My poor Linus..to make a long story short, a sonogram revealed thickened intestines and an enlarged abdominal lymph node..apparently, both IBD and lymphoma present the same way; so the only way to tell is through an abdominal exploratory, where biopsies can be taken of the node and the intestine (endoscopy won't work in this case due to the lymph node needing biopsy as well) Best case is IBD, which they say can be managed through meds and diet,although he's already on steroids for the asthma...worst of course is lymphoma, which would require chemo....
Does anyone have experience with either of these illnesses? I'm already a mess over this; and the surgery isn't scheduled til Tuesday...
Daily Kitten Chat Forum » General Chat
IBD or Lymphoma..has anyone else been through this?
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Sullis
Linus and you are in my prayers!
Peace
DoriePosted 3 years ago by 4 kits staff #
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((Linus)) I hope he is okay. I don't have any experience with any of these Sullis. Hopefully it's the least worrisome of the diagnoses. Both of you will be in my prayers.
Posted 3 years ago by cricketsmama #
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Tks CM!! It's so worrying for me; just awful to have to put him through a freakin surgery to get the right diagnosis; but vet has pretty much assured me that it's the right thing to do..so we'll just move on from there once they've figured out what it is...(truthfully, I think my real problem is having to deal with quality of life issues if it turns out to be the worst case scenario..lymphoma is what took my friend Sara in early October..so just the mention of the "L" word put me into panic mode) but not helpful to me or Linus to go there..we'll just have to see what happens after Tues!
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My Tessie has IBS and diabetes. If I can answer any questions, I will. It is hard to just not know what is what. Early on I had to give her sub Q fluids and anti nausea shots. It was good practice for when she got diabetes. I never thought I could do that kind of stuff its amazing what you can do when you have to. She is a happy cat and has quality of life.
Posted 3 years ago by Cat talk rules #
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Forgot to say I'll be praying for you and Linus.
Posted 3 years ago by Cat talk rules #
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Is there any way they can take the biopsies via needle guided ultrasound? This was done for one of my girls who has a liver condition. IBS can be managed successfully however I don't have any experience with lymphoma. All I know is that it was suspected for my boy (avatar) due to his elevated calcium levels however was ruled out after a special test was performed sent to a US university. My thoughts and prayers are with you during this difficult time.
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Tk you all!
Apparently, due to the enlarged lymph node, the exploratory abdominal is the best choice...(crap) The good news is that he's not even 4, which is admittedly young for either of these conditions to occur...so early treatment for whatever it turns out to be is a good thing..I've totally prepared myself to administer the subQ fluids if need be; my vet very supportive, bless her, so I guess now just waiting to see the results...Linus is just so trustimg of me, that I hate to cause him any additional stress or discomfort...It's more my issue at this point! But if worse comes to worse, he's really tolerant of the daily asthma meds, so maybe a few more pills in the arsenal won't be that big a deal! Going to try and put the whole thing aside til Tuesday's results; no sense worrying about something til it's a reality..But very thankful for any advice from any and all of you that have gone through similar diagnosis! -
Sullis, there is another option that you may want to discuss with the vet or get a second opinion. A few years back we had a rescue in the same situation. I guess it somewhat depends whether you are willing to do chemo or not. We were given the option of just starting empiric treatment for IBD (which was basically steroids) and see if he responded. If it was IBD, he would improve , if it was lymphoma it would not change ot possibly get worse. In our case it was an older kitty and we were not going to put him through chemo, so we opted for steroids; he did get better and so the assumption was made that it was IBD.
So, I think the bottom line is whether or not you would do chemo, if the answer is no, then smaybe surgery should not be done. Best wishes to you and your baby.Posted 3 years ago by Tigerlilly #
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I wish I could help you with this, Sullis. I will keep you and Linus in my prayers. {{{hugs}}}
Posted 3 years ago by Kitten Whisperer #
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Tks all!
Tigerlily, tks for that! The special issue with Linus is that he is already on daily steroids (1/2 of a 5mg of Prednisolone) for his asthma; after numerous "step-down" attempts, this appears to be the dosage that keeps him symptom-free of the asthma; if he didn't have this underlying condition, we would have just treated him with steroids assuming IBD..the "kicker" of the whole thing is the enlarged lymph node, which seems to concern my vet (and thereby freaks me out totally!) I am calling her Monday morning, just to double check with her that this really is the best thing to do; and going to mention again any lesser-invasive alternatives....arghh! I truly am a vet's worst nightmare; you know I Googled "IBD" and "lymphoma in cats" about 10 seconds after getting off the phone....but no harm in getting better informed, right? :) -
Sullis, this is one of the few sick cat experiences I haven't had [knock (or touch, for our UK members) wood)], so all I can offer is positive feline-love-type energy for Linus and for you.
