Xan
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Posts posted by Xan
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Went to the local dog supply store with the knowledgeable ladies, and they filled a bag with samples of this and that, a couple dented cans, and a couple hugs and tears. Such nice ladies! I also went to the store to get some eggs. I went down the soup aisle, and thought, hey, what about condensed soups? I picked a can of split pea with ham and bacon. No doubt full of awful things.
Came home, and tried my goods, one by one. AdultCal (a gooey calorie supplement) was a mildly accepted winner, and I got maybe 1 1/2 T down her. This was after trying canned 100% rabbit, mackerel, Embark (dehydrated raw, reconstituted), and scrambled egg. At that point, I went to the pantry, and saw some long-ignored dog treats. What the heck, right? BeefyTips (a gift from her farm owner) were a hit, and I fed her what was left in the bag. Turkey and Rice biscuits from Trader Joe's I really doubted would be acceptable. Wrong! She ate the rest of that package, too! I had to bring a bed into the kitchen to keep the other dogs out of her face, where she lay and crunched away at one after another. *sigh* My dog is a junk-food junky. All of these foods were on my Do Not Feed list (grains, soy products, beef, chemicals ...), but if she'll eat it, I'll give it to her! And, they all stayed down! She even followed with a little drink of water.
Now, we're not talking a lot of food, but it's something. I'm hoping the AdultCal got some serious enough calories in her, anyway. And that she won't have a bad gut reaction to all that junk!
Since she seemed to like the crunchy biscuits, and she seemed to prefer crunchy over goopy generally over the last few weeks (except for the pulled pork, which is now on the NoTHANKYOU list), I decided to try (re)dehydrate the Embark, which I mixed with the scrambled egg and a good blob of the AdultCal. I have no idea how that's going to work!
Tiny upswing for the weekend.
I looked at something like liverwurst yesterday in the store, but turned myself off by reading the ingredients. I need to stop doing that, at this point!
Same with baby food awhile back. I forgot the Spaghettios when I was in there today! Did I already say my brain is mush? 
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Kristin, I've been offering her potatoes and sweet potatoes all along, and I did offer her cottage cheese a few times, to absolutely no interest. Once her morning drip is done,and everyone is fed, and I squeeze some more goop food into her, I'm going to see if I can find some type of food, some animal, we haven't fed her yet. Chef Boy R Dee, even! I don't care anymore, just so she eats.
I gave her the first dose of Naltrexone last night. She slept fine, but I think that was almost the worst thing I've done to her, so far. Apparently, that stuff is icky! I'll have to get it further down her throat tonight so she really can't taste it. (The worst thing I've done so far was to give her Bs sub-q over the shoulder blade. Apparently, that is a highly sensitive area! WTTW)
Today is the third day in a row that she's just not eating (so far).
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Oh, oops! Somehow I thought I updated. My brain is scrambled goo!
Nothing learned. The vet is still out sick, but she did get the xrays done, and sent home with more fluids for the weekend. I was hoping he might come in late and read them, but we didn't hear from him, so I guess they got sent to the radiology lab for a look from the pros.
Happy hasn't eaten again, today. I don't know how she is still walking around, or getting in and out of the car on her own. Seriously. She's just bones.
And this broke my heart. When the techs brought her back to me, she was *sob* bruised all down her boney back bone, and in one welt on her ribs. She was shaking a bit. When I noticed the bruises, and was fussing about them, they were understandably a little defensive, and I understand she's bony bony bony now, and they had to turn her on her back, and her skin is thin as wet tissue paper, but, don't try to tell me she might have had that bleeding bruise on her ribs when she came in. She did not. She's white. It would be hard to miss! This made me cry like a baby in the car. She's gone through so much, she's so miserable, I was ready to let her go today, and she comes back to me bruised, and in for another few days of needles, syringes, pills, and starvation.
I gave her some arnica when we got home, but she's going to be stiff tomorrow, I bet. That poor old girl!
Sorry to have kept you all on tenterhooks. It was another long evening of IVs, pills, refused food, and sadness for us here.
