# Pancake's health updates



## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Alright, so I'm guessing there might be some of you wondering why I haven't been posting on my animal thread all week, especially to update about Pancake's vet visit on Monday. Two reasons - it wasn't good news & I couldn't handle having to post the bad update, and I wanted to wait until we had a little more information to share. So bear with me, we all know I type a lot!! I'll summarize at the end if anyone doesn't have time to read through. Just figure I might as well describe the step-by-step process in case anyone else runs into a similar situation sometime. If you want to skip to the summary, it's the section between the lines below. 

We went to the vet on Monday to make sure Pancake didn't have any mouth issues causing her to not eat. The vet palpated her abdomen, didn't feel anything, got a pretty good look into her mouth, still didn't see anything. We decided to go ahead & sedate her to get some x-rays, both full-body & jaw. This was to make sure there wasn't anything hiding under the surface that we couldn't see. After a bit, the vet came back in to take me to the back & see what they found. At this point, they were doing an ultrasound on her. The full-body x-rays had shown that her liver was much bigger than it should've been, so they wanted a closer look.

Results from that - liver was definitely enlarged and they also suspected there was a mass on/attached to the liver making it look even bigger. This was pushing on her other organs, including her stomach, which is making it hard for her to eat much at once. Her uterus is also slightly enlarged, but that's not high on our list of concerns right now. We decided the next step was to get some samples from the mass to send for cytology & see if that gave us some answers on what we're dealing with. Cytology is a good first step as it's not very invasive - sedation is needed & they used the ultrasound to guide on where to put the needle to draw out cells from the area they want to test. However, there is a chance that if none of the problem cells are in the sample, that the test won't give you any results. The vet took four samples to try & prevent that from happening. 

Today we got the results back from the cytology. There are three main findings:

1) Hepatic lipidosis - fatty liver disease. This is most likely from not eating enough, especially lately. This is why we stress so often that a hedgehog needs to be syringe-fed, even if it's only been 1-2 days without food. Without getting food in them, hedgehogs (and cats and ferrets) start to use fat for energy, but their liver has trouble processing it & it causes issues. With Pancake, it's also possible that the 19% fat food she was on for most of her life so far, plus her high weight when she came to Jackie in January were contributing factors. Basically the main thing to do for this right now is liver support (milk thistle & some other supplements, I'll find out more later) & make sure I'm getting as much food into her as I can to support her body.

2) Bacterial infection - Not surprising as her immune system is currently impacted by the next finding. T

3) Cells that point to one of two types of cancer - hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) or cholangiocarcinoma (bile duct cancer). This only tells us that the cells indicative of these cancers are present. What we still don't know - which cancer it is, whether it's malignant or benign, and whether it's all one mass (which would be more easily removable via surgery) or numerous nodules on the liver (which is what the case was with my Lily) or not really a defined mass at all, but spread throughout the liver.

So now the next step will be taking place next Wednesday. Pancake will be going in for exploratory surgery, where the vet will be checking to see whether there's a clearly defined mass that can be removed, and will be taking a larger sample to send for a biopsy. They'll also do a culture & sensitivity test to see what bacteria is present so we can treat that with antibiotics. The vet also has supplements that I can give to her for liver support, and I think appetite stimulants as well. 

Culture & sensitivity test will take 2-4 days to come back, if I remember right. Biopsy results will be 3-5 days. We'll start antibiotics once we know which ones to use for the bacterial infection, and then once we get the biopsy results, we'll know what we're really dealing with cancer-wise and what further steps to take for that. Action for that part will really depend on what type of cancer, whether it's malignant or benign, and how aggressive it is. 
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TLDR: Pancake has an enlarged liver along with a probable mass in/around/on her liver. Results today showed that she has fatty liver disease due to not eating (and possibly previous diet & weight), a bacterial infection, and some type of liver cancer. Next step is exploratory surgery and a biopsy to see what cancer we're dealing with, and a culture & sensitivity test for the bacterial infection. This will happen on Wednesday (April 20th). Results should all be in by the following Wednesday (April 27th). 
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Also, if anyone's wondering on the cost for everything...The Monday appointment came out to around $550 (exam, x-rays, ultrasound, & cytology), and the estimate for the surgery next week is $900-1000. The tests are around $400 of that, the rest is the surgery/recovery cost. By the end of next week, Pancake's total vet bills with me will be somewhere around $1800, I think - when you take in a rescue, make sure you're prepared for what you're getting into! This can happen with any hedgehog, but with a rescue with unknown health history, possible less-than-ideal care, and likely further along in their lifespan, these kinds of things are more likely to come up faster than in other situations. Just something to keep in mind if you're looking at getting a rescue/rehome hedgehog or adopting one from Craigslist. They may have a cheaper initial cost than a baby from a reputable breeder, but they can quickly outstrip that in vet bills.

I'll try to keep you guys updated as things happen now. I'll be keeping Pancake's health updates to this thread & my pet thread will return to it's usual updates.


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## Artemis-Ichiro (Jan 22, 2016)

:0(

I'm so sorry to read about pancake, hope things improve.


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## FinnickHog (Dec 1, 2014)

Oh jeez, that is awful. That poor sweet hog. Hopefully the cancer is all in one easy to remove mass and that goes smoothly for her. Sending the two of you the strongest good vibes I can muster!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Thanks guys. She's struggling more with syringe-feeding yesterday & today, and she also threw up last night. I'm wondering if she's having some nausea issues & I'm going to see if I can pick up the supplements the vet mentioned on Monday & add some anti-nausea meds to the list. Going to be experimenting a bit with food over this weekend to see what interests her most. So far A/D is preferred over Carnivore Care, which is a shame as CC is easier to measure & monitor the number of calories she's getting.

I dug out my sling that I made for Lily years ago today, since I got Pancake out before preparing her food. Tucked her in & it worked perfectly! She went back in after feeding & seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. She slept for an hour or so before I put her back in bed.


