please help, not sure what is wrong with him

[Andrea]

Winston may end up surprising you. My one hedgehog Spikey has some serious medical issues and was started on a twice daily medication (this was after a course of antibiotics and also IM fluids for 10 days). He is still on the twice daily medicine and is maintaining very nicely. He is active, has a good quality of life. He is living with this chronic condition and not suffering. So Winston may be able to stabilize and be relatively ok.

Keep us posted

[termonjai]

Thank you for sharing that Andrea, gives me more hope. As long as he isn't suffering, I'll be happy. But with being so ill, and struggling just to do the basic stuff, like eating and pooping, I couldn't make him suffer just so I could keep him with me. We've been giving him salmon oil with his baby food hoping to "lube" him up to make it easier to go potty. But I think he's sick of the salmon oil now. Keep your fingers crossed, and I'll be posting updates.

[termonjai]

Well, Winston improved a good bit through the weekend, giving me signs of hope. I spoke with the vet a little bit ago and got more information, it helps to not be hysterical. Turns out I still had his diagnosis wrong. He has Dilated cardiomyopathy which is a condition in which the heart becomes weakened and enlarged, and it cannot pump blood efficiently. The decreased heart function can affect the lungs, liver, and other body systems. The lasix will reduce the fluid in his lungs, but won't do much for his heart because it is so large. We'll literally have to take it day by day, and at the point he becomes weak, lethargic, then we'll have to put him down. So wanted to give you all an update on how he's doing and the correct diagnosis. Not sure how much more time we'll have together, but I hope to make the best of it.

[Cardianharle]

Hang in there hun, it's tough, and hope is what you can hold on to. It's good to hear that he is doing alright through the weekend. Let's hope he gets stronger and proves everyone wrong. Best of hope to you sweetie, Reia and I are sending out positive thoughts. <3

[termonjai]

thank you

[Maddie the Hedgie]

how is he doing?

[Andrea]

I am sorry that the prognosis is not good but at least you have a little time to continue to love him and to say your goodbye. Just love him completely, one day at a time. Take some pictures, too.

You will be in my thoughts. andrea

[termonjai]

Thought I would provide an update on Winston. He's getting stronger and breathing is back to normal. But his eating and pooping are still a big concern. I've been giving him some mineral oil to help things along, and I think it is making it easier for him, I just don't know how much or how often to give it to him. He's done w/ baby food and I tried pumpkin, but he won't touch it. I also bought him some mealworms and he's having a hard time with them too, they keep falling out of his mouth and he's not eating the whole worm (he is missing a premolar so not sure if this could be why). I've noticed that he "spaces out" quite a bit and seems to have trouble getting out of his wheel. I'm trying to figure out a step for him now. But, when I got home, I gave him a full bath, which made him go #1 and #2, so I had to make him some fresh bath water. He got a good scrubbing, and a vitamin e enhanced rinse (he's been scratching a good bit at night), nice massage (he didn't enjoy it much), and a pedicure. All that exhausted him, or so I thought. I took him into the bedroom and put him under the covers, and boy did he perk up. He found a nice smelly spot on my boyfriend's side of the bed, so he had to annoint with it (right after a bath too). I laid down on the bed to help keep him contained, so he wouldn't walk off the edge and he eventually curled up in his sleep sack and went to sleep. Then I had him on the sofa after his medicine this evening, and I was paying bills and balancing the checkbook. And since he has a thing for paper his nose was twitching. We have a grocery store that has BPA free receipts, so we played with that for awhile (annointing even more). It's so funny watching him trying to make off with something almost as big as he is. He's got the spunk, just not the energy to go with it. Please keep him in your thoughts/prayers. Thank you.

[CThogs]

Thank you for the update-been thinking about you both. It's a good sign that he is trying to do all the things he likes

[termonjai]

Spoke with the vet this morning. Since his breathing is back to normal, we're cutting back on the lasix from 0.15 to 0.10 ML, and she suggested giving him .05 ML of mineral oil, I was only giving him a drop or two. She's concerned his appetite hasn't increased and he's still having issues w/ BM. But hopefully with cutting his dose back, that will help. I also asked her about him "spacing out" and she said that he may have developed a heart arrhythmia, or it could be a "senior moment", after all tomorrow he'll be 3 1/2 years old. And his eyesight is getting worse, where he's having issues judging distance when stepping out of his wheel. So, we need to leave a light on for him at night. Wish us luck with decreasing his dose. Thank you everyone.