#gus update

[snorlax-and-co]

Gus update

Gus had his check up at the vet today.. He’s finished the course of 2 of his meds, the vet has advised to start weaning him off a 3rd one, the 4th he's probably going to be on for life (but luckily we can put the powder on his food instead of giving him the tablet). They had the results from the stone analysis finally which said they're calcium oxalate stones, which isn't great news because they can't dissolve the stones that are in his kidneys. They're testing the pH of his urine because when they last did those numbers weren't great (too acidic) and with this type of stone it's apparently important to keep the urine as alkaline as possible, through diet/meds. He needs to stay on his renal food but may been urinary food that can help prevent more stones forming.

Best case scenario the stones could stay in his kidneys forever without causing issues. If they're small enough the meds he's on could help him pass them which would also be good but they could get blocked between the kidneys and bladder or in the urethra (like the one they removed in surgery). The tube between the kidneys and bladder is even smaller than the urethra so it would be very bad for one to get stuck there. If they get bigger or that happens he could potentially lose a kidney. 

The main vet is off this week so his urine sample will be tested and a plan of action will be put together when he's back, I think because he's a senior vet and as always Gus is quite a complex case! For now we're just feeding him as much as possible, doing his meds and subcut every day. He's actually fine in himself which is good and is still peeing normally at the moment which is also positive. It's a bit of a wait and see situation now really, see what the senior vet says next week re diet/long term treatment plan and see how Gus gets on - obviously take him in if we need to. So it's not what they were hoping but trying to stay positive as we're doing everything we can for him.

[snorlax-and-co]

We’ve had quite a productive day despite being absolutely exhausted. Gus had a check up at the vet this morning and the vet’s pleased with his progress. Unless he gets worse in any way we don’t have to take him back in for a couple of weeks, when they’ll check how his bladder and kidneys are doing. Still waiting on the analysis result of the stone they removed but hopefully that will lead to a longer term solution so *hopefully* Gus won’t get this ill again. He’s a lot brighter and eating better now though which just makes me so happy!

We had a doctor’s appointment this afternoon which was quite positive, which is a nice change! Our latest bloods showed our thyroid meds are at the right dose and even though the inflammatory markers are still elevated (and our doctor doesn’t know why) they’re reducing gradually and he’s finally happy enough with them to put our referral to the chronic fatigue team in. Hopefully they’ll accept it with not 100% perfect blood work. He’s reduced our diabetes meds because we’re doing well with our weight loss and sugar levels. He’s also referred us to physio for our bad knee.

Very tired and possibly having a bit of a reaction to the flu jab we had earlier in the week but things are finally feeling a tiny bit more positive. We have a double therapy session tomorrow that will take a lot of effort but we haven’t seen her in a fortnight so I think we really need to go. I feel like I’m coping and about to crack at the same time however that works. I’ve wanted to have a good cry or meltdown for weeks because it will be a relief with all that’s been going on for us but it’s just not happening - I think I’m so used to just pushing through that I’m doing that unintentionally and I’m worried that something tiny might end up breaking me.