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## twobytwopets (Feb 2, 2014)

This was not the update I was hoping for, but am hoping and praying for the best with surgery.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Kelsey, She may very well enjoy a lot of extra cuddles right now. The extra warmth and snuggly mommie time may be very comforting to her while she's feeling sick. Plus you can keep a little bowl of a/d next to you so that when she wakes up you can poke another cc down her. I forgot to mention to you, that if she's getting sick, you may need to try to give her more frequent meals but much smaller at a time. In addition to nausea, that pressing on her stomach may be the cause too.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

She did seem to enjoy it for a bit yesterday. I just don't want to disturb her too much or keep her from sleeping properly...though she does sleep a rock most of the time anyway. :lol: I may keep her out more today, in between getting some things done. And yeah, I haven't been going over 5cc in a session because the one or two times we have, that's when she's thrown a little back up, so I agree that's probably from not having enough room. It's just a problem during the week, since I'm gone at work so long, I have less time to feed her in general.  Would really be nice to not have a full-time job right now...even though I know I need it for the vet bills. I've thought about waking up at night to feed her at least once, but I'm not sure I can handle it mentally right now. Trying to remind myself that having a total breakdown won't help her much either!


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## Artemis-Ichiro (Jan 22, 2016)

You need to make an appointment for you as soon as possible too. It won't help anyone if you don't take good care of yourself!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Yeeeah, I still need to do that.  I have the website my manager gave me pulled up on my laptop, so I just need to call. Might be able to get an initial appointment sometime this week around Pancake's visits. My roomie has been wonderful at helping me remember to eat, at least, and bringing me food.  Jackie is going to be stopping in to see me and Pancake a couple times this week too! I'm lucky to have such good friends, and to have you guys on here for support as well. It really helps a lot, and I appreciate you guys for checking on Pancake's updates & mine & the rest of the pets as well.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Pancake's having a rough time. She's been struggling with nausea the past couple days & today & threw up at every feeding yesterday. I picked up an anti-nausea med from the vet yesterday & we started that last night. I've also been going slower with feedings today, and she hasn't thrown up yet. I haven't been able to get as much food as I'd like into her though, only 2-3cc each feeding. Probably going to try & do 4 feedings today & see how it goes. 

On the plus side - she's still trying to eat on her own!! She just feels so crummy, it makes it hard. She's had a few mouthfuls of my soup mixture both yesterday & today, and she got into her crushed kibble today as well. She's really trying.

She's getting a quick bath tonight as she was laying in pee under her liner when I got home, and lots of extra snuggles. I currently have her cuddling in the sling around my neck, with some extra fleece to make it cozier. Jackie's coming over tonight as well, so she's going to get lots of extra loving. Tomorrow morning, I drop her off at 7:30 for surgery...will be picking her up at 5:40 tomorrow evening. Will update you guys when I get her home & settled.


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## Artemis-Ichiro (Jan 22, 2016)

Sending good energy to pancake and to you!


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## FinnickHog (Dec 1, 2014)

Aww, hang in there Pancake! I wish I could reach you guys to help since I spend my days doing practically nothing.

Fingers crossed for the surgery. I'll tell Finn to cross his quills for you guys, too.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Short update from work - surgery went fine and she did well. Was waking up and warming up when I talked to the tech a bit ago. I pick her up this evening and talk to the vet then. They got their samples for the tests, but no mass removal, so I'm not anticipating fantastic news, but we'll see.


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## FinnickHog (Dec 1, 2014)

Oh no. Keep us updated.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Okay, much shorter update than I'd like because I'm running late for work trying to update a bunch of places about Pancake! :lol: But just wanted to let everyone know she's doing well this morning - still out of it due to pain meds, but moving around well, drinking well on her own, and took her medicine & 2-3cc of food for me this morning. Staying warm too, which is a relief. Will post more about what the vet said & everything after work!


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## FinnickHog (Dec 1, 2014)

I'm sitting here waiting so impatiently for you to get home from work! I'm hoping it's good news!


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## Artemis-Ichiro (Jan 22, 2016)

FinnickHog said:


> I'm sitting here waiting so impatiently for you to get home from work! I'm hoping it's good news!


You are definitely not the only one!!!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I wish it was better, really. Trying not to sound too gloom & doom right now but I just had the week in general catch up with me & kind of crashed emotionally, so this might sound worse than it might actually be.

The vet showed me a picture of her liver - it's not the color it's supposed to be. Liver should be a dark burgundy color, similar to cow liver, if you've ever seen that. Her liver looks like the inside of a lip - pale tank/pink, mottled with slightly darker spots. The whole thing is that color, and is also swollen - no masses. That means whatever's going on is affecting the entire organ, which limits treatment options (can't take out the bad thing if it's throughout the whole liver, she needs at least part of it). The vet is insisting that it could still be some kind of liver disease & is waiting on the biopsy results. I'm already pretty convinced it's cancer, which would make this the worst case scenario for cancer, the hardest to treat. But we'll see.

Biopsy results & culture/sensitivity results should both be back in 3-5 days or less. Second will tell us what kind of bacterial infection is going on & what antibiotics to use for it. Biopsy will tell us what we're dealing with in the whole liver. 

For now, I have Denamarin (has milk thistle & another good supplement) for liver support supplement, just gave her her first dose of that an hour ago. It has to be given on an empty stomach & an hour before a meal. She's still getting anti-nausea meds twice a day, every 12 hours. And she's on Buprenex for pain meds - they usually use Metacam, but wanted to avoid that because it's processed by the liver. Buprenex is an opiate, so it has a sedative effect...basically she's stoned. :lol: So even with the anesthesia drugs finally leaving her system, her reflexes are still slow & she's still prone to zoning out. I can still touch her face with not much protest.

Right now, we're both a bit of a mess. I got home & got her out to give her the Denamarin & she was whimpering quite a bit. I think she's in pain & it hadn't even been 8 hours since her last dose of pain meds. I quickly put her back in her tote, not wanting to put pressure in the wrong spots & make it worse, then had a bit of a breakdown. Jackie's on her way to help out tonight, & possibly stay the night. I called the vet & she said that I can try icing the incision to see if it helps numb a bit. We're also considering trying injected pain meds as it's more likely to get the full dose into her & last longer. I can't get her there before they close, unfortunately. So I just gave her a dose at 5:30, and I think we're going to try another dose in 8 hours, especially if it seems to have already worn off. If she still seems to be struggling to make it to 8 hours in the morning, I'm going to see if Jackie will take her in for an injected dose instead, since I still have to work. We'll go from there. The doc I spoke to said that Metacam may have to be an option after all since it can be given alongside the Buprenex & may help keep her covered pain-wise. Her normal vet, Dr. Peuser, will be in tomorrow, so will be able to weigh in on that for sure though.


