Hello,
I have an 11 year old pionus that I love dearly. My vet has told me that she is terminally ill, likely with ovarian cancer. We've spent the last few weeks in endless tests and vet visits since the few sneezes that were the first hint of something wrong. We thought it was asper in the beginning, but the combination of fluid in her abdomen, a lipid profile, zero response to anti-fungals, and her (positive) response to a lupron injection, the doc thinks we're dealing with cancer.
The doctors are very willing to throw everything at her to squeeze out a bit more time - tube feedings, injections, more drugs. I'm here questioning how far I should go, because as desperately as I want more time, I want that time to be full and happy for her.
She is very, very thin. She's been eating more than I've ever seen her eat, but no matter how we tempt and cajole and stuff her with fattening foods, she is losing weight day by day. The vet has told me I can bring her in for tube feedings, or learn the technique from a vet tech and do it myself. I will not bring her to the vet for feedings - the experience makes her miserable, and I do not want her last days filled with fear and discomfort and basically constant vet visits. I am torn about doing the feedings myself. I want her last days to be peaceful, and full of good memories. I want as much quality time as I can get with her. I could try to extend her life with Lupron shots (they make her more comfortable - on them she almost acts well) and force feedings, but I don't want her to lead a half-life while she slowly loses. It's not even clear to me if she will gain weight on the tube feedings - we might be too far along. I don't know.
Do any of you have experience tube feeding? Do you have recommendations, based on your experiences? If her prognosis was good, I would do it in a heartbeat, because it might mean the difference between life and death. But here, it might be the difference of a few weeks, or days, and might diminish the quality of those days. I might be making a bigger deal of the tube feeding than it really is, or I might not be appreciating just how wrenching and terrible it will be to do it to my poor girl. I'm hoping that someone here can help me to understand. Is it hard on them? Stressful? Risky? Will we spend those last weeks with her dreading me picking her up because she knows it's coming?
Thank you all. I've been a silent visitor here many times, and appreciate all the experience here.
I have an 11 year old pionus that I love dearly. My vet has told me that she is terminally ill, likely with ovarian cancer. We've spent the last few weeks in endless tests and vet visits since the few sneezes that were the first hint of something wrong. We thought it was asper in the beginning, but the combination of fluid in her abdomen, a lipid profile, zero response to anti-fungals, and her (positive) response to a lupron injection, the doc thinks we're dealing with cancer.
The doctors are very willing to throw everything at her to squeeze out a bit more time - tube feedings, injections, more drugs. I'm here questioning how far I should go, because as desperately as I want more time, I want that time to be full and happy for her.
She is very, very thin. She's been eating more than I've ever seen her eat, but no matter how we tempt and cajole and stuff her with fattening foods, she is losing weight day by day. The vet has told me I can bring her in for tube feedings, or learn the technique from a vet tech and do it myself. I will not bring her to the vet for feedings - the experience makes her miserable, and I do not want her last days filled with fear and discomfort and basically constant vet visits. I am torn about doing the feedings myself. I want her last days to be peaceful, and full of good memories. I want as much quality time as I can get with her. I could try to extend her life with Lupron shots (they make her more comfortable - on them she almost acts well) and force feedings, but I don't want her to lead a half-life while she slowly loses. It's not even clear to me if she will gain weight on the tube feedings - we might be too far along. I don't know.
Do any of you have experience tube feeding? Do you have recommendations, based on your experiences? If her prognosis was good, I would do it in a heartbeat, because it might mean the difference between life and death. But here, it might be the difference of a few weeks, or days, and might diminish the quality of those days. I might be making a bigger deal of the tube feeding than it really is, or I might not be appreciating just how wrenching and terrible it will be to do it to my poor girl. I'm hoping that someone here can help me to understand. Is it hard on them? Stressful? Risky? Will we spend those last weeks with her dreading me picking her up because she knows it's coming?
Thank you all. I've been a silent visitor here many times, and appreciate all the experience here.
