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Flub's laboured breathing

Thanks @Wiebke, even the fact that as you say something is clearly working has put my anxious mind at ease.

After eating more than his fair share of dinner veg and crunching a pellet or two, coupled with going around the cage sampling the different piles of hay, Flubs has got himself comfy in his oversize cuddle cup, nudging it this way and that until it was perfect. He then lay down (!), shut his eyes and had a lovely little snooze until I waved a peaflake under his nose to make sure he hadn't shuffled off to Rainbow Bridge :whistle: Sorry for interrupting your rest dude, I haven't seen you that relaxed for weeks.

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Flubs is still in good spirits but a bit hooty before and after his meds tonight... though he did try to run away when I picked him up (for the first time in weeks) so may have just been all the excitement!

Going to increase his Nelio dose from 0.027mg to 0.055mg tomorrow as vet said I can (and then we are switching to Fortekor as Nelio is yet another victim of Brexit beaurocracy apparently). It's still a lower dose according to the formulary, I just want to get him both breathing easy and not hooting, we currently have the former but not the latter! :mal:
 
Danielle Smith said:
Flubs is still in good spirits but a bit hooty before and after his meds tonight... though he did try to run away when I picked him up (for the first time in weeks) so may have just been all the excitement!

Going to increase his Nelio dose from 0.027mg to 0.055mg tomorrow as vet said I can (and then we are switching to Fortekor as Nelio is yet another victim of Brexit beaurocracy apparently). It's still a lower dose according to the formulary, I just want to get him both breathing easy and not hooting, we currently have the former but not the latter! :mal:
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So pleased he’s in good spirits. All the best with the change in meds x
 
Things have been going well with Flub's breathing but his poops have went not brilliant -- large soft mushy squished together poos the size of a finger joint. His veg was already reduced but I've now cut it out entirely and am upping his Fibreplex and other probiotics from twice to three times a day. He's still being syringe fed, though is down to 30ml today from 40ml this time last week.

I've heard that frusemide/diuretics can cause soft mushy stools so I am going to start reducing it -- something I've been wanting to do anyway as his hooting is much better. It's crazy, his whole body is a different shape -- he's now nicely compact and barrel-shaped, where he was very puddly and "flubbly" due to the excess fluid. I hope his output improves over the next few days, and also that he maintains his weight while I'm slowly reducing his syringe feed!

EDIT: the squishy poops have coincided with offering him Dioralyte a couple times a day, so I've withdrawn that too.
 
Just a little update. Flubs' breathing has settled down for the most part, though he does have his moments and needs a temporary increase in his diuretic. He's still on 4mg of furosemide (now as Frusol) twice a day, and 0.075mg of benazepril (Fortekor) once a day. He's still massively improved from what he was which is brilliant.

We have a remaining issue, though, in that if I reduce his syringe feed at all, his weight drops but more importantly his poops go rubbish and small denoting that he can't sustain himself. He's on 20ml as two 10ml feeds so it's not a massive issue to top him up, but it worries me that there are issues if I even drop down to 10ml of Emeraid Sustain a day.

He's motivated to eat while in the cage, snaffling up hay, pellets, and veg no problem -- I have noticed that he is more likely to eat if things are close by to him or if it's "interesting" (a handful of fresh hay or a pinch of Readigrass). He's very sedentary still but does move about the cage a couple times a day. He definitely isn't eating as much hay as he used to, I think eating is still taking some effort, tiring him more easily.

Happy to keep going like this especially as he's quite keen for his syringe feed, reaching for it. He doesn't eat nearly enough to sustain himself off a spoon or out a bowl unfortunately, though I have no idea why as dental issues aren't apparent! Just wondering if anyone else has experienced anything like this :mal:
 
How is his weight? Bearing in mind that poops are 1-2 days behind, how long did you stop syringe feeding him for?
 
His weight is hovering about 1100g. This time last year he was about 1150g, but he lost an initial chunk of water weight with the injected diuretics (down to 1030g).

I haven't been brave enough to stop syringe feeding him entirely, I have tried a couple of times to reduce his syringe feed from 20ml to 10ml for three or so days in a row and each time his poos tend to go small and stringy after a couple days on the reduced amount. His weight also drops, but I'm less worried about this as I know his natural "settling point" might be lower, especially with less fluid on his lungs and heart.
 
Hope Flubs weight settles down and he continues to improve. Does Flubs like plain porridge oats, they are good for poorly piggies and have a good amount of calories in them and easy to eat
 
Bill & Ted said:
Hope Flubs weight settles down and he continues to improve. Does Flubs like plain porridge oats, they are good for poorly piggies and have a good amount of calories in them and easy to eat
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I agree with this. It has helped Womble immensely whilst he's been poorly. I think I was advised grated sweet potatoes too but I haven't tried that yet. 😊 Hope Flubs improves more and more.🐹🍀❤
 
I'm having a hard day, Flubs is struggling. :no:

He's now on Fortekor, Frusemide, and Vetmedin for his heart. Addition of the latter drug has been a turning point, he was so much more active and generally happy. Unfortunately, we've had to travel twice over the past few weeks and it's exacerbated his issues quite a bit, with him hooting, eating less and being much more sedentary. He's now being supplemented with Emeraid for a few days.

His always-odd teeth are now getting actively worse too, but he can eat himself for now so I'm holding off on any intervention with agreement from my vet. It's difficult because he's a very nervous pig and I think taking him to Simon Maddock would finish him off (he's a very bad traveller), but my vet will only burr his molars under sedation which I am terrified of.

Just a bit of a whine, sorry. He's made it to 6 years old which is absolutely brilliant so I should see every extra day as a bonus.
 
Aw I am sorry Flubs is having a hard time again, sending hugs, it must be so hard on you too. Take each day as it comes, enjoy the good times and hope he picks up again x
 
Yes every day is a bonus and a gift. You are doing all you can. It sounds like he’s a very much loved piggy. I hope this episode settles down again soon and he has many more happy todays.
 
HUGS

I hope that he is a bit brighter again tomorrow.
 
I can’t offer any practical support or advice but I am sending you and Flubs virtual hugs.
 
Argh, Flubs has lost 100g in the last few weeks (20g in last 3 days). At first I thought it was because he was shedding "water weight" as his Vetmedin was working together with Frusol to stop fluid build-up (he's much less puddly and a bit more active which is great, his weight now is about where it was at the start of this year when he was given the big injections of diuretic), but it would appear he's struggling to quite eat enough for himself (but is still giving it a really good go).

Starting syringe feeding proper for a couple of days, if that gets his weight stable looks like I might have to make the decision for him to go under anaesthetic for a dental :(, where I know there's not a very high chance of survival. Just as we finally fine-tuned his meds to get him as active and happy as possible.
 
Poor Flubs. Hope the syringe feeding gives him a boost. You are doing your very best for him. All decisions you make will be made with his best interests in mind. Take care ❤️
 
I am very sorry. All the best with Flubs. It is always difficult once you get into the rat-tail of secondary complications... :(
 
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