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## FinnickHog (Dec 1, 2014)

Well that's not nearly as good as I hoped. It does sound like liver disease. Hopefully it's treatable and not that stinkin' C-word.

Injectable pain meds are probably the way to go if she's already whimpering. That's just awful. I feel so terrible for her. Can you get the vet to give you several syringes or a bottle of the injectable Buprenex, or will you have to go back in every time she needs it?

I'll be waiting VERY impatiently for her results to get back.

Remember, none of this is in any way your fault, and you're doing so much more for her than her previous owner (not you, Jackie, before you!) would have. Even if she doesn't say it or show it, you're her hero right now. *great big hug*


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

Oh my dear friend; I am so sorry to hear this news. How painful for you and your little one. Even though I know how much you hurt, I am still so glad Pancake is with you; she will get all the care she needs that is humanly possible........and she will feel secure with her Mommy who loves her so dearly. I remember the sling with Miss Lily; hopefully Miss Lily will give Pancake strength. You know that if there is anything I can help you with all you have to do is let me know..........friends are friends and there is nothing that I would not help my young friend with. St. Francis, please give Kelsey the strength she needs now and give our Pancake the comfort she needs now.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I didn't think to ask if we can bring prepared injections home...I was having a really hard time thinking straight & communicating to the vet when I talked to her. I'll have Jackie ask if she takes her in tomorrow morning. 

I'm somewhat calmed down now...Jackie being here helps, and Pancake herself helped - when Jackie got here, we got her back out to eat. I was holding her while we prepped the food & she smelled the food...and promptly bit my finger! She's NEVER bitten either of us since we got her, no matter what we've done to her or what we smelled like. If she was interested in a smell, she just licked! But nope, chomped hard. :lol: Happiest I've ever been to get bitten by a hedgehog! She ate about 2cc easily for Jackie from the syringe, then started licking it off her hand & was much more interested in doing that than taking it from the syringe. I'd just been getting a bowl ready to put in her tote & decided to offer it to her. She DOVE into it! Literally shoved her face into it immediately & started sucking down food. She ate at least half a tablespoon's worth. We were both just sitting there staring at her in delight and amazement. I offered her water as well, but she just wanted more food. So, needless to say...GREAT sign there! And I'm still thrilled she loves my soup so much. I need to make more this weekend as we're down to 1-2 tablespoons left. I may make a couple containers & freeze some so I have plenty for this next week.

She's still struggling with pain a bit - we were holding her after she finished eating & she was steadily whimpering again. I tried taking her from Jackie & put her belly to belly with me & she stopped for a bit, then started up again. We think maybe she's just too tender for much movement, so snuggles aren't helping right now. We put her back in her tote on her heating pad & covered her up. She went back to sleep & has pretty much stopped whimpering. So we really think she's just extra-sensitive to movement right now. 

Thank you both so much for your love & support. <3 It means a lot to me & I wouldn't be able to get through all of this without Jackie, my roomie, and all of you guys on here. Kalandra has been giving me tons of advice & things to ask & try through PM, and it really helps to know there are others pulling for Pancake & sending good thoughts to us. I've been able to keep in mind for most of the week that she's way better off with me/us than with her old owner, but today just sucked. Hopefully the next few days will go better, especially if we can get her pain under control.


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## FinnickHog (Dec 1, 2014)

Yay, you eat that food, Pancake! Show it who's boss!


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## Artemis-Ichiro (Jan 22, 2016)

I'm glad she ate because it means she's feeling better, hopefully the pain is just because she is sore and will feel better soon and now we are all waiting for the labs...

Please take care of yourself too.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Ah, you have a full team out here cheering on your little one. Even my husband knows all about pancake as she's been a topic of conversation over lunch. He's helped remind me of a few of the things I sent to you.

The first couple of days after surgery are often the hardest. Hopefully once you get into a routine all will start to improve.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I'm glad she has such a great cheering team!! She's got people on the HWS Facebook group rooting for her too. She's such a special little girl.

So I gave her a 0.05ml dose last night because I wasn't sure how long I'd sleep & wanted to make sure she was covered. She slept hard, then was awake & moving around when I woke around 2. I took her out for a short late-night exploration session because she gets so impatient being in her tote while she's feeling good.





She's not allowed on my bed anymore. Last time she pooped and peed on it. This time she pooped. :roll: Pancake, my bed is not a toilet!

I went back to bed for a bit longer, then when I got up this morning, she was under her liner, so I figured she was asleep for awhile. Nope. Came out of the bathroom & she was waiting for me! "Morning mom!! Food now?" So now I have my second favorite picture of her, right behind the sling sleeping picture.



I tried to spoon feed her to see if it'd keep her cleaner & she wasn't interested. I swear she's a human toddler. "I can do it mySELF mom!" She dove nose-first into the bowl just as she has been recently. At one point I had to wipe her nose quickly because she had both nostrils completely covered in food & I didn't want her inhaling it!







Blurry because she didn't want to hold still, but I had to try & get a picture of the aftermath. :lol:



I also grabbed a quick picture of her incision after we were all done with food & meds. Her nails look funky (especially on the front paws) due to the ringworm, and her butt is raw from having wet poops yesterday & last night. I wiped her clean & plan to put a little Vaseline on her later. Right now she's conked out in my lap after her pain meds.



The 0.05ml dose certainly seems to have done its job! When I woke up for good & got her out, we were at almost 10 hours from the dose and she seemed fine. I gave her a 0.03ml dose with her breakfast, so I can see how long that lasts today. I'd rather stick with the lower dose, though it probably means a little wastage - the vet tech gave me 0.05ml prepared doses, so I have to shoot it into a bowl to suck 0.03ml back up. If it lasts at least 8 hours, we'll be sticking with the 0.03 dose though, as that's what the vet recommended yesterday. I'm not sure if the 0.05 doses were a miscommunication or if he wanted me to have extra available just in case over the weekend.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Kelsey! She is looking great! That incision looks really good so far. Good coloring, very little bruising and it doesn't look like its weeped at all. Its really looking good to me for a large incision that isn't that old.

