Miracle in the making!

Neurological Disorders Resources. Treatment and care for pets having pain or trouble walking or standing due to spinal injuries or neurological disorders like IVDD, FCE and DM.
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Sasha's Mom
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Re: Miracle in the making!

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Sorry, I am not getting notifications of new posts again and missed the last three.

I did switch to a size 20 needle, but it made no difference. Sasha's muscles have atrophied so badly, I think when the needle is inserted, we may be touching the spine, either from him fighting or our trying to move it around.

When I gave him fluids last year, he was a breeze. He fussed a little and didn't like it, but he tolerated the procedure. If you were here and saw the fight he puts up, with fur flying for hours afterward, you would agree it is just not worth the added stress he experiences. He's very sick at this point and very weak. He's already slightly disoriented and hides. Honestly, I don't think he will last another month.

You have to keep in mind, he also has a heart murmur and the extra work on the heart with the fluids is a bit of a Catch-22 situation. Between syringe feedings, orally administering the water in very small doses throughout the day and what Sasha is drinking on his own, is still producing a good urine output.

I may try again, but I am not willing to see this poor little animal stressed anymore than is necessary. One vet tech tried four times without success and one very experienced tech who came to the house worked with me for over an hour and with the two of us trying to hold him down, wrapping him in towels, finding different positions, different areas and all she managed 25ml before Sasha pulled away and out popped the needle. Sticking him four, five and six times, has got to hurt.

For all I know, Sasha may be reliving the gunshot wound in his little memory and that alone may account for his heightened rebellion.

He also developed an abscess in his mouth yesterday and he is starting to smell quite bad. Having worked with human cancer patients for many years, one vet and I agree, he may even have cancer. No more tests, no more fussing beyond measure. Sasha is a fighter, but at some point, even a fighter knows when it is time to quit and simply rest.

Love,
Leah & Sasha
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BendyMom
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Re: Miracle in the making!

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Give him a smooch or a scritch for me.
i definitley understand when they are just needing to not be stressed anymore :(
purrrrs from the crew here for you both.
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Bendy Kitty
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Sasha's Mom
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Re: Miracle in the making!

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Thank you, BendyMom.
Sometimes, just the hugs, purrs and cuddles are the best medicine in the world. :wub:
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critters
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Re: Miracle in the making!

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I, too, can understand the catch-22 of boniness, behavior, heart, fluids, and the rest, having been through it with Tripoddy for the last year or so. It really is a balancing act. No good answers here...
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Sasha's Mom
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Re: Miracle in the making!

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critters wrote:I, too, can understand the catch-22 of boniness, behavior, heart, fluids, and the rest, having been through it with Tripoddy for the last year or so. It really is a balancing act. No good answers here...
Thank you, Critters. You hit it the nail on the head - it's a real balancing act. I don't know what he will tolerate or how well he will be from one day to the next. Some days, if he ate well or I syringe fed more and he hasn't moved his bowels. I cut back a bit on the syringe feeding. I try to give 30ml 3x a day in addition to what he eats on his own. He really is not dehydrated (thank God) and even the vet mentioned that giving water orally is better on two counts: it keeps the GI tract working and there's no extra work for the heart.

I started him on Renadyl from Kibow Biotech (http://www.kibowbiotech.com/) on June 4, twice a day and I don't know if it's wishful thinking, but it seems to be helping. His appetite has increased, his eyes look brighter and he is a bit more active. He started getting a lot of gas, but even that has subsided now. Now, the only thing I am waiting to see is a little more color in his urine, which will indicate a flushing of the toxins. The Renadyl has excellent reviews everywhere I've looked for animal and human kidney patients. Will do blood work July 15 again to see if there is any improvement.

Time for the morning routine, so keep the warm, fuzzy thoughts, head butts and purrs in your heart for Sasha.
Be simple, be earnest and spread that simplicity throughout everything you do.
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Sasha's Mom
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Small update.

Post by Sasha's Mom »

Sasha continues to drop weight, eating less and less, but still wants to go outside in his walker.
We were out for over an hour yesterday. Lately he just sits on the bench with me on the front porch, but yesterday, he wanted to romp a little.
You can see from the photos how much weight he's lost: http://sashaofvinitsa.weebly.com/june-2012-photos.html

One thing I have to give the Renadyl credit for, after only 2 weeks, is it has finally cured his chronic constipation. A rep from the company stated it takes at least 6 weeks to see any difference in the BUN score.

We also will be moving around July 15 and I am praying he holds up through the move.
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BendyMom
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Re: Miracle in the making!

Post by BendyMom »

i'm glad that he still wants to be outside and participate in life. and the meds have helped, hopefully that will help him feel better.
purrrrrrrrs that he makes through your move (where are you going, btw?) and has time to enjoy the new place.

bendy mom
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Sasha's Mom
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Re: Miracle in the making!

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BendyMom wrote:i'm glad that he still wants to be outside and participate in life. and the meds have helped, hopefully that will help him feel better.
purrrrrrrrs that he makes through your move (where are you going, btw?) and has time to enjoy the new place.

bendy mom
I must admit we had a very good week. We are up to 40ml 3x a day on the assisted feeding and he is tolerating it very well. No gagging, no fussing, no throwing up. He is eating a little better on his own and all systems are a healthy "go" on the bottom end. :)

We've been going outside for a couple hours (when temps are not in the 90's) every day. Sometimes with his wheels and sometimes just napping next to mommy on the front porch bench. Sasha's started cleaning himself again and has come out of hiding completely. I know we shall have ups and downs, and thankfully this was an "up" week.

We shall be moving to Long Beach, NY - my hometown. It's a cute little attic apartment with a great deck (Sasha safe) and plenty of room and storage. We're going to lose the backyard, but the deck is large and I think Sasha will love it.

