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Post by tonib on Jul 12, 2021 0:32:35 GMT
7/6/21 Roman had been having weepy eyes – dark reddish brown gunk. Booked appointment at vets for 4:45. expecting to come away with antibiotic drops & also wanted to discuss his arthritis as he's off meds for that & has started finding jumping up a bit difficult (including the issue of his hind leg's Achilles). I was also taking his BG results since we last saw the vet especially as he'd also had a low BG level that afternoon just before his last food portion of his day food but that food brought it back up.
None of that happened & I got a much larger bill (!) The vet student & vet noticed that he had abnormally rapid breathing, was very lethargic & also there was possibly some slight cynanosis & they took Roman for an chest x-ray done immediately with no sedation (he was that quiet which was part of the reason for the concern as the vet said he knew Roman well & it wasn't normal) & he has an enlarged heart HCM (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) & some patches of fluid in the chest cavity all of which is probably the cause of him not jumping so well as he won't have enough energy. Also the x-ray indicated a bit of bone thinning so he's on 2 meds for his heart/blood clotting & calcium for his bones never mind the hyperT meds & insulin! Thank goodness he hoovers up tablets like sweeties!! I was shown the x-ray before being told the results & when I saw it I thought the heart was larger than it should be or cats have large hearts in comparison to humans!
Poor boy, the HyperT is probably the cause of the heart muscle thickening, its got a lot to answer for!
12/6/21 Review at vets, doing well breathing improved but still not good, Roman has more energy/awareness. Review again in 4 weeks
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Post by tonib on Jul 12, 2021 1:09:59 GMT
9/7/21 Review. Vet a goitre on Roman's left thyroid so advised operation to remove that half of the thyroid. The right half should then kick in to do the job of both. As a result Roman shouldn't be HyperT any more. Of course there is a future risk for the 2nd half developing HyperT but until then (if) at least one of his issues should be resolved & he won't need the thyroid meds & both no meds & no ill thyroid may well help stabilise his diabetes. As well as stopping the cause of his HCM, his heart may even physically improve. Of course at Roman's age (thought to be 17) plus heart issues having an anaesthetic is a high risk. The operation also has its own risks:- from icatcare.org He's booked in for Monday 12/7/21. They went through the consent form on the phone with me today (Sunday 11/7) so that all I have to do on Monday morning is sign it & were very careful to tell me that an operation risk range is 1-5 (low to high) & this operation is level 5 due to his age & heart! No food the night before once he's had the last food of his feeding regime (midnight) due to his diabetes rather then the normal 10:30pm they like. No food or meds Monday morning with water removed at 7am. The head vet wants him in 1st thing (8:30 am) so that he can be prepped for being the 1st on his surgical list, he'll do the operation as quickly (but safely) as he can & hence get into recovery quicker which will mean he can have have food & hence his morning insulin). He's going to be given IV fluids before & possible during/after the op & carefully monitored. He will be kept in overnight as well. I'm obviously nervous about it all but fingers crossed it should improve things for Roman. He's all packed for his hospital stay. His food & medicine regime printed out along with his food for 2 days split into 4 bags (2 morning & 2 evening), a week tablet container with the medicines for each day separated into morning & night) with a couple of treats in each half day section (he eats tablets with the treats straight out of my hand  ), insulin syringes, his thyroid medicine (in case there is any issues & the op doesn't go ahead). In the morning as we leave I will add the insulin as it is kept in the fridge. Not sure how well I will sleep tonight & I'll be waiting for a phone call from the vets later in the day so let me know what has happened. |
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Post by lotsofcats on Jul 12, 2021 8:57:19 GMT
Poor Roman and poor you tonib. I've got my fingers crossed for Roman's op. I expect you worried all night and will continue to all day until you hear from the vet. The operation is a risk, but a risk you have to take for things to improve for Roman. |
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Post by tonib on Jul 12, 2021 11:21:59 GMT
Vet just rang Roman's had his op & is in recovery, they avoided his trachea, jugular & para-thyroid & removed the goitre & did I want it sent off for histology? Advised that it wouldn't really do anything as even if it was found to be malignant all it would tell us that it would likely have spread to the other thyroid or any thyroid cell in his body - apparently there can be & hence he would eventually deteriorate. But would not make any difference to his treatment so probably better to "save the pennies in my pocket" I agreed As the incision is where a collar would go he won't be having a cone of shame & apparently they find that most cats are unaware that it's is there. Mind you this is Roman  I've to ring at 16:30 for further update, he'll be in overnight. I'm definitely feeling a lot better, got a little watery eyed as I handed him over in the vets, there were others there who I'd seen at Saturday's appointment who'd also been booked in for surgery today & they smiled |
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Post by lotsofcats on Jul 12, 2021 11:32:38 GMT
I bet that was one big sigh of relief tonib after the longest few hours ever. Glad that Roman is in recovery and hope he recovers quickly. I'm interested in what a goitre actually is. I took Kai Ruki to the vets about 2 years ago and a locum vet examined him and said he thought Kai Ruki had a goitre and asked if he could do a blood test there and then, so I let him. When he looked at the results he said all was okay?!! Kai Ruki has always breathed really fast. He had a lot of trouble years ago with a lump on his jaw and the vet took out lots of his teeth - he's now only got his front fangs. |
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Post by tonib on Jul 12, 2021 11:44:59 GMT
lotsofcats A goitre is an swelling of the thyroid gland It sounds like Kai Ruki's blood test was the T4 test that Roman has had which found his hyperthyroidism. Kai Ruki sounds a bit like Penny who had very few teeth left by the time we adopted her, interestingly she had hyperthyroidism & that was found by my vet finding a goitre rather than by blood tests, it was so well defined! She had no treatment due to giving her quality of life rather than quantity as she couldn't be pilled & then there was only pills as treatment them.