Those images tell such a better story. She looks like she's really enthusiastic over that food. Her eyes are so bright and interested in what is going on, her ears are very perky. Those meds are at least giving her some good moments right now. Hopefully you'll be able to wean her off of them soon.

Are you adding acidolphilus to your soup (I forget)? If not, add some. You can add quite a lot and it shouldn't cause any trouble. All the changes in her diet and stress, her gut may need a little boost.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Yeah, the vet thought it looked good too! I'm glad you agree. I keep thinking it looks a touch red, but trying to remind myself that's going to be normal this soon after surgery. I agree with lack of bruising though, I was trying to look after you asked and really didn't see much at all. 

She really seems like she's doing great as long as the pain meds aren't wearing off. She wants to move around, she was climbing some pillows last night before I could stop her, and she's nose-diving into her food every time I offer it. I think she might be eating a little of the crushed kibble at night since she doesn't have her soup. With how she's eating the soup right now, she's certainly not getting it overnight any time soon. :lol: She's eating decently enough during 3x/day monitored feedings, at least, so I don't feel too bad about not putting it in at night. 

I'm going to see how long the 0.03 dose lasts & go from there. I know I don't want to overdo it, but I don't want to risk her hurting overnight while I'm sleeping either. Especially in case pain causes her to lick or chew at the incision.

I don't have acidophilus, but I do have small mammal Bene-Bac. I was adding it while syringe-feeding, but have forgotten to add it since she started eating on her own. Definitely need to start that back up, I shouldn't have forgotten. At least the wet poops only just started yesterday - she was pooping before that & having pretty decent ones, surprisingly.


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## FinnickHog (Dec 1, 2014)

Oh my goodness she looks wonderful considering everything she's been through! I can't believe how good the incision looks already. And that picture of her in the bin waiting for you is so cute! Hopefully this is a sign of things to come.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

We're at 9.5 hours on the 0.03ml dose. She's slowed down on moving around a bit, but is still willing to move around and can be handled with no whimpers. I'm waiting just a bit longer, another hour or so, before I get her out to see how she's feeling & if she wants food. If she's having trouble with handling, we'll do meds first & then a meal after the initial conk-out. Trying to also time things so Bindi can come out for a couple hours between Pancake sessions. She needs a foot bath, nail inspection/trim, and lots of snuggles!!


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## FinnickHog (Dec 1, 2014)

Excellent! If she eats before pain meds that would be awesome! Hopefully your timing works out and Bindi gets a good snuggle tonight too.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Pancake has had a fantastic day today. We've had no whimpers at all!  I'm so happy. Her 0.03ml dose lasted a full 11 hours and she was indeed able to eat before I gave her the dose. It's another 0.03ml and we're gonna go 11 hours again, until 5:30 tomorrow morning. Then we'll see about going 12 hours & see how she does.

She got her anti-nausea meds at the same time, plus got her feet wiped with the anti-fungal wipes and a little vaseline on her bottom to help with the rawness. One of her nails fell off due the ringworm & I'm guessing at least a couple others will follow. The toe looks fine though, just a bit red on top & she didn't seem to mind me messing with it. I also made sure I added Bene-bac to her meals today as well, so hopefully that will help with her poop.

I also made her more soup and thought I'd share what I'm doing on here in case anyone's curious or if someone's researching in the future for ideas. First, instead of using water to thin stuff out, I made a homemade Boost mixture so that it'll add more calories as well. The recipe was something Kalandra found & passed on to me:



> 1 14oz. can of coconut milk
> 3 cups of milk (cow, soy, almond, as long as its full-fat)
> 7 heaping tablespoons of NutriBiotic Rice Protein powder
> honey to taste


I used the coconut milk and organic soy milk because it had the highest protein & fat. I found the NutriBiotic rice protein powder at a health food store, and added just a little raw honey. I think I split the recipe in half, can't quite recall. Sounds about right for how much it made though.

So then the soup that I've been feeding her I just kind of mixed up out of what I have on hand, going for things that add protein & fat to get as many calories as I can since she hasn't been eating much.



> - soaked kibble (soaked in the Boost mixture)
> - spoonful of Hills A/D
> - spoonful of a Wellness pate canned food
> - spoonful each of waxworms, maggots, and dubia roaches
> - two spoonfuls of scrambled egg


I add enough Boost to blend it well. I've been adding enough to make it pretty soupy for Pancake as she hasn't been wanting to really chew much. She's just starting to chew a bit more, but that kind of occurred to me after I made today's batch, so it's about the same as it's been. Oh well! I did a triple batch, so it should last us a couple weeks, hopefully. I put three quarters of it in the freezer so it'll stay fresh.

Oh, and if anyone does end up wanting to try this with a sick hedgie sometime - I've been getting maggots, waxworms, and dubia roaches from Rainbow Mealworms, but just got my last order of roaches from www.dubiaroaches.com and plan to try ordering maggots and waxworms from Grubco. Both of those places are cheaper and I'll be ordering regularly for Bindi's diet, so decided to try them out. I'm pretty happy with the roaches, and I'll have to see what the worms from Grubco look like when I order.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Well, Pancake decided to try & give me a heart attack this morning. I woke up at 5:30 to give her the next dose of pain meds. I found her tote covered in blood - she'd dug so much last night that she got her nail-less toe bleeding everywhere. It was still bleeding a little bit, so I tried to put some flour on it and she started trying to chew on it. So I wiped it clean instead & held it for a minute or two before putting her back in her tote. On the plus side, she was knocked out from the pain meds for at least a short bit, so that gave the toe enough of a break to clot properly. 

On the plus side....feet heal fast & it wasn't her incision. But jeeze, Pancake. Chillllll. :roll: I don't know how she's going to last the 1-2 weeks until she gets a wheel back!


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## Artemis-Ichiro (Jan 22, 2016)

That was not a nice surprise Pancake! If you want to surprise mom you need to do better!!!!

I'm glad it wasn't the incision and hopefully time goes fast and she improves.


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## Kalandra (Aug 25, 2008)

Hmm, well I guess she's feeling well enough to get bored enough to try to dig her way out of the cage. Too bad she has a while before she can have a wheel.


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## shinydistraction (Jul 6, 2014)

Oh Pancake! You need to relax little girl! You're giving your mom and everyone else anxiety. 

