3DogNite

we are getting ready to go - apt is at 4pm (it's just after 3 here) thanks for the good thoughts!! back a little later with an update

Ok - we are home, my head is spinning with all the info, i'll try to be concise existing clot in his r atrium - hard and attached to the wall - almost a non issue HOWEVER Lazer has been diagnosed with CHF - actually the terminology Dr. used is: Interstitial pulmonary edema - even though Lazer does NOT have fluid in his lungs-YET - the Left side of his heart is HUGE! and the mitral valve is not even close closing and this all this is BAD! xrays shows his heart is almost touching his ribs to the side - the good news is his heart is NOT interfering with his trachea. The numbers went a little like this: Left atrium= 8cm, L ventricle= 5.5cm The Vet kept saying Lazer's heart is at the size limit of,, say a really large breed like Mastif, with this disease. and that he really hasn't seen many dogs with L ventricle/atrium as large as lazers'. The scary part is the size difference from February to today - very scary - so: Lazer 'technically' has a 9 month life expectancy per statistics what i do know is that Lazer has already beaten all statistics in the arse! so what's one more statistic? WE are adding Vetmedin and Furicimide to his daily medications. Can i just say at the price of Vetmedin!!!!! omg--- anyone have a source for this pricy drug? So tomorrow is a new day - i'll be calling his "regular" vet in the morning - i guess we will have to do another blood work up in a couple weeks for this new medication. and then I call all the alternative people I know and try to figure out how to keep my boy alive longer than another 270 days! That's about all i know - time to cuddle and beg my boy to eat his dinner. then push a handful of pills down his throat. Thanks for your support ! Any additional ideas, thoughts, words of wisdom, encouragement - i'd love to hear them! lorinda, tired and sad mom to Lazer the miracle boy! ****************************** Lazer just celebrated his 2 year survival - had blood/urinalysis done and even had x-rays taken the first of Aug. While all results are good (for one with PLN and clots in his heart) - my intuition has been screaming at me - so I've been trying to listen to Lazer and see if he has something to tell me. I know he is a happy boy - but this happy boy is still a very sick boy. He is having difficulty breathing recently (like a soft whine with each breath sort of thing) - coughing more - sleeping more - not wanting to eat, even more than usual. so i called for an ultrasound apt. at the specialist location where they don't have a board cert. cardiologist on staff any more - they have a very good ultrasound guy - who we have seen in the past. Lazers' original cardiologist moved out of state about 8 months ago ------- so,,,, They have a visiting board cert. cardiologist who is in today! and he has one apt. left today! so i took it! I am not going to stand in the way of fate telling me this is the right thing to do. so please think of my boy this afternoon. he is typically a nervous wreck at the vet office i'll update when i can --- thanks! lorinda and lazer the miracle boy!

Yes.. same building with Butcher Bob's. I didn't know the connection.

Nope, haven't been there in a while - do they have tripe? this place is called Suzy's Doggie Delights and is NOT a retail store - i just happened to pull in when someone else was picking up their order. i asked to go in and look around - the guy thought i was nuts! but then did let me purchase the tripe - so,,, Lazer isn't going crazy over the tripe - spirit too, would rather eat her food without the stinky stuff---- I'm glad i only got the 2lb package.

I like this plan - I think I can do it! do you use a clothes pin for your nose?

ok, I found a place just down the street from me that sells the real deal! and a lot of other raw diet for dogs- 2lb green tripe , $4.50, ground frozen from www.greentripe.com Lazer has been eating mostly raw the last couple years. with some SoJo's every once in a while. So I'm used to purchasing the Chicken 5lb 'Chubs' thawing them, re-packaging for easier serving. I do NOT re-freeze these chubs. the questions is: do I thaw the smelly, smelly SMELLY stuff - to repackage and store in the fridge like the "chubs" or should i thaw enough to repackage and re-freeze - I only purchased 2 lbs. I don't know if he will go thru it really fast - I'm planning to give him some as an add in to his regular meals....... i'm a little afraid of the smell... haven't gone thru this process yet - any help or advise you can give me will be much appreciated!

Lavender is good for so many things: allergies, nerves, helps you sleep at night - itchie places. it is the "go to" oil in my collection Congratulations! I hope it works - but don't be surprised if by itself it doesn't do much for the fleas - might need some of the other more potent oils for that. with all the oils i use daily, my house has smelled like a very pricey BROTHEL for the last 2 years love it!!! brothel in a good way

nice perk of the job - i have thought about getting a job in a vet office - beside hopefully getting paid - the benefit of resources is very alluring. When Lazer collapsed they did give us an option of him remaining in the hospital for a couple weeks while they injected him daily with some-kind of controlled substance - we opt'd out of that for the do-it-yourself-and-pray routine. so far so good!

Glass only

What was the Albumin? UPC is too high - I'm sure you know. it sounds like you have way more experience than I do... we did sub q fluids at home but I don't know about warfarin or heparin. .... Good luck to you and Skarlett.. Please let me know if I can help in any way.

Oils that repel: from the Higley Guide citronella, clove, purification, lavender, basil, bergamont, cedarwood, --- Pick your choice of oils (3-5 different ones): 5 drops each w/1cup water (purified) spray on skin ** my choices: cedarwood, Lemongrass, peppermint and theives, clove work well together, I like the idea of using the theives soap - i am going to use that next time! I also will use my diffuser outside, at my feet will keep away most mosquitoes: citrus fresh, purification, lemongrass, peppermint, clove Lavender eases itching Purification bee stings, ant bites I just read this: Basil known to neutralize poisons (ie brown recluse spider or wasps) Purification removes poisons from body. *** Some oils are HOT on the skin - do not apply without knowing which ones need to be diluted topically !!!

