Beryl's Gone :(

[fenshae]

Well, it's d-day. wish us luck.

 

[victoria]

Good luck :hugs:

 

[temblabamomo]

Good luck

 

[mamarat]

Fingers crossed!

 

[fenshae]

Good news!

The vet and I chatted and decided that he was a good candidate for drugs. He's getting up there in age (we're guesstimating about 18-20 months) and he's got a cataract (I've been wondering about that funky eye) and is acting like an elderly gent, but he's got some fight in him still. She says after about 72 hours on the meds we'll see improvement if he's responsive and that could buy us quality of life for possibly months. So I'm feeling pretty good about that actually.

Best part was that she gave me the *entire* bottle of Lasix so that if Stock or any of the other old guys start having heart problems I can start them on it straight away. Does anybody know what the shelf life is for that? He's on .4cc of that twice a day and .1cc of...something else that I can't remember right now. I'll look it up when I get home.

 

[Joanne]

Best part was that she gave me the *entire* bottle of Lasix so that if Stock or any of the other old guys start having heart problems I can start them on it straight away. Does anybody know what the shelf life is for that?

There should be a date right on the bottle. The expiry dates for drugs vary considerably, and it depends how long it was on the shelf before the manufacturer shipped it, and then how long it was on the shelf at your vet's. So it would be pretty difficult to guess-timate how long it would be good for... Unless it is something that they mixed for you. If that's the case, then I would call the vets and ask them.
I'm happy to hear that your boy seems to be a good candidate for meds. Hopefully it will give him lots more time with you!

 

[fenshae]

Beryl seems to be doing better. He still freaks out & gasps a bit when he's being handled for meds, but he doesn't do as much open-mouth breathing in the cage and he just seems a little...brighter. His bumblefoot on the other hand is looking terrible. His whole paw is swollen up and the bumble definitely got bigger. Blah. Hopefully the meds keep helping so I start being a bit more vigorous with the bumblefoot treatment.

The pink stuff said to keep him on it for 14 days but there were no limits for the Lasix on the package aside from twice daily, so assuming he should stay on it indefinitely/for the rest of his life?

 

[fenshae]

I can't decide if he's doing better on the meds or not. It's lasix and sulfatrim, twice a day. He's still very low-energy, spending most of his time snoozing with his head over the side of the ledge, but he doesn't seem to do as much open-mouth breathing when he's resting (although he is usually puffed up, fur-wise). He does still gasp whenever he's being handled, but it seems...I don't know. Somewhat less desperate? Like he's still definitely gasping, but he doesn't look as miserable when he does it -- he's up on all four paws, sometimes on his hind legs, and he doesn't gasp with every breath. The gasping is worst right after meds (I have to wrestle them into him, he won't take them out of the syringe willingly now - I'll have to find something new to mix them with) but seems to subside afterwards.

he's still engaging in his favorite activity, which is stealing food from Amadeus. He'll happily raid the food stash dozens of times. And he's spry enough to be jumping and climbing up in the top levels of the cage he's in even though everything he needs is on the bottom shelf.

I just don't know. I think I was holding out for a really dramatic, miraculous change in his health but that's not really reasonable. I just can't tell if he's happy like this or if I'm delaying the inevitable out of my own selfishness.

 

[temblabamomo]

Glad to hear he's still hanging in there. Stealing food is definitely a good sign :giggle:

It's hard to know what to do with heart issues or chronic resp problems when they get like this. Giving him more time with the help of meds isn't selfish at all, and it sounds as if they are helping and he's still enjoying life.

 

[jorats]

I wouldn't say it's the sulfatrim... that drug is useless on URI. Is that why it was prescribed?

 

[fenshae]

I'm not sure if the sulfatrim was meant for his foot or his lungs, honestly. The only antibiotics I hear about are baytril, doxy, and clavamox, so I didn't recognize straight away that it *was* an antibiotic, and the dosage is incredibly low (just .1 cc) so yeah, seems fairly pointless.

Think I should call the vet and ask for something stronger?

 

[Joanne]

I'm not sure if the sulfatrim was meant for his foot or his lungs, honestly. The only antibiotics I hear about are baytril, doxy, and clavamox, so I didn't recognize straight away that it *was* an antibiotic, and the dosage is incredibly low (just .1 cc) so yeah, seems fairly pointless.

Think I should call the vet and ask for something stronger?

I would ask the vet what it is treating, and why did he pick that drug?

 

[Dazzle87]

Sulfatrim, like other drugs, come in different concentrations, so .1 could be appropriate.

I've actually had success with sulfatrim with mild URI's (secondary infections), but I've had it not work too.

 

[fenshae]

Meds turned out not to be enough for Beryl, but I'm keeping a close eye on his brother so I can start dosing him early on.

 

[mamarat]

I'm so sorry.

 

[Almarine]

I'm so sorry for your loss.