There are great news, and not so great.... The great news is that the medicine is working - Yesterday she woke up fine today for the first time, and did not have any cough fit so far - it was the very first day cough free. She had a few minor episodes where she was gasping for air for a little while - not too bad in comparison with the previous days.... She definitely overdid jumping into the litterbox and out - and making too much effort to poop.
She is totally constipated, a side-effect of the Diuretic.......... and here are the bad news: all side effects of the diuretics:
Yesterday she went COMPLETELY off food and water. I am saying completely here. She was not eating even a little, she was not taking syringe feeding, not drinking water, nothing. This is awful for her liver :(
She had a BAD case of dry mouth.... she was not peeing as much as she should, not pooping at all - she tried and tried, but nothing would come out... If I tried to syringe feed her, in addition to the stress, that could be life-threatening, she would spit right out.
Her vet had mentioned the risk of a high dose of Lasix and lack of appetite - in checking the side effects, she showed all of the serious ones - of course, she needed a high dose, as not breathing is the most life-threatening condition she could possibly have.
Today I had a call with her V-E-T, Dr. E -He is really happy with her progress.... For now, the number 1 concern is the heart, 2 the liver, 3 thyroid.
So, we are lowering the Lasix dosage for 2x a day to see if her appetite perks up a little..... He said it should. If it doesn't we will give her stronger appetite stimulants.
It is ok to continue on miralax and add a bit of Vaseline on her food once in a while to help her poop.
After she is stable, in about 2 weeks, or if her appetite is better before, switch her back to the y/d diet - he absolutely does NOT want her on methimazole, as it will push her liver over the edge, risking complete liver failure.
So...... one day at a time, on the long road of recover - he said if she continues to respond well for the next 2 weeks, in the maintenance dose, she can have many years with a very good quality of life....
She did much better today, but did cough twice tonight.... I would not call it cough fits or cough episodes, as it was only a couple of coughs - literally, each time, and soon after I pilled her, so it might be just that the pill bothered her throat. She didn't run out of breath or anything, so that's good.
One thing that's concerning me a little, is that she is very weak on her hind legs - what comes to mind is the high doses of diuretic, and not drinking water yesterday might dehydrated her - she might have lost too much potassium, making her weak. That's the only thing I can make sense of.....
She is drinking water normally now, and the diuretic is lower - she is also eating better, so I believe that with time this will get better. I will call the vet tomorrow to make sure that is the case. I was able to feed her another meal of Ziwipeak, which is highly nutritionally packed, so even though she didn't eat a LOT of it, she ate a good amount today. Ziwi blends into a very creamy pate, making it easy for her to swallow.... If there is any texture in the food, she just licks the gravy out of it and spits it off - not enough energy to chew as of yet
She did pee twice out of the litterbox - once during the night, and once during the day, right in front of me. I then noticed the weakness on her legs, and made some stepping stools for her to go up on the box (it is not too tall, but it makes it easier for her to go up) - I cleaned the spot with an enzyme cleaner, and topped the box with cat attract litter. She used the box already, so I think she will be fine with this arrangement. I am not too concerned - I know a house smelling like pee sucks, but my biggest concern is making sure she is alright.... She is not happy not being able to make to the box, I am sure....
Anyways, hopefully tomorrow will be yet a better day..... and the day after a better one too.......
I love you little Gracie <3
She is totally constipated, a side-effect of the Diuretic.......... and here are the bad news: all side effects of the diuretics:
Yesterday she went COMPLETELY off food and water. I am saying completely here. She was not eating even a little, she was not taking syringe feeding, not drinking water, nothing. This is awful for her liver :(
She had a BAD case of dry mouth.... she was not peeing as much as she should, not pooping at all - she tried and tried, but nothing would come out... If I tried to syringe feed her, in addition to the stress, that could be life-threatening, she would spit right out.
Her vet had mentioned the risk of a high dose of Lasix and lack of appetite - in checking the side effects, she showed all of the serious ones - of course, she needed a high dose, as not breathing is the most life-threatening condition she could possibly have.
Today I had a call with her V-E-T, Dr. E -He is really happy with her progress.... For now, the number 1 concern is the heart, 2 the liver, 3 thyroid.
So, we are lowering the Lasix dosage for 2x a day to see if her appetite perks up a little..... He said it should. If it doesn't we will give her stronger appetite stimulants.
It is ok to continue on miralax and add a bit of Vaseline on her food once in a while to help her poop.
After she is stable, in about 2 weeks, or if her appetite is better before, switch her back to the y/d diet - he absolutely does NOT want her on methimazole, as it will push her liver over the edge, risking complete liver failure.
So...... one day at a time, on the long road of recover - he said if she continues to respond well for the next 2 weeks, in the maintenance dose, she can have many years with a very good quality of life....
She did much better today, but did cough twice tonight.... I would not call it cough fits or cough episodes, as it was only a couple of coughs - literally, each time, and soon after I pilled her, so it might be just that the pill bothered her throat. She didn't run out of breath or anything, so that's good.
One thing that's concerning me a little, is that she is very weak on her hind legs - what comes to mind is the high doses of diuretic, and not drinking water yesterday might dehydrated her - she might have lost too much potassium, making her weak. That's the only thing I can make sense of.....
She is drinking water normally now, and the diuretic is lower - she is also eating better, so I believe that with time this will get better. I will call the vet tomorrow to make sure that is the case. I was able to feed her another meal of Ziwipeak, which is highly nutritionally packed, so even though she didn't eat a LOT of it, she ate a good amount today. Ziwi blends into a very creamy pate, making it easy for her to swallow.... If there is any texture in the food, she just licks the gravy out of it and spits it off - not enough energy to chew as of yet
She did pee twice out of the litterbox - once during the night, and once during the day, right in front of me. I then noticed the weakness on her legs, and made some stepping stools for her to go up on the box (it is not too tall, but it makes it easier for her to go up) - I cleaned the spot with an enzyme cleaner, and topped the box with cat attract litter. She used the box already, so I think she will be fine with this arrangement. I am not too concerned - I know a house smelling like pee sucks, but my biggest concern is making sure she is alright.... She is not happy not being able to make to the box, I am sure....
Anyways, hopefully tomorrow will be yet a better day..... and the day after a better one too.......
I love you little Gracie <3
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