Dosage Prednisone

[uwllv88]

I'm worried that the vet made a mistake on the dosage for Maggie's prednisone. I just googled "usual dosage feline" and it said 1.5 or 2.5 mg., however the instruction on the bottle was 5 mg/ day.

She is only 7 lbs. does anyone know if 5 mg for 1st time usage is too much? Vet said to take them for 2 weeks.

I just gave it to her and then decided to check - I should have done it the other way around.

Thanks.

[squashynose]

Hmmm sounds more like small dog dose, or rather that's been what I've given to some of my dogs.
What're the preds for?

[Evey]

Buzz is getting 5 ml/day in a transdermal form and he is doing wonderfully on it. The initial dose was twice that much and we have just dropped down.

[tiffers]

Steroids have loading doses. Forgive me, but why is your kitty on it? Initially you'll be on a large dose, then gradually lower and lower to the lowest effective dose.

[special]

Carol this won't help you today, but for future reference I thought I'd mention that whenever I am starting a pet on a new medication I do it at the beginning of the week, (Monday) when I know my vet is going to be available to me.

How is Maggie now, it's been almost two hours? I guess you've read up on the side affects too, such as increased thirst, increased appetite and more frequent urination?

Call your vet first thing tomorrow to confirm the dosage. And please do let us know what you find out.

to those who asked I'll answer for Carol, Maggie is starting prednisone in the hopes of helping with a chronic limp she is having. No cause has been found.

[uwllv88]

Carol this won't help you today, but for future reference I thought I'd mention that whenever I am starting a pet on a new medication I do it at the beginning of the week, (Monday) when I know my vet is going to be available to me.

How is Maggie now, it's been almost two hours? I guess you've read up on the side affects too, such as increased thirst, increased appetite and more frequent urination?

Call your vet first thing tomorrow to confirm the dosage. And please do let us know what you find out.

to those who asked I'll answer for Carol, Maggie is starting prednisone in the hopes of helping with a chronic limp she is having. No cause has been found.

I didn't know I was going to have to leave after I gave her the prednisone but I was gone two hours. I left her in a closed room - she didn't eat the food I left for her (she's not really eating very much the past few days which is worrying me more than anything). I was hoping it would increase her appetite. She's acting a little hyper? I haven't seen her use the litter box but that doesn't mean she didn't use it. I will watch her tonight to see how she acts. From what everyone said, the dosage isn't too high, actually low so I won't need to call her, I'm sure the pharmacist wrote it correct. I will remember that and start future meds on a Monday. I just figured Sunday night I could watch her tonight and call in the a.m. if need be. Thanks all, for your responses.

[tiffers]

Does your vet think it's the AutoImmune?

[uwllv88]

Tiffers, No, as I wrote in the "New Maggie Post" when the vet rechecked Maggie's blood work manually the numbers were fine, all except the eosinophiles were still a little high so she was given a dewormer for parasites. So based on the new bloodwork no autoimmune disorder and no anemia. The prednisone is for the pain from her limping for which they couldn't find any reason on x-ray or exam. The bloodwork was only done to see if she could tolerate pain meds for the limping. Since everything checked out ok, we proceeded with prednisone.
I'm wondering how long it takes on it to help with the pain?

[special]

Carol I think if the prednisone is going to help you should notice improvement fairly quickly....three days or so.

My only basis for this is when my rescued beagle Nikki (rb 5/05) was started on the prednisone for muscle/joint pain that's what I was told: If it was going to help her I would know in three days.

[tiffers]

I'm sorry to make you repeat yourself, Carol. There are so many members animals I try to keep up with... :(

Special is right, though. It'll take a couple of days...if the steroids will be what she needs at all.

[uwllv88]

Carol I think if the prednisone is going to help you should notice improvement fairly quickly....three days or so.

My only basis for this is when my rescued beagle Nikki (rb 5/05) was started on the prednisone for muscle/joint pain that's what I was told: If it was going to help her I would know in three days.

So am I correct in assuming that it is fairly common for animals to exhibit (by limping) pain and nothing is found on x-ray or exam? Then prednisone is given to see if whatever it is is caused by inflammation? I'm trying to understand what the prednisone is supposed to do for her. I'm guessing, it's to take away any inflammation if it's inflamed? If so, now I'm wondering what causes inflammation?

[uwllv88]

I'm sorry to make you repeat yourself, Carol. There are so many members animals I try to keep up with... :(

Special is right, though. It'll take a couple of days...if the steroids will be what she needs at all.

Tiffers, that's ok, I totally understand. I'm hoping it will help her because I can't stand watching her and knowing how she's hurting. It's killing me. I keep trying to second guess her if she wants to get up or down on the bed or to the window so I keep trying to help her by picking her up and helping her down/up. (She's probably saying "what the hell!!" lol

[Evey]

So am I correct in assuming that it is fairly common for animals to exhibit (by limping) pain and nothing is found on x-ray or exam? Then prednisone is given to see if whatever it is is caused by inflammation? I'm trying to understand what the prednisone is supposed to do for her. I'm guessing, it's to take away any inflammation if it's inflamed? If so, now I'm wondering what causes inflammation?

