Stomach tumor... GNT??

[Cuttlefishh]

Thank you for the reassurance; she did seem to be comfortable after we settled down last night.

When we first got home last night:

This morning waking up;

She was so tired but as soon as the sun started coming out she was wide awake. She was more herself though this morning, her movements are a bit slow and stuttered (I know she's in pain though so this can be expected)

She tolerated trearments so far. I'm trying not to be too rough with her, she crawled up onto my shoulder during the medicine and feed, i couldn't help but let her while I cuddled her very gently for a few minutes before putting her back in her enclosure.

After i returned her to her enclosure she went into her hide (its on the warm side). She's responsive though, i checked on her after about half an hour and i startled her when i woke her up haha. *Edit after 15mins; shes come out and is now crawling around her enclosure. I've "surgery" proofed it by covering her bridge ornament with paper towel and i removed the super high platform thing from the wall. I think she's sussing out the changes haha

I'll post the discharge summary in next post. The surgeon was going to send me all the reports when she returns this week.

 

[Cuttlefishh]

They did more than what they charged me for, they did multiple X-ray and drained some fluid off of her so i do appreciate that. I was skeptical about misting her but I dont want to force any more in her than she can handle so i will probably just do as advised here. I'm splitting her feed up though to 1 ML with her medications which she gets twice a day. Hope this will make it easier for her to digest.

 

[AHBD]

I'm so glad to hear this update. So far so good, cautiously optimistic. You're doing a great job , it's obvious how much you care for the little scaly boy. So misting for hydration ? That would be beneficial if water is dripped on her snout for a drink which is a good way to give a beardie a drink. Other than that 3 times a day through the enclosure may raise the humidity too much.

 

[Cuttlefishh]

I'm so glad to hear this update. So far so good, cautiously optimistic. You're doing a great job , it's obvious how much you care for the little scaly boy. So misting for hydration ? That would be beneficial if water is dripped on her snout for a drink which is a good way to give a beardie a drink. Other than that 3 times a day through the enclosure may raise the humidity too much.

Thank you so much im doing my best in hopes she will settle and at the very minimum be more comfortable. I thought that too to be honest, so i didn't actually mist just yet. I've taken a syringe instead over the snout but she's (or hes? Now I'm not sure!) Not really drinking it. Should i just give her 0.5ml water a day with her treatments instead..? I could even break it up into 0.25ml with each time maybe.

 

[Cuttlefishh]

"Mom what the heck did you do to my platform??" I had to stop her from trying to climb the towel I used to cover the part I removed haha.. I'm so sorry Taro I had to do it..

 

[AHBD]

She looks good there ! And yes, just add a little extra water to give her twice a day. Also for dripping on the snout, do it very slowly. Let a drip or 3 fall, then stop. Then again and stop. Sometimes after a minute or so it will click that it's a drink and then they start lapping it up.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

She looks very good, what a trooper! Bless her, I bet she is very happy to be home with
you. I hope she is feeling better soon.
Definitely take it slow with fluids, etc for her. Was the vet going to check on her daily right
now to see how she was doing I hope?
Her color looks pretty good also. Keep us posted on her.

Tracie

 

[Cuttlefishh]

Hi there, so i took the advice and dropped a little water on her snout- she did drink it; i also gave her a tiny bit extra with her feed. So far no throwing up, but im waiting on a poo still. Vet says poo should come every 1-3 days

She's not as active this morning sadly; shes a bit more lethargic. It is dark and rainy and cold outside though (even her enclosure is about 35-38) .. I am even feeling sleeper than usual today

Worry is that she may have adhesions or blockage still. Sometimes she does gape her mouth a little bit after feeds so i do worry but she's keeping it down for now. Hoping she does a poo soon that will be our next milestone for improvement.

 

[AHBD]

She does look tired there but that's really good news that she's keeping things down today. But there's no real time frame to expect a poo, especially since she's had very little to eat for a while now. So don't be worried if nothing comes out for a week or more. That would not be unusual at all.

 

[Cuttlefishh]

I have very good news; the vet who performed the surgery just phoned.

The biopsy came back: Taro is cancer free!!!!

Turns out the growth was an abcess from a chronic infection.. She has removed the most of it, what remains is to target treat the inflammation.

While i know this is still critical, I'm so relieved its not cancer. This means Taros chances increase drastically.



There's still some bad news though: her liver is not functioning well at all. This is especially challenging because the liver result did not show on the blood work at all, so it will be hard to track this progress other than her general presentation over time. And it will definitely take time; but vet is optimistic that the liver can heal with time and careful diet.


I gave her an update about how Taro was going and she said the behaviour is to be expected- she said Taro was even probably showing better behaviour than what she expected from what i described, so she was happy for this.

Signs need to be looking out for at the moment is if she's vomiting a lot. She hasn't vomited at all though since coming home so fingers crossed we can come back from this.


I hope this story can give people who might end up in a similar situation to this one a little bit of hope. Every single reference on the internet related to "mass" or "growth" for bearded dragons just says cancer all over it... especially if its internal... I'm pleased to confirm that not every anomaly is going to end up being cancer so don't give up hope!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is fantastic news, Taro does not have cancer. Wow, bless her.
I am so happy she is holding down liquids, etc. Since her liver is having a hard time, you
can try milk thistle liquid or powder either one to help her liver heal more. The liver does
have regenerative properties, so it is hopeful for her.
Be sure to keep her warmer in her tank overnight also, while she is healing.
I really hope that she continues to improve. Let us know how she is doing.

Tracie

 

[Cuttlefishh]

Hello,

That is fantastic news, Taro does not have cancer. Wow, bless her.
I am so happy she is holding down liquids, etc. Since her liver is having a hard time, you
can try milk thistle liquid or powder either one to help her liver heal more. The liver does
have regenerative properties, so it is hopeful for her.
Be sure to keep her warmer in her tank overnight also, while she is healing.
I really hope that she continues to improve. Let us know how she is doing.

Tracie

Yes Im so relieved! But she still has a lot of hurdles ...making sure her gut/intestine is patent, shes not building up abdominal fluid or that her liver isnt completely shutting down, clearing the infection that vet says will take long term antibiotics.. She's going to need extra care for some time but at least euthanasia is off the table for now.

I'm willing to try anything to help her. Where can I get milk thistle liquid? And how much should i give her? I'm in Australia but happy to buy from anywhere!!

 

[Cuttlefishh]

Post op day 7;

Taro is bright and reasonably active today- shes alert and making her way around the enclosure. She also did a big wet poo this morning. It was quite wet but not complete mush; it didn't look too abnormal considering the soft diet and the wombaroo supplement- it actually didn't really look bad even if she were a healthy dragon!

She is trying to climb again though... despite that i took down the platform. Shaking my head..

She's still gaping her mouth a bit on and off but im certain we have found the cause at this point. She's doing it a bit less than before as well so that's a good sign.

Im overjoyed but im trying not to get complacent; the liver and the infection still need consistent tackling but im just so impressed with how strong She is

 

[Cuttlefishh]

She's definitely got more energy today !

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Taro is looking very good! Bless her, she is a strong willed girl indeed.
You can try just going to a local health food store to find liquid milk thistle. Even powder
would be fine, too. There is no set dose on this since it is a supplement but if using liquid,
depending on the strength of it, I would go middle of the road. Normally on most supplements
when using liquid I go conservative & say 10-15mg/kg.
I can help figure out a dose for you if you do get a liquid. If using powder, usually, just a small
pinch is acceptable in most cases.

Keep us posted on her.

Tracie