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Thanks for the continued good thoughts, folks. It's 10 to noon, and I just finished doing my best vet tech impersonation for the morning rounds. She ate a few bites of pork, which is better than nothing. Enough to give her her pills on top of, anyway. I've got some goo food ready to be turkey bastered into her in awhile. She broke a record for slowest drip of 1000ml of fluids, with 2 ml B complex (duh: the bottle I have is not just B12, it's B complex, and I just didn't read it, because we'd all just been saying B12 all along), which I kept having to dink with, and rearrange her, and sit with her so she didn't curl up and slow the drip even more. Syringed in her slippery elm, glutamine, prebiotic mix earlier, with a probiotic cap for good measure.
She's still not a happy Happy. Depending on what we see this afternoon, we may just let her go while we're there. I can't make her go through this if there are no better days ahead. DH is coming with this time, in case.
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Oops. I spoke too soon. She just vomited up that tiny bit of food, and, of course, her pills.
I gave her a pepcid. We'll see how she does. I hate to pill her again, on a TRULY empty and unhappy stomach! 
Ahicks, okay, now I sort of get it. Thanks. We'll start that tonight. Hopefully.
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What's the naltrexone for? I musta missed somethin'.
SO happy she's eating! Keep us posted. It's hard not to worry about you girls.
Naltrexone in low doses seems to help to support immune function, and helps with IBD, but they're not sure how it works. At least, I don't know enough of the lingo to make sense of it.
I'm actually going to hold off on it, just now. Like Marcia said, things are going good right now. Let's not fix what isn't broken. We hope. For now. It's ready at any time I change my mind.
Naltrexone is a bit of a stab in the dark; it's been around for decades as a drug used to manage opiate drug addiction. It blocks the "high" by logjamming the opiate receptors on cells.
For some reason, when used in very small doses (1/10th that used for managing opiate addiction), naltrexone has some odd effects on the immune system. For one, beta endorphin levels go up. For another, it seems to cause cells to create more opiate receptors on their surface.
The net upshot is that it has been used off-label for management of IBD in humans, as well as for a number of other autoimmune disorders including multiple sclerosis, ALS, lupus, etc. It has also shown some merit in combating cancer- probably one of the benefits of its immune-boosting properties.
On the bright side, it's safe, has virtually no side effects, and only one drug interaction: opiate painkillers (including Tramadol), which is a shame as it would be an ideal candidate with respect to management of osteo otherwise. On the down side, it takes a while for it to take hold, so it's a "long and slow" drug in terms of its benefits.
Very good to hear Xan is eating.
Xan has no trouble eating (that would be me).
It's Happy I'm worried about. Ahicks, the one side-effect you listed was some sleeplessness the first week. Why give it before bedtime, then? I wanted to pm you but your box was full.
I should have given her some last night, but the truth is, I forgot.
I was sitting there watching her be uncomfortable, shifting around, running over everything I could offer her, had offered her, dosed her with, had left to dose her with ... and didn't even think of the naltrexone. I swear, my brain is mush. It's been a long sad night, again. Poor Happy!
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Thanks Robin. That's what I was hoping.
She did have D this evening. Really, how could she not?? So much pork and bbq sauce? Not nearly representative of how much she ate, but still D.
However, she also did not eat today.
I hope tomorrow's xrays are revealing.*sigh*
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Good to not add more right now...sounds like you might have the right combo!Did you note what time of day it was when she was so happy to eat? Maybe also make note of if she'd been doing anything directly before (had she just had a nice poop? Maybe a small romp in the yard? etc...).
Oh, Mr. Pogo, your ma is coming to bed now! (I pulled out a green fleece blankie here last night and it reminded me of the "P" embroidered blanket we sent for Pogo back when he was still "Puppy"
)I've been keeping a record of everything for the last week and a half or so. I can't make heads or tails of it, really.
This morning, not so enthusiastic, though she ate a little of the deli ham. She also drank on her own. Yeay! But, and this is downright amazing, she hasn't pooped since night before last!
Still have all my fingers crossed we're going in generally the right direction, which will make baking this double layer vegan pumpkin cheesecake tricky, but whatcha gonna do?
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Xan, My vet did a blood count, and an ultrasound. When he saw the mass, he aspirated it, all that came out was blood & pus. His WBC was 90,000 vs 10,000 which showed there was an "absess, infection or cancer". (I'm looking at my daytimer) His fever was 103. At one point the WBC got up to 100,000. The day before his surgery to remove the tumor, he was depressed, wouldn't eat, running a fever & his stomach was enlarged.
