seeh2o

If he's normal weight and is healthy I'd guess he is just fine. Carl is a PROLIFIC pooper, so much so that I wonder how he maintains his weight. My b/f thinks he poops more than he eats! I took him to the vet once before he'd had his morning poop and after he'd had breakfast. He weighed 5 LBS more than usual!!!!!!!!!

I just read your thread, I'm sorry Nadir is having such a rough go of it. I'm also sorry you're having vet problems, I can commiserate with that. I hope all goes well for you and Nadir tomorrow, that this all gets worked out and he bounces back without pain. As an aside, from everything I've been reading, Soloxine appears to be the same medication as the human medication, Levothyroxine. It is included in the Target $4.00 formulary. I would ask a pharmacist first, just to make sure that it is exactly the same thing. I did this when Carl needed Clomicalm, it is the exact same medication as the human version - clomipramine hydrochloride. I'll try to remember to ask the pharmacist at work to see if Soloxine is EXACTLY the same as Levothyroxine and get back to you on it. If that is the case you can request a prescription and have it filled at one of the major chains that will fill it for much much less.

I'm just now seeing this, I am so sorry that Zoe and your family are going through this. It is a very very difficult decision for you to make. They should not have sent her home with you, that was absolute stupidity on their part. I'll be keeping you and Zoe in my thoughts...please be sure to try and get some rest for yourself.

LOL, I forgot to warn the OP about the proverbial "Poop Foot"!!! Sheila comes in with a poop foot once in a while, I usually smell it before I see it On the other hand, I have full vision and occasionally I come in with a poop foot as well!

I just saw your thread, I'm so sorry. My dog Sheila had SARD, she jumped in the car and we left Las Vegas, by the time we got home she was blind. She could see light and dark out of one eye for about 9 months, then lost that, too. Your vet is right, she will suffer no pain from this at all, Sheila has never had a moment of pain.. There are some experimental treatments, but it has to be done almost after the loss of sight - if you are anywhere near Iowa State and can afford it, I'd call them ASAP. Here is a link to the article from 2007. The experimental treatment came much too late to be helpful for Sheila, the damage done by that time was permanent for her. There are some websites that helped a lot. Owners of Blind Dogs, is a great Yahoo group with lot of experience and information, also Lantern Publications has great information as well. When it happened to Sheila I put essential oils low on the door jams, a different oil for each room, so she could learn to get around. I put a bell on Kobie's collar and I wore a bracelet with bells on it so she could hear me. She was depressed for a while, I realized that my crying wasn't helping her, so I had to give myself a kick in the ass to step it up to help her. I think, though Hannah will be depressed for a while until she adjusts, it is more difficult psychologically for us. We don't "live in the moment" like they do, we remember what they were like when they could see and run carefree. She will be ok, she really will. After her diagnosis we did do a Cushing's test to rule that out, fortunately she tested negative. She has been on an adrenal supplement since it happened in order to keep Cushing's at bay. She's on Drenatrophin PMG two tabs a day, I swear it has helped her recover and kept the Cushing's away. After 2 years she is doing just fine. You'll have to get used to lots of nose prints around the house! Sheila uses her nose to gently guide her around, so she leaves juicy little prints all over, she still plays and loves to go for walks. She's just as willful on walks as she ever was, she doesn't let being blind stop her from wandering around. I bought her a Babble Ball so she could find it when playing, I've found that the taller squeaky plush toys are more helpful as she can find them easier by hitting them with her nose. Please feel free to PM me if you have questions or need to talk about this. I do know exactly what you and Hannah are going through. My heart goes out to both of you. You'll both get through this, it just takes some adjusting.

I'm glad she stayed cool through the night. How did you bring her temp down? I've never had to do that before, I'd like to learn how you did it.

I believe if you read the fine print each tube is supposed to kill fleas for up to 3 months (it even says that on their website), it won't do all the other stuff, but I can verify that my dogs get 3 months out of each tube. After reading this, I'm going to try splitting a tube between Carl and Sheila, they are due for theirs about now. It should carry them all the way through winter and into spring. He needs it because he is going to be boarded, Sheila likes to be outside and picks them up from cats and other critters in our yard.

Is there any word yet? Hoping for a quick and easy recovery.

I'm so sorry to read the news.

I'm just now seeing your thread, welcome to the board...from a neighbor in Echo Park! I live in EP, but work in North Hollywood, so about half of my time is spent out in your neck of the woods. What a cutie pie Josey is! She's lucky you found her...and visa versa. Please post more pictures. Carl says, Hi, too!

