# Syncope? Seizures? Asthma? Vet Woes :(



## SilentEarth (Feb 9, 2010)

A long story, looking for some support and answers. 

Johnny is my 10 year old male cat, with a level 4 heart murmur that he's had since he was born. It's severity hasn't gotten worse since he was a kitten. Recently Johnny started throwing up unusually. He would dry heave a bit and vomit about 5 pieces of partialy digested dry food. In between the heaves his 2 back legs would spread out, tense up, and his claws would grip the floor. After the heaves he would walk around a little wobbly and a tiny bit confused, and then within 2-4 minutes seem perfectly fine. This happened about 6-8 times since early April. I thought he was getting overly upset when he was vomiting (he coughs a lot as well) which is why I never looked into it. Last Sunday (12-13th) he had an episode like this, but during the gagging he fell over onto his side and all 4 of his stuck straight out for about 10 seconds. Then he popped right up, trotted away from me and seemed a little confused. Within 8 minutes he was 100% right back to his normal self - This was the 1 and only time it was that severe. This not only scared me terribly, but I thought what he had was a seizure so we brought him in to the vet.

The vet we were supposed to see was "doing an emergency surgery" (but today she told us she was on vacation. Lovely) so instead we saw a different vet. I think they were going to tell us to bring him in another day, but I was not about to let them screw me over after a hot 40 minute car ride with a cat that has a heart condition. We talked to the stand-in vet and she suggested that he wasn't having seizures, but instead had something called syncope. When she explained it and we talked to her more about, it seemed to make a lot more sense than seizures. I read up a LOT about seizures since I was so afraid, and Johnny had a few of the symptoms, but it didn't seem to totally fit. The stand in vet suggested we have a heart ultrasound done by a visiting specialist to find out exactly what was wrong with his heart, and then from there to get him on some kind of medication to help. Very expensive for my finances, but we did it anyways. That leads us to today.

We drop Johnny off to have the ultrasound, and they say they will call us when he's done. 6 hours later WE call them, to find out he's been done - they never called us. The vet (not the ultrasound specialist), the one who originally blew me off for my first appointment tells us his heart is fine and she's sure Johnny is having seizures. This vet hasn't even SEEN Johnny before (ever). And over the phone she asks if we want blood work done - When we asked when we dropped him off if he could have blood work done and they said he didn't need it. We agree because if he is ever put on medication I want to know how his liver/kidneys are. We show up to pick up Johnny to a $570 bill, when we were told it was going to be $300. I was unaware that bloodwork means bloodwork plus urinalysis (sp?) and a thyroid check? The vet we actually saw a few days previous (the stand in vet) suggested we get his thyroid checked because she thought he developed his heart murmur, when in fact he was born with it. We explained that to her and she ruled out a thyroid problem. Yet for whatever reason the vet who blew me off tested him for it and charged me for it anyways. Is blood work really supposed to be almost 300$??? Since I practically burst into tears in the vets office because we couldn't pay for it, they aren't sending in the tests and we have to get them redone at a later time.

All this is being done via a receptionist. We go to pick up Johnny and we don't even get to talk to the vet. (This is the second time we were supposed to talk to this vet and we still haven't.) We go home with a scared kitty, 300$ poorer, and absolutely no answers. The vet will supposedly call us tomorrow to talk about it, but from the looks of it I will be lucky if we get a call from a receptionist. Is it normal for the vet to be trying to explain to me what the ultrasound means, when she isn't the one who did it? I've never had any pets get any types of scans done before. I already know she is going to try to tell me he's having seizures and try to medicate him for seizures. I know my cat - from his heart history, what the stand in vet talked to us about, and what I've researched on the internet I truly don't believe he's having seizures. I could be wrong, but it just doesn't seem to fit. 

My fiance did a little bit of looking up about asthma. I saw videos of cats having asthma attacks and he does have fits like I saw, BUT they don't happen when Johnny "passes out". They are totally separate. I've read that heart conditions can cause fluid, pressure, etc. Could asthma + heart condition be messing with his bloodflow and then triggering the episodes where he seems to pass out for a few seconds and gets loopy?