The tumor was attached to his liver.
Wow. Well, he didn't mention such high WBC. I'm sure he would have, since we both mentioned the possibility of cancer. Not conclusive, of course, and I guess we'll find out more on Friday.
Wow, pulled pork, huh??I love the stuff! :-))
Hope this is a break for you guys, and Happy continues eating! If she is drinking, I'd add the Gatorade 50%/H2O 50%. Good Luck and lots of love!
Okay, here's the good news: She has eaten a total of 4 cups of food today, by my estimation. She ate ... A POUND AND A HALF of pork (some pulled, then some "natural" deli slices). Yowza!
Here's a tip drummed into me by a nurse anesthetist friend of mine who has a very scientific, measured approach to medicine. It's worked wonders for her own greyhounds and has helped mine too. She always reminds me of this: "Whatever you do, when you add or take away meds and supplements, do it one at a time and not every day. If you make even just two changes at the same time, you won't know which change affected them positively or negatively." It's hard to do!Happy's eating and drinking, so if she were mine I wouldn't change a thing right now!
I kind of disagree that all the meds are making her worse after hearing that's she's eaten as much as our healthy girl greyhound eats. She hardly ever drinks either, BTW. The xray on Friday will tell you lots! PS. If you decide to go to another vet for a second opionion, you'll need copies of blood work so you might as well get them on Friday. If you ask for them the second you walk in, they'll have time to make copies to hand you when you leave.
Good idea.
Yes, the scattershot approach we've taken is blurring the picture, but maybe it's everything together helping. For now.
As DH says, it's no time yet to go over the moon. She's been bumping along for awhile, up and down. I am philosophical, and yet I have hope. We'll see what we see.
lexie has been on the tylan powder over a year 1/2-1 tsp with each meal (twice a day) When i try to take her off it her colitis acts up. I also use dried beet pulp with her food which someone on here mentioned. Will she eat salmon?I don't know if that is good for greys but mine sure seems to love it. I just give her a cooked piece once in awhile. Maybe mix some with kibble to get her to eat? Prayers for u at success.Wow! I've only been giving 1/2t with meals! That seems like a lot. But if it works, then it works! Glad to know you've gotten your girl's colitis mostly under control.
Xan, my eyes watered with happiness as I read your update...I imagine you had the inkling to do a great big happy dance! What a good girl! Fingers crossed that her appetite continues to be that good!
What's the naltrexone for? I musta missed somethin'.SO happy she's eating! Keep us posted. It's hard not to worry about you girls.
Naltrexone in low doses seems to help to support immune function, and helps with IBD, but they're not sure how it works. At least, I don't know enough of the lingo to make sense of it.
I'm actually going to hold off on it, just now. Like Marcia said, things are going good right now. Let's not fix what isn't broken. We hope. For now. It's ready at any time I change my mind.
Now, let's hope I can find a store to sell me more pork tomorrow!
Pogo is howling. I'm not supposed to be out here after he's been tucked in bed!
Nighty night, all.
Lynne (missed your post!), I guess we'll find that out on Friday. I'm so sorry about your Timber.
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Ah, FL! That sounds like good news for Drake.
Excellent! (Finally!! )Now, how's Kaylee doing? What's with the head shaking? Are her ears alright?
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I'll start with an update.
Happy must have heard us talking, or maybe it was the heart-to-heart I had with her about needing a clear message. She is eating. Pulled pork. She's had 2 CUPS so far today. AND I've also turkey-bastered her with tripett (mixed with slippery elm and now vitamins - more on that below). AND she drank a little, TWICE!
She only got a 500ml bag of fluids, because she did eat first thing, then drank, this morning. Then she ate some more. I had to go get some more, and bought all they had, which was just over a pound. She's eaten nearly half of that! And drank more. And just seemed a little perkier.
While I was out, I checked at the vitamin store, and wouldn't you know it, the woman working there was a vet tech for many years. I had been thinking just B complex, but still also thinking probiotics (not just aciophilis), and L-Glutamine. I ended up with all that, plus EsterC. She also gave me some vet referrals, which I may use. At least good to have back-up.
I mixed up the vitamins in a goo of tripett and slippery elm, and got most of it into her with the turkey baster. (I think a pastry bag might work better.) Then she ate more pork!
