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MerlinsMum

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Posts posted by MerlinsMum

    It's Just A Simple Dental...right?

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Oh, Judy, he'll be fine (so is Lilly, Chris!), breaaaaaaaathe.

     

    I know exactly what you mean, though - I worry, too, when Merlin goes in. Surprisingly I didn't worry at all with Sagan, that dog is a total queen but he is built like an ox. Merlin is my delicate boy :rolleyes:

     

    Sending lots of good thoughts!! :kiss2:bighug :bighug :goodluck

     

    Please update us when you get the call that everything went swimmingly :)

    Duncan/boarding Place//update

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    I read your original thread when it was up and it was so heartbreaking. I can't imagine what your Mom must be feeling. I certainly understand her anger towards the vet/boarding facility, but I wonder if she wouldn't be better served by involving the media rather than pursuing legal action. I don't know what she incurred in boarding fees and medical bills, but that's all she'll likely be able to recover, along with the depreciated value of her dog, which I'm sure won't be much. I'm not sure an attorney would even take the case, since it's surely a small claims matter. It just seems like the way to approach this is to involve any tv or newspapers that she can, as well as any pet-related websites and so on. Good luck to your Mom no matter what she decides to do, and again, my condolences.

     

    Very sad, but true. Dogs are considered property under the law. She's apt to spend more on a lawyer than she recovers, and her heart won't be any less broken. :(

     

    It depends on the state. I don't remember what state your mum is located in (and I am not asking, of course), but laws are changing. Very, very slowly, but they are changing. As they should. To compare the loss of a companion we are emotionally invested in with the loss of a set of golf clubs or any other inanimate object is patently absurd.

     

    I wish your mum lots of luck with this case and I do think that it should hit local TV, newspapers, etc. She can do a lot of damage to the clinic's reputation, which will ensure that they think twice before behaving in such an abominably unprofessional and disgraceful manner. However, timing could mean the difference between a successful (or partially successful) outcome of the legal case and a not so successful outcome, so she should discuss the matter with her attorney to make sure that any negative publicity she generates for the clinic in question does not have a deleterious effect on the lawsuit she is preparing to engage in.

     

    Good luck. My thoughts are with your mum. I have been thinking of her a lot since I read your original thread. I am absolutely heartbroken for her. I know that if it happened to me I would want justice too, and regardless of the possible outcome I would definitely try to make waves, at least.

     

    :grouphug :grouphug

     

    ETA - If your mum's attorney does not have much experience with this sort of case, she should definitely consult an attorney who does. Animal Law is one of the fastest growing legal fields and she should be able to get a free consultation, even if it isn't in her state.

    Afraid Of Ceiling Fan!

    in Training and Behavior discussion

    Posted

    She will get used to the ceiling fans. Give her time. Sagan had the same issue, and it took a few weeks, but eventually he got over it. Try to keep them on as much as possible and ignore her when she keeps looking up at them. Ask her to do something to distract her, and praise her/ give her a treat when she complies. The point is to engage her brain on something else that she considers pleasurable and interesting while the ceiling fan hums along in the background. Have the ceiling fan on when she walks into a room. Sagan used to freak out more when he would be lying down in the living room and the ceiling fan was suddenly turned on. He would run away as fast as he could.

     

    He still occasionally looks up at the ceiling with an uncertain expression on his face, even now, and he is terrified of flying insects (if there is one in the room we simply have to release it if we want a peaceful evening) but it happens occasionally and he doesn't fixate on the ceiling fan as such, or run away.

     

    Whatever you do, don't comfort her when she's freaking out about the ceiling fan, you will risk reinforcing her behavior.

     

    Good luck! :)

    Merlin's Continuing Health Issues

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    So very glad to hear that Bumper is doing so well :colgate Thanks for the advice, I will bring this up with my vet too.

     

    Merlin please eat or I will tell Miss Kerry to give it to Sagan. So there, now starts the countdown

     

    Caroline, what are you doing to my wizard? Whatever it is, please continue :lol HE ATE MOST OF HIS DINNER LAST NIGHT! :yay :yay :yay

     

    And this morning he didn't refuse... wait for it... his canned I/D! :wow (I had to mix in a little Purina EN at first)

     

    And at lunchtime today... he even ate some I/D kibble!! 44e1c5a3.gif68544df1.gif

     

    This was me last night ---> thhappydance.gif:kiss2

     

    Unfortunately, he still has bad diarrhea, but the color seems a bit more normal. And he slept through the night with no tummy gurgles at all. So I will keep him on Metro and gather all my information and discuss new options, hopefully this week. In the meantime, I will keep him on Sucralfate as well, until his stools firm up. :goodluck

    Merlin's Continuing Health Issues

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Thank you so much, Mary :blush

     

    As for the Ensure, I guess I've just been worried (ok, I'll admit it - terrified) about giving him ANYTHING that isn't I/D and causing a flare-up. Of course right now his stools are just awful anyway.

