Need Expert Info on the medications my vet administered & prescribed...Should I still give them?

[dragonlady302]

I have recently taken my 8 yr. old Bombay, Shadow (aka PNut) to the vet for severe diarrhea, vomiting, asthma symptoms & bumps on the skin. There were a few other things, but basically I am concerned with the amount of medications he has been given & the ones I have to administer. These two were injections that were given at the vet's office:
- Dexamethasone-SP 4mg Injection --> (a steroid)
  adverse reactions: accentuation of metabolic effects (huh?)
- Cerenia 10 mg Injection -- bacterial infections, Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) & giardiasis
- Not officially approved for veterinarian use (concern--then why prescribe?)
- Regulates immune system response, fights skin infections (his bumps?)
Adverse Reactions: Serious --> seizures, muscle weakness, liver disease (jaundice) --> can take up to 2 weeks to subside after discontinued use.
Less Serious --> vomiting (says to stop use if cat stops eating or vomiting does not stop)
I am concerned about the injections & this last one. Should I give him that last one? I don't know what I would do if he had a seizure. I dread the thought. And how do you tell if he has muscle weakness? Also it said that if he get the severe side effects that it requires vet attention & I won't notice anything until after a week, which is how long he is on this medication. Anyone that has expert experience with having administered this medication before with or without the other medications that I mentioned, please reply immediately to this post.
BTW...
There were other courses of treatment suggested such as a bloodwork combo & chest xrays both of which are extremely expensive & not within  my budget. He also coughs. The vet said that it could be asthma. If this medication doesn't improve his condition, I have been advised to seek those other courses of treatment. Thanks in advance for any information you can provide. I am looking mostly for testimonials. Have you given your pet any of these medications? How did it go?

[opus88]

dragonlady, I just read back into your old post where you mentioned you HAD been feeding PURINA ONE DRY FOOD.....yikes.

are you aware there was a RECALL on some of this food? possibly contaminated with SALMONELLA....I will send this link for you to read and see if this was what Shadow was eating, perhaps this is why she is ill, could she have salmonella poisoning? If this is a possibility please return her to a Vet clinic asap...poor baby.

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Cats/PURINA-CAT-FOOD-RECALL/show/1566114

[opus88]

I do want to say on this site we are NOT Vets, if you wish to post this on another site where there is a Vet you may have to wait a few hours(days) for a reply but it would be much more indepth that what we can tell you here, all I can give is my own opinion.

http://www.medhelp.org/forums/Animal-Health---General/show/112?camp=msc

here is a site to read more about cerenia, I see it is only approved for use on dogs, however I do know many drugs are used 'off label' for us as well as animals.

http://www.drugs.com/vet/cerenia-injectable-solution.html

dragonlady....all I can say is if you don't feel comfortable with the drugs given and don't know why they were prescribed than I would d/c use until you could get an answer. IMO the dosage was very HIGH for a cat. and IMO any steroid should only be used if absolutely the last resort b/c of so many complications they can cause.

How is Shadow now? has the treatment helped his diarrhea?
Did the Vet have a diagnosis or was he just giving all this as a 'watch and see what happens' approach?

You mentioned the injections at the clinic but didn't say what you are administering at home??? what med is this?