Things, Just Many Things Piling Up... Things Are

[Guest MomofSweetPotatoes]

Update 03/25 - Gus has carafate on board and is eating a little. Thankfully he did eat a little last night...not the greatest nutrition wise, but he ate. he had - 2 golden oreos (they're vegan, they've got to be good for you ), a half of a piece of toast with PB and a bite of a meatball.

 

This morning he had a 1/2 cup of mashed potatoes and 1 meatball. I think his stomach is beginning to feel better.

 

Battle - his foot. It will heal. There's nothing in it. It's just a cut that needs time to heal It gets a lot of stress and pressure and will keep opening. Bandaged and therapaw booties and blue lotion until it's surely healed.

 

Yardman - It's arthritis!! He's going to be ok. We havehis x-rays to send to Dr. Couto, just to be sure. If he'll indulge a crazed paranoid dog-mom. They also gave me Penny's x rays, should he want to use them for part of a study took them anyway.

 

Talked with the vet for an hour. It was a very healing time, since we got to discuss Miss P. We all cried, it was good.

 

Anywho, thank you, thank you for your thoughts, insight and well wishes. I think I can sit back, take a breath and relax a bit. *whew*

 

Thanks guys!! to you all.

 

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I guess I just need to vent, I need insights and perhaps just words of "Hey, i've been there, we did this and it helped"

 

Where do I start...

 

Gus. He's on Prednisone now, for Polyneuropathy. It's been 1 week. Starting tuesday, he's decided to not have an appetite. He'll eat 1 meal. He's getting thin. I've resorted to making meatloaves and satin balls for him. I can get him to snack periodically, but not eat. I'm trying to get as many calories at once into him. Frankly I am running out of ideas. I've made satin balls into small meatballs and I feed him them as often as he will eat them. He seems stronger these past few days as far as walking is concerned, but he also seems stiff. I just don't know. He has me worried. I know behavior changes are prevalent with Pred. He's on a hefty dose. But, his appetite should be there. As the vet recomended, he is getting pepcid with his pred.

He's my old man, and I don't want to see him wasting away.

 

Yardman. He has a lump that just popped up on his hock. It's soft and smushy on the outside, but hard on the inside. It's not causing pain, but frankly, whenever I look at a lump, I automatically think cancer. It's hard not to after how we lost Penny. He's going to the vet tomorrow.

 

Battle. He's got a persistent pinhole in the pad of his foot. We did a shoe kind of thing for 4 weeks a few months back. The shoe thing allowed his toe to hang and let it heal without putting weight on it. It healed up and he's been fine until yesterday. the hole opened up again. The sucker won't heal. Now when i look at that, i see...the big C. I've done an epsom salt soak on it and did the shoe thing. He started biting at his foot today, so it's more than just a hole. He's going to the vet tomorrow too for that and the follow up to his dental surgery.

 

My guys are falling apart! We have emptied out our vet care account and frankly we are starting to run low on funds. Unfortunately in 3 weeks we have spent just under $4k in vet care. I don't know how much longer we can go like this.

 

I'm sorry to rant, but really I just need some heal up and stay well thoughts for my clan.

 

thanks for reading the whole thing. I am going to say this quietly as to not temp the gods of poor dog health. _{^{(Dougie is fine and his IBD is in check)}}

 

ETA: I'm thankful I have a job where I can work OT. I've managed to get 7 ot shifts this month, but again, I don't know how long that will last either.

Edited March 25, 2008 by MomofSweetPotatoes

[silverfish]

I'm sorry you're having so much going on at once.

 

Gus probably just needs stabilising. It sometimes help to tempt them to eat if you warm their food, so you could try that if you haven't done so already. And natural (live) yogurt can help with upset tummies.

 

Yardman's lump could be anything. Getting it checked out is the right thing to do - and try not to fret till you know.

 

Battle's pinhole - I'd want to make sure he doesn't have a foreign body in there - I know you said you did the epsom salts soak, but sometimes these things migrate and end up an loooong way inside. I'd be thinking a broken off thorn or something. Hopefully that's all it is and once it's dealt with it'll heal.

