Steriod therapy it is!!

[Catlady711]

In looking up information for you in more detail I stumbled upon a few interesting things that you might want to ask your vet about. I put those parts in bold type.

I don't know much personally about this use for pred (prednisolone), at work we mostly use it as an immune system suppresant or anti inflamatory. I can't find out much about using it to treat a protien deficiency without more info on the lab work tests, everything I google keeps comming back to how the drug works, not a dificiency in protien.

VeterinaryPartner.com

USES OF THIS MEDICATION
Prednisone and prednisolone are members of the glucocorticoid class of hormones. This means they are steroids but, unlike the anabolic steroids that we hear about regarding sports medicine, these are catabolic steroids. Instead of building the body up, they are designed to break down stored resources (fats, sugars and proteins) so that they may be used as fuels in times of stress. Cortisone is an example of a related hormone with which most people are familiar. Glucocorticoids hormones are produced naturally by the adrenal glands.

We do not use the glucocorticoids for their influences on glucose and protein metabolism; we use them because they are also the most broad anti-inflammatory medications that we have.

INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER DRUGS
Glucocorticoid hormones should not be used in combination with medications of the NSAID class (i.e., aspirin, Rimadyl, phenylbutazone etc.) as the combination of these medications could lead to bleeding in the stomach or intestine. Ulceration could occur.

CONCERNS AND CAUTIONS
Prednisone and prednisolone are considered to be intermediate acting steroids, meaning that a dose lasts about a day or a day and a half. After two weeks or more of use, it is important to taper the dose to an every other day schedule so as to keep the body's own cortisone sources able and healthy.

The same salt retention that accounts for the excessive thirst and urination may also be a problem for heart failure patients or other patients who require sodium restriction.

Diabetic patients should never take this medication unless there is a life-threatening reason why they must.

Glucocorticoid hormones can cause abortion in pregnant patients. They should not be used in pregnancy.

Prednisone/prednisolone use is likely to change liver enzyme blood testing and interfere with testing for thyroid diseases.

When prednisone/prednisolone is used routinely, serious side effects would not be expected. When doses become immune-suppressive (higher doses) or use becomes chronic (longer than 4 months at an every other day schedule), the side effects and concerns associated become different. In these cases, monitoring tests may be recommended or, if possible, another therapy may be selected.

[coco-bean]

i know he explain this to me when it was still an option and it was still unknown if the food would make a difference, but i guess i was hoping we wouldnt need it so i didnt listen as much as i would if i would need it...which i do now so of course i wish i did!
I will def. ask him about what you all explain though!
i do remember this though...they said she had inflamation in her colon which of course wouldnt let her poop, so they gave us med. to help clear it up, after a while she became immune to it, so we figured if i switch the food(which i did before he even said too, because i've been meaning to get them switched to something better anyways) but switch to a better food, we switched to Chickenm soup for the dog lovers soul, and he said that'd prolly help with the fiber/protein and anything else she may need! it helped for about a week, then had her accident in her kennel, which was weird to me anyways because she pooped twice that day and normally she wasnt pooping at all and then she'd do it at night!
But she pooped twice during the day so i thought she was still okay...plus her poop was still normal so i didnt see any problems...but i guess i was wrong, it was very running in her kennel, so i just dont know anymore!
Im running out of money...this has been very expensive, especially right now because i havent been getting as many hours at work so i've been kinda short on EVERYTHING...i just hope we figure something out before im completely out of money!