3DogNite

keeping all fingers and toes crossed the lab results show nothing tooo scary! Good Girl Dorie! eat a little now for your mom, and have solid poop and everyone will get a good night sleep tonight!

Spirit = Bitter Almonds Lazer = KL's Lazer Power (in siggie) = Beyond the Power

this is Lazer and Spirit, I adopted them together, and she has been his constant companion these last weeks! He LOVES his stuffies.. but hasn't played in a while,, i hope one day he will feel enough better to want to play again smiling for a treat (last chritmas)

Lazer is celebrating 50 days since his initial collapse take that you evil blood clots!!! he is such a good boy. even when he has down days, he lets me give him his pills, and he rolls over for tummy rubs, and he snuggles up for extra loving! He gets his pills and supplements with raw hamburger, feed to him by hand! sometimes lunch and dinner is that way too, he has me trained well. This morning he went for his first walk since his collapse. he was sooooooooooo excited,, even tho we only went to the end of the block and back, it took 10 minutes,, we went the speed of slug anyway,, just wanted to let you all know that he is still trying to chase bunnies and i still hold my breath every time he does. each day is a bonus with him,, and being entirely selfish, I'm hoping for MANY, MANY, MANY MANY, MANY, MANY, MANY, MANY, MANY--- MORE!!! Lorinda and Lazer

I have heard that a acupuncture or massage on the right points will get the lymphatic system (I think) to activate and reabsorb the fluid. you might check into that. Glad she's home and on her way to solid POOP!!!

Nothing is better than Mom's loving and healing hand! soo glad that Dorie is home~ Let the healing begin! one last word of advise,, get sleep while you can, stay strong for your girl, take YOUR vitamins and treat your self every day let your other hounds give you strength to keep Dorie on the healing track. sorry, that was more than "one" last word..

Dorie, what a good girl, charming everyone at the vet office even when you feel like crud ! hoping and praying she continues to do well thru the testing.

the vet is a cardiologist specialist DVM : the extra letters on the diploma makes me trust him more I've thought about having a second opinion,, but can an Ultra sound Lie? we can see exactly what is in there. his blood work/UPC #'s : is suppose that can fluctuate, but his are sooooo high, that is what the vet thinks is causing the clots. i dunno, unfortunatly, i think we are right on with the diagnosis. i love this motto,, I may live by it for several days! Lazer's getting lots of extra loving,, not to worry about that! i'll tell him they are from you!

feeling more than a bit down, but here is the official update from todays appointment blood pressure is better heart rate still high, 190 beats min still in A. fib. clots are still there, R pulmonary artery one, is WORSE more blockage R aortic clot seems about the same, but it looks hard, more stationary instead of floppy around the valve he weighs 72 according to their scale. he looks so good ~ i thought he'd be heavier, maybe i'm just getting used to his look. i need to look at him with fresh eyes! he should be at the very least 80lbs. dr. says he can live with the artery clot, (REALLY???) , but the aortic one is the more worrisome of the two because it can break loose and cause catastrophic failure! increased one of the med.s but otherwise, the vet just said monitor for changes and keep in mind quality of life : nutrition being the factor, if he stops eating then we know his heart is tired -- but he is on the blood detox regime right now and I know this makes him feel yuckie!! so i'm hoping IF we can get thru this part, his blood might be improved and his kidneys might be able to do some healing, and he might be able to absorb the clots. Vet said specifically he did NOT think the clots would ever go away due to the PLN issues. i'm bummed out - he looks so much better, i thought he'd weigh more,, and i though his heart would be better. i'm bummed that we might be doing this for a long time ......... i don't want to do this for a long time,, does he? he's only 5 yrs old! i have to try to get some food into him: mid day med.s and supplement time maybe i'll feel better about all this later tonight. a glass of wine does wonders, but 1:30 in the afternoon ? might be a bit too early for wine Lorinda

one more update then, i'll start a new thread

so many of our babies are sick, so many are hearing their call to cross the bridge,, so many humans are hurting right now! Give him all the love'n he can soak up!! he will feel it and know he is loved. i'm sorry you are going thru this!

Rest in Peace Wabi,, lay in a field of dandelions and know that you are loved and missed.

My 3 LOVE them!!!! drool every time I open the refrigerator, just in hopes i'm getting the chicken feet out for them!!! one, chomps them in big bites, and comes back for more, the other is alittle bit more reserved, but always wants seconds,, the third one,, well, he's too pretty to be hurried, but he loves them just the same,, he just is particular about how he eats,, a gold fork and spoon with a porcelain plate please!!!

