Hi all! I've posted on here a while back to ask for advice on what to do with my Loki, who's having a very hard time at the moment. Two weeks ago, he was diagnosed with molar issues, and Thursday before last he was put under to correct them. Even though the procedure was a success, he still hasn't started to eat on his own again, and we've been syringe feeding critical care round the clock for two weeks now.
In a last bid to find out what was the matter, our vet took an x-ray of Loki, which she sent off to a dental specialist for their opinion. However, the x-ray revealed that Loki's lungs had filled up with fluid, and that the molar issues - which we thought were the cause of all his problems - were really just the result of his having been poorly for some time, which led him to eat less and less (causing the overgrown teeth). Since 3 pm yesterday Loki's been put on furosal (a diuretic) and vetmedin (for his heart), alongside metoclopramide (he's been on this for a while now, as he's not eating on his own) and orniflox (an antibiotic). He also got a shot of steroids yesterday afternoon, as we're not giving him any other pain medication, and this seems to make him a little less listless.
One thing we noticed is that Loki's breathing has been very audible since noon today - it's crackling and hooting, whereas before now this crackling sound only occurred very occasionally, and always in short bursts. We found this very surprising, as we thought surely the diuretic would make his breathing less, not more, audibly laboured. Is this normal? Does anyone have any experience with a diuretic making matters (seemingly) slightly worse before they get better?
Finally, I wanted to ask if there's anything else I need to be paying attention to? I've been googling pretty much non-stop since the diagnosis, and based on that I've been avoiding any food that's high in calcium (as we read diuretics might cause bladder stones), sticking mainly to little hay-based treats and whatever else we can get him to eat (which is very little - half a cherry tomato at 2am yesterday; only half, as I'm torn between giving him whatever I can get him to eat, as there's so little he accepts, and making sure his blood sugar and gut stay balanced, as his poos aren't looking good). I'm also supplementing his critical care feeds with little syringes of water every hour or so, as he's not drinking on his own, but does seem thirsty (and I figured his diuretics might cause him to get dehydrated).
My apologies for the long post - any advice would be most welcome! Loki is a very special, gentle, loving pig, and seeing him so weak and ill has been unspeakably painful.
In a last bid to find out what was the matter, our vet took an x-ray of Loki, which she sent off to a dental specialist for their opinion. However, the x-ray revealed that Loki's lungs had filled up with fluid, and that the molar issues - which we thought were the cause of all his problems - were really just the result of his having been poorly for some time, which led him to eat less and less (causing the overgrown teeth). Since 3 pm yesterday Loki's been put on furosal (a diuretic) and vetmedin (for his heart), alongside metoclopramide (he's been on this for a while now, as he's not eating on his own) and orniflox (an antibiotic). He also got a shot of steroids yesterday afternoon, as we're not giving him any other pain medication, and this seems to make him a little less listless.
One thing we noticed is that Loki's breathing has been very audible since noon today - it's crackling and hooting, whereas before now this crackling sound only occurred very occasionally, and always in short bursts. We found this very surprising, as we thought surely the diuretic would make his breathing less, not more, audibly laboured. Is this normal? Does anyone have any experience with a diuretic making matters (seemingly) slightly worse before they get better?
Finally, I wanted to ask if there's anything else I need to be paying attention to? I've been googling pretty much non-stop since the diagnosis, and based on that I've been avoiding any food that's high in calcium (as we read diuretics might cause bladder stones), sticking mainly to little hay-based treats and whatever else we can get him to eat (which is very little - half a cherry tomato at 2am yesterday; only half, as I'm torn between giving him whatever I can get him to eat, as there's so little he accepts, and making sure his blood sugar and gut stay balanced, as his poos aren't looking good). I'm also supplementing his critical care feeds with little syringes of water every hour or so, as he's not drinking on his own, but does seem thirsty (and I figured his diuretics might cause him to get dehydrated).
My apologies for the long post - any advice would be most welcome! Loki is a very special, gentle, loving pig, and seeing him so weak and ill has been unspeakably painful.
