultrasound. I haven't heard anything else about what the x-rays showed. Perhaps doc is waiting to discuss that with me.

 

[scarlett 001]

If there can be coincidences, then there can be red herrings.

I now am pretty sure that Toffee's issues this xmas and his weight loss are all related to his dental extraction and some issues with its healing (infection and possibly dry socket = pain). But we went hunting around for other issues as this tooth thing was thought likely to be a side issue and found his bladder stones. Glad enough to be rid of those bladder stones, but in hindsight I wonder how long they were hanging out in him as I am quite sure that they were not the reason for his weight loss - the bladder stones turned out to be a red herring/accidental finding as we were looking for things to explain weight loss. So not every issue has to be related and a non-coincidence. There can be two unrelated coincidental issues going on at the same time.  

 

[goholistic]

Update on Boo:

He had more x-rays and an ultrasound. Nothing significant in either. The x-rays show some changes to his back and the ultrasound showed some changes to his kidneys and spleen, but the doc said she thinks this is all part of the normal aging process. There was nothing shown that alarmed her in any way. She said this ruled out a lot. So, this is good news. 

The more we rule out, the more this points to it being neurological, such as a pinched nerve somewhere or an issue in the brain. However, this can only be confirmed with further imaging, such as an MRI or CT scan. I cannot afford either at the moment.

He seems to be doing well on the Gabapentin and Amantadine for general pain and nerve-related disturbances. He's only getting half the Amantadine because the full prescribed dose made him restless, irritated, and vocal. The vet okayed this. We'll continue the Amantadine until it runs out and see how Boo does on only the Gabapentin. The doc said they usually only prescribe the Amantadine for three weeks and then discontinue. Since Boo is only getting a half dose, it will last longer than three weeks, but she said this is fine.

 

[worriedsomuch]

I'm so glad that Boo's tests turned out okay

Also, thank you for answering my question about the meatloaf position. I appreciate it. Have the meds helped with his tics at all? Also, has he been feeling better?

 

[goholistic]

 
Have the meds helped with his tics at all? Also, has he been feeling better?

Yes, the meds have helped with the FHS, the facial tics and the trembling. Gabapentin is a short-lived medicine and I can tell that his symptoms start to return as we get close to the 12-hour mark. He gets the Gaba morning and night and I try to time it as close to 12 hours as possible, but sometimes I work late and we get past 12 hours. When I get home, he may have some FHS twitching in his back, but once the Gaba kicks in, he is fine.

Well, it's hard for me to know if he is feeling better. I imagine he is a little more comfortable not having the twitching and I'm sure the meds help calm his nerves. He still sits in the meatloaf position, but I've noticed over the past couple of days he has chosen some more comfortable positions. Now that we've had the ultrasound to rule out anything abdominal, we're thinking he sits like this because of some discomfort in his back. I'm going to follow-up with the doc again about possibly using Adequan injections.

By the way, he hasn't lost any more weight. He had dropped down to 11.04 during all this, and he was 11.08 at the vet last Friday. I'm trying to get him back up to 12 lbs. This is his healthy weight.

 

[goholistic]

Update on Boo... and such a relief that it is a positive one. 

IMG_4740.jpg

• goholistic
• Dec 18, 2013

 

[peaches08]

Great news and happy birthday, Boo!

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

What a WONDERFUL update

.  I'm so happy things are going well for Boo, and at his age

.  Party on, Boo

  

 

[scarlett 001]

 

 

[mycatwasthebest]

HAPPY (belated) BIRTHDAY!