     

    I am ready to try something different. As I said, something has to change. We keep going backwards and forwards and I feel that we are not getting anywhere. If he didn't mind the I/D I would keep him on it for the rest of his life, but he HATES it now. I mean, he is well and truly DONE. I gave him some Purina EN at lunchtime to see if he'd eat (I feed him smaller quantities three times a day now, rather than twice a day) and he was very keen - gobbled it right up. Tried to give him some wet I/D and masked it (yeah right) with some EN - no go.

     

    I will talk to my vet about budesonide again. I have heard so many awful things about side effects of Pred that I have never been keen to try it. I really, really don't want to go there unless I have to. Unfortunately right now it looks as though our options are becoming more and more limited. :(

    Merlin's Continuing Health Issues

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    I spent a lot of nights on the futon at 4 a.m. playing "what strikes your fancy tonight?"

     

    That sounds soooooo familiar :riphair Been there!!

     

    Kerry, when my daughter's dog was diagnosed with diabetes last winter she had no choice in the eating matter. In order to give insulin, she HAD to get her to eat. Faced with your frustrations, she went out and got a syringe then blended her food. She forced very small amounts down her throat. It takes ages, and dogs hate it, but......you have to do something when they are refusing to eat. I'm not sure if Merlin is at this point yet, but I would discuss it with your vet as an option.

     

    Janet, you read my mind... that's basically what I started considering this morning as I sat on the floor with my head metaphorically in my hands, surrounded by three different kinds of food, pieces of kibble Merlin spat out all over the floor, and Merlin standing there with a gurgly stomach. :headwall Thanks. I think I will talk to my vet about this.

    Merlin's Continuing Health Issues

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Deb, I'd like to know more. Not sure what the healing part is about, but as long as no crystals or psychics are involved :rofl I'm game!

     

    Have you tried to make some really small wet meatballs of canned ID and bascially pill him with those...even a 1/4 c would get something in his stomach.

     

    I have, that's what I do every day to give him his pill. He is DONE with the I/D. Completely done. :( I actually had to force feed him some wet I/D just so I could give him his pill. I have tried everything to make it more appetizing for him - warming it, baking it, you name it.

     

    He is sleeping now, at least, and his stomach is not gurgling at the moment. I am hoping the Flagyl does its thing soon. I'll give him some more Sucralfate this evening...

    Merlin's Continuing Health Issues

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted · Edited by MerlinsMum

    My vet is against using it right now. She said that if she had to put him on anything like that, she would try prednisone first. She says that there are too many unknowns with Budesonide :dunno

     

    I am at my wits' end this morning. I just want to sit down in a corner and cry. I have tried everything to get him to eat. He refused everything with the exception of a few cookies and a small amount of EN. I had to give him something with his metro.

     

    It seems I waited too long to switch him back. Last night he developed a terrible gurgly stomach, and I've been up all night. Gave him Sucralfate and his stomach improved a tad after about an hour. Since he won't eat, it's only a matter of time before his stomach starts up again :weep His stool was again tinged with blood and very very soft (I expected worse to be honest). He is now categorically refusing to touch any I/D - not even the wet food. I'm feeling exhausted and deflated. I just don't know what else to do.

    Merlin's Continuing Health Issues

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    He's been A-Ok on that front :colgate

     

    However I AM concerned about his stools and even though I know that one shouldn't pay too much attention to the second poo, this morning there was yellow stringy stuff in there and some droplets of red, raspberry-colored jelly. (Sorry :blush) So I'm thinking the vet probably gave me the right advice. Maybe I could put him back on the Metro twice a day and if he has another episode we could try 500mg in the morning and 250mg (instead of 500mg) in the evening. I think that's Dr. Katie's current plan, anyway.

     

    PS Thanks for the info on canned v dry :)

    Merlin's Continuing Health Issues

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Thanks Amber - I tried bread, but it doesn't work for Merlin, unfortunately.