 

I hoped that helped some. Here's a hug to go along with it!

 

 

 

 

[Guest ss556]

It is a lot:( I certainly hope things improve.

[grey14me]

:grouphug

[Guest whatahound]

Prayers for your pups and hugs for you.

[Fiona3]

I know how you feel and I am so sorry that you have the added pressure. Gus is a big worry for you now and anything added on can only make you feel overwhelmed. With our 5 dogs (and Hobbes a major concern health wise) it seems there is always an injury, lump or illness that crops up in groups. Expensive and tough on the nerves.

 

I agree that Gus is probably adjusting to the Prednisone. Hobbes has been on it since last August and has had his dosage changed a few times. His appetite was off in the beginning so we got him to eat by making mashed potatoes with boiled chicken pieces mixed in. We also added toast to his diet so he got some calories in when he wouldn't eat his regular food. The mashed potatoes became a good base for adding other meat, pills, etc. and he still has some every day for the fiber.

 

I'll be thinking of you and hoping that all the worries will melt away as your pups begin to heal.

 

 

 

[Patsy]

*chanting* heal up, stay well! heal up, stay well! heal up, stay well!

[Guest jurishound]

Oh . . . my . . . goodness. With Gus, have you tried roast chicken? Feeding from a different bowl? Is the vet certain he has polyneuropathy? Are his paws warm or cool to the touch? Yikes, Kerri, sounds like you two have your hands full. do you have CareCredit? It helped us out a lot when Crickie was sick. Sending very best wishes your way.

[MP_the4pack]

I've got something for you to do for Battle.

He may have a foreign object in his foot. My old Lady Onyx has had many of them. Some of the holes have been the size of peas and I've pulled out 1 inch long pieces of debris (dried weeds from the back yard, mostly).

She has a hole now that I'm going to probe today.

 

If you have novacaine go ahead and numb the foot. Then take a metal probe, not sharp, but metal won't splinter and you can still 'feel' the foreign object. Stick it in the hole. You really shouldn't hit anything hard. If you don't have novacaine, try it without, or ice the foot first. he may stand still for you. You will be gentle and just try to feel something that is not soft.

 

You would be shocked at what I've pulled out of Onyx over the past years. Luckily I do have novacaine and surgical tools from my biology disection classes.

[Guest vahoundlover]

You sure have a lot going on.

 

Keeping your pups in my prayers.

 

 

[Guest guinness_the_greyt]

Wow that's a lot! No advice just sending you lots of love and prayers!

[Burpdog]

Yes I do know how you feel!

 

re pred: get him on carafate asap (generic is sulcrafate). Vets do not understand how much it is needed. If I hadn't been on pred for 6 years, I wouldn't either, or dealt with Burp. I've never had good luck with pepcid. Can you try zantac instead? Either 150 twice a day or 300 at bedtime. Prilosec is also a possibility. I use that as the last resort. All of these with carafate!

 

Sounds like something is in Battle's foot. Obviously, if he's biting at it, it hurts. Poor guy.

 

Lump could be anything. Sending prayers.

 

another

[Guest GreytMuse]

Positive thoughts and prayers to you all. What a tough time you're all going through.

[Guest argolola]

You and the pups are in my thoughts and prayers.

[Cheryl2]

You could try some Nutri-cal for Gus, it's a high calorie supplement. It's a paste that comes in a tube and if he doesn't want to eat it, you can squeeze it onto the back of his tongue and get it down him that way. It's pretty good stuff for dogs who won't eat or have been very ill.

 

Could be Yardmans lump could be something as simple as a hygroma. Whereabouts is the lump located on the hock?

[patricia]

Yes I know how you feel. It seems it never rains but what it pours. Know that my prayers are with all of you.

[Guest jurishound]

re pred: get him on carafate asap (generic is sulcrafate). Vets do not understand how much it is needed

I thoroughly agree with this. When crickie was on pred, pepcid clearly didn't work and the vet wouldn't give carafate. I wish i had been more aggressive about this.

