Update: Saoirse is Back Home from the Vets
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The vets managed to get a large enough blood draw to run some in-house tests as well as sending samples to IDEXX for more precise assays. They have examined her eye and checked her heart rate and blood pressure.
Preliminary Findings - In-house Blood Tests and General Physical Exam:
BUN - back in reference range.
Creatinine - stayed in reference range.
Phosphorus - increased from 1.57 to c. 1.6. (Not great - higher dose of phosphorus binder was given since 1.57 reading at beginning of November. She eats a food too high in phosphorus because it's the only one I've found that she can tolerate pancreatitis-wise.)
Thyroid - Just below lower limit of reference range in November. Now in reference range but higher. Vet thinks it is a possibility that other issues may have been masking hyperthyroidism. However, for the very reason that Saoirse has other endocrine issues it's not certain. Waiting on IDEXX assay before doing anything further and will run another panel in 3-4 weeks' time. (Had to ask him to repeat that particular phrase. Asked if Saoirse was in any immediate danger and he replied in the negative - anti-jinx, anti-jinx.)
Liver markers - don't recall them being mentioned but that is no guarantee they weren't, given my current mental state. If there was anything really iffy I would have remembered.
Elevated blood pressure - 175 (ref range 135-170). Rx:
Amodip (amlodipine) 14 days then re-evaluate.
Heart rate - fast (didn't specify pulse rate).
Saoirse was very stressed as is normal for her at the vets. She was very scared, too, and in pain so the vet doesn't know how valid the measurements are. He is going to visit us at home at the beginning of next week to get a more reliable measurement of BP and heart rate. (Last home BP check was 140.)
Eyes:
As posted earlier, at this morning's vet consult, Saoirse's eye was cloudy. Vet used medication to dilate the pupil and tried to determine what was happening inside Saoirse's eye. Both eyes were checked for surface lesions.
The unaffected eye is OK so far (anti-jinx, anti-jinx). The affected eye has some ulceration which the vet thinks may possibly have arisen secondary to inflammation in the eye; the irritation may have caused Saoirse to rub at the eye, giving rise to the ulcer. I'm a bit fuzzy on the source of the bleeding (my head is even more of a mess than usual) but I
think he said it was from the ulcer. Meds dispensed to soothe the affected eye (
Isathal eye drops) and drops to dilate the pupil (
Minims Tropicamide) in order to prevent adhesions and hopefully enable a more thorough exam to determine exactly what's going on. He had no opinion on what caused her to retch and be so nauseated overnight but suggests it may have been down to stress. I did advise him that the little bit of discharge I wiped away from Saoirse's eye last night had a pale pink tinge to it. I asked whether it was possible that some blood/other fluid drained through Saoirse's sinuses and therefore she may have swallowed it resulting in the gagging and major clinical signs of nausea which I observed last night but he didn't think that was likely. Based on the number of doses of the pupil dilation med dispensed he plans to re-examine the affected eye on Monday.
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(A bit more to follow shortly ...)
Mogs
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