I'm just looking for any kind of answers, I don't think I'm ever going back to that same vet's office. They were terrible to me, and while I was waiting to pick up Johnny a lady had been waiting for 45 minutes with a doggie in pain for her appointment and no one was even helping her. I have not slept in over 24 hours, and most of the past these 24 hours I've spent bawling my eyes out. I need to find out what's wrong with my Johnny and I don't know what to do anymore because I don't trust any of the vet offices in my area. I apologize the post is so long (and possibly confusing) but I'm trying to give as much information so everyone can get an accurate idea of what's going on. Please any help or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading all of this.


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## Kobster (Feb 1, 2007)

Hi. I'm really sorry you are going through this. It is such a difficult time when our pets are ill and we feel so helpless and don't know what to do.

I really hate it when vets act this way. I don't know why they think pet owners don't want to know "details". The more people know, the better they will be able to care for their pet. Education is a HUGE part of vet medicine and it sound like your vet just doesn't get that. Now, as for not speaking to the ultrasonographer, thats probably not too unusual. If its anything like the day vets around here, they bring in a traveling veterinarian with an ultrasound who uses the primary vets facility and anesthesia, does the ultrasound, leaves a report with the doctor then moves on to the next vets office. So its is normal not to speak to that vet, but there should be a report and you should be able to get a copy of it to take to the new vet I assume you will be seeing. It is your vets job then to interpret those results and go over them with you, in detail, and what that means as far as diagnosis, etc. 

Now, you could go to a specialist and have the scan done and then the specialist will speak with you at length, the actual one who did the ultrasound. This is usually significantly more expensive however. 

As for whats going on, there is no way to really say over the internet, not having seen it, etc. BUT, prefaced with all sorts of disclaimers, it sounds to me like its more likely to be syncope than seizures. Given his history of heart murmur. It could very well be coupled with asthma. Thing is, a very simple and much less expensive xray could have made that diagnosis. He has an asthmatic attack, over exerts himself, and has a syncopal episode. Its just logical given what you are describing. 

Seizures in a cat of his age almost always = brain tumor. So for his sake, I hope you and I and the first vet are right and its syncope. There are heart meds that can help. 

Good luck to you!


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## SilentEarth (Feb 9, 2010)

Thanks for your reply. It took the vet a few days to call me but she finally did. She didn't seem too concerned about his heart, which is confusing to me because all his life I was told by various vets that it was pretty serious. She suggested and had some reasoning of sinusitis (sp?) that could be causing congestion, lack of air flow, lack of blood resulting in the 'passing out' episodes. Johnny is usually congested a lot, but in the more recent months he actually hasn't had any problem with it at all! And then lastly the vet suggested it could be asthma. Whether or not the asthma is what's causing his episodes, I do believe he has asthma anyways. I can only hope that it's what is the root of his problem, and the asthma isn't just an additional problem. 

For 10 days worth of prednisone and one other medication, Vetrol? Betrol? (Something sounding like that) it will be 67$. Which comes out to approx 200$ a month. I really don't know how I'll be able to afford it. Does anyone know what medication it is that she prescribed? I can't buy it until July, so before then I want to read up on it so I know what exactly is being put into my kitty.

I've already given away all my candles, and am in the process of making the room that the cats spend most of their time in less cluttered. Less furniture, less clothes, less stuff! More airflow and less place to collect dust etc, which could irritate and cause asthma attacks. I'm also looking into buying a better quality vacuum. I'm just lucky to be able to have the internet so I can do my own addtional research, as opposed to being limited to what your vet knows and decides to tell you.


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## Kobster (Feb 1, 2007)

Hmmm, the only thing I can think of that sounds like Vetrol or Betrol is Medrol, which is a steroid. Thing is, you shouldn't have to keep her on steroids full time. If you can get the initial inflammation under control with a round of pred or medrol (they are both sterioids, so not sure why she would prescribe both, unless its an injection of medrol to start off then a reducing dose of pred, that sounds about standard for asthma flairs) 