Hopefully she heals up fast so you can give her wheel back sooner rather than later. Poor baby.


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## Cocoriggs89 (Dec 6, 2015)

All my babies are rooting for you Pancake!! ME TOO!!!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

She's doing better now. I think she's lost two more nails now, another from the same front paw & one from a back paw. Possibly more, but she was fed up with me & I didn't get a good look. No more bleeding yet, though. I think she realized it wasn't a great plan to dig frantically at the tote! She's started burrowing under her liner & pulling it around & throwing her sleeping blanket around though. Gotta make sure I know how annoyed she still is by the lack of activity. 

Her row of supplements/medications is growing. I really need to get a picture of her meal prep area. :lol: Today I stopped at the health store and picked up fish oil and l-carnitine. Fish oil is for good omega-3 acids and l-carnitine is an amino acid that helps with processing fats & providing energy. Apparently it's used with cats that have FLD, and the vet said that while that's a bit different from FLD in hedgehogs, it should still help. Added both to her evening meal & she was less than impressed with the fish oil. Added a bit too much, so it was pretty fishy. Going to tone it down next time I add it. I ended up syringing the whole meal to her because she went "...nope" once she got a whiff. But she took it willingly enough from the syringe, at least. Going to get a picture of the incision at the night meal as she was pretty annoyed with me between syringing, getting her anti-nausea meds, and getting cleaned up & her paws wiped with the anti-fungal wipes. 

I skipped her evening pain meds for now to see how she does without them. If she seems to be showing some signs of pain between now & when I go to bed, I'll give her a 0.02cc dose. But it's been five days since the surgery, so it's time to start weaning her off them. She's acting completely fine right now and her incision is looking fantastic, so I think she'll be okay. I'm just nervous with how much pain she was showing in the couple days after & not wanting to risk her bothering the incision!

No call from the vet today, so I'm hoping for news tomorrow. If I don't hear from them during the morning, I'll probably try calling after lunch to see if the results are back. I'm impatient to find out what's going on and what our next step is. Whatever's affecting her liver will determine what supplements & treatments we start her on next and what to expect in terms of prognosis, progression, etc.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

She's such a dork eating from the syringe. She does totally fine with it now - when she's ready for another shot of food, she opens her mouth & waits or bites at the syringe. :lol: I love this silly girl so much. We're at around 14cc for the day, at least, and I plan to do at least one more feeding in an hour or so before I crash. No signs of pain yet either! She's doing so good. And I got an updated picture of her incision! It seriously looks great.


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## FinnickHog (Dec 1, 2014)

I can see the picture! She looks great! I'm so happy she's doing well, but seriously anxious about the vet's phone call. It had better be decent news, because she's too darn sweet to have anything else wrong! Just look at that little face!


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## shinydistraction (Jul 6, 2014)

The incision looks really good! She'll be back on her wheel in no time!


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## Artemis-Ichiro (Jan 22, 2016)

I think she's mad at you because you are not letting her get high and without the wheel she is getting bored that!

Waiting for the news here too...


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

IT'S NOT CANCER!!!!!
Better update later as I need to work but I had to share!!! It's very bad hepatic lipidosis, fatty liver disease. So it's still kind of a "wait and see" thing, and we just have to continue what we're already doing - same supplements, keep getting food into her, find a lower fat kibble she likes, and hope for the best. But still... Not cancer!!!


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## Artemis-Ichiro (Jan 22, 2016)

I'm so happy for pancake!!!

Now you can breath a little. And take care of yourself.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Yes! Need to try to get back to normal life now that we know what's going on & I can continue with my schedule I've been establishing. 

So more about the diagnosis. A severe case of FLD like what Pancake has can be deadly, so we're not completely out of the woods. But it's at least more treatable than cancer, and she's clearly fighting. With how she's doing right now, we're cautiously optimistic. The vet is still looking into the idea of doing a feeding tube, but no responses on that yet. I'm going to start doing some more reading & research on FLD in hedgehogs over this week, but so far it seems like we're doing everything we need to.

Her current regime/treatment plan:
- get as much food into her as possible each day (currently getting 15-20cc/day)
- replace fatty kibble with lower fat one (going to get something to at least mix in with the soup, and then if she's not a fan of it on its own, I'll keep trying to find something she's interested in eating if I crush it up; the rest of the soup's ingredients are fine, according to the vet)
- 50-100mg l-carnitine 1x/day (amino acid that helps with fat processing)
- 1/8 tablet of Denamarin 1x/day (has milk thistle & SPC, both help with liver support)
- Bene-bac in each meal (may cut down to two meals/day now that her poops are looking better again)
- Metoclopramide 2x/day for nausea
- Still wiping her paws off at least 1x/day with the anti-fungal wipes as well

My current routine with her:
- wake up at 5:15, first feeding with Meto at 5:30
- Denamarin as soon as I get home from work 4-4:30. Needs to be taken on an empty stomach (absorbs better) & an hour before food.
- Feeding with Meto & l-carnitine at 5-5:30
- Feeding at 7-7:30
- Feeding at 9-10 before I go to bed, & feet get wiped with anti-fungal wipes

She also gets crushed kibble in a bowl in her tote, and of course water. No problems with her drinking water, so that's a relief. 

We also have permission to start allowing limited, monitored wheel time tonight or tomorrow, so we'll see how that goes. I can also give her a sponge bath of sorts to clean her up a little better. Can't wait to give her a full bath, her feet are so gross!! That should be next week, once the incision has had more time to heal. We have a follow-up visit with the vet on Wednesday next week, two weeks after the surgery.

I think that's everything!!


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## FinnickHog (Dec 1, 2014)

Yay, that's much better news than it could have been! And Pancake is obviously a fighter, so I'm sure she'll make it. 

She's going to be so pleased to have her wheel back, even if it is limited.

I'm so glad it's not cancer! *do a happy dance*


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Okay, so I'm still concerned as Pancake's still been losing weight. She's lost about 60g in a week - we're down to 463g at last weigh-in, 4/28. I emailed the vet that night as well, to let him know. I hate hate hate that I'm gone at work so much because I can't get as much food as I want into her during the week.  It's so frustrating. I feel like I can't do as much as I need to be doing for her.

