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Posted by iZ's mom on March 17, 2000 at 20:01:32:
In Reply to: Couple of questions for iZ's Mom posted by T and Q on March 17, 2000 at 15:01:38:
oh nooooo ... my scattered brain didn't realize you were having to deal with kidney probs too ... *very sad face* ...
no no no ... i didn't take your post as critical in the least! and anyway, i think it's good to be questioned and 'forced' to rationalize the decisions! helps keep one on one's toes *and* catch any not-so-good decisions sooner ... (ya know?)
anywho ... (this might ramble ... sorry)
the kidney biopsy showed that iZ's renal probs were caused by an undetected, untreated, long-term, low-grade bacterial infection ... we never did deterine the cause or site of the infection ...
back in Oct before we knew for sure what the prob was, his then-doc put him on Baytril because of his weird digestive-tract symptoms ... we were treating him for gastroenteritis, basically an inflamation/infection of the colon ... the difference after just 3 days was like night + day and his new doc (a "real" ig-vet) felt that it was the right thing, esp since it made such a huge difference in how iZ felt, looked, acted, etc ... we know at least that the Baytril *does* take care of the infection, even tho we don't know what/where the infection is ...
after his surgery in Nov., he was on Baytril for 2 wks + then off for 2-3 days and again, it was like night + day, the changes that occured ... symptoms that had been lessening, suddenly + quickly, began getting worse ... so ... back on the Baytril for another 10 days ...
he's been off antibiotics since Dec + improved rapidly + consistantly for 2 months, the infection seemed to be gone ... my goodness, he regained the 4 pounds he lost!!! i just can't believe it ...
but the last 3-4 wks things have just started to look weird again ... it's pretty much not possible to tell if it's infection or kidneys, but since if it is still the same infection, it *will* impact the kidneys, we treat both possibilities ... so he's back on the Aluminum Hydroxide too ...
yes, antibiotics are hard on the kidneys ... Baytril is better than Gentamicin as far as that goes ... Gent is an "aminoglycoside" + is especially hard on the renal system (+ can *cause* renal probs ...) ... Baytril, given in an arm muscle, will take care of the infection + not hit the kidneys quite so hard ...
Prednisone ... no haven't tried it ... kidneys are not swollen at this point in time and the swollen dewlap is a recent occurance ...
had to 'force' fluids last fall/winter ... minimum of 70cc per day ... not fun ... right now, he is drinking alot on his own ... not a real good sign in itself, but feel he's getting enough on his own ... for now ...
symptoms ... saw really strange symptoms last fall ... weird lesions on his scales, shed refusing to dry + loosen (he still may lose his spikes due to loss of blood circulation) ... weird constipation, small hard poops that looked more like rabbit pellets than dragon poop ... lost his appetite, partly because he drank sooooo much ... it was scary to watch him drink! he'd stick his head under the water when i put him in the tub and drink + drink for over a minute ... *and* he had water in his room to drink during the day too ... his kidneys were swollen to the size of tennis balls ... he went from 11.5 pounds to only 7.25 in a month + lost *alot* of muscle mass in his tail/legs ... throat, tongue + dewlap were swollen ... it was all pretty awful ...
anyway ... am seeing alot of the same symptoms, tho in a lesser form + he hasn't started to lose weight again ... yet ... we're just hoping that what worked last time, will work this time ...
that make sense???
hugs + headbobs to you both from me + iZ