I can't believe she hasn't had instant D from that, but ... *shrugging* I'll take it!Called the vet. He's sick and out of the office, but good ol' Elsa said she'd call him at home to ask about the naltrexone (and the other things I asked, but she didn't bother with that - oh well). He said, yes, go ahead, since I have it (THANKS ahicks!
), and agreed that an xray on Friday is the thing to do. So, we have an appointment, and it looks like she'll live to see it.
Good point. If she goes without eating, I'll do the pepcid.If she's taking steroids (especially) and antibiotics, she needs something to protect her stomach. You risk ulcers otherwise. Pepcid is a drug that people and dogs can take for years with no ill effects (unlike steroids).My reasonining in stopping the meds and supplements (other than tummy med and possibly antibiotic) would be, she was on the pred for >1 year, and she lost weight and quit eating. Over the past @ 2 weeks, many other things have been tried -- antibiotics, acidopholis, prebiotics, slippery elm, fluids, plasma, B12, budesonide -- and she has gotten worse rather than better. So either the meds aren't working or something among them is actually making her feel worse. To that end, it might be worth swapping out the antibiotic for a different one -- like people, dogs can have bad reactions to one but not another.More good points (and what a memory!!
) The antibiotic is the best one by far for these nasty bugs, according to the sensitivity test they did on her urine culture, and it seems to be working. But, as you say. He wants her on them for another 10 days, but maybe we'll get the urine tested again, and stop if things don't grow. By which time she'll be almost through the second course, so maybe that's not worth the $$ for the labs. 
Some things to think about (you don't have to answer here, got enough on your plate):What were her last blood results like? Absolutely everything within normal range, no exceptions, no "kinda sorta's"?
Just how bad are her teeth?
When was the last time she was wormed?
Has your vet considered cardiac insufficiency as a part of her troubles?
ETA: AFAIK it doesn't hurt a non-pancreas disease dog to try pancreatic enzyme. It doesn't sound like that's her problem, tho. Dogs with that ailment usually lose weight faster, while still eating. Of course there are exceptions to every "usually" .....
I haven't seen her blood tests, though I'd like to. I can't comment intelligently on that.
Her teeth are not so great. The gums are deeply receded. I brush every day, though, and the antibiotics have improved the state of the gums, according to Dr S.
She was wormed last probably last year, at the start of all this. Panacur, as I recall.
The vet did say he felt her heart was beating rather slowly, even for a greyhound, last week, but felt it might have to do with overall muscle loss.
We talked about pancreatic enzymes. I think we tried that last year, to no effect, but maybe they weren't the right enzymes. She didn't like them, either.
Glad you got the money for the cards! Do you do those Christmas cards? If so, they are wonderful, and I just bought some :-))MY DH, who has absolutely NO medical experience, has the same hypothesis as yours ... that there might be a tumor/growth in her stomach, making her sick, and "feeling full." Surely wouldn't hurt to at least find out.
Sending support, love and lots of good luck and prayers to you!
Thanks! (And, yes, the cards are my artwork. Glad you like them!)
Miss Xan -Gus here - I will gladly come up and help with the beautiful Miss Happy! And mama can give you a bit of a break if you want? I had lots of fun with Happy and Wabi chasing after me (I was just pretending to be scared!). Maybe she just needs some of my boyish charm to get her to play and eat? Mama says I can stay as long as you need me to! Let me know and I will have my limo driver - err, mama, bring me up riteawayquick! Snuffly kisses.
Lubs, Gus (as dictated to mom so you could understand me)
Well, Gus, as usual, you're good for a smile! I don't think Happy is quite up to the joy and excitement she would no doubt feel at your visit, but I'll tell her you offered. Your mama is very very sweet to offer to come all the way up here, too. Xan, I've been reading all along and hoping each day for good news. Just wanted to let you know that we are all thinking about you at the BigOrangeDog house. I've lost 5 of my guys in the past 9 months, so I definitely know how you are feeling. My heart boy Crisco had cancer in his spine, and stopped eating in his last few days too, despite my efforts to bribe him. One night, in the middle of the night when he was awake and uncomfortable, we looked at each other and he told me clear as day that he was done.I think you'll know if it's time. Or if she still has some fight in her. I'm hoping you find some answers soon.
And if you do another portrait marathon, I will be lining up to give you $ to help with that vet bill!