I have not done anything more for his tummy. I just make sure he has food in there before giving all the pills and supplements. toast w/peanut butter is a favorite. and as long as the fluids are being absorbed well, and not pooling then i feel like we are ahead of the game. and Shakey cheese is a staple at meals!

I have had good luck with a Hartz product I found at the grocery store. Hydrocortison spray with Aloe sometimes i've used Bactine if the the scratching breaks the skin and i want to have some germ killing. One time, my boy had to be on antibiotics because the skin itchiness turned into a skin infection. good luck,, poor guy, , itchy skin is no fun!!!

well, i am trying to do a modified kidney diet. Low phospherous, and a high quality, medium~Low % protein. However, He is getting whatever he will eat at this point. Fat Balls, pancakes with peanut butter, treats, i've cooked rice/chicken mixture i haven't tried the tripe this time around, seems like last time they didn't particularly care for it. Thanks for the extra ideas... i haven't done scrambled eggs. good thing, if he doesn't like it,, I DO!

wednesday update, post 1

I'm sorry to hear of this horrible diagnosis! She knows she is loved ~ spoil her everyday, take lots of pictures! treats for her hugs for you!

This is WONDERFUL! thank you!!! thank you!!!

17 days since the collapse,, update post 1

I am currently going thru PLN with my boy Lazer. he was just diagnosed the other day,, he has many things wrong with him, so the PLN is lower on my list of things to worry about with him. see Aortic Mass or Clot thread here in H&M... that's my boy,, all updates everything is in 1st post, so you don't have to go searching for it. My guy, despite everything, is acting ALMOST normal! I am using both holistic and allopathic medicines.. I'm here if you need to talk, vent, ask questions about what we are doing for Lazer... Just know, Greyhounds are incredibly resilient! they can and will bounce back from the most amazing circumstances. Please don't give up on Snowflake just yet. Even as simple as changing their food will make them feel better and be able to handle the protein loss easier. hugs to you :bighug and gentle kisses to Snowflake! good luck! Lorinda, mom to the incredible, miracle boy, Lazer lorindastack@yahoo.com

My vet is also an acupuncturist, understands energy and alternative healing practices. She knows all the oils and herbal supplements i'm giving. she hasn't twitched an eyebrow over it,, but hasn't endorsed it either. the cardiologist knows i am doing holistic supplementation.. thru speaking with my vet, I actually haven't spoken with the cardiologist since our last ultrasound on the 14th. The first ultrasound done no the 10th, we looked at his heart,, but we also looked at all his organs. At that time, he said the kidneys looked perfect. so as long as they keep working , "all" we have to worry about is the protein loss from filtration issues. his specific gravity is normal. BUN and Creatinine normal too. I am hoping we can discontinue the Plavix. the next ultrasound will be very useful,,, keeping my fingers crossed for that one,,, Essential Oils and herbal supplements keep doing your job! i'm counting on it!!

I agree. If your vet suggests asprin, please do it. And I personally would not be introducing anything into the system of a dog on several meds like essential oils. Just because it's "natural" doesn't mean it's harmless. I find it funny that someone can post about their dog having trouble with NSAIDs and a few dozen people will respond that their dog does just fine. They completely ignore the dangers that are even warned by the maker of the drug because afterall a vet has given them this drug so it must be safe. If you read Lorinda's 8/19 and subsequent updates you will find that Lazer is still alive-he was scheduled to be PTS that day-and improving because of the essential oils and other holistic things she has chosen to do. Just because one doesn't understand or chooses not to educate themselves about something doesn't make it the wrong thing for others to do. I am new to essential oils and holistic beliefs. so Believe me, I go back and forth about traditional vs holistic and essential oils. I know there is an oil that works better than aspirin, and will not have to go thru the kidney that already is having issues. He is still on the enalipril , Plavix and Deltiazam. with all the oils and herbal supplement for the last week, and has been doing so very well on all of them. Plavix is $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ . and obviously they all go thru the kidneys. which i'm trying to heal or at least not aggravate. i think my big goal now will be to find a food he likes that is low protein,, but high quality protein. Lazer has struggled to eat, and usually his "go too" food is Raw hamburger and egg... probably not the best in this case. but he eats! I am reading that PLN dogs can live for a couple years on the right diet and meds. My sweet angel Rascal, once diagnosed, lived only a couple months. he hated the diet and was only happy eating food that aggravated his disease. so i am comparing Lazer to Rascal and am afraid to see what is in front of me! Can anyone give me a length of time? my dog felt good for x days, months, years? Thanks, Lorinda

Update no VF no heart worm all tick testing negative Blood work in,, all in first post!

I'm sorry! run pain free Jacey