Thursday, April 23, 2015

It's time for a Rosie update.

I heard from the vet, and she did find a reason as to why Rosie has been smacking her lips, turning her nose up to her food bowl, and overall not acting herself. The vet first informed me that my old girl's renal values look good (they look great, actually), as does her thyroid level. So, after those tests came back normal, the vet decided to use some of Rosie's blood to do a pancreatic SNAP test, and that came back abnormal. Rosie has had pancreatitis in the past, and it seems that she's now having a flare-up.

Truthfully, as weird as it sounds, I'm considering this more or less good news. I'm thoroughly relieved that after three years of fighting kidney disease, Rosie's kidneys are still showing no signs of shutting down. It was also about three years ago that Rosie first had pancreatitis, and at that time it was a truly severe case that involved significant hepatitis. She pulled through that, and since this time we caught it very early and her vet seems optimistic, I have faith that Rosie can pull through again.

One of the worst things for me right now is that Rosie is going to be hospitalized for a couple of days, primarily because she is significantly dehydrated and because she could also certainly use some IV antibiotics and so forth. Although I can say that I'll try not to, I'm sure I'll be the worryingest worrywart during the entire time Rosie is away from home. My vet does allow humans to visit their furbabies during hospital stays, though, so I will be going to see Rosie tonight, tomorrow, and any other days that she'll be staying there. I'm sure I'll be calling them for updates as well, but luckily the staff and doctors are wonderful and patient people and have yet to block my calls.

Unfortunately, the vet did inform me that Rosie's dental disease has worsened significantly since her last appointment. Therefore, once she gets past this pancreatitis, it is likely she will need to undergo a dental. Since I can only stand to worry about Rosie's most pressing ailment right now, though, I'll worry about her teeth another day.

Any purrs and prayers you can spare are still very appreciated! And thank you so much for all of the purrs and prayers you've sent Rosie's way thus far!

2 comments:

Annie Bear said...

Thanks so much for the update. I'll pray for Rosie. I wonder if the dehydration has to do with the renal disease. In a nutshell, with CRF, when their output is more than their input, that's a problem. The very nature of CRF (not concentrating the urine) is what makes their output so great that it's hard for them to replace it just by drinking and eating. I imagine she'll be on IV fluids while at the vet, but you can give her fluids subcutaneously at home, if needed, and it helps them so much with quality of life (and sustains life). It sounds scarey and awful, but it really isn't. We did it for years. There are some great sites on it and lots of people do it. Anyway, I don't mean to overwhelm you. One thing at a time. It's wonderful that you have such a caring vet and you can visit her when you want. Please give her a gentle hug from me & Annie. I know this so very hard on you.

The Menagerie Mom said...

Thank you so much for your prayers! I can't describe how much I appreciate them, and I know they're working!

I have actually been giving Rosie at-home subcutaneous fluids since she was first diagnosed with renal disease three years ago. She gets 100 ml's every day, which is why I felt quite disheartened to learn that she was so dehydrated yesterday. However, I have learned that pancreatitis is known to cause dehydration, as well as exacerbate preexisting dehydration (such as from renal disease). The vet indicated that with the IV fluids and antibiotics she is currently receiving for her pancreatitis and resulting dehydration, Rosie can hopefully get back on track with subcutaneous fluids at home.

On the note of her renal disease, considering her level of dehydration, it is actually quite astonishing that Rosie's renal values looked as good as they did yesterday (they were almost all within the normal range, her creatinine being just a little over normal). Dehydration can make renal values (as well as other values) look worse than they are, as it can make them appear more concentrated due to the low fluid volume in the body. But, Rosie's kidney's still seem happy as could be, despite the fact that they have supposedly lost a large portion of their functionality.

When I visited Rosie last night I was so relieved to see that she already looked much better. Her eye was so much brighter, and she was so affectionate and purred during my entire visit. It broke my heart to leave her, but I know she's getting the care she needs. The vet thinks she can come home tomorrow morning, and I can't wait.

The vet will be calling me with an update a little later this morning, once she gets in the office and checks on Rosie. I'll be sure to post another update then. Thank you again for your prayers, and for keeping up with my blog and my furbabies' stories!