Xan
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Oh.
I'm so glad you checked this out and shared with us. She will be sorely missed. My heart goes out to her family and friends. -
Oh, Marcia, the doc didn't say anything about being able to go off the drugs. I've just been reading that some of our GT family have been able to, once they're more stable. Off or way down, anyway.
Right now, I'm not convinced she's going to make it at all, however. Bad day for Happy.
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Each new day brings a new set of emotions. I'm feeling rather at the end of my rope right now. Happy has eaten about 3/4c of food all day today. I'm feeling like we may be nearing The Talk with the vet on Monday, if she continues like this tomorrow. She just can't survive like this! I don't want her to starve slowly to death.
I went to my nearby pet food place, and talked for over an hour with the lady working there (they're all very well-informed, and this one has IGs). We talked, we cried, we laughed, and we cried. I came out with some canned duck and potato, and just canned duck. Happy was interested briefly in the duck and potato, then a little more interested in the duck, but only ate a few bites altogether. I just think she's dragging towards the slow end. Unless we get a miracle, this is going all one direction.
The one more positive note was when I offered her some ice cubes, which she generally likes, and she ate a few. She did eat a couple little slices of raw apple, but I didn't want to give her much of that. So, I put that together ... I took her kibble, mixed it with applesauce and water, and froze it. It was frozen enough tonight to break it up and offer it to her, and she ate it almost all. Still, only about 1/4 c of food, but it was the most enthusiasm we'd seen in awhile. I had to hand her each bite, but she kept taking it.
So, of course I made up a bunch more. We'll see if that interest lasts through tomorrow. She's still wagging, and even doing a little canter after she potties, but she's skin and bones, and still losing.
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Thanks, y'all. She's showing some actual resistance to all the manhandling, which I take as a good sign.
Baby steps. Baby steps. Right. Mantra. Okay. Baby steps ....
How fast can a baby run?
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Ah, thanks Lynn. My vet, unfortunately, wasn't acquainted with budesonide, so I'm guessing they don't have any hanging around. Especially after I've had them call three pharmacies with prescriptions! They must be SO tired of me!
It's so good to know that she might actually be able to get OFF the drugs, or at least the corticosteroids, not to mention that the side effects should be (crossing fingers) minimal!
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Thanks so much, y'all.
She ate a decent (for her) amount this evening, and even made a couple DASHES after Pogo in the yard when he went on a few furious laps (a little bit of cabin fever with this weather!)
I appreciate the positive thinking, and the experience collected and shared here of good outcomes. I keep thinking, she's going to hate me for all this stuff I've been doing to her, but no. She wants to be where I am all the time, even if it means getting up from a nice comfy bed to follow me to another room (where there is also a comfy bed, of course!)
She's such a sweet dog.Kristin, I so understand. Happy is a whiner. She's been so quiet over the last couple weeks, that when I heard her whine today, it actually lifted my heart.
Maybe we'll make it, yet. THAT would be something to be thankful for! -
Marcia! What a neat bit of info! I'll have to go read that. Thanks!
3DogNite, thanks. It's slow going. I'm hoping she's eating enough to at least slow down her starvation, at this point. She is eating, little bits through the day. She's decided on the fish kibble, and only dry will do. Fresh from the bag, un-licked or -sniffed, to be specific.
Her poop is still good, after a blip of D, and one greenandgooey that I think may have been because I offered her ONE venison kibble. 
She's drinking on her own reliably too. The budesonide came yesterday, so she got her first one.
And I got to take out her IV. That was fun. I found that liberally soaking the bandage in olive oil dissolved the adhesive nicely, btw. Now she'll get her remaining B 12 injections subQ.
Out in the yard, she was momentarily playful when Brilly went on a spinning tear, which is always good to see.
She's just SO skinny. I'm just hoping we can get her fattened up before we lose her! -
Happy had a rash that we couldn't figure out, and I tried bag balm and coconut oil: no good. I tried Rescue Cream, by the Rescue Remedy folks, and it worked. It's pretty benign, but I'd keep him from licking it. Maybe put some boxers on him?
