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LaFlaca

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Posts posted by LaFlaca

    Pill Pocket Recipe

    in Food and dietary discussion

    Posted

    Your Ruby must be related to my Wendy! Hiding her pills in anything only works the first time. :D You might try cream cheese. Boiled chicken hearts have a nice little ready made hole in the center for pill hiding, but if Ruby is a chewer they probably won't work. Pinterest has lots of pill pocket recipes. Although Wendy is a love about letting me shove her meds down her throat, I'm seriously considering a pill pusher; it might be a gentler way of doing it. Good luck with your girl. Ruby, be good for Momma and stay healthy.

    Splaying Of Back Legs

    in Food and dietary discussion

    Posted

    For those of you who found my situation painful, I consulted with two specialists one at ngap and the other who specializes in kidneys. Snow definitely has kidney disease with a little progression shown by ultrasound. So per their advice definitely no anti inflammatory and pain pills only as necessary. Sterile urine sample was drawn at ultrasound to recheck for infection. So I guess my vet was 109percent correct.

    Thank you for the update. You and Snow have been on my mind. Glad to hear that you have a definitive diagnosis. Not knowing exactly what's going on can be the worst part of these situations. I hope that Snow remains stable and has a good quality of life.

    Our Vet Visit Today

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    At 11 years old, Wendy had developed the occasional shaky-leg and when she got up, it's like her back end was really heavy; something I can relate to at my age. ;) She was also a bit "off"...not her usual active, nutty self. The vet ran all the usual geriatric tests and x-rayed Wendy's legs and spine. She's got a bit of arthritis here and there but nothing major. Since she can't tolerate NSAIDs the vet prescribed Gabapentin 100 mg twice a day. Magic! he girl is like a puppy again! It's almost obnoxious how happy, active and engaged she is...running laps and leaping like a gazelle over furniture. I'll take it for as long as it lasts. :) Hope your Ruby remains well.

    Mysterious Coughing/retching

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    I finally got Tracker's allergy test results. He's allergic to a ton of environmental allergens, like "mixed feathers", alder, dust mites, eukalyptus, marsh elder, a bunch of grasses etc. May that explain his retching? I hope so. We were advised to wipe down his chin, belly, and paws after every walk with green tea wipes or diluted chlorhexidine. So we ordered green tea wipes online. Of course, the retching could still be totally unrelated to allergens. And dust mites--there in every house by the millions, can't do much about that. At least he's not allergic to our cat!!

    Tracker, dude, keep away from those feathers and mites! :D I'll take allergies over the alternatives. I imagine that the retching could be caused by post-nasal drip irritating the poor guy's throat. I suffer from it and frequently develop a cough and a sore throat and even soreness in my nasal passages.

    Mysterious Coughing/retching

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Did your vet swab and check for the 2 strains of canine influenza?

    Yes, she did. It's bizarre that all tests came back normal. Wendy had a temp. of 106 degrees F. and not even her white blood cell count was off. You'd think that there'd be some sign of an infection. What's equally strange is that, as of today, the retching and hoarseness are no longer occurring at a rate that I would consider alarming. At this point, I am watching and waiting...observing when this happens and how frequently so when we see the vet next week, I can provide her with an accurate report. I've been trying to get Wendy on video when she retches to show the vet but, of course, it doesn't happen when I have the phone in my hand.

     

    I hope all of our other "coughers" are doing better!

    Mysterious Coughing/retching

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    LaFlaca, you mentioned your Wendy had a near fatal gastric bleed previously. Was it from once off/ occasional or regular NSAIDS ?

    Wendy was given an NSAID (I don't recall which one...maybe Rimadyl?) for pain relief after surgery to close a rather large gash in her leg. The vet gave me a prescription of same along with antibiotics to give her at home. About 3 days after the surgery, I came home from work to a very sick girl and what seemed like gallons of bloody diarrhea. It looked like a river of reddish -brown water with coffee grounds in it. She spent 3 days in hospital, bleeding internally. Needless to say, no NSAIDs ever again for Wendy.

    Mysterious Coughing/retching

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted · Edited by LaFlaca

    Hi ,

     

    I hope your Tracker is doing well and that you get to the bottom of it.

    Is he on any medication already ?

    After intermittent coughing, gagging but over all good health bar arthritis. And excellent regular blood tests.

    My darling Ned just 11, was at the emergancy vet last weekend. The very long story short is that he had serious gastric /bleeding ulcer likely from the arthritis drugs used since February. In the weeks leading up, he had a bigger interest in grass, gagging a bit, nothing frequent. His overall excellent mood and energy gave me the impression that all was well. It wasn't..

    I really hope its something simple and easily resolved. Just sharing the possibilty that the gagging/ coughing

    can be reflux and related to stomach matters.

    Taking it day by day here at the moment ..