Hugs and purrs to everyone!
Leah :wub:
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Sasha's Mom
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Sub-Q minor miracle.

Post by Sasha's Mom »

Hello everyone and Happy 4th of July to all.

Quick update on Sasha:

Still doing assisted feeding 3x a day, with the assorted necessities of aluminum hydroxide, B12 and for the moment, amoxycilin.
Poor boy continues to lose weight and is lethargic because I can not feed him enough calorie-wise. Seeing the vet this Friday for new blood work and urinalysis. Tried convincing her over the phone to order Iams Vet Formula Maximum-Calorie Plus so I could at least mix it with his renal diet, but she flatly refused. I'm at my wits end with this vet as I know she'll try to load me down with a bunch of medication instead.

However, the good news is that I took advantage of Sasha's lethargic state to try the sub-Qs again and thank the dear Lord, it worked.
I was able to give him 100ml in about 5 minutes. He bit me gently and started balking when it was all the way in, but when I pulled it half way out he didn't flinch and we had a fully successful session. 20ga needle and no blood loss at all.

Pray he is as amiable tomorrow.
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CarolC
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Re: Miracle in the making!

Post by CarolC »

Well that's really good news, the part about the fluids. I'm still hoping he'll turn out to be like Betsy, who knew the fluids made her feel better so she welcomed them. Can't remember if I said this before, but I read that being dehydrated can cause a headache. I aked my vet how long I could use one bag of fluids if I wasn't giving a lot (assuming I always swabbed the port with iodine and used fresh needles and stored it in a clean place). He said he wouldn't go over 2 weeks on one bag. You might check with your vet and see what s/he says. The bag will last about 10 days if you give 100 ml every day, but if you skip a few days you may come to the end of 2 weeks with fluids left in the bag. With Betsy I was giving fluids twice a day and we used up the bag quickly, but with my other kitty I was giving less and had to throw away part of a bag at the end of 2 weeks. I don't know what to suggest about the weight, Betsy was very thin, too.
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Sasha's Mom
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Sub-Qs

Post by Sasha's Mom »

Hi Carol,

Yes, thank heavens. I think I caught him off guard, changed the place I used to give sub-Q's and not pushing the needle in all the way, all contributed to the success. Just keep your fingers crossed it goes as well tomorrow. He absorbed the bump in about 30 minutes and urine output did not change much after afternoon and night expressing, so he really needed it. 100% agreement on not using a bag over 2 weeks. I used to toss them after 10 days even if there was some left. I change the needle every time it pierces the skin, failure or success. I've seen photos of what the tip looks like after the first use and wouldn't want a twice used needle going into anyone, animal or human.

I also started him on sub-lingual B12 (Superior Source No Shot Methylcobalamin B12 1,000mcg, Dissolve Tablets). Tried one myself first and virtually no taste and dissolved almost instantly.

The weight is tricky with the renal disease. I keep finding contradictory opinions on protein levels with CRF. He needs protein to maintain the mass and more recent opinions are agreeing that cutting protein so severely is not good. The canned renal diets are so watered down, I feel like I'm feeding him empty calories. I praise him for every kibble of dry RC Renal he eats. Sometimes I feed him one kibble at a time and count them! If he gets past 20, I'm happy.

His hips are now snapping his legs into an awkward contortionist position. I keep picking him up and allowing him to reposition so he doesn't sleep with his hind legs jutting out from under his neck. It kills me to see him like that, but he is STILL insisting on going outside and climbed the stairs with a little balance help from mom tonight.

Hoping there's been some improvement. Will know more after Friday's tests.

Joined Tanya's CRF group and I like the members there. They are helpful without going overboard. One CRF group stressed me out so much I stopped posting. I know they were trying to be helpful, but there's only so much info and so many links one can absorb in a day.

Thanks for everything, Carol. You and my other friends here are a real blessing. Love you all and if Sasha could talk, he would say the same thing!

:wub:
Leah and Sasha
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critters
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Re: Miracle in the making!

Post by critters »

Have you ever considered having an e-tube (esophogeal tube) put in? I think it'd make a big difference being able to dump food, meds, and water down him with much less cooperation required. I haven't actually done one, but I was going to have one put in my Joy when she was sick.
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Sasha's Mom
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July 7, 2012 Blood work and urinalysis

Post by Sasha's Mom »

Went from bad to worse:

http://sashaofvinitsa.weebly.com/bloodwork.html

Sasha coudn't tolerate anesthesia and as you can see from today's test results, he's slipping fast.
He went from 9.7 pounds to 7.8 pounds in 2 months.

I'm still crying and can't write right now...

Love,
Leah
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Christine
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Re: Miracle in the making!

Post by Christine »

Sending healing prayers for your boy and hugs for you.

Love,
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Sasha's Mom
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Re: Miracle in the making!

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Thank you, Christine.

I'm getting a good deal of info at Tanya's CRF forum and they are not letting us give up.

I have been going back and forth with emails from a vet at The Animal Medical Center in Manhattan for this clinical trial http://www.amcny.org/sites/default/file ... %20MSC.pdf and even after today's horrendous blood work, she strongly suggested I get him in tomorrow through the renal service or internal medicine for another ultrasound with a specialist. If you scroll down to the end of the .pdf, there is a long list of prerequisites, but she already knows his history. If we have to pay for all the pre-testing, the cost will be prohibitive. I didn't have the nerve to ask and can afford the ultrasound, but not much after that.

Prayers are the most welcome gift anyone can provide.

Love,
Leah and Sasha (my little stoic fighter)
Be simple, be earnest and spread that simplicity throughout everything you do.
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