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Post by tonib on Jul 12, 2021 12:34:31 GMT
Click on this & play whilst reading the post   This is weird, I've just searched the forum for Penny's diagnosis of hyperthyroidism by finding the goitre. It was 11th July 2015, 1 day later (but 6 years earlier) from the same vet finding Roman's goitre (although in his case we already knew about the thyroid issues. Anyone want to hum an alternate background music links.universalproductionmusic.com/N3uYyM |
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Post by lotsofcats on Jul 12, 2021 12:48:42 GMT
What a coincidence!
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Post by tonib on Jul 12, 2021 13:47:26 GMT
lotsofcats, I amended that last post with the appropriate start!
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Post by tonib on Jul 12, 2021 17:07:37 GMT
Spoke to the vets - cats ward - at 16:30 & Roman was doing very well, surprisingly bright. So we'll see how it goes tonight. Not sure if the vet will ring me later as although he asked me to ring then he was already in consults. It could have just been to see how Roman was.
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Post by lotsofcats on Jul 13, 2021 10:09:48 GMT
I hope that Roman will be home soon. Reading on a previous post about his weepy eyes with reddish/brown gunk, Kiba-Khan has had this for ages and the last 3 vet visits I have mentioned it to the vet and they look at his eyes and say there's nothing wrong. I have to wipe his eyes several times a day. Did the antibiotics cure Roman's problem?
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Post by tonib on Jul 13, 2021 11:52:31 GMT
Sorry think I confused you lotsofcats, I was expecting antibiotics but never got any as his heart took over. When the vet examined him he also commented on the grey around his lips, I'd noticed this before but thought it was a staining from the liquid thyroid meds as it sorted started a while after he got that as it was also on his teeth which had always been pearly white. I also caught sight of black/very dark brown gunk in his ears. When I asked about that I was told to just keep them clean. The weeping was much better after than visit & I did notice his gums weren't as mucky after his x-ray so they may have cleaned them a bit to check if it was a layer or actual discolouration. I now carefully clean his ears they certainly are producing blackish muck, one more than the other. He's not impressed. He's always had a bit of dark stuff I used to call it "sleep") in the corner of his eye but it was always dried & just needed a wipe but this was definitely more runny & he was also having a black line on the inside of his lower eyelid looked like eyeliner! As to coming home, I rang this morning as I've got a dental appointment at 2:30 today, not sure how long it will be & they usually say ring after 3 to see how a hospitalised patient is. The person I spoke to said from his records he was doing Ok but it would be up to the vet to decide & he was in consults. They've noted my appointment (first fitting of a denture!) so that they don't try to contact me then. |
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Post by tonib on Jul 13, 2021 12:26:02 GMT
The vets have just rung I can pick Roman up this afternoon, aiming for about 3:30pm as consults start at 4pm. they are aware of the dentist appointment but if it's going to close to 4 pm then I'll re-arrange to pick when consults finish. They allow owners/servants! in the premises & consulting rooms but limit how many in the waiting area so want to keep that clear for consult cases rather than in-patient pick-up. Makes sense. Continue everything as before but no thyroid meds. Review in 5 days so we're booked for 10:30 am Saturday. I've checked & the out of hours vet for tonight is the head vet whose been dealing with Roman so if I have any issue with the insulin dosage then I can contact him. The other vets who share the cover would be fine but particularly tonight I'm glad its this vet. The downside of him coming home is that I've got to pay his bill  {rofl)  |
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Post by lotsofcats on Jul 13, 2021 12:44:42 GMT
So pleased that you can take Roman home. He's worth the money! Great that you have a vet that you like. Mine at the moment are not my favourite people! The 2 really good vets left. The more local practice has been closed since April due to a vet shortage. I get to see Judith, who wanted to put Kiba-Khan to sleep last July (and he's still going strong), or Greta the vet who left a fastening off Kiba-Khan's carrier, causing the carrier to open and him to fall out when I was carrying him to the car.
I hope the dentist appointment goes okay. I've got to go on Friday for a scale and polish. I'm not looking forward to it as I have a very sensitive bottom back tooth. Also, I had to go to the dentist earlier on in the year and had antibiotics and super mouthwash for a double tooth at the top. I had toothache but the dentist decided that it's my gum in between 2 teeth that is sore. It's like it again at the moment so I'll be dreading her touching that tooth as well.
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Post by lotsofcats on Jul 15, 2021 8:56:58 GMT
How is Roman?
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), insulin syringes, his thyroid medicine (in case there is any issues & the op doesn't go ahead). In the morning as we leave I will add the insulin as it is kept in the fridge.
{rofl) 