[MerlinsMum]

I'm so sorry to hear of all these worries piling up! I feel for you. It's worrying enough when one dog is sick! Sending lots of hugs! :grouphug

[iluvgreys]

Yikes! That's a lot to deal with at one time. Sending thoughts to each of your babies, for return of full health, surrounded by protective energy/light.

[queenwinniesmom]

Kerri, I'm so sorry all of this is piling up on you at once. Wish I had some knowledge to impart, but all I can do is let you know we're thinking about you and your whole crew. I know you've told us before, but how old are your dogs?

[Guest Winterwish]

Oh Kerri,I wish I was right there to try to do anything that would help. Sending prayers and good thoughts for very treatable solutions for the concerns and worries about your sweet boys.

[Aerosmom]

Lots of hugs for you Kerri. Your pups appreciate all you do for them. I'm sure you can get Gus's tummy troubles straightened out, the paw issue sounds like it's a foreign object and the lump could be anything until you hear otherwise. I know how overwhelming emotionally (and financially) it is to have health issues with more than one dog at once, but you will get through all this. Deep breath, and one step forward at a time. Sending lots of positive get well thoughts to your three pups.

[Guest MomofSweetPotatoes]

Kerri, I'm so sorry all of this is piling up on you at once. Wish I had some knowledge to impart, but all I can do is let you know we're thinking about you and your whole crew. I know you've told us before, but how old are your dogs?

 

Gus is almost 13.5 - Battle is 11.5 and Yardman will be 10 in July - Doug is 10.

 

The vet called back. Gus will be getting Carafate. They are going to give both liquid suspension and Pill so we can decide which will be easier to give to him. Yardman and Battle are piggybacking their appointments (to save us money)

As soon as I get home from work in the morning, we'll be shuttling them over to the vet.

 

You could try some Nutri-cal for Gus, it's a high calorie supplement. It's a paste that comes in a tube and if he doesn't want to eat it, you can squeeze it onto the back of his tongue and get it down him that way. It's pretty good stuff for dogs who won't eat or have been very ill.

 

Could be Yardmans lump could be something as simple as a hygroma. Whereabouts is the lump located on the hock?

 

The lump on Yardman's hock is on the outside of his leg, right at the old break. he had a small lump at one time and we thought it was just a bed sore-ish kind of thing. It went away and then suddenly(in 12 days) this large thing popped up.

 

I'm off to buy some nutrical. As it is, we've been adding EVO kibble to Gus's raw food, just to add calories. In addition to the satin balls and meatloaf.

 

We'll be making some mashed tato's tonight too. I don't have any chicken in the house tho...

Edited March 24, 2008 by MomofSweetPotatoes

[kudzu]

Gus. He's on Prednisone now, for Polyneuropathy. It's been 1 week. Starting tuesday, he's decided to not have an appetite. He'll eat 1 meal. ... I know behavior changes are prevalent with Pred. He's on a hefty dose. But, his appetite should be there. As the vet recomended, he is getting pepcid with his pred. He's my old man, and I don't want to see him wasting away.

 

My polyneuropathy dog, as well as many others, had problems swallowing. He also had slow GI motility in general. As time went on this had a dramatic effect on his appetite. If Gus does not improve quickly you can ask the vet for metoclopramide (Reglan) which is both an antinausea drug but also a prokinetic. It will speed up motility & the side benefit for many dogs is an increase in appetite. It is really worth a try. Also, you could try Zantac instead of Pepcid. It can also help with motility, which is not a feature of Pepcid.

 

So sorry you are dealing with so many issues at once. It is a huge stress to begin with & the vet bills make is so much worse. Wish there was more I could offer. Hmmm... does Gus seem to get weaker the more he moves? Is he swallowing OK? He isn't regurgitating is he?

[gazehund]

Thinking of you and your pack today Kerri. Having just lost one hound, I am blessed that the other 3 seem to be healthy and holding their own. Please keep us posted on your vet appointment. Many prayers coming from here.