I finally saw this thread, Claudia told me about it and I'd seen your other Buddy threads, but somehow kept missing this one. Carl was misdiagnosed with Pannus in June by our regular vet. He prescribed Pred drops. We went back for a bunch of follow-up visits, it was not really getting better. I decided to ask for a referral to a specialist because my gut told me it was time to bring in an expert. We went to another vet, he diagnosed Carl with Corneal Endothelial Dystrophy, but he didn't seem real certain of the diagnosis. He prescribed Tacrolimus, which came in ointment form, and wanted to continue with the Pred. That night Carl's eyes looked glassy and swollen - before I gave him the Tacro. The next morning his eyes looked AWFUL, glassy and swollen, he acted like they were very uncomfortable. I left a msg w/ the vet, he told me to stop the Tacro immediately. We went back for a follow-up app't. He changed Carl to Cyclosporin ointment. I put that in his eyes before bed, the next morning he had another bad reaction, though not as bad as it was to the Tacro. Both the Cyclosporin and Tacro have been donated to my local group. I asked if we could try one of the meds compounded with a different delivery agent, the vet balked and said it would be expensive, might cause another bad reaction and I would be out the money. Well, yes that's true, but if it works we've stabilized his eyes....priceless. My gut started talking to me again...so I went back to the vet who I go to with my other dog, she's very hard to get into see and does not see emergencies, so Carl hadn't seen her up to this point. As luck would have it, she had a cancellation this past Wed. and we went to see her. She is a vet who practices western and homeopathic medicine, she's much sought after in the area. She spent an hour with us, she doesn't believe that Carl has Corneal Endothelial Dystrophy, but because she is not an ophthalmologist she cannot go further and make a diagnosis. Because thyroid can cause some eye problems, she drew blood and is running a full thyroid panel. Carl has a lot of fur loss and balding on his thighs, belly and neck which may or may not indicate thyroid problems. She also dropped a little bomb - the vet I went to, thinking he was a veterinary ophthalmologist since we were referred to him as such by our regular vet - is not a board certified veterinary ophthalmologist. He did the standard 2 year veterinary ophthalmologist residency, but has never become board certified. As nice as he was, it left me shaking in my boots. I would never have gone to him if I had known that. Now we've lost time and money and we don't have a surplus of either. I am going to be making him an appointment with a real veterinary ophthalmologist and we will take it from there. At this point we are still waiting for the results of the thyroid test. She has Carl continuing on with the Pred drops (1 drop in each eye 2 times a day), put him on some Calendula drops (2 drops in each eye 2 times a day) that she mixed in her office for us and put him on two tabs of Drenatrophin PMG by Standard Process in case he needs adrenal or thyroid support. We'll know more soon. I don't know if any of that information helps, but I hope it can! I hope they can figure out what's going on with Buddy's eyes and get the treatment started soon!

Good news, I'm glad she's ok.

Now THAT'S funny! I can just imagine the princess on her tuffet! I'm so glad to hear she's doing well, other than giving you the business, she's tolerating the medication well...for two days!!!!

Filmnpuck's boy, Elmo, has been diagnosed with the same eye condition as Carl, corneal dystrophy. I've searched the board and so far he's the only one with this particular condition. Elmo has been doing well on it with a combination of eye medications, but I don't know what they are and I'd like to know what is working for him. Filmnpuck is not on the board very often and I'm wondering if anyone knows him/her and can ask that s/he contact me. My email address is: clkruzan at gmail dot com. I am seeking a second opinion as I am concerned that the medication he is currently on is not slowing down the disease process. He did not tolerate Tacrolimus or Cyclosporine. I suggested to the eye vet that maybe it was the agent rather than the medication, he thought it might be possible, but said that if it was the medication instead I would be out $100. I also let him know that the vets at OSU's greyhound program were willing to consult on Carl's case, he wasn't interested as they are not eye experts. Don't get me wrong, he is a very very nice guy, but I really want a second opinion as I think more could be done to slow the disease process down. I was concerned that he blew off the OSU idea and that, though while I appreciate he wants to save me money, I want to fight this aggressively, well as aggressively as my pocketbook will allow.

I can completely empathize with your feeling of basic helplessness right now. I'm sorry this is happening, it is so hard to see them sick and very out of sorts. It all feels so out of control. I agree with the poster who said that Soul's instincts will guide him to what he needs. It's just sometimes hard for us to pick up on what that is. I hope you both get some needed sleep tonight.

Checking in here, too, to see how the Princess is!

Oh, I am so sorry, that is so tragic.

Misty didn't want to eat this morning, very unusual for a Cushing's dog. I'm still waiting for the vet's call and getting more and more irritated as time marches on.Despite not wanting to eat, she sure chowed down some marshmellows What a little pill she is! Just like a little kid (or me!) desert first! I hope she starts eating her regular food, did she turn down the nutritional yeast, too? You must be pulling your hair out waiting to hear from the vet. ARGHHHH!

Good thoughts to both Soul & Amber. I hope he pulls through quickly.

Just got her back from the vet, turned out they only needed her for 2 hours. My vet is in surgery all day on Tuesdays so I didn't get to see him. He will call me in the morning with the blood results but I did leave word that I would really like to have Misty on a MUCH lower dose. I don't want her crashing and have to deal with the e-vet. Don't trust them at all. She's resting now and clearly is beat. Thanks for asking Susan! And please, a very big hug for Jack Hugs to you and Misty from me, Carl & Sheila. Oh, and Carl says, "Hey" to Wayne...he doesn't want him to feel left out!

Very well put! Carl did really well on clomipramine hydrochloride, the human version and much less expensive version, of Clomicalm. I agree with LynnM, it really depends on the dog. I've read about dogs who found no relief on one, but the other worked. I also had to use Valium for Carl just to get out of the house. He was only on both for about 4 months, that and a lot of hard home alone work, Kong treat dispensers, a muzzle and my T Mobile baby monitor. Best of luck to you!

That's good news. You must be relieved. I hope you get some sleep tonight. Good thoughts being sent your way and Bell's way.

Come on Misty!

That's such good news! I love that your vet went out and bought her a chicken!

:lol He's going to be quite a pooping machine the next few days!