Chronic Calcium Oxalate Bladder Stones - I don't know what to do anymore.
Arthur is a 9-year-old Miniature Schnauzer/Miniature Australian Shepherd and he is a calcium oxalate forming machine. We noticed Arthur was peeing blood and took him to the vet last November. They took an x-ray and found stones, so he got his first cystotomy. They took out 3 calcium oxalate stones. We got him on Hill's Science Diet ud. 6 months later, in June, he's peeing blood again, so we took him in and an ultrasound confirmed it was stones again. He got another cystotomy and they removed 4 more calcium oxalate stones. After his second surgery on top of his prescription food, he is now taking 12.5mg of hydrochlorothiazide twice a day and 300mg of potassium citrate powder twice a day, plus lots of water in his food. He is three weeks post op and straining to pee again. I brought in a urine sample to our vet and they said it's showing crystals and recommended we go to internal medicine.
I am broke. I got pet insurance (Lemonade), but not before his first stone was diagnosed, so it's a pre-existing condition and therefore not covered. Both surgeries cost a little over $3k on top of the diagnostics/appointments.
I don't know what to do. He just turned 9 in April and he's my whole world. I am paycheck to paycheck, I can't afford thousands more dollars, nor do I want to keep putting him under for surgery over and over again. I'm not even sure how many surgeries or how frequently vets are willing to do them?
I'm just feeling lost. Has anyone else dealt with this? Have you found anything that helps control calcium oxalate stones from forming? Any advice on how I can afford this since it's a pre-existing condition?