Rickiesmom

Jan my heart sank when I saw this topic. I am so, so sorry.

Julie I am so, so sorry.

We had a recheck yesterday with the internal med vet. Jeff has gained 2 lbs!! First time he hasn't shown weight loss, so the extra meal and goodies, and reduced meds are definitely helping. PCV% was 46% - same as Friday, up from 44% the week before, so while I got the sense the vet was hoping for more, Jeff is at least stable. Vet not too concerned about the neck spasms - said it sometimes happens on high steroid doses, and should go away as the meds go down. And as hoped he further reduced the Pred to 25mg daily and the Azathioprine to 25 mg every other day. This is 1/3 the dose he started out on, so represents a substantial decrease. Recheck in two weeks. Because of the weight and especially the muscle loss, Jeff has also lost a lot of strength. I have already been slowly increasing the duration of our walks, and will now start just a little balance disk work with him as well. So assuming the disease doesn't rear up again on the lower doses, it's all good news.

Jeff was in the hospital for a week on Pred and Azathioprine, no idea what dose. I picked him up on September 28 and he was on the above 3 meds for 2 weeks, then reduced to the above amounts this past Monday, October 12. At his recheck on Tuesday Oct 13 the internal med vet was concerned about Jeff's extreme weight and muscle loss (about 15 lbs) and said if Jeff remained stable he would further reduce the Pred and Azathioprine at his next recheck this coming Tuesday, October 20, a week sooner than originally planned. The bloodwork we had done on Friday showed his electrolytes were OK, but a couple of his liver values are "mildly" elevated Another reason to hope the meds can be further reduced. I will show the internal med vet the video when we see him on Tuesday, but I agree that their arrival coincides with high doses of these meds, and as such, is probably related. How much Milk Thistle can I safely give him. At last check he weighed just over 62lbs, normal weight is 76 - 78 lbs. Edited to include the week in the hospital, during which period I don't know what dosages he was on.

He's currently on just under 40mg Pred (down from 75) daily, and just under 40mg of Azathioprine (Imuran) every other day, down from 75mg daily. He was also on Cyclosporine but finished that this past Monday.

Just back from the vet. Everything seemed fine on exam, they took blood and we should get a chemistry report back sometime tomorrow.

I first saw these spasms 2 weeks ago. As you can see, they don't seem to bother him and as he was just home from the hospital and exhausted, I decided to watch and wait. Saw it happen again yesterday, and just now. Since I don't have eyes on him all the time, no idea how often it is actually happening. There is no problem I can detect with breathing, no pain, etc. They affect mainly his throat area, and up toward the back jaw area of his face. We have a recheck with the internal med vet on Tuesday and I will show him this. No idea if it could be a side effect of the meds, or if it is an independent problem. Have never posted a video link before, hopefully this works: Jeff's Neck Spasms If anyone has seen this in their dog I would be very interested to know what it was and what you did about it. Thank you!

Jeff had a recheck with the internal med vet today, and it's almost all good news! His PCV% is up to 44% (it was 35% a week ago)! Review of his red blood cells shows his marrow is back to producing new cells at a normal 1% rate, and his white cell count is nearly normal as well (I don't have any numbers except for his PCV). Only thing he is concerned about is Jeff's weight and the amount of muscle he's lost. In spite of the fact that Jeff is now eating like a horse, he's down another pound from a week ago to 62.6 lbs, which given the volume of food, has to be the Pred. He should be 76 - 78 lbs, but has been losing weight steadily. Jeff finished the Cyclosporine yesterday morning, and we reduced the Imuran and Pred yesterday per the prescribed step-down process. Jeff is supposed to be at this new level for 2 weeks, but the vet wants to see him again in a week and if the bloodwork looks good he'll step him down again a week earlier than he otherwise would. Hope that will be possible! Thank you all so much for all your help and support - I know there is a long way to go, but things already look *a lot* brighter!

Please request a referral to an internal medicine vet asap. I am sorry you are going through this - not the same presentation, but one of my hounds is currently being treated for IMHA - Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anaemia. His story is here. Please keep us posted. Keeping your Patsy in my thoughts.

He looks so happy

I am so sorry Oscar had to leave you.