Not sure how common it is, but I am going through the same thing with one of mine. With the steroids he is great, without them he can not walk. X-rays were beautiful (mine should look so good) and everything appears normal. We started with a very high does of Dexamethasone and while he was on it everything was good. A couple of days after his last dose he could barely walk. We switched to Prednisone since it was available in a trans dermal and he is once again doing great.

We have no diagnosis. We don't even have any suspicions. I don't care what it is, I just wanted it to go away.

[tiffers]

So am I correct in assuming that it is fairly common for animals to exhibit (by limping) pain and nothing is found on x-ray or exam?
Oh definitely! We had a 2 year old boxer just today, that was severely limping on a front leg...showed no pain upon exam. So, we knocked him about took FOURTEEN xrays, and he has BEAUTIFUL bones... :confused:

Veterinary Medicine is VERY puzzling, because our patients do not talk to us. They can't tell us exactly what happened when they first noticed the pain, nor can they tell us an exact location.


Then prednisone is given to see if whatever it is is caused by inflammation? I'm trying to understand what the prednisone is supposed to do for her. I'm guessing, it's to take away any inflammation if it's inflamed? If so, now I'm wondering what causes inflammation?

...inflammation is hard to explain. It is needed in the healing phases, but is also part of the pain phases.

Steroids are...well, I guess part of a trial and error type treatment. If it works, AWESOME...if not, you're going to have to start digging a lot deeper. If the steroids don't help, then what you're dealing with is NOT a simple inflammation of something somewhere in her leg.

Inflammation can be caused by tons of things...it can be from injury or trauma, but it can also be from an injury healing.

[uwllv88]

Not sure how common it is, but I am going through the same thing with one of mine. With the steroids he is great, without them he can not walk. X-rays were beautiful (mine should look so good) and everything appears normal. We started with a very high does of Dexamethasone and while he was on it everything was good. A couple of days after his last dose he could barely walk. We switched to Prednisone since it was available in a trans dermal and he is once again doing great.

We have no diagnosis. We don't even have any suspicions. I don't care what it is, I just wanted it to go away.

I'm so glad your little guy has gotten relief. It's good to know there are others dealing with the same thing I am with Maggie. Thanks for your response.

[uwllv88]

Oh definitely! We had a 2 year old boxer just today, that was severely limping on a front leg...showed no pain upon exam. So, we knocked him about took FOURTEEN xrays, and he has BEAUTIFUL bones... :confused:

Veterinary Medicine is VERY puzzling, because our patients do not talk to us. They can't tell us exactly what happened when they first noticed the pain, nor can they tell us an exact location.




...inflammation is hard to explain. It is needed in the healing phases, but is also part of the pain phases.

Steroids are...well, I guess part of a trial and error type treatment. If it works, AWESOME...if not, you're going to have to start digging a lot deeper. If the steroids don't help, then what you're dealing with is NOT a simple inflammation of something somewhere in her leg.

Inflammation can be caused by tons of things...it can be from injury or trauma, but it can also be from an injury healing.

Tiffers, thanks so much for the explanation. I gave her the second dose tonight - haven't noticed any changes in behavior yet.

[tiffers]

You're welcome, Carol. The only thing x-rays show are bone and stuff with the same density as bone and internal organs. You can't see all the tendons, cartilage, joints, spinal discs, etc...hopefully, her problem lies in a joint or tendon and the steroids will help to bring down that inflammation.

[uwllv88]

[QSo, we knocked him about took FOURTEEN xrays, and he has BEAUTIFUL bones... :confused:
UOTE=TIFFERS;308076]Oh

Steroids are...well, I guess part of a trial and error type treatment. If it works, AWESOME...if not, you're going to have to start digging a lot deeper. If the steroids don't help, then what you're dealing with is NOT a simple inflammation of something somewhere in her leg.


..... by digging a lot deeper, what do you mean? What else is there to look for? If the steroids don't help I'm just wondering where I go from here?

[tiffers]

You may need to be referred to a specialist. Be it an orthopedic surgeon or a teaching hospital for MRI's or Cat Scans...there are a few avenue's to take, and they are all quite expensive.

[uwllv88]

Tiffers, No, as I wrote in the "New Maggie Post" when the vet rechecked Maggie's blood work manually the numbers were fine, all except the eosinophiles were still a little high so she was given a dewormer for parasites. So based on the new bloodwork no autoimmune disorder and no anemia. The prednisone is for the pain from her limping for which they couldn't find any reason on x-ray or exam. The bloodwork was only done to see if she could tolerate pain meds for the limping. Since everything checked out ok, we proceeded with prednisone.
I'm wondering how long it takes on it to help with the pain?

Ok, more questions about prednisone and to bring you up to date about Maggie's response to it. First she was on 5 mg daily for about a month. She did great - no more limping. We went to 1 every other day for a couple of weeks- still no limping. Then 1/2 every other day for a couple weeks. No limping. This last few weeks I've been giving her 1/2 every 3 days and even stretched it to 4 days (without asking the vet) I know, I know but I wanted to see if she would be ok without it. And still no limping.

