Whine like a baby, now with 500% more drama!

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy said:
So, the verdict? Hyperthyroidism. He also lost FOUR POUNDS since his last visit a month ago.

But at least now I know what the problem was and it's treatable. I don't know how much longer I'll have my little buddy, but I want to give him the best life even if it might not be for many more years.
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Another update. I'm up stupidly late because my sleep schedule is complete borked (partly due to depression, partly due to playing Civ 6 very late recently).

Anyway, I'm worried about Diomedes again. Since getting him home and giving him medications for hyperthyroidism, he doesn't seem to be improving. Some decent bowel movements but infrequent. No constipation, as far as I know.

But..he's not eating as well as he used to, even canned food he liked in the past. And since starting on the thyroid meds, he's drinking a LOT more water. Like, he didn't drink water all that often, but now I'm refilling his bowl almost every day. Even with a full bowl of food, he'll go to his water instead.

Concerned, I called the vet, who are thankfully open 24/7. After discussing the matter, she thinks it might be related to kidney disease or kidney failure. She said hyperthyroidism can mask the bigger problems with kidney failure (something to do with blood pressure). He was due to have his thyroid levels checked soon, so I booked to bring him in this Thursday.
 
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PatrThom

PatrThom

When a cat gets older (10-12 and up), their metabolism can crank up higher because it gets harder for them to digest protein as they age. At the same time, though, if you simply crank up the amount of protein in their diet to compensate, this will increase the amount of protein-related waste products in their blood, which can lead to their kidneys getting overwhelmed. It's definitely a balancing act of trying to find a cat food with a high enough mix of protein and fat to keep their weight up BUT that's easy enough to digest so they're not burning out their kidneys.

Yeah, I know I'm not a vet. But between the wife and I, we've had quite a few cats, including a couple who had their kidneys go far enough into the danger zone that we had to start giving them a subcutaneous infusion of saline about once a week to keep them hydrated. This would leave them with a big ol' pillow of fluid under their skin that would shrink down over a few days as it was absorbed, and then when they started to get a little listless or hang out extra around the water bowl, we'd know it was time to do it again. We managed to get another 1.5-2.5yrs of quality life out of them by doing this before other health problems finally became more than we could manage.

--Patrick
 
GasBandit

GasBandit

Staff member
So last night my A/C started tripping the circuit breaker.

In Texas. IN JUNE.

Probably means the compressor is going out, if I had to guess, but I am not an HVAC expert.

I'd like to have it seen to ASAP, but I had to be on the road before 8am today for work. I may or may not be able to contact anybody before 5pm today.

Somebody shoot me.
 
Sparhawk

Sparhawk

chris said:
Well, you are in Texas, so the possibility for that is properly really high.
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Not where he is at, fairly low incidence rate for that there. Once you go south to Houston or north to Dallas it goes up though, but that’s a couple of hours each way.
 
HCGLNS

HCGLNS

GasBandit said:
So last night my A/C started tripping the circuit breaker.

In Texas. IN JUNE.

Probably means the compressor is going out, if I had to guess, but I am not an HVAC expert.

I'd like to have it seen to ASAP, but I had to be on the road before 8am today for work. I may or may not be able to contact anybody before 5pm today.

Somebody shoot me.
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Puts "Biden Won! Deal with it Cucks!" Bumper sticker on the Gas mobile.
 
Celt Z

Celt Z

Sparhawk said:
Not where he is at, fairly low incidence rate for that there. Once you go south to Houston or north to Dallas it goes up though, but that’s a couple of hours each way.
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Didn't a mass shooting occur about a mile from Gas a couple of months ago? Sadly, I think I'm starting to get them all confused.
 
DarkAudit

DarkAudit

Second afternoon of severe storms passing through. Yesterday I lost power completely. Today I’ve got a couple of lights on, but not enough juice for much anything else. Fans are at very low RPM, and other things just don’t turn on at all. So no PC, cable internet, or… coffee.
 
jwhouk

jwhouk

Not whining about the heat. Whining about the really weird skies overhead. The two major wildfires that are attacking Globe to the SE of the Valley are making themselves known here, which is making it interesting when you go outside in the middle of the day.
 
ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy

ThatNickGuy said:
Another update. I'm up stupidly late because my sleep schedule is complete borked (partly due to depression, partly due to playing Civ 6 very late recently).

Anyway, I'm worried about Diomedes again. Since getting him home and giving him medications for hyperthyroidism, he doesn't seem to be improving. Some decent bowel movements but infrequent. No constipation, as far as I know.

But..he's not eating as well as he used to, even canned food he liked in the past. And since starting on the thyroid meds, he's drinking a LOT more water. Like, he didn't drink water all that often, but now I'm refilling his bowl almost every day. Even with a full bowl of food, he'll go to his water instead.

Concerned, I called the vet, who are thankfully open 24/7. After discussing the matter, she thinks it might be related to kidney disease or kidney failure. She said hyperthyroidism can mask the bigger problems with kidney failure (something to do with blood pressure). He was due to have his thyroid levels checked soon, so I booked to bring him in this Thursday.
Click to expand...

Just left the vet. I woke up to Diomedes vomiting everything this morning. He'd try drinking water and threw it back up.

They checked his kidney levels. Normal is around 180; his was twice that. So they're keeping him for a few days on an IV and such.

But they said at this point, and at his age (almost 17 years old), they don't know how much he'll improve or at least for how long. And I'm starting to consider putting him down instead of having to go through all this over and over again.

I'm sitting in my car crying right now because I've never had to make such a decision before. Had a dog before but he was more Dad's, who made that final decision. I don't...I don't want to kill my cat, but I also don't want to keep torturing him like this.

I've had alot of struggles in my life and for 16 years, he's been one of the few constants in it. And I just don't know what to do.

They said he could improve, as some cats do, but it's hard to know for sure.
 
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Tress

Tress

If it is time to put him to sleep, you aren’t killing him. Old age or disease has killed him. You are giving him the mercy of a quicker end with less suffering. And your decision will never take away the love and good times you shared together.

And for whatever it’s worth, I’m tearing up as I type this. I know how difficult this is to do, and how much it hurts.
 
PatrThom

PatrThom

ThatNickGuy said:
at this point, and at his age (almost 17 years old), they don't know how much he'll improve or at least for how long.
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I'm of the opinion that you should begin preparing yourself for the possibility once they hit 13.
I know that probably doesn't help you right now, but it IS inevitable, no matter how much love and effort you invest.

--Patrick
 
Dirona

Dirona

ThatNickGuy said:
Just left the vet. I woke up to Diomedes vomiting everything this morning. He'd try drinking water and threw it back up.

They checked his kidney levels. Normal is around 180; his was twice that. So they're keeping him for a few days on an IV and such.

But they said at this point, and at his age (almost 17 years old), they don't know how much he'll improve or at least for how long. And I'm starting to consider putting him down instead of having to go through all this over and over again.

I'm sitting in my car crying right now because I've never had to make such a decision before. Had a dog before but he was more Dad's, who made that final decision. I don't...I don't want to kill my cat, but I also don't want to keep torturing him like this.

I've had alot of struggles in my life and for 16 years, he's been one of the few constants in it. And I just don't know what to do.

They said he could improve, as some cats do, but it's hard to know for sure.
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A lot of this sounds much like what preceded the decision to put my first cat down. We got her as a kitten when I was in kindergarten (or even earlier), and after close to a year of daily subcutaneous fluid injections (due to her kidneys failing), she was just too sick and in too much pain to make her hang on any longer. I was in University by then, so she would have been... 17 or so as well.

And even now, I'm sitting hear crying at her memory. She was a good cat, and the decision to put her down was the hardest thing I have ever done. But it was the right decision.

Losing a pet sucks. A lot. They are family, and the grief is real.
 