Wish I had some medical advice for you, but all I can offer are our good wishes.
Jen
Jen, thanks so much. I can't believe you can even still think in words after so much recent grief.
:bighug (I'm quite flattered you'd want me to do a painting of your dogs!
)Just a followup to what Batmom said about the meds. It may not be relevant, but who knows at this point.Piper recently had a serious bout with a recurrent UTI. I won't give you all the details (it's a very long story), but she wouldn't eat, was very very thin, and had the shakes. I thought I was losing her. I didn't think she was strong enough for the MRI that was being proposed. We decided to pull her off almost all the meds to test my hypothesis that we'd turned her into a little old lady by adding drugs to treat side effects of other drugs...
It took a few days before her appetite returned. She's not 100%, but at least she's eating.
You know, my own inclination is to manage with good diet, maybe with some supplements, but away from drugs as soon as possible. It's one of the reasons I'm asking these quality of life questions!
I'd want to discuss how/if/when to go off each drug (cipro, tylan, budesonide, and naltrexone) with my vet, or with a holistic vet, and exactly what to be feeding her, with whatever's going on with her.
So, to sum up: Much better day today, so far. Crossing fingers she feels even this good tomorrow, with no ill-effects from so much pulled pork!
Xrays on Friday to rule out or in obvious growths or other abnormalities.I want to send out huge lots of hugs to you all for riding along with me. I makes so much difference.
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If she can still do all those things Xan, to me that means she's still willing to try. You know her best, and I'm not there, but, just from what I've read here, she's not done yet.
Many dogs live with IBD. It's a tough road, but, once you get everything balanced, they do fine.
I don't think I'd stop her meds. Tubing her for feeding, while it sounds crazy, isn't the worst thing ever, and it might just get enough food into her to get her out of this slump she's in and get the wheels turning again.
IMO if she wags her tail and is somewhat enthusiastic about everyday life, she's not done yet - she hasn't thrown in the towel. I know this is stressful for you
Come on Happy, eat some pork!
I know, huh?
Just to make it all more complicated (did I say this already??), She's not vomiting, she hasn't had D but once in about a year, and that wasn't so much D as slimy mucousy gloop-poop. Maybe it's not IBD at all. As has been pointed out, we never did get a definitive dx on that.
One more possibility: Alicia paid me for the cards early (
to Alicia!), so I can pay off my vet bill with a little left over. I want to ask them to do an x-ray or sonogram, to see if there is obvious cancer or something else that will give us a sense of direction. DH's sense is that she's getting mixed signals from her body. All her cells are crying for nutrition, but her gut says she's full, or not hungry; don't eat. Or drink. Maybe, he thinks, there's a large mass filling her up or pressing against her stomach, as has been suggested here.In any case, we won't operate on her. But it will give us an idea of what we're dealing with, and whether to just stop stuffing pills down her that don't help, and just do palliative care until it's truly time.
*sigh*
HeeHoo, how do you check for HS?
The need for fluids just makes no sense to me if she's not in kidney failure. Sooooo, if she's not in kidney failure, why does she need fluids?Because she's not drinking on her own. That'll do it!
Instead, she might have glomerular nephritis (aka GN) and not be in kidney failure although it looks like she might be.But, blood test didn't show that. At least, not last time it was done (last week).
If she has protein in her urine that would be the first sign of GN right there. It would show on a simple urine dipstick test. The trouble with giving fluids is that if she has GN, the glomerulus can't filter the fluids and solutes from the extra fluids, which makes them sicker. Does she had edema from the fluids?Nope. Her front paws tend to swell a little, especially over night, but they have done that since we got her. It's no worse than normal-for-her with the fluids. Maybe better! My hypothesis is it improves her blood pressure to get the fluids in her??
It would be a kicker if all she needed was Enalapril and maybe a baby aspirin. Ask the vet about all this -- please!I certainly will. Thanks, Marcia.
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Augh. Now she's just messing with me!
She's less dehydrated after 2000 ml of fluids yesterday, so she may feel a little better from that. She actually ate a couple shreds of that pulled pork DH got for her, voluntarily, if not enthusiastically. I then turkey-bastered about 1/4c of food (+slippery elm +nutritional yeast +probiotics) into her so I could give her her pills. DH is at the store, and I have him getting more applesauce (though she wouldn't take any raw apple, but just in case) and gatorade. I think she just drank some water on her own, too! 
