Katharine Struggles to Eat on Liquid Phenobarbital-Trip to Vet for Scan and Meds

Katharine update since 7/11: she had been eating well enough once I cut a small amount off of the phenobarbital pill half that she received in the morning. She ate well enough for a week. We had to hand feed in the evening but she did eat some in the evening. She had not lost weight during this time. But then 7/13, we switched to liquid pheno. Since I couldn't accurately cut the pills in half (not scored, easily fell apart) I never knew how much more or less of 7.5mg per dose she actually received. The liquid version was supposed to help us figure this out, titrate down as needed, and track efficacy. But she immediately lost her appetite. The script was 7.5mg/1ml-one dose was one ML liquid pheno. To decrease the dose, I began giving her .95, then .90, then .85, then .80. She would not eat. We had to keep hand feeding her. The goal was 150 calories a day which was difficult to do just because it required multiple feedings of 21 ml or more per feeding. Each ml was approx. one calorie.

Her gastro scan was already scheduled and that was this past Thursday. She's fine. No liver damage or disease; still no pancreatitis. But her small intestine, the mucosa, is a bit more thickened since May's scan. They suspect IBD-irritable bowel syndrome-because all blood work is normal, and there are no signs of disease or cancer. She is to ONLY eat hypo food-rabbit, venison, duck-and NO fish based foods. She is on steroids for a few weeks (which are tapered down over time.) She received a B12 shot and will receive them every 2 weeks until late August. (They sent the supplies home, expecting me to administer the shot since I learned how to give shots sub q when I had to inject lasix into Myrna. I declined to do this with KH and will take her back to the vet for each shot. I'm not up to it frankly and since it's not life saving such as lasix, it's not something I MUST do.) While she could take by mouth, vitamin B12, since she has IBD, she may not absorb the needed amount, so hence the shots. They also tested her vitamin D levels which-just like with humans-if low, creates all sorts of issues (I have been low on iron and vitamin D and both caused the same symptoms for me: muscle aches and weakness, inability to breathe/move, feeling as if a major disease is attacking your nerves, etc. I take supplements for both.)

I also switched back to pheno pills in case the liquid version has put off her appetite. By shaving a bit off the end, she returned to eating-but after beginning steroids (which can increase appetite) and receiving the B12 shot. She's not eating enough and we continue to hand feed as necessary. She has lost 3 oz. since last week and is down to a bony 10 lbs. So, we must make sure she reaches her caloric daily goals. We will try the pills for a few days, then switch back to the liquid version and see how she responds. If she looses her appetite again, then I'll have the pharmacy redo the formula.