Sparhawk

Sparhawk

ThatNickGuy said:
Just left the vet. I woke up to Diomedes vomiting everything this morning. He'd try drinking water and threw it back up.

They checked his kidney levels. Normal is around 180; his was twice that. So they're keeping him for a few days on an IV and such.

But they said at this point, and at his age (almost 17 years old), they don't know how much he'll improve or at least for how long. And I'm starting to consider putting him down instead of having to go through all this over and over again.

I'm sitting in my car crying right now because I've never had to make such a decision before. Had a dog before but he was more Dad's, who made that final decision. I don't...I don't want to kill my cat, but I also don't want to keep torturing him like this.

I've had alot of struggles in my life and for 16 years, he's been one of the few constants in it. And I just don't know what to do.

They said he could improve, as some cats do, but it's hard to know for sure.
Click to expand...
This... this is the most adult thing that you will ever have to do. it's not easy, it's fucked up. Part of what we deal with, being the partner/parent/best friend to our furry kids is having to deal with the fact that we're their world and their time with us is limited. I'm thinking about our Silk right now, tearing up with the memories (and having to come back and correct way too many spelling errors) that he gave us during his time with us. I'll never forget him, like you'll never forget Diomedes. I can't even offer much more than you'll know it's time to do what you need to do for him, not for you. It's rough as hell, it's a bastard to deal with our emotions on it.

We'll be here for you, I'm too far away to be able to be there with you on this. I would be there for your support in person if possible. Love him like he's loved you.
 
Bubble181

Bubble181

All my sympathies...
One thing I will say is that you have to try and do what is good for him. "he's old, skinny and a bit listless, and I have to give him an injection twice a week" isn't a reason to give up. Obviously, I can't judge from here - you will have to decide when it is time. But just because The Time may be coming does not mean you have to give up right away.
If he's clearly not enjoying life anymore, he's in pain, has seizures, can't eat anymore, whatever, that's another thing.
 
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Celt Z

Celt Z

Next week it will be 4 years to the day we had to put down Tofu. The hardest part of the last 6 months of his life was not just knowing he was going to be leaving us soon, but the pressure of having to decide when he was ready to go. Pets are members of the family, and you feel like you don't want to jump the gun, but you anguish over whether they're happy with their quality of life at that point. We knew that surgery was a possibility, but at 13+ years, we weren't going to make our dog learn to live without his lower jaw.

Whatever, and whenever, you decide what will be best for Diomedes, we all know you will do it with kindness and the best intentions. You've given him 17 years of a good, stable, loving life, and that's what most pets long for.
 
blotsfan

blotsfan

My friend is in town for a few days this week. I invited him and some of my other friends to come to my place tonight because my fiancee had dental surgery today (nothing major, but I'd just rather not leave her alone for the night). They basically said they weren't going to come and I should just go there. Its 15 minutes away. I don't really give a shit that "shes gonna be fine" I just thought it was the right thing to stay home. And I didn't think it was that unreasonable to ask them to drive 15 minutes to hang out here. And I literally drove 700 miles roundtrip this past weekend to help one of them move apartments. I'm so fucking pissed.
 
mikerc

mikerc

As part of my job I need to arrange for the collection of boxes from other sites in the UK to be delivered to where I'm based. Generally this involves the use of a company well known for it's employment of Belgian owls. Here's how things typically go:

OS (Other Site): Hey, we've got boxes to pick up. How does that work?
Me: Tell me exactly how many boxes you have & I'll book it with the courier. You'll get an email from them with labels to be printed out & stuck to the boxes.
OS: I've got approximately this many.
Me: Tell me exactly how many boxes you have.

*a few days later*
OS: The courier didn't collect the boxes because they didn't have labels on them. We never received an email with them to print out.
Me: *sighs* Did you check your spam folder? Let me rebook that for you...
 