You should try to figure out what it is, but one thought is, if he's licking it, maybe some bacteria from his mouth is contributing. Maybe just keeping him from licking it will help.
Besides, this Dr S sounds like a good enough excuse to me!
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Oh good! Out with the bad ol' teeth! Glad she's through the worst of it! Well, for you anyway. Luckily, she's got the treat boss to be her at-home nurse!
Good thoughts heading your way, Princess!
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Well, the chant must have helped. This morning's poop was fully formed, and didn't appear to be quite as unaffected by digestion. So yeay!
However, right now, she's objecting to her IV, which I don't blame her for! Poor thing. She's pulled out the needle once already. *sigh*
The enteric coating is an issue of interest. Right now, I'm crossing my fingers, and waiting for the mail.
She did eat about 3/4c of the Happy-approved fish kibble this morning, and I did get more slippery elm, mixed with prebiotics, into her.
Cara-Lea, I've thought the skin and digestive issues were related all along. The vet thinks it's likely, too. On that note, her rash area is looking pristine, so yeay!
Thanks for the continued good thoughts, folks! It means so much, as most of you already know!
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Marcia, it's a good question about the B12. I was wondering about whether it showed on her blood tests, and will ask when I talk to the vet again. I suppose it can't hurt, in the mean time. I've watched B12 give very sick goats a new lease on life, so I was willing to give it a try for Happy.
I'd read similar things about antacids in regards to heartburn, and I've only been giving the pepcid ... well, rarely. I'm not sure I see any difference if I do or don't, frankly. And, you're right, the stomach needs acid to begin breakdown of food, and is only a problem if there's too much of it, or it's going the wrong places or something. She needs all the help she can get breaking down her food, so I'm not just tossing it down willy nilly. Good to bring it up.
As far as scoping Happy, I really don't want to do that at this stage. She's 10 1/2 years old, in pretty frail condition, with two nasty bacteria present ... I don't think she's up to it. Even knowing that it limits our ability to figure out exactly what we're dealing with.
3dognite, I've decided to give the slippery elm at least 3 times a day, or before every meal. Even though D is a common symptom of IBD, it did come as a surprise (to both of us! the look on her face!), after the very well-formed poop she's been having the last couple days. One complication of throwing so much at her at once is figuring out what's doing what!
Thanks for the chant! It's a very good chant.
Keep it up! -
Yup, that's the Waboline tucked in there. You can't see it, but her front legs were all tangled up in layers with Happy's back legs. Wabi's a big snuggler, but not everyone will let her.
Well, I managed to get a unit of plasma into her this afternoon. It took FOR.EV.ER, and she ripped the needle right out, bending the needle, when someone drove up to the house and she jumped up with the boys. Okay, I was glad to see she had the juice to jump up at all, but ... OW! Didn't that HURT?? Yikes. (I bet that plasma is going to smell bad, if I didn't get it all out of the rug and dog bed.
) Got into town, picked up the B-12 and got a little tutorial on how to get it into the bag. Heck, after the plasma, this is easy-peazy! Wish I had one of those sky hooks like they do, though. She ate about 1 cup of the fish kibble, so yeay! Then had totally liquid Big D. That's new. So booo. But she didn't vomit (yet), so yeay!
In the short in between times, I managed to finish a painting, and get started on another, so yeay!
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*snort!* How MEAN of you to take a picture of him at such a disadvantage, then post it for all the world to see!
Well, that's disheartening, the swellings.
Time to bump up the chants again (yet again!) for that boy. *cranking up volume on chanter* >ahem!<*Drake! Enough! Suck up those extra juices and rid yourself of all the nasties! Wouldn't you rather be playing and running around?
Drake! Enough! Suck up those extra juices and rid yourself of all the nasties! Wouldn't you rather be playing and running around? Drake! Enough! Suck up those extra juices and rid yourself of all the nasties! Wouldn't you rather be playing and running around? *Kaylee, you too, young lady! Cut it out with the scraping and the oozing already!