    Wendy had a near-fatal gastric bleed from NSAIDS a while back. What a nightmare! Praying for a full recovery your dear Ned.

     

    Reflux...never thought of that as a possibility but it makes sense. Thanks for the tip.

    Mysterious Coughing/retching

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted · Edited by LaFlaca

    Laflaca: I'm not aware of Wendy's situation before her life-threatening temperature spike, but if LP resurfaces as a possibility, her larynx (flap) movements would need to be examined while she is breathing under light anesthesia. (X-rays don't reveal LP.)

     

     

    3greytjoys - Thank you for this information.

     

    To this day, we do not know the cause of Wendy's high fever. All the tests that were done in office and sent out to a lab came back within normal parameters. She is in excellent condition at this time, taking into consideration her age (11 years).

     

    However, and this concerns me, there has been something going on in the region of her throat for some time now. While she is no longer coughing and retching frequently, she does occasionally retch for no apparent reason and sometimes after eating dry treats/food. There is also occasional hoarseness, sometimes followed by retching when she barks. Throat irritation of some sort is what it "feels" like to me. Next Saturday is Wendy's 2nd follow-up after the FUO (fever of unknown origin) event. She will also receive her Bordatella vaccination. I am going to bring up the throat topic again with the vet although the symptoms are much improved and occur less frequently now after 2 weeks of antibiotics for the fever.

     

    I am unsure if the symptoms are worth the risk of even light sedation on a geriatric Greyhound. Thoughts, anyone?

    Nsaid--Yes/no?

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    LaFlaca,

     

    It appears, then, that Gaba is more like an alternative to NSAIDs if they're not tolerated. Gaba is not a harmless drug in and of itself, so I'm wondering whether I shouldn't go with the NSAID and see wgether Tracker tolerates it ok and then stick with it?

    Correct. However, all medications, prescribed or OTC, have side effects to one degree or another. Every individual, with or without fur, is a world unto his/herself. What works for me, might harm you. Keep doing your research. Discuss all options with your vet and make an informed decision. It's good to know that there are other options if the first doesn't work. You'll do what's best for your boy.

    Nsaid--Yes/no?

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted · Edited by LaFlaca

    OK, I feel much more inclined to give Tracker an NSAID now. One question remains: Wendy is on Gaba b/c she can't have NSAIDs, but what about, Conner, Remolacha? Why is he on Gaba rather than an anti-inflammatory? Is that always an option as an alternative or is Gaba only used in certain situations which may not apply in Tracker's case?

    Gabapentin is actually an anti-seizure medication but it also prescribed (in humans) to treat neuralgia, restless-leg syndrome, arthritis and other conditions. My MIL uses it for arthritis as she cannot tolerate NSAIDs. It was prescribed for my Fibromyalgia but I did not benefit from it.

     

    In Wendy's case, it is an alternative to NSAIDs. The vet has seen that gabapentin, aside from pain relief, has a strengthening and steading effect on dogs with hind end weakness and leg shakiness. This certainly has been the result for Wendy.

    Nsaid--Yes/no?

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted · Edited by LaFlaca

    My Wendy is 11 years old and had been showing some hind end weakness for about a year. She has mild arthritis in one elbow and in her spine. When she rose from a prone position, it was as if her hips were very heavy. Her hind legs would occasionally shake. She was still jumping over the arm of "her" loveseat to land on the seat and ran laps around the yard. Because of this, I hesitated to give her any prescribed medication and stuck to glucosamine, MSM, chondroitin, vitamin C , salmon oil and MovoFlex chews. NSAIDS were out of the question because they make her bleed internally. The vet prescribed 100 mg. of gabapentin every 12-24 hours which I withheld because, well, she was still leaping and running like a maniac.

     

    I now realize that withholding medication was a huge disservice to my dog. Dogs don't show pain like humans do. They can be in terrible pain and will not necessarily show it...it's a survival mechanism. I started giving Wendy the gabapentin twice a day as prescribed and almost immediately noticed a difference. She moved better, was more interactive with us, more puppy-like, if you will. It was obvious that she had been in pain and the gabapentin was helping.

     

    Gabapentin has worked well for my dog. I hope that between you and your vet you can come up with what would best serve your Tracker.

    Toothpaste Suggestions

    in Health and Medical discussion

    Posted

    Well, got the poultry flavored CET toothpaste. Tasted it...pretty bland which is good from Wendy's point of view, I guess. I'm fairly certain that no chickens were harmed in the production of this product. :yay Also got the Petzlife gel, salmon flavored. Tasted it...BLECH! Could not find the salmon anywhere. :sick Poor Wendy was not impressed, either. Bottom line is that her mouth stays healthy especially now that she's older when the thought of a dental makes me cringe. Thanks all for your helpful tips!

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