Broken back with fused vertebrae and nerve damage

Well, the vet finally got on board with Sasha being extremely ill (before he seemed to think I was being over dramatic because I was upset) good vet, just not very good with people.....

I left Sasha with him, he'll be getting bloodwork. Then it'll be daily calcium and vitamin D injections with tube feeds as well.

If he doesn't respond in a week the vet thinks it's time to put him to sleep. God I hope this works.

I really, really hope everything turns out okay. Praying for you and Sasha!

Poor baby....being in a strange place will be stressful , especialy the tube feeding but hopefully he will get some help. Best wishes to you + Sasha.

Hello,

Poor Sasha, that is too bad he has to stay at the vets awhile. I hope that he does improve, at least the vet finally relented that he needed some intervention.
Keep us posted on him.

Tracie

Blood work came back. It's everything I was afraid it would be. His calcium is actually a bit high (because we've been treating for mbd and he doesn't have it)

Somewhere between last night and this morning Sasha has started having seizures. His blood work shows that it's the kidneys (most likely from the metacam)

The result the vet got from the lab needs to be converted to a result the vet can understand so, I'm waiting for him to call me back in a few more hours to see if this is something we can treat or not...it certainly isn't looking promising though.

AmberC123":1ifg1pit said:

Blood work came back. It's everything I was afraid it would be. His calcium is actually a bit high (because we've been treating for mbd and he doesn't have it)

Somewhere between last night and this morning Sasha has started having seizures. His blood work shows that it's the kidneys (most likely from the metacam)

The result the vet got from the lab needs to be converted to a result the vet can understand so, I'm waiting for him to call me back in a few more hours to see if this is something we can treat or not...it certainly isn't looking promising though.

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That doesn't sound good, I am sorry. I hope it turns out to be all right.

Ok, I'm officially REALLY confused. The vet called back (unfortunately I missed the call) to say that he talked to a specialist at the lab and they said that for a dessert animal like a bearded dragon his kidney level was fine. So the vet once again is going to just keep treating for calcium.

When I talked to him earlier he said his calcium was high or normal (I can't remember I was too shaken over the seizures info) but that he thought that was because he's giving the calcium injections.

So, I don't know what's going on, the blood work is apparently ok (ish) but Sasha is super lethargic and seizing and the vet said multiple times today he's eating really well, but one: Sasha doesn't really move or stay away and two: they're tube feeding him..of course he's eating well he has no choice.

Now, I trust this vet, he's the most knowledgeable in my area and he does all the reptile rescues in the lower mainland for the SPCA on top of that there is a second vet working there that he did actually call into the room to ask her opinion when I was there.

I'm confused, the vet refuses to answer when I ask what Sasha's chances are, just says he needs a few days to see how Sasha responds

Hello,

Geez, that is frustrating indeed! Sasha is having seizures that often?
Are his bones showing dense, as they would without metabolic bone disease?
They didn't give him a shot of calcitonin, did they? I hope not, because if that is given before the blood serum calcium normalizes, it can pull too much into the bones, leaving the blood serum levels too low & they can seize. Do you happen to know what the calcitonin levels are, do you have a copy of the blood test I could see?
Maybe they could check his thyroid gland, to see if that could be causing trouble. The thyroid gland is responsible for producing the calcitonin hormone & the parathyroid hormone is responsible for regulating calcium & phosphate levels.
When are they supposed to call back?
You & Sasha are in our thoughts.

Tracie

So I misunderstood the vet today. When he said seizing he meant the tremors. Sasha isn't have seizures (thank God) but his calcium is high, they will be stopping the injections and instead are focusing on feeding and hydrating him. As far as I know there is no change since I left him there Wednesday.

I really don't get it. Besides his high calcium from his calcium injections his blood work is pretty normal, I don't understand why he's so sick...

The vet that is taking care of him isn't there on the weekends so unless something bad happens I won't have a vet update me until Monday (there is another vet there that takes care of reptiles and will keep an eye on him)

I'm just totally at a loss as to why he's so sick when his blood work is pretty much ok...

This is a perplexing condition...I can see why the vet won't give you a prognosis. There is no diagnosis to base that on.
I'm curious about the other lab values, electrolyte imbalances can cause tremor. I'm also interested in the thyroid values....
I'm hoping the vet can figure this out and your dragon improves. But thankfully it wasn't having seizures...

Hello,

I hope you are able to get some answers on monday. Poor Sasha!
At least he wasn't having seizures. Tremors are different. They can be caused by nutritional issues or dehydration too. Do you happen to have a copy of the blood tests possibly?
I hope he isn't too stressed being away from home. Keep us posted on him.

Tracie

The vet didn't give me a copy. I could ask..

If I did ask he would probably take it as an insult though. When I asked if the metacam could have caused the kidney issues (when he thought he had a kidney issue) he seemed to be a bit offended. I left him on Wednesday and called Thursday morning and asked, they hadn't done anything yet and again they were defensive about it.

That office seems to think people blame them for a lot of stuff and they are constantly on the defensive, I don't want to rock the boat by asking for too much, even asking to visit Sasha tomorrow seemed to throw them...

He was severely dehydrated though...I should have forced more water on him (I feel really bad about that) his left eye wouldn't open and was super sunken in, the vet did a saline rinse and while he wouldn't open it still it wasn't sunken in anymore. Vet said it was dehydration.

When I called to check up yesterday the vet tech said it was open, so it's better, which means he was definitely dehydrated

Yeah, dehydration can cause serious weakness + tremors. Hopefully once he's hydrated he'll be feeling better. It doesn't seem like he needs to stay there much longer racking up bills for you and causing him stress away from home. They should let you in to see him. And any X-rays or any papers on bloodwork are your property, a copy should be given of all medical records.

AmberC123":31noetir said:

The vet didn't give me a copy. I could ask..

If I did ask he would probably take it as an insult though. When I asked if the metacam could have caused the kidney issues (when he thought he had a kidney issue) he seemed to be a bit offended. I left him on Wednesday and called Thursday morning and asked, they hadn't done anything yet and again they were defensive about it.

That office seems to think people blame them for a lot of stuff and they are constantly on the defensive, I don't want to rock the boat by asking for too much, even asking to visit Sasha tomorrow seemed to throw them...

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You should be able to get copies of everything tho some places may charge a printing/admin fee.

I'd like to say also, while it should never interfere with their professional attitude or bedside manner so to speak, vets do deal with a lot of abusive or just stupid/selfish crap from clients. It's actually kind of shocking the things people demand/feel entitled to/blame the vet for. That said a ****ty attitude on the part of their staff won't be endearing regardless of what they put up with. Hopefully you are being polite and reasonable (from your posts I've no reason to doubt that) which would make me question seeing this vet, personally.

I hope Sasha continues to feel better.