I have asthma and I have a cat with asthma so you are in luck! I can share my wealth of experience with you (hahaha). Keeping the house low on allergens is a great plan! Very proactive and much cheaper than vet bills. In addition to more vaccuming and dusting, you might look into a lower dust litter to use, and something without fragrance as that cat irritate the sensitive cats upper respiratory tract. With my asthmatic cat, prevention is key. We try to keep allergens low, we use special allergen filters in the A/C and keep the carpets swept etc. He also gets benedryl every day to prevent allergic response that may cause an asthma flair. GOOD NEWS! Benadryl is safe and very cheap. My cat weighs 13 pounds and gets 1/2 of a 25 mg tab once a day. You can also give much smaller amounts more frequently, but I've found this adequatly controls Thurstons asthma symptoms most of the time. ***DISCLAIMER I am not a vet, so ask your vet, or A vet before you give any medication to your cat. If he's congested much of the time, this will help that also. 

Speaking of being congested most of the time, its possible he may have the feline herpes virus which causes chronic upper respiratory issues in cats, snuffly nose, goopy eyes, etc. There is no cure for feline herpes, BUT the symptoms can be helped significantly by adding a Lysine supplement to his diet. This is also cheap and can be obtained at any health food store/drug store. I don't know about dosages for Lysine, but someone will be along who does, or you could do a search on this forum for Lysine and read more about it. Its safe, you're not going to overdose your kitty on it, it can't hurt and can only help. 

Ok, back to asthma. Like I said, you really don't want to do steroids long term, so use them to get this initial flare under control then do what you can to prevent prevent prevent with the antihistamine (benedryl) and Lysine. The other med that I keep on hand for Thurston (my asthma cat) is Theophyline. This is a broncho dialator, fancy for opens up the air ways. I give it as needed when he has a flare. Its only available by prescription but is also dirt cheap. If your vet is charging an arm and a leg for it, ask them to write you an RX and get it filled at Wal Mart, I'm fairly sure its on their $4 generics list. 

So, don't panic about the steroids. Get them on board then try these prevention methods and see if it gets things under control. 

Whew! That was a novel!


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## kwarendorf (Oct 12, 2009)

I can't help with the asthma or the seizures or the heart. I can help with the drugs you mentioned and share your frustration when dealing with vets. Prednisone and Medrol are versions of the same thing. As Kobester mentioned they are corticosteroids used to reduce inflamation. Medrol is actually methyl prednisolone. _*Prednisone*_ is converted into _*prednisolone*_ in the liver. It is the prednisolone that then reduces inflamation. Cats can be less than efficient at this conversion so starting with prednisolone can be better. These drugs should not be that expensive. I just paid about $10 for a months worth of prednisolone (5mg/day). Long term use at high doses should be avoided, but maintenance doses (5mg every other day) shouldn't pose problems. These drugs can be VERY beneficial! Franklin, who has IBD, has gone from puking every day/every other day to not having thrown up in 6 weeks! He started out @5mg 2x/day, is now down to 5mg/day and the goal is to get him doen to 5mg every other day. At this dose my vet does not think there is significant risk of diabetes, the major risk of long term corticosteroid use.

Now on to Vet stress  Even though he is only 2 1/2, Franklin has turned me into an experienced consumer of vet services. I am now in my 3rd practice and I think I have my keeper! The first was a large hospital at the HQ of a national animal welfare organization. They were very good, but very busy. It was very difficult to see the same vet with any regularity. As you found out different vets often means different opinions. My next practice was a 3 vet, cats only practice. Here too I was often seeing a rotation of vets. My real concern here was that Franklin was being treated for things he had not been tested for. The last time he got an antibiotic combo that resulted in him not eating for 5 days. Now I am at another 3 vet, cats only practice. I was referred to a specific vet in the practice. I met with him and we decided Franklin need endoscopic biopsies. (These were done by a specialist that I never laid eyes on  ) IBD was confirmed and we started Franklin on the prednisolone. Follow up results were delivered by a second and when I called with a question I was connected with the third vet. All three were providing different infomation :evil: I sent the original vet an email in which I explained that he was the reason I went the practice, and that receiving conflicting information from 3 different vets was both confusing and upsetting. He agreed. I now get all of my info from him, unless it is an emergency we see only him. You can request appointments with specific vets. You have to advocate for your cat. 

This may be my longest post yet, but these are two of my current cat concerns 

Kyle


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