Sunday, January 6th, 2008 at
1:26 am
I’ve been trying to get a good photo of Kaos’ stomach but the pictures don’t really show how huge and taut the poor thing’s belly is.
I was worried about the diuretics not working as I could see she wasn’t piddling much after I gave her the Flusapex or when she had her You Gui Wan formula so I spoke to Kamila and she said I could try giving her a bit more than 1/8th ml a day. I did that for about a week but there was no visible difference.
The next stop was to the vet and she said I could increase the Flusapex to 0.75ml twice a day for a couple of days but if she didn’t piddle excessively as a result, to go back to giving her 0.5ml.
Unfortunately she didn’t and she started to look like she swallowed a beach ball, she was so big. It was especially distressing to watch her trying to walk — her back legs kept slipping out to the sides as she lugged herself around.
I remembered seeing an article by
Ron Hines, DVM, where he talked about giving ferrets Spirolactone if their diuretics stopped working ….
Spirolactone (Aldactone)
When the maximum dose of furosemide diuretic (0.5-1.5mg/ pound every 8-12 hrs ) is not sufficient to eliminate fluid buildup in the tummy (ascites) and lungs (pulmonary edema) of your pet, another diuretic, such as spirolactone, can be added to the medications your pet receives. The usual spirolactone dose is 0.5-1.0mg/pound body wt. given twice a day (1-2mg/lb/day). You need to be patient – it takes 2-4 days for the full effect of the drug to be reached. Spirolactone can increase the toxicity and effect of digoxin so your pet’s digitoxin dose may need to be lowered. It can also cause an increase in serum potassium, which can be dangerous. To monitor potassium, a blood sample should be taken and measured for serum electrolytes and kidney function on the 3rd or 4th day, the 7th day and periodically there after.
I printed the article out and went back to the vet to see if we could put Kaos on Spirolactone. She agreed, so they made up the medicine and I started her on it yesterday (Saturday, January 5).
I woke up at 4am to the sound of someone eating very enthusiastically and when I turned on the light, I saw it was Kaos. Front paws and head in the bowl, stuffing her little face with great gusto
It’s the first time I’ve seen her eating so well for a week or so and I am very encouraged by that sign.
The article says it’ll take up to 4 days to see the full effect of the drug so I’ll let you know how it all goes.
Fingers crossed it’s a positive outcome!