Congratulations! I love her dark nose, and looks like she is making herself right at home. She will get hungry and eat in due time, be patient - make sure she has lots of water available to her. Enjoy!

I know about this disease unfortunatly better than I'd like - and the treatment for my boy Lazer has been ongoing now for the last 2 years. He is on medications Plavix, Enalipril and Diltiazem. Supplements for heart, kidney, liver support. Even a couple Chinese herbal supplements and a Once a year Detox protocol to keep toxin levels as low as possible in his body. Essential Oils to work at the cellular level: basically helping to create "slippery" cells so they are less likely to stick and clot ---- Acupuncture helped and a lot of prayer! Lazer is alive and well,, walks 2 miles a day (when cool enough) and is a very happy boy!!! I hope Miss Scarlett is as lucky and that you find a vet who is willing to think about alternative therapies! PM me if you have more questions! good luck!! It is a long haul, but you and Miss Scarlett can do it!!! Lorinda Also I am wondering what the blood work up and urinalysis results were for their diagnosis --- UPC ratio etc.... ????

I can't add anything more to the above comprehensive list. Love all those products and have made my own concoction as well. I use essential oils for MANY things and am lucky enough to not need flea/tick deterrents. (there are places in Phx that do have problems, but so far i haven't seen any) I love Cerdarcide products as well for insect repellant around my back yard - although it seems I have to re-apply fairly often. bonus,, you and your dogs will smell greyt!!!

Rx clay & slippery elm maybe just what you need to get the poops back to acceptable, then you can work on the nutrition factor; rule out grains and change the protein source completely, and the other medical issues you want to address as well.

I'm sorry to hear it was Sam's time to leave you! forever in our hearts doesn't diminish the pain of their departure.

Thank you Claudia,, the first person I called and I actually asked the question of "do you think i should take him into the vet?" what a road we've travelled together!

couldn't have done it without your support!!!

This week we celebrate Lazer's 2nd Anniversary of Life After Death!!! All the stars aligned and with Lazer's incredible will to survive: along with tons of prayers and doctor apt.s and animal communication visits, and acupuncture and prescriptions and Alternative Treatments --- we are able to enjoy our beautiful miracle boy today!!!! and am expecting too, for many years to come! He loves all things treats and squeaky toys! loves to chase birds and lizards,, go for long morning walks (if cool enough) begging for left overs from the table, roaching in front of the tv,, and getting his daily dose of kisses from me. dare i say it ---- like a normal healthy dog!!! shhh -don't tell him he's a dog! Thank you all - what a wonderful group of people here at GT - you helped me get thru one of the scariest time of my life. Celebrate with me!!!!! lorinda and Lazer, the miracle boy

Rx Clay for diarreha. Start with a higher loading does and gradually go down to maybe every other day. I purchased mine online- had to google for it Slippery Elm . purchase it in a powder form and mix with hot water to make a sort of pudding and squirt directly into the mouth by syringe 3 times a day while the problem persists. Once good poop is achieved reduce dose. Good luck both of these can be given long term without problem as far as I know

I don't know anything about this drug... had to goggle it -- I hope others have info for you. my personal opinion: I'd rather keep asking questions about why he is creating clots. The issue of incontinence would be the least important of two issues,, I would put up with ~ pee pads, belly bands and corralling him in an area with tile for easy clean up for a long time in order to find out what is causing the clots and getting the right meds for that. I know you are so worried and scared for you boy!!! and you are doing the very best you can for him. xtra for Nadir and hoping that answers to your questions are found for you

after almost 3 years of this with Lazer, while i'm no expert, i do think i can talk this little description in my sleep!

it is my understanding that proteinuria is losing protein through the urine. A urinalysis will show this as will blood analysis; the protein levels would be low if he's losing protein through the urine which means ultimately he would have PLN, protein loosing nephropathy. there are several medications that are given to help keep protein in the body although once holes are poked into the filtration system (glomuleri) protein is going to leak out. but again the blood analysis, and urine analysis should point to this so your veterinarian can make that diagnosis. if in 2008 his urine showed protein loss,, more than likely this is the big part of the puzzle in determining the cause of his clotting issue. I hope I'm not overstepping in my description of this disease.. others are far more knowledgeable than I am. Xoxo Lorinda

my daytime indoor temperature is a cool 80 degrees. night time for sleeping I splurge and go down to 78. keep in mind my outdoor temperature is 113 in the summer! we don't do much other than sleep.. and we do that just fine at 79 degrees in doors. my kids don't typically pant until it's 82 inside and believe it or not it feels cool... all that said our humidity is typically 5% (monsoon season we get up to a whopping 40% during the day) and it makes a huge difference

i've been thru Achilles Tendon Tear with my angle Rascal. BOTH back legs at the same time! he went thru attachment surgery - then one leg healed too tight and we did a release under his toes surgery Rascal had weeks of full casts on his back legs and then weeks of therapy He lived a long healthy fun filled life after the healing. He came on dog walks and could do a little jog around the yard,,, but never saw him RUN again. that's ok,, he was a saunter-er anyway ~ couldn't be hurried up for nothing.