Anyway, the vet emailed back yesterday & we switched her appointment from next Wednesday to Monday evening instead. He can check her out sooner, and we're going to discuss a few options. First, we want to recheck her bloodwork & see what that looks like now. One of the experts he talked to suggested considering vitamin B injections as well. And he heard back about feeding tubes & said there's been some success with them in hedgehogs, but they're hard to maintain. So we're going to discuss that more as well & see if we want to give it a try. I think I'd like to, depending on what the potential complications are. If it'll help me get more food into her without feeling like I'm torturing her, I'm game. She's going back & forth with feedings - some feedings she's all for it & opens her mouth up for another shot of food & everything goes great. Some feedings, like our first one today, she fights the whole time & doesn't seem to want anything to do with it. The temperature of the food seemed okay to me, so I don't know what was going on.  Getting at least 4-5 feedings done today, so hoping to get a decent amount of food into her. Nervous about weighing her tonight since I didn't remember last night. I hope she hasn't dropped too much more...


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

Keep fighting little one...............so many in your fan club and everyone loves you!!!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Back from Pancake's vet appointment today.

First, good news - he felt her belly & while the liver still feels quite large, it doesn't feel AS large as it did. So we're hopeful that that means some improvement, even if we still have a long way to go.

She got a vitamin B injection. Don't have the energy right now to look up more info on why this would help, but it was recommended by one of the experts my vet talked to about Pancake's case. To my memory, the B-complex vitamins help with energy, but I'm not sure what else.

We're going to re-do bloodwork on Wednesday. Waiting until Wednesday because she's also having surgery again to put in a feeding tube. This is a more minor surgery than the exploratory surgery she had before. There could be complications such as the tube coming out, but we're hoping that if we can get it to stay in place well, it will help me to get more food into her on a regular basis so she stops losing weight. We'll start out at 3-4cc at a time every 3-4 hours (as best as I can - obviously I can't during work...ugh), then try to work our way up to potentially 10-15cc at a time. I'll have to go slowly & be careful though as overloading her stomach could cause her to throw up. That could possibly bring the tube up as well, which could be a minor disaster (just needs to be anethesized & put it back down her throat) or worse disaster (comes out completely & needs to be completely put back in place). 

So we'll see. I'll try to post some pictures of the feeding tube & more information when I get her home Wednesday night, depending on how she's feeling.


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## FinnickHog (Dec 1, 2014)

Poor baby. I hope the tube helps stop the weightloss.


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## shetland (Sep 2, 2008)

Thank you for the update......fight on Pancake.......we love you........


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

So... Good news!! I got a call very early from the vet, too soon to be post-surgery. He has looked at the notes I sent along this morning with good news - Pancake's weight is staying pretty stable since Monday, and last night she VORACIOUSLY ate mealworms and mealworm pupae before we cut her off after 7-8. She was flailing around with her mouth wide open for more. :lol: it was hilarious! After we cut her off, I got out crickets, mealworm beetles, and maggots to offer her. She ate several crickets, so I gave her more fur the night. She ended up eating 10 crickets plus a few beetles and a few maggots!! With all of that progress, I was hesitating this morning because I felt bad tossing her back into surgery just as she's showing interest in bugs again. Well, the vet felt the same way! He called to see if I was okay holding off, so now we're waiting! I'm relieved that he agreed, and he said we can get her in within a day or two at most of she needs the tube later in the next week or two. But we're gonna cross our fingers and hope for the best for now!

She does have a small bump under her left leg, possibly a cyst, so he's checking that out, and getting a skin sample because she's itchy after her bath last night. We want to make sure it isn't anything else before I treat it as dry skin. If she's really good, they'll try for a blood sample, but otherwise that will wait until surgery it she's stronger so we don't have to sedate her for now. Also getting the vitamin b injections so I can give her those, and a refill on her nausea meds. Don't want to risk running out of those!

I'm giving her more of all of last night's bugs again tonight, and going to try adding a roach or two. If she keeps eating bugs, I also want to try hornworms, snails, grasshoppers, and phoenix worms. I'll try everything, basically. :lol: Except the waxworms, we still have to be careful about fat.


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## FinnickHog (Dec 1, 2014)

She's being such a good girl! I wish I could have seen her begging for more food. That sounds hilarious!

I hope the bump isn't a big deal and she behaves for the vet.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Jackie got a video!! Hoping to get it uploaded tomorrow, we'll get it linked in here too.  Pancake is such a good hog, she's trying so hard. I'm starting to feel a bit hopeful that we might actually beat this. I can't wait until she's doing better - she keeps digging in her food bowls and I can't WAIT to make her a dig box for bugs! I'm going to need to start keeping some alive for her. Bindi has the natural diet covered, Pancake has the hunting moving food covered. :lol:


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## Artemis-Ichiro (Jan 22, 2016)

I think she heard you were going to "torture" her with the tube and decided to work with you instead of against you!!!

I'm glad things are improving. Now we need to find a different human doctor for you!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

She's home, took her medicine reluctantly, but was rewarded with mealworms this time. She snapped down three of them just as quickly as last night. I used my plastic tongs to keep my fingers safe from the raptor hedgie. :lol: 

She's such a weird hedgehog too. The vet was actually able to get a blood sample for her for the test today, without sedation. She just doesn't even react to needles, I swear. Weirdo!! We'll have the results back from that in the next day or two. We're also going to treat her with Revolution a couple times, just in case. The vet is concerned about mites with her flaky skin & itchiness. He doesn't seem concerned about ringworm at all, so I guess I should stop worrying about that too. I think it might just be dry skin otherwise, since both times it's acted up has been right after a bath. But we'll do the Revolution anyway, since it can't hurt. It's actually not a bad idea anyway because Pancake & I are staying at Jackie's on Friday night, and while we don't think the new rescue has mites anymore, better safe than sorry. Both of them will be treated in the next couple days to make sure we're covered.