She can still move easily, get up, get down, do stairs (3 at the door), wag for yes (as in, yes I want to go outside to pee, thanks for asking), and enjoy an ear rub. Do I keep her on life support 'til she can't do anything, and is in total organ failure, or let her go before that? Stop all meds? I'd be scared to stop the budesonide, being a corticosteroid. She's still on the antibiotic, yes, but she was off it Sunday afternoon and Monday morning (ran the 10 day course, then got put back on), and the break did not improve her appetite. I'm concerned that Pepcid would lessen the acid in her stomach, which she needs to digest. She needs all the help breaking down food she can get. Or at least that's my sense of it. I stopped giving the pepcid awhile back. Then there's the soloxine (thyroid). That's supposed to help her feel more lively, right? The acidophilis is maybe of questionable value, in the scheme of things, as it seems to be the hardest one to get down her throat!
Then there's the Tylan, to manage gut flora and fauna. ... The B complex approach does sound interesting. It makes sense to me. I'll see if I can pin down my vet to add that to my list of questions (which I wrote down and left with him - and haven't heard back). I'm leery of adding and subtracting drugs without some vet input (not that we've done all that well with it, either).
Tubing her ... I just keep coming back to the question of what's the end goal, here? A few days more life, with tubes coming out of her, feeling awful? A partial recovery to a continued life of managed pain with episodes of extreme pain and back to tubes? This episode has lasted 3 weeks now. She's had a hard life. It's taken its toll. How recovered can we hope she can get?
Robin, no, she hasn't seen an internal med. specialist. Assuming one is even locally available, it's way beyond our ability to pay for.
DH and I haven't done any medical or dental care for ourselves in a few years. The pets have gotten much better medical upkeep than we have, and I have the vet bill to prove it! I was hoping to get her to a holistic vet. If she hangs on a little bit longer, or looks like she wants to.Time to feed everyone else, and get her IV set up. I'll be watching her even more closely today, to see what she wants/needs. Thanks everyone for the ideas, and the compassion. It means so much!
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So, I gather you're feeling my frustration and anxiety with me!
I'm grasping at straws, too. I know my vet is really busy, I get that. But, really not getting much from him about this. Today may be the day.
Yup, I've tried fruits. She ate a couple bits of apple the other day, and that got me to do the applesauce and kibble frozen, which worked off and on for a few days. She won't look at it now.
What could have changed? I'm beginning to think she's just shutting down. It's been a bit bumpy, but I think her body is just quitting, whatever is going on in there to make that happen. This morning, after a long night, I'm considering what day to let her go. Drag her through 'til after Thanksgiving, or let her go today.
Okay, can't see anymore.
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Oh, I think I've been told avoid dairy, too.
DH says he read somewhere (haven't checked this) that it takes more energy to break down cottage cheese than you get from it: net loss. Hard to believe, but not helpful if true. *shrugging* May have to look that up. We're running out of options altogether. A friend convinced me to try something crazy. She suggested bbq baby back ribs. DH managed to find some pulled pork at the grocery. She actually took the piece from my hand, but just dropped it, and wouldn't be compelled to approach it again.Not good. She's totally rejected all food, all day today. I've managed to squeeze about 1/2c into her from a turkey baster, but ... she's hating it. Not liking life.
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She's passed out over there for the minute, but I have to get everyone fed, so I'll be brief.
DH would love that. Xan - brief! It is to laugh! 
Anyway!
Thanks, as always! The support feels so good on my worried heart.
What foods I know she can't eat:
venison
chicken
What foods I'm staying away from to be safe:
all grains and seeds
soy
Pogo says, he'll eat it all. Now. Please. Really. NOW.
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Not doing well today. Her IV catheter needs to be replaced
<time passes>
<4 1/2 hours later>
She's now resting with her IV pouring fluids and B12 into her. She hasn't voluntarily eaten a thing today, puked some BRIGHT orange bile (maybe 2 tablespoons - she's empty!), though I managed to pipe about 1/3 cup of pureed turkey and sweet potato (and nutritional yeast and slippery elm) into her to pad the budesonide. This is one of those bad days.
She's lost weight again. Now at 50 lbs.
I find my own mood is completely under her control. If she eats, I'm giddy! If she doesn't, I'm blue blue blue.