I'll call the vet Monday but I'm wondering if it's safe to stop them altogether and see if the limp might be gone forever? Some medicines you can't stop but she's been going down so gradually it might be ok? Maybe 1/4 every few days for awhile?

Just FYI prednisone did not increase her appetite at all - I really haven't seen any side effects whatsoever so I'm hoping they haven't damaged anything. Should she have more bloodwork to see if her numbers are all ok now that she's been on them for awhile? Everything was fine before she started them.

[tiffers]

...as far as abruptly stopping, it's not okay. However, she is on a very low dose already. Before you decrease anymore, please ask your vet. It will probably be okay, but since you're already stretching and lower than your prescribed dose...it'd be best to inform the vet first. There are some instances in which a low dose is effective enough, and then a steroid is stopped all together and a HUGE backlash happens.

Bloodwork definitely isn't a bad decision, especially after this long term medication. In fact, your vet may ask you to repeat it.

I am glad she's doing well...erm, better. That's great news.

[horsesinusa]

sounds like he did it for a dog.

[uwllv88]

...as far as abruptly stopping, it's not okay. However, she is on a very low dose already. Before you decrease anymore, please ask your vet. It will probably be okay, but since you're already stretching and lower than your prescribed dose...it'd be best to inform the vet first. There are some instances in which a low dose is effective enough, and then a steroid is stopped all together and a HUGE backlash happens.



Ok, now I'm officially scared. What kind of "HUGE backlash" could happen???

[tiffers]

Ok, now I'm officially scared. What kind of "HUGE backlash" could happen???

It's kind of hard to explain. Some dogs not necessarily get addicted, but their bodies gain a dependency on a medication. If there's an abrupt stop to whatever the medication (depending on the illness), the body basically 'freaks out'.

[Catlady50]

Prednisone is well tolerated when it comes to cats. The dose of 5mg daily is a normal dose to start with for a cat that is 6-7 pounds. If the condition can be controlled with 5mg every other day this is also fine.

I have 2 persian cats that have been on prednisone for close 3 years and that are closely monitored. There have been no ill side effects with either one of them. One of them just celebrated her 17th birthday and her dose is every other day. The 4 yr old boy needs to take his daily unfortunately.

I did the same thing you did and wanted to reduce the dose for the 17 yr old girl. Unfortunately, I'm sorry to say that this was a rather bad move on my behalf.

If you are deciding to wean off this steroid, I suggest you do it per veterinary guidance.

Good luck!

[uwllv88]

.

I did the same thing you did and wanted to reduce the dose for the 17 yr old girl. Unfortunately, I'm sorry to say that this was a rather bad move on my behalf.

If you are deciding to wean off this steroid, I suggest you do it per veterinary guidance.



The reason I wanted to space the prednisone out further was because I remember reading a thread that said you should have them on the lowest dosage possible and to determine what that is you should wait until the pain (in Maggie's case, it's a limp) returns and then keep them on that dosage. I may have remembered wrong and maybe it was the dosage rather than the number of days. In any event, the reason I want to wean her off is because I waited 4 days before giving it to her and still no limp. So I'm thinking it may have resolved and she no longer needs steroids which I thought would be a good thing. I sure hope I haven't made her worse somehow. You say you did the same thing for your 17 yr old cat and that it was a bad move, what happened?
I called her vet today but she's out and will call me tomorrow to discuss what to do.

[Catlady50]

The reason I wanted to space the prednisone out further was because I remember reading a thread that said you should have them on the lowest dosage possible and to determine what that is you should wait until the pain (in Maggie's case, it's a limp) returns and then keep them on that dosage. I may have remembered wrong and maybe it was the dosage rather than the number of days. In any event, the reason I want to wean her off is because I waited 4 days before giving it to her and still no limp. So I'm thinking it may have resolved and she no longer needs steroids which I thought would be a good thing. I sure hope I haven't made her worse somehow. You say you did the same thing for your 17 yr old cat and that it was a bad move, what happened?
I called her vet today but she's out and will call me tomorrow to discuss what to do.

Hi Carol,
I should have explained my girl's situation a little better. She has polycystic liver disease and only has a small amount of normal liver tissue that is keeping her alive. Technically, if I didn't locate this specialist all other vets wrote her off 3 years ago.
Regardless, I did reduce her dose per doctor's instructions which were based on my concerns. Her dose was reduced to 2.5mg every-other-day rather than 5mg every-other-day.
I was out of my mind when I saw that she had a band of grey fur color close to her roots that was never there before. She is a silver persian and her roots were always white. This is an indicator that a major organ went into shock.
The reduction actually set her back and we did need to return to 5mg.
What surprises me here in your case and I say this with no malice intentions, is why your vet didn't go with a 2 week program to begin with. This is similiar to the way asthma patients are handled. Prednisone is given out daily for 5 days, and then reduced within a 2 week period to zero. A better way to handle what could be just a temporary problem where someone will be able to see if this steroid is really needed on a permanent basis.
In your girl's case this drug isn't being used as a matter of life or death, whereas with me it is.
I don't blame you for being cautious and I just wanted to communicate to you to be careful in whatever you decide to do.
Good luck and my best wishes to both of you!:)
Celeste