I think I'm going to leave more insects for her tonight, along with the usual syringe feeding. Also considering leaving a little wet food, just to see if she does anything with it. And then tomorrow while I'm gone at work, I'm going to try leaving a bowl of soup in her tote with her....and see how big of a mess I have waiting when I get home. :lol: I'll have time to clean her up after work, which is why I'm waiting until tomorrow. She used to snack during the day anyway, so we'll see. And we're going to start experimenting with kibble again this weekend. Fingers crossed that she at least keeps eating SOMETHING!!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Ahhh, I had to come share because I'm excited. :lol: I gave Pancake a bowl of bugs & went to get her syringing stuff ready. Came back to find her already standing in the bowl & chowing down!  She was halfway through the bowl when I came out to my laptop. I don't want to pull her away from eating on her own, so we're skipping her night syringing session to see how it goes... I ended up mixing her soup with some crushed kibble & put it in the tote. She looked over at it briefly before diving back into the bugs, so I really hope she tries at least a little of it tonight! Weighed the bowl so I can check in the morning. I'll be syringing her in the morning & plan to leave some more food (either a mix of soup & kibble again, or just soup) while I'm at work to see if she eats more. Please please please keep eating, Pancake!!!


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## FinnickHog (Dec 1, 2014)

What a good girl! I'm so glad she's eating on her own again!

I can't wait to see the video Jackie took .


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Sigh, didn't touch the soup mixture. But she did at least finish her bugs!!







I left a bowl of straight soup for her while I'm at work, see if she likes that any better. I may swing by Petsmart today and try grabbing a new bag of kibble to offer her. Their selection is pretty limited though, unfortunately, so I may just wait for the weekend and check out the better stores that are further away. Gonna look online too, but I want to get something new before I have to make up another soup mix so I can use a lower fat kibble in it.


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## FinnickHog (Dec 1, 2014)

Hey, Pancake has been eating nothing but soup for days! I'd be happy to have a bowl of bugs at this point too :lol:. Is chunky wet cat food an option?


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Hah, fair enough! And yeah wet food is fine, but so far I haven't found one she likes, and I'll have to watch the fat content of that too. I have a ton for the cat though, so I'll take a look through them and start trying some tonight. Let the nightly buffets begin! :lol: Soup, kibble, wet food, bugs...


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## Artemis-Ichiro (Jan 22, 2016)

I'm with Finnik. I think pancake wants to know how good of a chef you are!


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## FinnickHog (Dec 1, 2014)

Being sick and picky pays off in the variety of snacks department! I hope she finds a few more things she likes!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Well, I had a pretty awful day, but the animals decided to make it better. Ebony was using her cardboard box hide that I made for her, which I'm thrilled about. It's meant to be a safe spot for her for thunderstorms, so hopefully now that she seems to like it, she'll think to hide there during our next storm.

And the big news that's so great it's making me almost cry from happiness!! Pancake is seriously eating!!! That bowl of soup I left this morning before work? She cleaned it out! 7g of soup down the hatch, and she didn't even make as big of a mess as I expected. :lol: I celebrated, gave her her medicine, celebrated some more. And then instead of her evening syringe meal, I left her two more bowls. One with 7g of insects (5 each of dubia roaches, crickets, mealworm pupae, mealworm beetles, & 1 hornworm cut in half) and the other has 10g of soup. She must have gotten up as soon as she smelled the food because I peeked in a bit ago & she's already eaten almost all of the bugs!!!  Just a few crickets & a couple beetles left. She tasted the soup too, though she must have filled up on bugs for now & didn't eat much. I'm so happy!! I seriously hope this is the start of her truly eating on her own again. Going to continue with the buffets from now on & see what she'll show interest in. The next goal is getting her on a wet or dry food that's actually balanced.


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## Artemis-Ichiro (Jan 22, 2016)

Good job Pancake!!' You are finally helping mom!!!

Now you need to relax and enjoy a healthy meal


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Trying not to be annoying & update every day. :lol: But wanted to report back this morning as I have some more info after talking to the vet yesterday.

He had the results of her bloodwork. 3 out of 4 liver enzymes were elevated as expected. One was higher than expected, but it's not too surprising given the severity of her FLD. A couple of proteins were low, but not enough to be concerning & the vet didn't think it was indicative of anything specific, just mentioned them. Her white blood cell count was high, so we're putting her on a 2-week course of antibiotics. I think she got some water in her nose during her first bath after surgery as she did a lot of sneezing after that. It had gone away for a week or so, but I think it did progress into a bit of a URI as she's been sneezing a little yesterday & today, so that's likely the cause of the high WBC count. So antibiotics will take care of that! Her glucose was also extremely low & he said that was probably a lab error because she'd be having seizures & other symptoms if it were actually that bad.

And aside from the sniffles, she's doing fantastic! She ate 16g of food yesterday during the day and ate 21g last night between her bugs & soup!  And her weight is continuing to increase - she's back up to 464g this morning. The vet said 500-550g is a good range for her, so that's our goal. We also skipped the night dose of anti-nausea meds last night with no issues, so I think I'm going to skip it today as well & see how she does. If she doesn't eat once we get home (we're hanging out with Jackie today), I'll probably give her a dose before bed tonight to make sure she isn't feeling crappy & will eat tonight. If she's doing fine without it, then we're done with that medicine!

The vet said that if all continues to go well, our next recheck will be in a month to redo her bloodwork. We'll be continuing the liver supplements until then as well. I'm going to try & get milk thistle and SME, the two supplements in the Denamarin, separately this weekend from the health store. She HATES the taste of the Denamarin & I feel horrible every time I make her take it. So I'm going to see if it tastes less awful if I get the two things separately. The l-carnitine is no issue because it's a powder & can be mixed into her soup, but the other two have to be taken without food (outside of a little baby food to mix them with if necessary).

Now that she's on the mend, I'm full of plans for spoiling her. :lol: I need to order her a viv like what I'm getting for Bindi & Charis. Can't wait to get those & get everyone set up! And there's a person in the UK that makes 14" bucket wheels. She's such a long hog that I'd love to get her one so she can stretch out more and run more comfortably! Expensive, but worth it for my big girl. I need to get her on the vet insurance as well. Even if the FLD isn't covered, at least anything else that comes up should be, within their usual specifications.


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## FinnickHog (Dec 1, 2014)

I like the daily updates. Otherwise I start to worry about you guys! 

Well the bloodwork results could definitely be worse. Hopefully the URI is gone and forgotten right away, she no longer needs the anti-nausea meds, and you can focus on spoiling the longhog!