Posted 3 years ago by Ivory Bill #
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TigerLily, I went the route you did and it took her forever to stabilize on steroids. I had resigned myself to the fact that she probably had lymphona but since she even though sick seemed to have a lot of quaility of life I would keep her comfortable as possible and then she got better and stayed better until we tried to cut back on steroids and she got sick again. I got her stabilized but she started losing weight again and then we found out she is diabetic. With all her problems she is still happy and enjoys herself. Before she got sick she was at least 20 pounds and at her lowest she was 7 pounds. She seems to be gaining now.
Posted 3 years ago by Cat talk rules #
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Sullis, if she is already on steroids for asthma, you may also want to discuss how she will heal after surgery on steroids. Humans on steroids will heal slower. Also for humans already on steroids, so called "stress doses" (higher dose) of steroids are required before something like surgery. I'm not a vet and have no clue if this is different for kitties, but I think worth asking just to be safe. Special hugs for Linus.
CTR, I'm so glad your little girl is gaining weight now.Posted 3 years ago by Tigerlilly #
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Tigerlily!
A big "bonkyhead" from Linus..you are very sweet..I just saw his rosette on Catster! and I will definitely ask the vet about the steroid dose during my call to her on Monday..
CTR, I'm sorry about your girl..I hope that now she's gaining some weight she is doing better..
..and tks Ivory Bill for the well wishes! -
Sullis...I'm so sorry as well that Linus is having difficulties. I'm only familiar with the outcome of exploretory surgery on humans with these symptoms...& it's never been pretty.
I'm sending my heartfelt snuggles to Linus & lots of Hugs to you. And your so right. No sense in worrying till you know what to worry about. But,that's always so easier said than done when it comes to our fuzzbutts. Stay strong & hopefully your TDK Family can help you as well.
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Hi,Sullis
I went through the same thing with Sam. He started vomiting if he wasn't fed promptly and then began losing weight. After a visit to the vet, we went through the ultrasound (his fur still hasn't grown back) and an endoscopy with the same two options: IBD or lymphoma. Unfortunately, his diagnosis was not the favorable one. His lymphoma is located in the duodenum and top of the small intestine. He also has a heart murmur so full-blown chemo was not an option -- just too stressful to the system.
He's now on sub-q fluids (being 16, he has kidney issues, plus the lymphoma keeps him from absorbing nutrients and fluids), prednisolone daily, leukeran (every 72 hours), and ferrous sulfate (anemia, too, poor boy).
He was diagnosed in August and, so far, has good days and bad ones, with more good than bad. He's beaten the vet's estimate so far and has actually gained back two pounds, putting him right at about 9 pounds.
We're waiting for the results of his last blood test (Thursday), but his doc says he looks good and she can't feel any spread of the cancer (she found it by touch the first time). So, we're hoping for more good days ahead.
Will keep you and Linus in my thoughts and prayers.
Posted 3 years ago by GizzysAuntie #
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Sullis, no it never hurts to be better informed. As they say knowledge is power. A prednisone dose of 2.5mg daily is a low dose. My 3 yr old boy needs 5mg daily and my 17 yr old girl's dose is 5mg every other day. Both of them weigh 7lbs.
There have been no ill side effects due to the usage of this steroid as of yet. The older girl has been on this prednisone dose for close to 2 years now. Both of them are monitored very closely tho' for this reason.
My best wishes to both of you this week.
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Sullis, poor Linus and GA, poor Sam. I'm really sorry to hear all this, cats are such stoic little creatures, aren't they? Sullis, I will be sending healing energy to Linus, that the surgery goes well and that the diagnosis is of IBD, and healing energy and hugs to Sam as well. We are pulling for both these little boys. {{{HUGS}}} and headbonks to you all.
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CatLady I checked out your catster page. Your cats are all beautiful. My vet told me that cats tolerate steroids better than dogs or humans do. For Tessie not taking them isn't an alternative since she was utterly wretched before being treated.
Posted 3 years ago by Cat talk rules #
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