Lincoln's medical saga continues (apologies for length!)...
I've previously posted about Lincoln's diagnosis in May of early-stage kidney failure, and how he then wasn't eating much and seemed to be showing symptoms that didn't make sense for his stage of kidney disease.
I am just back from two weeks of vacation. Before I left, Lincoln had seemed to be stable and was eating fairly well. He stayed with good friends of mine who have experience with high-needs pets and were up for giving him his sub-q fluids, which I was doing every 3 days.
Lincoln did great for the first week, then his eating slowed down again. A good friend of my friends, who is a very experienced vet, went to their place for dinner last weekend and had a look at him. She immediately thought he was experiencing oral pain. I had thought that too, but my vet had said his teeth didn't look all that bad so I thought that couldn't be it. This vet looked inside his mouth with a flashlight, and could see a mass growing toward the back on his jaw. His lymph nodes on his left side also felt swollen.
My friends took Lincoln to my vet clinic, which confirmed the mass growing in his mouth and suggested I consider a biopsy when I get back. They said they couldn't tell whether the mass was cancerous or an infection. Lincoln got more antibiotics (he's already had a few rounds) and oral buprenorphine, and my friends were told to start giving fluids daily.
Lincoln HATED the oral buprenorphine, and actually seemed to deteriorate once that started. He hid all the time, and eventually stopped eating completely. My friends took him back to the vet, who gave him a shot of long-acting buprenorphine so that they wouldn't have to torture him with the oral stuff every day. Everyone was worried he wouldn't make it until I got home.
I just picked him up today. I'd been getting emails from my friends and was expecting him to be at death's door, but he was quite chipper and snuggly, and had eaten a few meals since yesterday.
A swelling on the side of his face is definitely visible (probably the more so as I haven't seen him for two weeks). It has clearly grown quite quickly.
I did schedule the biopsy, but it isn't until July 3rd. It will be somewhat risky for him as it'll involve anaesthetic, and he has a heart murmur. It is also pretty expensive, and I'm a bit worried that the outcome, whatever it is, will involve even greater expense.
I plan to go in to the vet this week just to talk with them.
I am not sure what to do from here. I think my focus is going to be on quality of life rather than length of life. He just utterly and completely hates going to the vet or getting any kind of medication - it destroys his trust in me and makes him spend all his time hiding. I think I will lean away from invasive treatment unless there is a real likelihood that it will help him. But, I've still got more to learn.
That said, on days like today he is jumping up onto the counter to be brushed and purring like a freight train. At this stage, I am just completely confused!
I've previously posted about Lincoln's diagnosis in May of early-stage kidney failure, and how he then wasn't eating much and seemed to be showing symptoms that didn't make sense for his stage of kidney disease.
I am just back from two weeks of vacation. Before I left, Lincoln had seemed to be stable and was eating fairly well. He stayed with good friends of mine who have experience with high-needs pets and were up for giving him his sub-q fluids, which I was doing every 3 days.
Lincoln did great for the first week, then his eating slowed down again. A good friend of my friends, who is a very experienced vet, went to their place for dinner last weekend and had a look at him. She immediately thought he was experiencing oral pain. I had thought that too, but my vet had said his teeth didn't look all that bad so I thought that couldn't be it. This vet looked inside his mouth with a flashlight, and could see a mass growing toward the back on his jaw. His lymph nodes on his left side also felt swollen.
My friends took Lincoln to my vet clinic, which confirmed the mass growing in his mouth and suggested I consider a biopsy when I get back. They said they couldn't tell whether the mass was cancerous or an infection. Lincoln got more antibiotics (he's already had a few rounds) and oral buprenorphine, and my friends were told to start giving fluids daily.
Lincoln HATED the oral buprenorphine, and actually seemed to deteriorate once that started. He hid all the time, and eventually stopped eating completely. My friends took him back to the vet, who gave him a shot of long-acting buprenorphine so that they wouldn't have to torture him with the oral stuff every day. Everyone was worried he wouldn't make it until I got home.
I just picked him up today. I'd been getting emails from my friends and was expecting him to be at death's door, but he was quite chipper and snuggly, and had eaten a few meals since yesterday.
A swelling on the side of his face is definitely visible (probably the more so as I haven't seen him for two weeks). It has clearly grown quite quickly.
I did schedule the biopsy, but it isn't until July 3rd. It will be somewhat risky for him as it'll involve anaesthetic, and he has a heart murmur. It is also pretty expensive, and I'm a bit worried that the outcome, whatever it is, will involve even greater expense.
I plan to go in to the vet this week just to talk with them.
I am not sure what to do from here. I think my focus is going to be on quality of life rather than length of life. He just utterly and completely hates going to the vet or getting any kind of medication - it destroys his trust in me and makes him spend all his time hiding. I think I will lean away from invasive treatment unless there is a real likelihood that it will help him. But, I've still got more to learn.
That said, on days like today he is jumping up onto the counter to be brushed and purring like a freight train. At this stage, I am just completely confused!