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Just pm'd you, zoolaine
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This thread could use a little sweetener, don't you think?
Awww!
Poor Happy! She peed a lake on the kitchen floor (just as the vet's office was calling me back!), then pooped when I took her out in the yard. Didn't eat much, but I did syringe the slippery elm and some prebiotics in after stuffing her throat with her pills. I'm waiting for her second bag of plasma to thaw out, then give it to her, then off to the vet to pick up the B12, and to get more of the fish kibble she's decided is acceptable (for now) ...
I really need a shower!
I have visions of leaving her muzzled, and she chokes on vomit, or unmuzzled and she rips out her IV port and bleeds to death! Gah! -
I've checked with our ONE local compounding pharm, and they don't have generic, so it would be over $280 for 30 Entocort. Can't do that.
I think it's safe, mostly, to buy from the Canadian pharms. I'm speaking with the voice of NO experience, here!
My vet's office didn't bat an eye when I asked them to fax a prescription there.From my other thread:
Yikes on the budesonide $!Our vet phoned a rx into a compounding pharmacy in AZ, where it costs about $1/pill or so for the 2mg pills. We get 60 at a time.n (They also send a little free gift with each order -- usually something well-sized for a Pomeranian!)
Roadrunner Pharmacy, 711 E. Carefree Hwy, Suite 140, Phoenix, AZ 85085
toll-free: 877-518-4589
local: 623-434-1180
Shipping is free and they'll overnight the first order!
I called, and they won't give me a price over the phone, so I'm having the vet's office call.
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If any of you are interested, I did find it for $.56/3mg capsules, or $.64 with shipping, for 100 capsules, from CanadaDrugCenter.com. It looks like we could shave a little off each other's bills, too!
From their site:
You can now collect $25 for every friend or family member you refer to us who places an order. Your referred friend will also receive a $25 credit when they place their first order. With the CanadaDrugCenter.com Refer-A-Friend Program, everyone saves money! Simply enter the email addresses of the friends you would like to refer to us into the form below. We will email them a welcome letter to introduce them to our service. If they place an online order (using the same email address you provided) with us at CanadaDrugCenter.com we will automatically give them a $25 discount on their order and credit your account with $25 as well. It’s that simple. You refer a friend. They place an order. You both make $25!PM me if you want me to refer you!
I'm going to check local compounding pharms today to see if I can get something for the 2 to 3 weeks it will take to get my order.
Also, I have a call in to find out of this form is enteric. So far, the customer service has been very good. But keep in mind this is coming from across the world (India), so it will take awhile to get here.
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Thanks, 3dognight. I'm leary of the syringe method: she puked last time I tried that.
But ...Mary! That might be the tide-me-over solution I'm looking for! Thanks!
I did find Bud. 3mg at $.56/capsule, for 100 caps at CanadaDrugCenter.com. Here's a deal! If we refer each other, we can earn $25! From their site:
You can now collect $25 for every friend or family member you refer to us who places an order. Your referred friend will also receive a $25 credit when they place their first order. With the CanadaDrugCenter.com Refer-A-Friend Program, everyone saves money! Simply enter the email addresses of the friends you would like to refer to us into the form below. We will email them a welcome letter to introduce them to our service. If they place an online order (using the same email address you provided) with us at CanadaDrugCenter.com we will automatically give them a $25 discount on their order and credit your account with $25 as well. It’s that simple. You refer a friend. They place an order. You both make $25!PM me if you think you'll order from them, so we can both get some $$!
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Thanks, Kristin. Seems to me I looked at TOW salmon ... or read some ... oh, yeah. I was reading that it was a Diamond brand, and that there were some problems with it this last year, a recall, some people not happy with customer service .... But others very happy with it. I'll look at the ing.s again. Putting weight on her is SO important!
I found the Stevie thread yesterday afternoon!
I actually took a note or two, and talked to my vet about ... something ... in that thread ... Brain not function so good no more. (We need an emotie for a brain falling out of the top of a head, or exploding, or something!)On a possibly positive note, gave her plasma last night, and she pooped, twice, and they were handsome poops!