     

    So as of this morning it looks as though his stools are deteriorating again :( If they are the same or worse this afternoon, I guess i'm switching back to Metro only. I had the hardest time getting him to eat again today... :headwall In the end I fed him just canned I/D.

     

    I don't remember the equivalent of 1 cup of kibble. Is it 1 cup kibble = 1.5 cans wet food? Does anyone remember?

    Merlin's Continuing Health Issues

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Well, Kerry, remember kibble I/D has chicken though the canned doesn't, so if there's an issue it's probably not that. Anyway, glad he's doing better at the moment!

     

    Ah, good to know. Thanks!

     

    I have had some close calls where I hear the gurgles, but if I can convince him to get his kibbles down, his stomach actually settles.

     

    Same exact thing here...

    Merlin's Continuing Health Issues

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Thank you all for your advice and support!

     

    What would happen if you kept him on the food that his gut best tolerates and stopped the metronidazole?

     

    Bad things :( We tried that, among other things. It took us several months to figure out what would keep the flare-ups in check for him. We tried various low doses of Metro for a good period of time, we tried no metro at all (all of these options included feeding him I/D), and FINALLY we figured out that the magic bullet seemed to be 500mg of Metro twice a day. The flare-ups never stopped on a dosage lower than that. Once we switched to 500mg twice a day, they all but stopped. He had one little bout on January 1st that lasted less than 24 hours and was not at all severe, and with Sucralfate he was as right as rain by the end of the next day (as it turned out, his anal glands were rather full so I think that may have been the issue that time).

     

    No advice, but I've looked at the EN ingredients in the past and they are a fair bit different than the I/D, even though the foods are designed for the same purpose.

     

    He didn't have problems on the I/D from what you said, just stopped wanting to eat it, right? Do you think that was just pickiness or was his stomach starting to bother him? (As you know I'm a believer in I/D, Beth is on it and does so well, though she doesn't have IBD per se.)

     

    Good thinking, Anne. I looked at the ingredients for Purina EN (canned) and I noticed that it contains chicken, whereas I/D doesn't. He is sick of the I/D kibble but he will eat it if I hand-feed him and encourage him, and he still accepts the canned I/D (well - most days. I have tried different methods to lure him to his food bowl - let's just say that my microwave no longer smells vegan :lol: ).

     

    He IS a picky hound. Sagan has been eating the same food since we adopted him, twice a day every day, and at mealtimes, without fail, he throws himself on it as if it's the first and most delicious meal he's ever had :rolleyes: Not so with Merlin, it's like Dinner With Bill but with a wizard as the protagonist... *sigh*

     

    We experienced something similar with our Walter. He had a PLE, Lymphangictasia (which is like an IBD) and was on Metro and Pred. When it happened the first time we rushed him to the vet but he was fine by the time the DR saw him. They said it was likely a Senior Vestibular Symdrom (Walter was 11) and not a stroke like we were thinking. He had two of them but recovered within the hour each time.

     

    Walter <3

    That's interesting, Lynn... Merlin is only 7, although I too thought it might be Vestibular Syndrome - except that it was discounted by both the emergency vet and my regular vet when they examined him. He lacked many of the typical symptoms of the condition. They both thought that Metro toxicity was far more likely.

     

    So - I have weird news. I think my vet may have been wrong after all about the food. Yesterday afternoon I was expecting him to have more diarrhea because I hadn't switched him back to his old Metro dosage yet. But DH came back from walking the dogs and told me that although his stool was very soft, it was formed and he was able to pick it up :blink: So I decided to wait to transition him back to only Metro again. I gave him his Tylan. By morning his stools had firmed up even more. So I'm starting to think it was the food, because the only change I have made over the last 36 hours is that I put him back on 100% I/D (he wasn't too happy about that).

     

    I am going to let my vet know that I'm going to hold off on putting him back on only Metro until I can see if his poo continues to improve or if this is just temporary. If it gets worse again I will put him back on 500mg twice a day, but right now I think I have every reason to keep the Metro dosage lower, especially since Tylan does not have any known side-effects. Of course, I still have the issue that Merlin is sick of I/D... but when things are "normal" again I may try to give him some of the EN again (kibble only, which he loves) in very, very small quantities and see what happens. If things go south again at least I'll be fairly sure it's the food AND I may have to consider the possibility that he has an allergy or intolerance to chicken or something in the EN that I/D doesn't have.

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