Any timeframe on those new cages yet? I'm so excited to see them!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

I really hope so! I'm ready to stop stressing about illnesses and start spending some of my free time spoiling everyone properly. I want to do more in the way of enrichment for....everyone, really. More hands-on playtime with Ebony, enclosure enrichment for the hedgies & Charis, and I want to try planting some chia & flaxseeds in the crab enclosure so they have some sprouts to eat if they want. If I can get everyone up at the same time, I also want to completely entire their tank of furniture, mix the sub up really well & check the moisture level, and change the decor around a little. I didn't do that this past time because I didn't want to risk disturbing anyone underground.

Not yet.  I need to email the company to add on a third cage for Pancake & ask them where they're at on the other two. I'm so impatient too, but I know there's likely still quite a bit of time to wait - they were estimating 10-12 weeks on just the regular enclosures, like what Charis is getting. The hedgehog enclosures, with screen doors, will take even longer. It's only been 9 weeks since I first heard back from them on being able to do the hedgehog custom enclosures and 7 weeks since I last heard from them. But aghhh I want the pretty new cages! :lol: I'm hoping they'll be willing to send the first two along once they're ready, especially if the third one will take even longer to get done. If they do, Charis and Pancake will move into those - Bindi's doing fine in the C&C, and I'd like to give Pancake a bigger enclosure as soon as I can. The tote isn't big enough for anything past the wheel, food/water bowls, & space for her to sleep. And I need to give her a dig box!


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## FinnickHog (Dec 1, 2014)

It's so much nicer when everyone is healthy and you can just focus on enrichment. I'm still stressing out about Kerrigan shedding >.<. I also need to scrape the red bubble algae off one of my potentially deadly coral plugs today. The guys who do the dart frog stuff in Calgary gave me some corals when I was down and he warned me they have a bubble algae problem, but I totally forgot and threw the xenia right in my tank. And now, guess what. Bleh.

That would be lovely of the crabs to all come up at the same time for you. I have to admit, I was thinking about hermit crabs years ago and I decided against it. I can't remember why, but now I'm pretty glad. I'd go completely insane if they burrowed on me this long!

It's only been 7 weeks!? Ugh, time moves so slowly when you're waiting for something awesome. I can't even imagine how snug it must be for that huge hog in her little tote.


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Yeah, I'm nervously waiting for Charis to finish shedding as well. She moved her base camp from her usual hide to her half log. I haven't figured out if it's an attempt to avoid me spraying her to stay closer to heat. I think she probably has clear eyes by now, but I haven't bothered her enough to actually see her eyes. Either way, she should be done in the next couple days, hopefully. I need to go to the store tomorrow & get food for her too. Going to look for some good kibble for Pancake while I'm there. That sucks about the algae!  Is there anything you can do to get rid of it besides scraping? I hope it doesn't spread.

Yeah, glad you didn't do it. :lol: Jackie made the comment that they seem like a lot of work for not much rewards...and frankly, that's exactly right. They're interesting when they're up, but they honestly just do not make great pets, sigh.

Hoping the rest of the time will go by fast! It seems like forever ago that I first ordered them, I was rather disappointed to realize it was only 7 weeks too.  Hopefully they'll be worth it once I get them though, and from what I"ve read about the company, it sounds like they should be!


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## FinnickHog (Dec 1, 2014)

There are some chemicals I can use too, but I'd really prefer not to use them. Most of them are "1 capful pet 100 gallons" or something like that, so I'd need less than a drop. I have Aiptasia-X for murdering aiptasia, but it has an applicator and goes right on the anemones, and it doesn't affect water chemistry or corals at all, so it's different and using it doesn't terrify me. There's some green hair algae my snails have been ignoring too, so I'll get that while I'm in there. I might redo the aquascaping while I'm at it because I can't leave anything alone :lol:.

Poor crabbies. Some animals really need to stay in the wild.

I looked the cages up when you ordered them and I am so jealous. They look great!


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Pancake is such a picky brat.







She ate 16g yesterday and 26g last night now that she has the old soup back. So yeah, gonna be a very slow switch and hope she takes it better that way. On the plus side... She also tried 2g of one of her new kibbles!! The kibble I've been putting in is a flavor of Acana dog food, crushed up. Gave up putting her usual kibble in because she wasn't touching it anyway. She nosed around in the bowl of Acana for a couple nights, but hadn't eaten any before last night. Hoping this isn't a fluke!!

I went back to twice daily anti-nausea meds for a few days to make sure that wasn't contributing, but skipped the morning dose today to see what happens.

Edit: oh and she's still gaining weight back, which is a good thing for now. She was 480g last night, though it was after eating, before pooping. Still, higher than it's been in weeks!


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## FinnickHog (Dec 1, 2014)

I've never seen an animal turn up its nose at Acana before. If she decides eating it was an accident I'll be surprised. She really needs to decide the new food is alright. She's giving me an internet ulcer! :lol:


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## Lilysmommy (Jan 7, 2009)

Unfortunately bringing this thread back up with a discouraging update. Pancake's still relatively okay right now, but...not great news.

She's not been acting right for the past month or so - nothing definite, but just a bit off. A little less attitude, a little more hesitant & shaky about exploring, not quite finishing all of her food on occasional nights. We went to the vet on Monday & had blood work done, got the results back today. 

Her AST (one of the liver values) is at 160. It was at 70 last November at her last blood test, and normal should be around 40. So while we can't say a definite cause, her liver's definitely having issues again. FLD isn't something that can be cured, which I knew, so it's likely that acting up again, or related complications from the strain on her liver. 

Current plan is to give her a suspension of milk thistle & lactulose to help support her liver. I'll be picking that up from the vet once it's ready. I'm also going to be keeping a closer eye on her weight and food intake. And I'll be gathering the ingredients for her syringing soup as well, in case we have to go back to that. I may try making some up sooner rather than later & mix it with her wet food to see if it perks her interest more, we'll see. Fingers crossed that she'll keep eating on her own though, regular syringe feeding turns me into a wreck! 

I'll try to keep this updated on how she's doing. She's 3.5 years old, so while I'm trying to stay optimistic since she's not really that bad yet....I'm kind of dreading the worst from this bout. But if she's willing to fight, I'll fight too.


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## Quillys_Mom_Punky (Apr 19, 2017)

Sending prayers for Pancake, and hoping things stay on the positive side, Kelsey.


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## Draenog (Feb 27, 2012)

Ah no  Good luck with your lady. I hope she'll pull through!


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