She also *drumroll please!*DRANK WATER FOR THE FIRST TIME IN OVER A WEEK!
She was even interested enough, at least for a couple tries, to play tricks for treats with the other dogs, so I managed to get a glob of slippery elm and a few kibbles into her.
Question for you slippery elm mavens. Really? Do your dogs eat it/drink it? Happy really was NOT interested, and it does have a strongly herby smell to it.
Another one: Do you do the boil it til it gels method, or the mix into a gruel and feed that method?
Thanks so much to all of you, for your support, information, and hugs. It makes such a huge difference, to feel I'm not really alone with this! *wobbly smile*
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Kaylee!
Silly girl! A strategically placed wet nose followed by the patented soulful eyes approach would probably have worked, too! Good to hear that Drake is feeling back up to eating and snuggling.
About the water therapy, someone with actual experience could tell you more, like suzieq, but I think they walk the dog into a dry tank, and slowly add the water, with a therapist in with them. Or, I guess there are also pools, but it sounds like that would be more traumatic than therapeutic!
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So, the price I found was about what most of you are paying, just I have to get it from Canada, apparently. Or, maybe I'll call around tomorrow to see if I can do comparably locally.
And, I'll check about it being enteric coated! Thanks, ahicks51!
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Oh! It's a locally active corticosteroid, and I'd be using it for Happy's IBD. It helps to protect the lining of the GI tract, and has been helpful for several GT dogs. Less damaging than prednisone.
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Yup. That's for sure! I'm setting up an order that's 100 for $54 (or something close to that - out of sight is out of my memory!
)With shipping, $66 for 100.
CanadaDrugCenter.com
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D@mn lectins!
*I may be slightly hysterical. Ignore me if that's what it looks like. Mm hm. Could well be hysterical.*
I'm so glad you checked this out and shared with us. She will be sorely missed. My heart goes out to her family and friends. 
She's such a sweet dog.
Her poop is still good, after a blip of D, and one greenandgooey that I think may have been because I offered her ONE venison kibble. 
She's drinking on her own reliably too. 
Drake! Enough! Suck up those extra juices and rid yourself of all the nasties! Wouldn't you rather be playing and running around? 
Ibd - Happy Starving!
in Health and Medical discussion
Posted
Not a good morning. Still refusing food, even the frozen food I prepared for her after last night's small success (fish kibble with applesauce and water, frozen and then broken into small chunks). Gave her her B12 injection (twice a day), and the slippery elm. As she put her boney head in my lap, and I smelled her death breath, I got the very distinct impression she was saying to me that all this activity is for our benefit now; not hers. She seemed to be saying that she's ready to call it quits.
I hear you all saying don't give up, and if I can find a reason to think that anything is going to move us in the right direction, of healing and recovery to a reasonable quality of life, I'll hang on with her. But that's not what I'm getting from her right now.
zoolaine, I read about buffalo because we have a source nearby, but was scared off by it's genetic proximity to beef (been bred together too long). I might risk it, since we're so close to out of options.
Kristin, I dont think she has a week in her, at this rate. I'll ask the vet about this though.
We never did get the rumbly tummy. The vet said he heard little to nothing, actually. She continues to poop, but it's nearly the same volume as went in, and pretty much unaffected by its passage. She's not getting anything out of what she eats.
tbhounds, I'll ask the vet if he thinks anything like that is warranted, but I have to sadly say that it's an expense we can't meet if we can't pay over time. If our vet can do it, and is willing to add it to our already big bill, and thinks it's going to tell us something helpful, then okay. Otherwise, it's like it is for us humans: no health insurance = limited healthcare. It's horrible to have to take money into consideration, but doctors and hospitals will do that for you if you forget.
She's had two full blood panels, two urinalyses, and physical exams. Wah! I feel so terrible that I can't just whip out a platinum card and give her the best of everything, but it is what it is. We're doing the best that we can for her. 
Marcia, I'll give her a week if she can last a week! I just don't want to torture her unnecessarily, you know?
Sad.