Talisker is now a possible referral to Bristol Vet College.....

[_Acolyte_]

I got home from work today to find that Tal had had chronic diarrhoea all day, so I went back to the vets again tonight - and to be fair to him the vet could not have been better.

I expressed my concerns that Tal is getting worse and worse, and I said how worried I was that it would be like Jura all over again where she got weaker and weaker until she had to be PTS. Perhaps the fact I had mentioned getting a second opinion when I phoned to make the appointment also helped!

Tonight for the first time the vet found a thickening of the gut area when he palpated the abdomen - he said this MIGHT be a sign of a telescoped gut area (like horses get with colic sometimes!) which can happen in chronic diarrhoea cases. So we had some blood tests taken tonight to assess albumen levels (how much Tal is actually digesting from his food apparently) and Tal is going in tomorrow for a X-ray.

We talked about other options such as a referral - the vet suggested Bristol as being the place to refer to, but also said that their fees would be £1500 before we started

He also suggested that their treatment very often was no different to the treatment he would give.

The vets view is that Talisker has a stripped gut, which will just take time to recover from, but at least now he has realised I am serious about getting this sorted and has been galvanised into action! He also mentioned possibly doing a gut biopsy, or going to Bristol for an endoscopy, but we have to take it one stage at a time

Sorry - cookies if you have got this far - seems like this goes from bad to worse

Tal has lost another 0.5kg now so he is down to 25.15 kilos, when he was 29 kilos a couple of years ago

Not quite sure where to go from here....

And Woolly - thank you so much for the recommendation for a referral! I would have definitely gone with them but vet seems confident Bristol would be a better/equal option

 

[kirstyhen]

Oh poor Tal

I have my pinkies crossed that he gets sorted and soon.

 

[Ravenwood]

Oh what a worry

Hope you get it sorted. Langford are excellent although as you know, very expensive.

 

[_Acolyte_]

Thanks both

Not quite sure what to do about the referral thing, Tal is about 10 years old now so is coming to the end of his years...

But we will cross that bridge when we come to it I think

 

[CAYLA]

I hope you get to the bottom of this, I know it's chewing u to pieces, and for Talisker

 

[Stinkbomb]

I hope the problem gets sorted and Talisker feels better soon

 

[Goya]

<<<<<<<good vibes for you>>>>>>>>>>
Hope it gets sorted quickly.There is nothing worse than not knowing what is causing an illness.

 

[FinnishLapphund]

Oh, that must have been horrible to come home to find.

So wish there was something I could do to help, but can't even tell you if to choose referral or not.


Fingers crossed from Sweden.

 

[_Acolyte_]

Thanks again everyone - Cala, that is such a good way of describing it, I feel like I am so helpless to help him

I have had a long chat with my mum tonight (source of all common sense advice on canine matters!) and I'm pretty sure I have made my decision about whether to refer to Langford. But will see what tomorrow shows (if anything) and take it from there

Life sucks at the moment

 

[Oneofthepack]

Poor Tal and poor you

Don't you just wish there was an NHS for pets at times like this, then you could just go and get whatever they need and hang the cost but the money they talk about when you start referring to specialists is crazy. Fingers crossed that the chicken and rice and current treatment does the trick. Can he be fed tiny amounts at regular intervals so his gut's not working on too much at once?

 

[_Acolyte_]

He is being starved tonight OOTP so he can go in tomorrow for an x-ray; depending on what that and the blood tests show up then I will chat to the vet about the little-and-often idea!

At the moment even chicken and rice is going straight through him though

I just never thought it might get to the stage where I might face losing him - it is just diarrhoea for gods sake

But that possibility is getting stronger every time I go back to the vets

 

[MurphysMinder]

Sending loads of vibes to you and Talisker. I know exactly how you feel, try not too dwell on the worst case scenario (easier said than done I know) now your vet seems to be prepared to fully investigate fingers crossed he will be able to sort out the problem. x

 

[_Acolyte_]

Thank you MM - I am sitting here stressing now

Tal is having an x-ray and scan this morning, then being operated on this afternoon if required.

His blood tests showed OK albumen levels, so he appears to be digesting fairly well under the circumstances, but he was dehydrated (not surprisingly) and his white cell count was high.

The vet seems to be thinking that the telescoped gut might be the answer, but he is going to ring me after the scan/x-ray

 

[FinnishLapphund]

{{{{{{Hugs and vibes}}}}}}

Saw that you had made a reply Acolyte, as soon as I opened the HHO window, and forgot to sign in before I read. As MurphysMinder says, it's hard not to dwell on the worst case scenario, and it can't be easier when you've already been worrying about his condition for some time, but sometimes things ends happily.

Fingers crossed, from Sweden.

 

[_Acolyte_]

Thanks FL

I dont think I will be particularly productive at work today, but nothing unusual there I suppose

Hopefully he will ring before too long

 

[CorvusCorax]

I hate it when you are at work waiting for those phonecalls, when all you want to do is be there cuddling them and telling them it is going to be ok.

Fingers crossed for Talisker!