aw, well not really - it’s just that loki makes her look like quite a chubber in comparison to his skinny behind!!
just thought i’d update with the good news - loki’s doing really well, we’ve moved him onto chubb cubes today, and they’re going down - and staying down - nicely. as it’s much more high calorie than the id, we’re hoping that it’ll help him to gain back some weight - although we’re taking things slowly so his tummy can adjust to ‘normal’ food again.
he’s not pooping as regularly as he should, but i guess that’s understandable given the lack of food he’s able to process at one time - but i’m hoping that this will improve with time.
he’s still as much of a sook as ever - jumping up on the couch next to anyone who’ll have him, and even sneaking up on our bed during the night - but it’s just lovely to have him be so full of beans. he still tires really easily, and his muscles are quite weak, but hoping that will improve with time, too.
the vet has sent away for tests for mysthenia gravis, which is a muscular degeneration disease - of which megaesophogus is a very common symptom. however, the samples have to go over to the states, as there’s only one university in california i think that does the tests for it,so we won’t know for another few weeks whether this is the case. hopefully it’s not - but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
in the meantime! we’ve started holding mia’s head up after eating too, and rubbing her throat, so she feels equally special and she’s anything but fat! hehe.
thanks for all of your well wishes in the past - it’s been a troublesome few months. but just glad there does seem to be some kind of light at the end of the tunnel for all of us x
thanks everyone.
i’ve been putting off replying for a while as i seem to keep jinxing my poor boy :(
it seems as though every time we take one step forward, we take another two back..or sometimes more, as it can feel.
when he’d had his throat xrays, he weighed in at 22kg. just one week later, last thursday, he was down to 21.2kg. we’re going to take him back tomorrow, but it doesn’t look as if he’s putting on any weight - in fact, it would be a huge sigh of relief if he could even maintain his weight.
he’s been switched on to AD food, which is high calorie and protein for dogs recovering from operations etc, and we’re also feeding him complan, and he’d managed to keep down kibble that we’d soaked overnight in water.
all of the above he loves - and it all seemed to work well - but, as we should have learned from the last few months, just because something works for a few days doesn’t mean we’re past any hurdles. he was sick all through the night on both sunday and last night, quite badly last night - and while still pooping, and being quite bright, there is hardly anything left of him.
this morning allan spoke again about putting him out of his misery. but to me, he doesn’t seem miserable, just sick. (well…you know what i mean…). i guess after all of the positives, i forgot that we hadn’t passed the crucial stage yet, of maintaining those things. it’s just a horrible place to be in, and my heart is tearing up for him.
This must be so hard for you all. Hopefully the new food will help him stabilise his weight and eventually build up again, but it must be so tough right now. It was good to hear that he does at least seem to still be happy, which must give you hope.
Malc
i know, i think it’s just so difficult given that we don’t really know how the weight loss is affecting him. i’ve attached two pics, and i’ve got another two i’ll attach in another post(not got photobucket yet, unfortunately - that’s my next project!) - so that you can see how he’s looking…
we’ve booked an appointment with our vet tomorrow (a first - usually they do open surgeries, but loki is an exception!) at 1pm, to discuss realistically how we can go forward. the good thing is that today mysthenia gravis got ruled out, which means that although we don’t have any cause now, we do know that it’s not a condition that’s going to affect the rest of his body.
it’s such a precarious situation. his condition, and how he acts, can change dramatically within the space of a few hours. but when he’s fine, like he is tonight, it gives us so much hope… i guess i know that he’s not done fighting yet, and i’m not either… i know that the vet will be able to tell us when he’s suffering, but i think i know that when the time does come, i’ll know in my heart. and it’s not yet, which is why it was hurting so much today when i had to think about that possibility.
he’s still got wee bright eyes at dinner time (and complan time, which he’s absolutely loving, and keeping down tonight thankfully!) - and even a little wag of the tail - which does show me that despite everything, my loki is still in there - although his bones are always the first thing that we see these days. but, i hope, just because he looks bad, doesn’t mean that he IS bad.
saying that though..i think he thinks his new found skinny stature means that he can jump up on me in any occasion - no space on the couch is safe!
Oh my goodness, without those pics I don’t think any of us will have quite understood how tough things are. I’m wishing you the very best for your trip to the vet and really hoping a solution can be found.
Malc
Poor Loki, he’s so much thinner than when I met him in April. I hope you got somewhere at the vet today. Give Loki and Mia cuddles from Lauren, Clyde and me.
he weighed in today at 19.5kg :( so, not great! they are at a bit of a loss as to why the weight loss is so aggressive - as their thinking is, like us, that surely now he’s keeping down at least some of his food, he should be maintaining his weight?
they also said that if he was a human, he’d have a syndrome named after him! apparently there seems to be no absolute textbook answer for what he’s been going through. the megaesophogus explains part of the problem, but on top of that he could have problems in his stomach - something to do with a motion problem in his intestine maybe, coupled with mild inflammatory problems in his bowel… it’s all very much open to interpretation, and they don’t think there’s a single vet in the practice who hasn’t puzzled over his condition at some point!
i have to say, i do feel so much more comfortable with our vet now, and i don’t think that loki could be in better hands - or hands that cared more for him! the two vets who have been dealing with us took time out of their lunch hours to see us outwith surgery times - and both spent a good 35 minutes with allan and i discussing the options and what their thoughts were, with a genuine concern for loki. we’re also welcome to go in at any time to weigh him, as all of the staff are keen to see him get better! we also didn’t get charged for the time today - something which is really appreciated, seeing as his prescription today took us right up to our £4k limit…
we’ve got steroids to give him to try to boost his weight and energy levels, in addition to the many other pills we have! he had his first batch about an hour ago, and it does already seem to be taking an effect - his eyes are much brighter, and as we were warned, he’s much hungrier too - thankfully just a few soaked biscuits satisfy him at a time, and he’s kept everything down today - so i just hope that little and often, coupled with the steroids, will help him to put weight on…
for now it’s just one day at a time - and today has been a good one.
The pictures are absolutely heartbreaking, poor Loki.
I am delighted you are getting such good attention from your vets and will be keeping everything crossed Loki’s weight starts to go up.
Marie
It is hard to look at these pics of your boy, but as long as you know Loki is trying, I’m sure that helps you to keep going. As his case is complex I’m sure he is getting A1 treatment as well, as the vets will want to fix this. I’m rooting as hard as I can for your Loki.
and she’s anything but fat! hehe.