Bubble181

Bubble181

mikerc said:
As part of my job I need to arrange for the collection of boxes from other sites in the UK to be delivered to where I'm based. Generally this involves the use of a company well known for it's employment of Belgian owls. Here's how things typically go:

OS (Other Site): Hey, we've got boxes to pick up. How does that work?
Me: Tell me exactly how many boxes you have & I'll book it with the courier. You'll get an email from them with labels to be printed out & stuck to the boxes.
OS: I've got approximately this many.
Me: Tell me exactly how many boxes you have.

*a few days later*
OS: The courier didn't collect the boxes because they didn't have labels on them. We never received an email with them to print out.
Me: *sighs* Did you check your spam folder? Let me rebook that for you...
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There's a specific portal built exactly for that use case - you can set restrictions (only economy, pickup and delivery address, only valid on specific days, etc), then give the OS a unique login so they can complete the booking (choose exact pickup time, weight, number of packages). It's awesome! You'd get me on support of you ever needed help! :awesome:


.... You'd also be talking to me a LOT, because it's a broken piece of garbage. So, you know, don't bother trying to change if it's not too much of a hassle the way it works now. It might be a good product some day, it definitely isn't there yet. :whistling:
 
Squidleybits

Squidleybits

I have two autoimmune diseases. One is my arthritis and the second is chronic hives. My trigger for my hives is water. I just took a shower to help with my arthritis and now between that and the humidity, I am covered in rude, nasty micro hives. I am on a biologic and have meds that should start working soon, but this will be a long thirty minutes and I am cranky.

Chronic pain is no treat, but these hives can go $&^%#? themselves.
 
Cheesy1

Cheesy1

Dating sites just make me even more depressed.

"Must be taller than me." "Must be successful." "Must be well endowed." "Must have your life together."

So basically everything I'm not nor ever will be. Got it.
 
Ravenpoe

Ravenpoe

Cheesy1 said:
Dating sites just make me even more depressed.

"Must be taller than me." "Must be successful." "Must be well endowed." "Must have your life together."

So basically everything I'm not nor ever will be. Got it.
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The secret is nobody is any of those things. Well, ok, people have a height, but have your life together? We're all pretending and hoping no one notices. And frankly anyone that puts disclaimers like height requirements is a pretty shallow person that's doing a terrible job of pretending.
 
bhamv3

bhamv3

My height is "hobbit".

My level of success is "not starving and not fired from my job yet".

My level of endowment is... uh... below average, shall we say.

My life is being metaphorically held together by duct tape in a variety of ways.

I am amazed I managed to snag a wife and that she hasn't divorced me yet.
 
Bubble181

Bubble181

Cheesy1 said:
Dating sites just make me even more depressed.

"Must be taller than me." "Must be successful." "Must be well endowed." "Must have your life together."

So basically everything I'm not nor ever will be. Got it.
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Yet you try putting "must have a C cup, max 150 pounds, willing to cook and clean for me" in your profile and see how good that goes over with the same crowd.

"have decent body hygiene", "be willing to make adjustments/changes in life to better fit together with me", "be willing to support me, rather than take advantage of me, when I'm emotionally vulnerable"....those are things you want in a partner. Honestly, if my wife comes home this evening with a different height, skin color, weight and appearance, but she's still the same? Hey, fun for the variety :unibrow::awesome:but otherwise completely unimportant.
 
chris

chris

Cheesy1 said:
Dating sites just make me even more depressed.

"Must be taller than me." "Must be successful." "Must be well endowed." "Must have your life together."

So basically everything I'm not nor ever will be. Got it.
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This is one reason I'm scared to try online dating. Even though I probably should, because it looks like I don't have a chance to find a partner otherwise.
 
fade

fade

Staff member
You know what I cannot stand? That stupid Steve Carrel "Thank you" gif. Really, no, more than that. Any response in the vein of, "I thought of that, too!". Who gives a shit? Really, what is the point of this kind of post? To show you're at least as clever as the person you're replying to? So what? No one cares.
noonecares.jpeg
 
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