Energy11, our bill is about $1800 right now. No more lab tests 'til we can pay it down. Thank goodness I'll be getting some money soon from card sales as well as the portrait marathon.
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We're still going on an assumption of IBD, though I must say I'm beginning to wonder, and said so today. Malabsorption, yes. That much is clear, but why? I'm also feeling more confident that we're not dealing with SIBO, since, again, no D. The vet talked today about pancreatic function, and adding pancreatic enzymes. There's a test ... And that's where it gets sticky. They're beginning to balk at sending stuff to the lab when I have this outstanding bill (nearly $1800 so far). I pay in dribs and drabs, but it goes up faster than it goes down, lately. I can't blame them, of course. So, we're holding off on the ultrasound and more lab tests for the moment. Keeping up with fluids as needed, B12, cipro (the bugs are clebsiella [sp?] and pseudomonas), budesonide, tylan, acidophilis, slippery elm, prebiotics, soloxine (thyroid) ... Am I leaving something out??
And talking about adding pancreatic enzymes. I wanted to talk to him about L-glutamine and naltrexone, but they squeezed us in to a very busy schedule, and I lost him before I got to that. I left him some info (thanks, ahicks!) and a couple questions. Our plan is to hope she keeps doing at least this well, and check back on Wednesday. Her urine was much improved, though still concentrated (no lab; just visual), though her last lab showed no growth when cultured. Which is good, but he wants to play it safe and stay on the cipro.
She just ate a CUP of cooked ground turkey!
My records show she has an uptick in appetite between 5 and 6pm, so I'll feed her again around 6. Her weight was back up to a whopping 52 (should be ~63), though I can't imagine where that came from. Fluids, maybe?Must paint portraits!!
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Thanks Energy11. I'll get some today.
Thanks Cara-Lea.
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I had read that the sugar in gatorade can make D worse? Has anyone used this for dogs with bowel issues? Don't know about pedialyte. Maybe less sugar? She doesn't have D now, but that would certainly not be an improvement.
Back to my sick goats, I was told how to mix an electrolyte mixture with water and salt substitute. And something else? I'll have to look that up. Another good thing to have on hand that I haven't had to think about in years!
We have an appointment at 1:30 (PST). I mentioned an ultrasound to the woman I talked to (head vet tech? nurse?), and she says they can do that there, but I have to say I think they're getting tired of me. Or my bill growing larger and larger, maybe.
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Gatorade for the veins! Got it. Thanks!
She ate (about 1/4c, but I'll take it!), peed and pooped this morning. She even drank a little on her own! Yeay!
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Mary, I'll ask about a poop bug test. I think it's a good idea. It's not like it's an invasive procedure, after all.
Yes, she's on lactated ringers, whatever that means! I meant to look that up ...
Marcia, you make good points. I wish my memory was better for what happened when this all started, over a year ago. I'll have to see if I can get more background for what I can't remember. I know we did a stool test, but can't remember what we were testing for (I seem to recall that there was a lot of protein, which was no surprise). Blood tests were indicating some kind of PLE, but not exactly what/why. There was some controversy between the vet who did the first tests, and then my present vet, to whom I went for plasma transfusion prescribed by the first vet. Present vet didn't think that was the right choice, even a bad choice, and read the test results very differently. Being me, I do not remember what was what. I might still have the notes I took. We did do xrays at that point, as I recall, which showed nothing conclusive. As I recall.
Tested her thyroid, started her on soloxine and pred, put her on Z/D, switched her to venison kibble, and she did very well, for ... not quite a year. I'm thinking that was about this time last year. I have some decent news for tonight. After giving her the fluids, which I added the B12 to, she began to find an appetite for little bits. I gave her twice the B12 dose, because ... well, call it intuition! I've seen B12 pull sick goats (my main veterinary experience before greyhounds) up off the ground and to their feeder as if it were any other sunny day. I couldn't believe it didn't put any spring into Happy at all. Someone (Mary?) said that fluids would wash Bs out, so I thought I need to do more than replace, I need to bump. So. Well, there ya go.
Yesterday, she ate a total of 3/4 c of food all day. Today, she ate a little more than 2 1/2c of food. Not nearly enough, but way better! She even got up and stood in DH's face wagging her tail for petting! We haven't seen that in a couple weeks.
