Rickiesmom
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Wonderful news! I was thinking about you and Diamond this morning and was going to post asking how things were going! Doing the happy tripod dance here!
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Palladia Update -- It's Not Effective For Osteo
Rickiesmom replied to joejoesmom's topic in Health and Medical discussion
Does anyone know if there has been any movement forward on Palladia / metronomic treatment since this thread stopped about 6 months ago? Thank you. -
Judy FWIW when Jaynie gets fussy after chemo I defrost and mix in some homemade kidney-friendly meatloaf and it does the trick, so it may not have to be all or nothing.
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Duct Tape For Corns - What's Your Method?
Rickiesmom replied to kudzu's topic in Health and Medical discussion
Can you post a picture of this? I've never heard of a corn folding over on itself and wonder if this is maybe a cutaneous horn? Others who are more knowledgeable will jump in hopefully, but based on your description that is my first thought. -
So, so sad. I hope Carol's mom is physically OK after the accident, her heart though, must be broken into uncountable pieces. She will feel guilty, I hope there are people around her to help her with that. Please let her know there are many folks who feel her pain and send her support and comfort.
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I have a Ruffwear harness for Jaynie and it's much better for this purpose IMO than an assistance harness because it is sturdier and steadier. You may be able to get one locally if there is a rehab clinic or a retailer near you who carries them. The nice thing about the assistance harness is that you can leave it on, but I found it wasn't as good when a lot of support is needed. They are both useful, but in somewhat different circumstances. Sending good thoughts for both of you. FWIW I think they sent Diamond home kind of early. Jaynie was in the hospital for 5 days, which is, granted, on the long side from what I understand. ETA - the harness is designed so the dog has to step into it on the right side (you can see this if you watch the video). Mine was modified by the folks who gave it to me so this was not required. However, my assistance harness, which I used prior to having the Ruffwear harness, also requires stepping in on the right. I found if I put it on the floor positioned open, I could guide Jaynie to step into the opening and then I just had to pull it up.
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Your tribute and photos are wonderful - I can imagine her leaning and "Fiona in My Footsteps". My heart breaks for yours.
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My Jaynie has done well on MediCal / Royal Canin Reduced Protein (dry). As her kidneys aren't all that bad, I give her one egg per day cooked in organic coconut oil.
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Nell looks wonderful!! Did the oncologist mention why s/he had chosen to alternate between the two chemo drugs? I am curious because the same treatment plan has been recommended for my girl Jaynie so I am trying to gather as much information as possible. Thank you!
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There seem to be 3 approaches to chemo for osteosarcoma, and I am wondering what the advantages (and disadvantages) are to each. 1. Alternating Doxorubicin and Carboplatin - this seems pretty common, but I have no idea what the reasoning is for a 2-drug approach 2. Doxorubicin only - safe for kidney-compromised dogs 3. Carboplatin alone - recommended by Dr. Couto as having better survival rates than the other two As some of you know, my Jaynie is now a tripod, and her oncologist is alternating the drugs - she has had one treatment with each to date. If I am going to discuss a change with him, I would like as much input as possible, including the rationale for the alternating approach. Guessing the drugs work in different ways, so it was a sort of double whammy, but no idea really. Thank you for your help!
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Run free sweet Vico. I am so sorry for your neighbours, for you and for your Charlie.
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So glad all went well with Diamond, let the healing begin!
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Oh no! I am so, sorry about Roxy. What an awful shock.
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Agree 100% - you were doing what was best, and the clinic should have been more proactive.
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I am so sorry about Diamond. FWIW I found the downloadable Tripawd books very helpful, but this is my first time down this road, they may not have much you don't already know. ETA I just looked her up on GHD, what a beauty.
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Very brief e-mail exchange with Dr. Couto as he is currently traveling to Spain. He recommended using Carboplatin only. Regarding the study of 407 dogs in which no significant difference in outcome was found, irrespective of approach, he said that study did not include any greyhounds. So I am going to request that we move forward with Carboplatin only. I don't understand enough about any of this to know whether the initial Doxorubicin will have an impact on outcome vs. not having used it at all. My understanding is that the administration of the Carboplatin in conjunction with fluids does not reduce the effectiveness of the chemo agent. ETA: he suggested doing a total of 4 Carbo treatments, which was less than I was expecting, but that gives her 5 treatments altogether, including the Doxorubicin.
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Thank you. Done.
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Heather, well wishes for all of you from Jaynie and me too. Jaynie is doing well overall, has had one dose of Doxorubicin and is in for her first dose of Carboplatin right now. Oncologist is alternating the drugs. Kathy thank you for the reference in support of muscle mass loss from amputation and a resulting lower Creatinine value. It will be interesting to see what the next tests show as a drop from 215 to 131 is still pretty dramatic, especially given how stable she's been, at a little over 200, for over 4 years. The only concerning thing going on right now is that she has a lot of sensitivity (as it, brush the area lightly and she screams) on the left (amp) side of her neck, especially lower down toward the incision. Possibly phantom pain, hard to know. Surgeon has put her back on Gabapentin, currently 300mg 3x per day, then in a week I'll step it down to 2x, and then 1x. She just started back yesterday so it's still early days in terms of knowing if it will help. Interestingly, if you start further up and work down using ttouch type massage, especially working both sides of the neck together, she seems fine with it, even enjoys it.
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Jaynie's most recent renal panel shows a remarkable drop in creatinine from her value pre-amputation. The pre-amp value, 215, seen above in an earlier post, was pretty consistent with where she has been for the last 4+ years. It dropped to 131 in the test done last week. I was sure there was either a lab error or a sample mix-up. My vet, who was also initially surprised, thinks that because amputating the shoulder and leg removes a lot of muscle mass, and creatinine is basically a muscle waste product, that it makes sense that with less muscle there would be less creatinine. Has this been other people's experience?
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Your tribute made my heart hurt for yours.
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I am so glad Carl came into your life, as he was meant to, and so very, very sorry he had to leave.
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Thank you both. Judy, that is very interesting, I wonder how that would work with dogs since they sleep so much of the day. Our appointments are all around 1:30 in the afternoon. Jaynie will be getting Carboplatin for the first time, this time around.
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Follow-on question - did your oncologists do bloodwork only right before chemo or did they also do it in between? Reason I ask is that in reading about this, there is apparently something called the nadir - the time when the white blood cell counts, and IIRC neutrophils in particular are at their lowest. As I understand it, the exact timing per dog will vary but there are typical ranges based on the chemo drug used - so about a week after chemo for Doxorubicin, and 10 - 12 days for Carboplatin. What isn't clear to me is whether it is necessary to re-test just prior to administering the chemo drug, if the counts were good at the "mid-point" blood test. Since there is no guarantee you've tested at the dog's actual nadir when doing the midpoint testing, it would seem prudent.
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Your Sweet Pea sounds like she found just the right home with you and your husband. I am so sorry for your loss.
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That's what I was expecting. Because Jaynie has kidney issues he is also doing a renal panel. Maybe I misunderstood and he will do the blood counts every time but not the renal panel. I heard it as one thing when we talked but perhaps I misunderstood. I will confirm when we go in next week. Thank you - your post helped clarify my thinking.