And things were going so well . . . .  At last, when I thought I had
Phoebe's health issues under control - ARGH!  She was doing well gaining
weight and up to 2 lbs (maybe even too fat now?) and seemed to be
reacting well to her Prednisolone doses; poops were looking real good
(with the help of some canned pumpkin; teeth grinding had stopped, and
she's been pretty active the past few weeks.
 
Now, all of the sudden I've noticed she's sluggish and grinding her teeth
far more often than ever before and now it's even when she's NOT eating
(which used to be the only time, before).  And her breath still wreaks
like POOP!
 
Here was routine, up until 2 weeks ago:
 
 .5mL carafate mixed with a bit of Ferretone in the syringe, given
20-30 min.  before each meal.
 
Then she was fed her soup, mixed with .10 mL Prednisolone (15mg/5mL
solution) and .7 mL Pepto Bismol.  She was eating anywhere from 12-15
TBSP of soup in a 24 hr.  period with virtually no teeth grinding.
 
Now, with the increase in teeth grinding, I'm trying to figure out what
part of the formula I'm doing isn't working.
 
Grinding got worse when she started on a new concentration of Carafate
(about 2 weeks ago as well).  I ran out of the Carafate I had been given
from the shelter where I adopted Phoebe from but the shelter hasn't ever
responded to my calls and emails asking for this information or her
health records.  So I had to ask the vet for a new prescription and I'm
wondering if this new stuff is either too strong or too weak?
 
I believe the 'new' Carafate is 1 mg. tablets (long, white) and the
directions are as follows:
Add 1/2 tablet to 20 mL water and give 1/2 mL (.5mL) every 8-12 hrs.
Also, on the bottle of Cafafate tablets it reads, " "DO NOT give within 1
hr.  of other meds" so I either have to wait an hr.  after giving the
carafate to give soup mixed with Pred or give soup by itself and give
Pred and Pepto Bismol separately, which Phoebe hates, unless I mix both
with Linatone in the syringe.
 
Also, I've been told NOT to add Ferretone or Linatone to the carafate in
the syringe, to make it more palatable, because that reduces the binding
strength of the Carafate.  So obviously something, or a combination of
things, is not working in my regimine and I'd like to know how everyone
else out there administers their carafate and/ or Predisolone?
 
So what about the dosage & concentration of the carafate I've been
given - does that sound right?
 
Is there a better combination of meds that might work to control the
teeth grinding and insulinoma?
 
Also, I can't help but wonder if there are pending adrenal issues that
are acting up again but how can I be sure the vet is properly treating
what is really going on inside her?  I know that's a 'hit and miss'
crapshoot sometimes but can we get anywhere close??????
 
THANKS EVERYONE!  I really appreciate the input  :-)
 
Jennifer and the 3 Amigos
[Posted in FML issue 4782]