Now, I'm not going to go off the deep end yelling miracles, but keep those positive thoughts rolling!
I hope the vet is rested after his weekend out of town.
I have his work cut out for him. -
Just got back from the vet's office. No vet (he's out of town 'til tomorrow), but I had the tech put in another IV, and give me some more fluids and B12. She hasn't been drinking enough, and got dehydrated again. She's taking a big bag right now, with B12.
She's lost more weight, of course. She's now at 48.8 pounds. She should be above 60.
Her diagnosis is based on blood tests, observation, and xrays (back last year). I know it's not conclusive without a biopsy, but I'm not going to do that to her while she's so sick. If she pulls out of this, then maybe. I'm going to add to my list of questions if there's any way to tell what gut bugs we might be dealing with, or other means of getting a toe-hold on this.
On the way home, I bought some ground turkey, and ground bison. I'm thawing the turkey, first. (So weird, having meat in the house!
)Poor Wabi is feeling quite put out of my personal spotlight these days!
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When facing the animal - trachea toward the left, esophagus toward the right. We had that drilled into us at the wildlife center I used to volunteer at. There was a lot of tube-feeding and force-feeding, and if someone accidentally poked the food down the wrong hole it would generally kill the animal.
Whoa. They're on opposite sides?? I did not know that.
I had to tube feed a goat for awhile. I don't remember that being mentioned. (The goat did die, but he was paralyzed, so it wasn't really in question.)
Thanks Elizabeth. I'll try it.
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Have you tried force-feeding her? Turkey dogs go down easily, as do those logs of dog food (the ones that look like big sausages hanging on racks at the pet store) cut and shaped to about hotdog size. I've also heard of people using refrigerated (so it's firm) loaf-style dog food, cut in quarters. Dampen in warm water and poke it down the right side of the throat as you're facing the dog. I know it's not a long-term solution...quality of life issues come into play when you're doing something so unpleasant to your poor pup several times every day, but it can buy some time and maybe even get the appetite working again. It did with Isabella. She would go into these spirals of starvation every so often and I'd forcefeed her and she would come out of it. Sometimes just getting something in her empty tummy seemed to make her want more.
I'm close to trying that again. The last time I tried it, she just promptly puked it back up.
So far, what seems to work when it works is if I hand feed her 'til she decides it's worth eating, IF she does. And again when she slows down again. I've managed to get almost 1/4c into her today. Not that her body is using it. The right side of her mouth? That's interesting. Is there a reason for that?ahicks has sent me some interesting stuff about naltrexone, and I'll ask about starting her on that, too.
This is my list right now:
Cyproheptadine/Periactin for appetite
naltrexone
buffalo
ultrasound
L-glutamine
Also, more blood tests and urinalysis to see if we've beaten down the two infections, and where her organs are at. Ask about continuing with B12, about doing more plasma ...
... and about when is it clinically clear she's not going to get better?
It's Happy I'm worried about. 
I was sitting there watching her be uncomfortable, shifting around, running over everything I could offer her, had offered her, dosed her with, had left to dose her with ... and didn't even think of the naltrexone. I swear, my brain is mush. 
Good to not add more right now...sounds like you might have the right combo!
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), and agreed that an xray on Friday is the thing to do. So, we have an appointment, and it looks like she'll live to see it.
) The antibiotic is the best one by far for these nasty bugs, according to the sensitivity test they did on her urine culture, and it seems to be working. But, as you say. He wants her on them for another 10 days, but maybe we'll get the urine tested again, and stop if things don't grow. By which time she'll be almost through the second course, so maybe that's not worth the $$ for the labs. 
)
She can still move easily, get up, get down, do stairs (3 at the door), wag for yes (as in, yes I want to go outside to pee, thanks for asking), and enjoy an ear rub. Do I keep her on life support 'til she can't do anything, and is in total organ failure, or let her go before that? 
Ibd - Happy Starving!
in Health and Medical discussion
Posted
She ate more dog biscuits, but NOT the ones I made out of healthy ingredients. Her favorites were whole wheat molasses cookies from TJ's. Basically, flour, molasses, oil, and mixed tocopherols. No animal products whatever.
I stopped breaking them up before she was done eating, this time. I'll give her another batch later, of whatever she'll eat. Don't want to over-do, as Mary says.