Sick kitties

Well, we have a pair of sick kitties (four-legged kind) here. Vandal started getting clingy and sneezing over the weekend so we took him and Sable to the vet. See, Sable always sneezes and frequently sneezes out thick gunk that's white or yellow (or booger-like). We've taken her to the vet before, gotten antibiotics, and finished them. The sneezing and everything comes right back within a week or two.

So off to the vet we went. When we get there, Vandal is a perfect peach during his physical exam, though he did complain about getting his temp taken. Sable wouldn't stay still for the temp and hissed -- but if the assistant had bothered to tell me she was about to insert the damned thermometer I could have held her more tightly. So they gave up on the temp.

The vet came in and examined both kitties next. Vandal's heartbeat is really high - ~300 beats a minute. That's way too high, so we got a blood panel done on him to check his thyroid hormone levels and other things. We are also concerned that he lost over a pound in the last eighteen months. If his thyroid hormones are out of whack, that would explain all of it. We should get the results this afternoon (in fact, I'm waiting for the call right now).

With all Sable's sinus problems, we decided to get some bloodwork done on her too. It took five sticks (the first three didn't hit a blood vessel) with me holding her. Silly kitty didn't hiss until the needle was removed from the fourth stick (the first that hit blood). The vet's office was surprised they didn't need to wrap her in a towel, that she let me hold her and didn't bite or scratch. I guess they got a little concerned over the first hissing. Silly vet.

So, we have antibiotics for both kitties so they can't pass this back and forth. Sable's dose is nearly twice Vandal's, but his is much smaller (down to 7.25 lbs versus her 12.5 lbs). But, it takes twice as long to get his dose in him than her dose in her. Sigh.

S

(no subject)

Well, the migraines seem to be back and quickly getting up to full force. I had two of them this week -- ick. The new drug worked somewhat for the first one, not as well for the second. The first migraine was last week on the day Julia and I planned a road trip -- woke up with that one. One dose got me straightened up enough to enjoy the trip, but no way was I up to driving or even minor multitasking. Julia asked me to find out something on a map and I did that, but didn't respond to any questions or anything else because I couldn't.

The next one hit on Sunday while I was driving to a guild meeting. The new drug got me through the meeting, but no way could I drive. Someone from the meeting got me home and I went to bed. Next day, thought I was doing okay until I tried to talk on the phone and realized I wasn't quite coherent talking to the nurse and was speaking at less than half my normal speed. Went in and got my samples of my old reliable drug. I'm gonna push the doctor to getting me that drug from the insurance company. It's the only one we know works. I also think I'm gonna push on getting a consult with a neurologist, because this is getting worse very fast. I normally have a year or two (not four months) before they escalate to this point.

I hate migraines.

S

(no subject)

Heard from the vet. Vandal indeed does have hyperthyroidism. This means we get to put him on medicine for a little while. Then we reevaluate the situation and decide what longer-term measures we want. Our options are continued meds (not easy), thyroid reduction through surgery, or thyroid reduction using iodine.

So we will just need to watch him closely while we use the medicine to make sure he tolerates it well. I don't think that is likely too much a problem -- I'm more worried about how well we (read: I) will tolerate getting it into him. He isn't too keen on the liquid antibiotic; I doubt he'll be happier with a second med.

The vet made sure that we understood that the hyperthyroid could be masking other health issues, such as kidney issues or cardiomyopathy (though he did say that was unlikely). But this is Vandal -- it's his first real health issue.

S