I am so heartened to read Murray's story and especially the happy ending. I can only imagine the worry and stress in between. Have a wonderful time in Dewey. You all, and especially Murray, deserve a respite, the calming effect of the ocean, and the renewal of salt air.

Jeff barked to go out at 2am - diarrhea, two rounds. More in the morning. Calm since then, so the urgency at least has past. The only change was the honey so contrary to what everyone including me expected, it seems not to have agreed with him. On the up-side, in spite of the above he ate very well today - didn't give him a lot in the morning because I didn't want to overload his system, but he ate a decent mid-afternoon snack and for dinner ate a can of I/D with a cup of the kibble. Together that gave him 610 calories in one meal and he seemed to like the I/D kibble mixed in with the wet. If I can get the equivalent of that x 3 into him in the course of a day, he will be up toward where he needs to be. We finish the Cerenia in 2 days, hopefully he'll continue to be fine after that.

I am so sorry. No matter how we try, we are never prepared when this happens.

Robin I am very sorry.

Manuka honey taste test successful. I feel like a dolt asking this, but when do you offer it? I have used it previously only for wound care.

Before we moved to Cerenia and I/D Jeff wasn't keeping food down, so I want to be extra-very careful about what I give him. Manuka honey makes sense to me and I can pick some up tomorrow, in fact I think I have some, just need to check the expiry date.

He's keen initially, eats continuously, then stops. My sense is the appeal is fine, but he gets tired of eating it, or he's full. He does show some interest when people dinner comes out a short time later, but it isn't suitable. More frequent meals and I definitely think more variety might be the key. And yes, he definitely needs to put some weight back on, at the moment I think he's still losing and this has got to stop.

I haven't tried fish so that would be novel for him - thank you for the suggestion. He was eating part of an egg cooked in coconut oil every day (routine part of the meal) but didn't want it after he came home from the hospital so I stopped offering it. I was actually thinking maybe I should try again, so thank you for the suggestion / reinforcement. I'm not sure exactly what is stopping him from eating more. He's keen when I offer the I/D so I don't think it's an appeal thing, maybe his stomach can just handle so much at a time. I can feed him between meals, and am going to try that as well, just have to watch the timing because his meds need to be on an empty stomach.

Jeff is eating the canned I/D but not enough of it. I'm going to get some I/D kibble tomorrow. Hopefully having something crunchy in there will help, and give him more concentrated nutrition per bite. I am also going to search the diet and nutrition forum for home made bland food recipes, but if anyone has one that has worked well for them, please post it or PM me. Thank you so much!

Oh no! So, so hard to lose your girl suddenly like that, when it seemed like there might be time and hope. I cannot express how very sorry I am. {{{{{{ Hugs }}}}}}

Jeff has now lost 12 pounds since this started. He is such a bag of bones I have put a light coat on the last couple of days when we go out, partly because it is cooler, partly because I don't want people asking about him. Or calling Animal Control. Apart from the Pred, a big part of the problem is that the Cyclosporine is making him vomit. The internal med vet has been holding off treatment for this as it is supposed to resolve in a few days (this is day 4) but my regular vet agreed with me that intervention would be good at this point, gave him a shot of Cerenia plus 4 days worth in tablet form to bring home. Hopefully by the time it's done his system will have adjusted to the drugs and handle them better. She also gave me a case of I/D Digestive Care. I know Science Diet isn't well regarded here, but they have revamped their diets, and right now the most important thing is for him to eat and keep it down. If this works and gets us over the hump I will consider it wonderful. The good news is that his PCV is 34 - 35% and his serum no longer looks jaunticed, so he is gaining ground in spite of all the digestive issues.

I hope you are able to get a definitive answer soon, and that antibiotics are the answer.

Not at all - she totally loved being an only dog. She did, however, give him a very concerned once-over when he came home, so who knows! I put Jeff back on Pepcid tonight and whether because of that or because he was hungry or because I mixed rice and a bit of kibble with water and some very primo canned food I don't know. But I am thrilled that he ate. Now that food just needs to follow the conventional route out. Left a message earlier with the vet, waiting for callback regarding anything extra to do / give to help him keep food down.

Just took him in for a check (needed for my peace of mind). 33% Not eating much though and just vomited so need to touch base with the vet. Barring any setback though, we seem to finally really be on the road to recovery. Thank you again, everyone, for your wonderful support through all the ups and downs.