Maestro is here! - Page 27

Pebbles82 · 09-26-2019, 10:19 AM

You are lucky having such a good vet! Most of them aren’t experienced enough to do blood tests. I hope he can find a solution.

Coco61 · 10-05-2019, 08:19 AM

Update on Maestro and the vet. He had the blood test on Thursday morning. The vet phoned me last night about the results. Good news is that there is no sign of diabetes, liver or kidney damage. The abnormality from the blood test was a low level of potassium. With little data from hamster blood tests available, it took him time to assess the situation. Some rare conditions can cause this, but for now he wants to treat the deficiency and see what correction it does to the drinking. Maestro has been drinking 40mls daily as well as his baby food. I kept on with a small amount of this after stopping the antibiotics in case it would be useful with medicine.
So I have collected a bottle of kaminox which is a potassium supplement designed for dogs and cats. One drop a day to start with and I can mix it in his baby food. This means no daily syringe and as it is a supplement, it does not matter if he takes 2 visits to the dish to eat all the baby food. After a week, the vet wants to assess how the drinking is going. I will phone with the information and either continue as now or I gather there could be an increase to 2 drops if necessary.
So here goes...

Pebbles82 · 10-05-2019, 11:39 AM

I hope the Potassium drops help. Good that the vet said no kidney problems. Fingers crossed.

Coco61 · 10-05-2019, 11:51 AM

Thanks Serendipity. I have just found his little treat dish empty. He sneaked out while we were eating. So all the baby food has gone and first dose with it.

Pebbles82 · 10-05-2019, 12:06 PM

That’s good news - at least he is eating it.

Coco61 · 10-17-2019, 12:32 PM

The antibiotics failed and the potassium supplement also failed to halt the increase in Maestro's drinking. It has even increased to 60mls a day. So the vet has switched tack to try and treat a hormonal problem. I did not want Maestro to undergo another blood test so soon after the last one. So the vet agreed to prescribe the medicine anyway.
The first possibility is that Maestro has Cushings. He has not had any of the usual fur loss but the vet said the symptoms may not always appear in the usual order. So now he is being treated for excess cortisol. If this does not work, then after a month there can be a switch to treat the other rarer condition from a malfunctioning adrenal gland.
Finally, if all treatments fail to work, then he could have a psychological compulsion to drink to excess and this cannot be treated.
My poor beautiful boy, but at least there are still meds to try.

Pebbles82 · 10-17-2019, 02:31 PM

I am sorry this is still such a problem and hope the latest meds help. Does he seem well enough in himself? Maybe it isn't bothering him too much.

Ria P · 10-19-2019, 01:20 PM

What would be likely to happen without any treatment?
Would the drinking itself lead to serious problems?

Coco61 · 10-20-2019, 04:47 AM

Thank you both. Yes, I think Maestro is quite well otherwise although his routine is different and the pattern of interaction I had with him has gone. I am watching to make sure the new meds don't upset his gut.
Ria, thanks for asking. I think the problem can be illustrated in human terms. We are urged to drink 2 litres of water a day. Imagine if a person drank six of those bottles a day every day. Firstly, there would be weight loss if proper food intake decreased. Then the strain on the kidneys getting rid of the water. The kidneys have spare capacity but not forever. Finally, like any mammal, excessive water drinking causes brain damage/difficulty and death.
So although treatment may not reduce drinking to normal Syrian levels, I will be highly relieved to reduce it significantly.

Ria P · 10-20-2019, 06:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coco61

Ria, thanks for asking. I think the problem can be illustrated in human terms. We are urged to drink 2 litres of water a day. Imagine if a person drank six of those bottles a day every day. Firstly, there would be weight loss if proper food intake decreased. Then the strain on the kidneys getting rid of the water. The kidneys have spare capacity but not forever. Finally, like any mammal, excessive water drinking causes brain damage/difficulty and death.
So although treatment may not reduce drinking to normal Syrian levels, I will be highly relieved to reduce it significantly.

Yes, i knew about the issues with humans but didn't really know what the normal maximum drinking level is for a hamster. What happens if you only give him a water bowl but no bottle? I guess Maestro would consume the same amount if its a medical condition and not some psychological compulsion to do with the bottle itself. I hope the vet will find out soon what's wrong. Must be so worrying for you.