Anxiety Between 2 Am & 5 Am

[Guest Energy11]

This IS good news!

 

My Curfew has been up and down and whining AGAIN, like he did last year after two of his "episodes."

 

I am hoping the vet will refill his Valium, as it helps both of us sleep. I know what you mean! WE are up and down about every hour or two here, all night long :-(

 

I am VERY happy for you both! Hopefully, all will end well!

[Guest bluefawn]

I am just catching up with this. All I have to offer is support and well-wishes to you. Sounds like you have really been through the wringer lately. It is so hard to see your baby stressed, hurting, panicking, and you can't do anything to help. The only thing I can add is that I take amitriptyline every single night. It helps me sleep, and helps with migraine prevention. The only advice I can offer about it is, do not stop it suddenly. You have to be weaned off of it gradually. I also take alprazolam as needed for back spasms. I sure hope that you can get a firm diagnosis soon, and get into a routine that works for both of you. Hugs to you both!

[Guest Tequila]

Energy11 - I hope Curfew is doing better!

 

Bluefawn - thanks very much for the insight & advice.

 

So here's todays update:

 

We got the results of her thyroid panel back, and she is hypothyroid. Her T4 was less than 0.4, and her free T4 was LESS THAN0.2. So........my vet prescribed Thyroxine at.4 mg to start. Then we will see if that needs to be adjusted. He is on the conservative side, and doesn't want to start her on too high a dosage. At the recommendation of a few others, I asked about Soloine, and my vet said he'll be happy to prescired that if that's what I want to give her, but he didn't have it on hand atin their pharmacy and it would take a couple days to get it in....so he'd rather we start her on something right away instead of waiting. And, since we don't yet know if .4 will be the right dosage for her, hwe wanted to wait and see what is the right dosage before ordering the Soloxine since it is slightly more expensive (about $18 more per month).

 

Anyone use Thyroxine? How about Soloxine? Thoughts/preferences?

 

So....for now....she is on Amitriptyline (50mg taken 2x day), Thyroxine (starting tomorrow, 0.4mg taken 2x day) and Xanax for the time being (.75mg taken every 6 hours). The plan is to try to slowly wean her off the Xanax beginning March 27th (increase the length of time between doses, and slowly take her off that med). Then we'll be able to see if the Amitriptyline has started to work. And he hopes that eventually we'll be able to also take her off the Amitriptyline.

 

Seems like this whole process will be a long road....and there very well may be some adjusting that needs to be done before we get it right. Exhausting for sure, but I will do my best to give her the best care. She gives me 100% of her love, so she deserves 100% of mine.

[Guest Tequila]

UPDATE: March 23

 

Tequila is doing beautifully, as far as the anxiety issues. She is sleeping through the night, she is more relaxed all the time, and last night she didn't even react to the thunderstorm we were having. Usually, the crack of thunder would send her running to find a "safe palce" like a closet or bathroom to hide in. So, the Xanax seems to really be great for taking the "edge" off. She still has just as much energy, and is fully alert -- but it takes away her "jumpi-ness" if that makes sense. It's like she's a much more calm, confident, relaxed dog.

 

She is currently taking Xanax (until we are able to see the reaction of the Amitriptyline and Thyroxine) -- so 3 meds total, for now. This weekend, we are going to (at the vet's recommendation) begin to wean her off the Xanax. It has been two weeks that she has been taking the Amitriptyline, so hopefully it has gotten into her system emough to become effective. I'm a little nervous that she might go back to her spooky self when we wean her off the Xanax, but with any luck, the Amitriptyline will be the cure. And Thyroxine. In time, our vet hoopes to take her off the Amitriptyline althogether, so she would only need the Thyroxine (or Soloxine if I decide to go with that one instead).

 

HOWEVER -- the Big D has returned. Her poop was starting to firm up, last weekend, but it seems that when we started her on the Thyroxine, it got softer. Coincidence? I don't know. I'm wondering if she might have worms from all the digging a week or so ago (maybe she ate something in the dirt that gave her worms -- very possible). So I'll be bringing a stool sample into the vet tonight to be tested. I kinda hope it IS worms because I know how to cure that! If it's not, then I'm going to be more worried. Is one of the medications giving her the Big D???

 

Also, she is licking her anus a lot. Maybe having the Big D is irritating her (it could burn).

 

My poor baby....it seems like if it's not one thing, it's another.

 

I'm just glad she is a happy, more relaxed dog. And what a JOY it has been to have her sleep through the night and not wake me up several times at 2, 3 and 4 am. Sleep is a beautiful thing!!!

[Guest Energy11]

Sounds good!

 

I wonder IF The Big D is from eating the dirt/mud? MINE are trying to eat it non-stop!

 

I would stay on the treatment path you are on for now. It is working :-)) Maybe take a stool sample into the vet to check for worms? Couldn't hurt.

 

Thanks for asking about Curfew. HE is taking 5 mg. of Valium everynight, and we are both sleeping better! YOU know how this is!

 

Sending lots of love! Dee and The Five

[Guest Tequila]

Stool sample came ba k negative -- no worms. So that's good news.

 

I'm going to add 1/2 cup of long-cooking white rice to her meals and see if that firms up her poop a little bit. I don't want to switch her to a hamburger & all rice diet because she is a very picky eater, and it took awhile to find a dog food she would eat without my holidng a pep rally and throwing a big party to persuade her to eat. (LOL). She eats Blue -- I feed her the Chicken and Brown Rice kibble mixed with a 1/2 can of the Family Favorite Recipes or the Heatry Stew receipes (they have 8 flavors and she loves them all). So, hopefully adding some rice will help. And if I have to keep her on rice with her meals, so be it. It's not too much trouble to cook some up (I could do a week's worth at a time and just keep it in the fridge).

 

this weekend, we start to wean her off the Xanax and see how she does with just the Amitriptylne and the Thyroxine.

 

In another 2 weeks, we'll have bloodwork done again to see how her thyroid is doing.

 

But she is GREAT mentally, now!

[Guest SpicyMom]

I agree that there may be something that is attracting her out to the yard. One of my girls started doing this out of the blue a few weeks ago (just as the snow melted and things started warming up). She was crazy to go out at 2-3 in the morning - and then wouldn't come in after peeing. She was running around a little frenzied, sniffing, and digging. Turns out she was after voles (little field mice) that come out at night. They had been nesting in/under the garage and stealing bird seed and now that it warmed up, they were venturing out in the yard. Finally figured it out when she caught one and brought it back into the house...(NOT LOL). Your girl may be hearing moles, voles, mice, etc. I don't know how she knew they were out there since she sleeps with me on the second floor. Perhaps she could hear them through the closed window? Because she didn't do it every night.

[Guest tore140]

Hey there,

 

I posted a response on a thread that yourself and another person with a hound named Hattie had been discussing your dog's anxieties.

 

http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/253886-desparately-need-advice/

 

How is Tequila doing since you last posted? My response on the other thread is much more detailed, but I am going through something very similar and would really like to know if the amitriptyline has helped. We have sleepless nights here, and my grey has panic attacks all the time in his crate. It's almost like that part of my house is haunted and torturing him!