Tracey

I'm so sorry for your loss.

So sad. So sorry for their loss.

I'm so very sorry for your loss.

I'm so very sorry for your loss.

I am so very sorry for your loss.

I am so very sorry for your loss.

Sunny certainly had a full life. I am so very sorry for your loss.

I'm so sorry for your loss.

I'm so sorry for your loss.

I am so sorry for your loss.

How very sad. I am so sorry for your losses.

He started at the back of his neck and it's kind of working its way down his body. Excitingly (for me, anyway, because, well, his medical care has become all encompassing and I've become kind of a nerd about it), once I scrubbed off the old skin on the back of his neck, what's left now seems normal. I feel more natural oils and don't see any flakes there. It's just big flaky patches now popping up on the rest of him, but I guess once it all sloughs off he should look pretty good.

I'm so sorry. You and your Chase are in my thoughts and prayers.

I am so sorry for your loss.

How sad. I am so sorry for your loss.

So just as a quick refresher, since May 26 Chase has been on soloxine for hypothyroidism. We did blood tests and my vet consulted with Dr. Couto who said Chase is only the 4th Greyhound he's seen in his entire career who is truly hypothyroid. Since starting the meds, a lot of Chase's issues have begun to resolve. His megaesophagus is probably 80% improved or more. His crusty ears are about 80% better as well. His anemia is gone. His cholesterol is back down to normal. He's even starting to regain some muscle in his back legs. My question now is about Chase's skin. Two summers ago he started to get flaky and none of the supplements, oils, etc that we tried helped a bit. In retrospect I now know it was because of his thyroid. So it's now just six weeks into treatment which from what I've read is about the time that his skin should start to improve. Suddenly Chase has gone from flaky skin to "omg it's snowing in here!" Big, giant flakes and so, so, so much of it, everywhere, all the time. I'm brushing him and I have an oatmeal shampoo I'm going to use on him. But mainly I want your opinions. My theory is this big, sudden shedding of skin means that underneath all this is healthy new skin waiting to be revealed. Like a snake, Chase is shedding his old skin. What do you think? Does this seem plausible? Chase has another follow up with the vet next week. By then, if I'm right it will likely be obvious and if not, I can ask her about it. But in the meantime I'd love to know what you think of my theory.

Chase has been back to his old self for the past 8 days. In addition, for about the past 5 days he's been hungry enough to take all his pills in ground beef wrapped in chicken. I don't know how long this will continue with the pills, but it's certainly making both of us a whole lot happier.

Thanks, it does sound similar. Chase was on flagyl for a few days and he seemed normal and his poop seemed normal so I quit giving it to him. Then a few days later I noticed he had the runs again so I started giving it again. He was on it for about a day when the weirdness started. I gave it to him for about 4 days and then stopped. Two days after stopping he was 80% normal. In the 3 days since that day he's been 100% or pretty close. I also stopped giving him lasix and endosorb at the same time and reduced his meds down to the bare minimum: 3 heart drugs, plus the diuretic, thyroid met and appetite stimulant. So I don't know if there's an actual cause and effect with quitting the flagyl but I couldn't find any weird reactions to lasix or endosorb. The other possibility is it was a weird neurological event that he's since bounced back from. Whatever it was, I hope it doesn't come back.

Just curious to know what problems your pup had and how they manifested? My vet was like how would you know if a dog is having hallucinations and other than maybe being afraid of things that aren't there, I wasn't sure how to answer her.

We took Chase to the vet this morning and of course he was acting totally normal while he was there. He was just there two weeks ago for blood work to check how he is handling the heart and thyroid meds so vet's seen him recently and she thought he was doing really well today. She said the things I described could be neurological but she was loathe to put him on any more medications given how many he is already on. All that said, today was about a 90% normal day for Chase. He had a good breakfast and we went to the vet and ran some errands. He stayed in the car with DH with the AC on while I ran into Costco. Back home he had lunch and then meds and a long nap. Then dinner and some more meds. He had a restless period for an hour or so after that but overall a pretty normal day, thank goodness. Our biggest concern is getting weight back on him. He's been super picky about what he'll eat since this started. We'll give him anything he wants but it's hit or miss figuring out what that is as it changes all the time and sometimes he just doesn't want anything. He's down to 69# today and he should be 85#.

I spoke too soon. He's as bad as he's been since this started Thursday. Trying to get under and behind things and getting stuck, walking in circles, licking his lips, panting, not drinking water when usually he drinks a ton. He is not himself at all. We're going to have to take him in in the morning. I don't know how he went downhill so quickly.

An hour after the Pepcid and Gas X he's good. DH offered him some chicken and he ate it and wanted more.

Here's a bit of an update. He was fine for about 12 hours. Then I gave him these: Soloxine Vetmedin Diltiazem Benazepril Lasix Spironolactone And it started up again with the restlessness, panting, trying to get under things. My best guess is something is seriously upsetting his stomach. Or maybe all of it. The Vetmedin and the Soloxine are chewable but the rest aren't supposed to be and I've been grinding them up and giving them in liquid because he won't take them any other way. I wonder if that is part of it? The vet ok'ed the method and it was fine for a while. I gave him a Pepcid and a Gas X about 45 minutes ago. I'm waiting to see if they help. If they do, I'll probably ask the vet for suggestions for anything better than those. If they don't help, at least I'm narrowing it down to SOMETHING with the meds.

When Chase's megaesophagus was acting up and he wasn't on meds I was giving him slippery elm tea, which he quite enjoyed. Because he is on so many meds now, some 3 times a day, I stopped giving it because of the absorption issue and I wasn't sure how long I had to wait between them.

No, actually many things can cause megaesophagus. Some are born with it. Sometimes it's idiopathic. Other causes include myasthenia gravis and addison's disease. In Chase's case, it turned out to be hypothyroidism. We tested him for addison's which was negative. We actually switched vets and I asked her to check him for myasthenia gravis based on some other symptoms he was having. She wanted to check his thyroid. I hadn't bothered up to this point because I had heard repeatedly that Greyhounds are almost never hypothyroid. We actually did a consult with Dr. Couto after the thyroid results came in and he agreed with the diagnosis and said Chase is only the 4th truly hypothyroid Greyhound he's seen in his entire career. Actually, I'd be celebrating harder were it not for Chase's heart issues, but since going on soloxine Chase's megaesophagus has actually greatly improved. He can now eat pretty much anything and I no longer have to hold him upright for 40 minutes after every meal. And unlike before he can pretty much have as much water as he wants and doesn't throw up. The results have been miraculous, really.