Osteo Thread Part Vi

[KF_in_Georgia]

If his stomach is queasy (as indicated by the rumbly noises), that might make him turn up his nose at the smellier foods right now.

 

Sam gets 200mg gabapentin at breakfast, then another 200mg three to four hours later with lunch. This is to make up for him having gone a little longer between meds overnight. (Sam is taking 700mg of gabapentin a day.) He gets one 50mg tramadol at each of his four meals, too. This gives me a cushion of a couple more gabapentin and tramadol he can have if he's having a bad day because I've never maxed out his prescription at a single meal (vet said 300mg gabapentin and 100mg tramadol, three times a day for the max). He gets just 1 gabapentin/1 tramadol with dinner, then 2 gabapentin/1 tramadol (plus the methocarbamol) at bedtime. He'll actually wake me up in the morning when he wants his meds, even though he's not interested in eating his breakfast.

[GreytHurleyDawg]

So sorry to hear about Ben. I understand it was his time but still very difficult.

 

On an upbeat note, Jimmy is doing greyt if I can say so without any recriminations of fate. I seem to hope for goid news and get thr bad thrown at me. Anyway, the tumor in his knee increases in size but he is showing all good signs physically and emotionally. We carry.him up and down steps. But he is having so many good days and good times. And we love spoiling him! We got.portraits taken of him for the Wall, the Gallery. He came with me to my mom's house on Sunday and there.was whining but only minimally. The Rimadyl is probably the cause of his stomach upset so we give antacid and Gas X. I have no idea if Gas X is dog safe but we aren't stressing. I actually have to get new prescriptions for some refills!! He is enjoying life at the moment! And I am making cooked food for my boy!!

[KF_in_Georgia]

My understanding is that GasX is dog-safe. My guys have had it on occasion.

[krissn333]

I've given it to my dogs on the advice of my vet before

[krissn333]

I need some good thoughts for Fritz today. He started limping right after we got the issue with Ace resolved. He occasionally needs his neck adjusted, so, I had him adjusted and for a couple of days he seemed better, but sore. Then he started limping really bad again. At first, he would make noises when I rubbed his neck in certain spots. This morning he yiked when I squeezed his leg just below his elbow.

 

He has always been a mystery-difficult to find the source of his issues. So, we're seeing our vet at 3 today for X-rays. I am, of course, terrified that its our dear old "friend" Mr. Osteo. I don't need to be a three time member of this club

[RaineysMom]

I need some good thoughts for Fritz today. He started limping right after we got the issue with Ace resolved. He occasionally needs his neck adjusted, so, I had him adjusted and for a couple of days he seemed better, but sore. Then he started limping really bad again. At first, he would make noises when I rubbed his neck in certain spots. This morning he yiked when I squeezed his leg just below his elbow.

 

He has always been a mystery-difficult to find the source of his issues. So, we're seeing our vet at 3 today for X-rays. I am, of course, terrified that its our dear old "friend" Mr. Osteo. I don't need to be a three time member of this club

oh crap I really, REALLY hope it is nothing. :hope

[KF_in_Georgia]

Best wishes for Fritz.

 

 

And how's Gunner doing? I hope his appetite has picked up.

 

(I just ground three cups of kibble in my food processor. I'm going to try mixing that with Sam's peach yogurt in hopes he'll eat more kibble. Right now, he mostly just licks the yogurt off and leaves sticky kibble pieces behind for his fat sister to eat.)

Edited March 29, 2013 by KF_in_Georgia

[krissn333]

What's odd is that it's the proximal radius...an odd place for anything. I know that given Ben's case with it in his hip, it could occur just about anywhere, but, it doesn't USUALLY occur where Fritz is having pain.

 

He's in back having X-rays right now and she's also taking an aspirate of an odd lump on his side that hasn't gone away. It's not part of his skin but seems to be attached deeper

[krissn333]

Okay. So, it's actually his proximal ulna. Still a rather odd place for osteo to show up. Dr. Less needs to look at the X-rays, but Dr. Bahns and I see a suspicious area on his X-rays. It looks proliferative, with just the smallest aura. You have to look kind of hard to see it.

 

I have Fritz scheduled for a FNA on Monday. We hope it's something else, but, his white count was normal. I'm just trying to relax and concentrate on controlling his pain until we know something further.

 

I will never hope for an infection more than I will be hoping in the coming days.

[krissn333]

I just spoke with Dr. Less. He has seen cases like this before, he is 99% sure it's osteo. It would be difficult and very painful to obtain the kind of sample they'd need to send it out for pathology. And honestly, spending $1,000 to be told what I really already know is just not something I can do when that money could go toward pamidronate treatments and other medications.

 

I'm going to do my best to keep him comfortable until it's time. And, sadly, we'll be on a "day too soon than a day too late" philosophy because he's a couch and bed dog. If he jumps down when I'm not home and breaks his leg, I'll never be able to forgive myself.

[Guest FawnFan]

Best wishes for Fritz.

 

 

And how's Gunner doing? I hope his appetite has picked up.

 

(I just ground three cups of kibble in my food processor. I'm going to try mixing that with Sam's peach yogurt in hopes he'll eat more kibble. Right now, he mostly just licks the yogurt off and leaves sticky kibble pieces behind for his fat sister to eat.)

 

Thanks for asking about Gunner. His appetite comes and goes during the day now. When he's hungry, I definitely feed him whatever he'll eat. Today it was ground beef and rice for breakfast. I heated it up though. And once he ate the first small bowl, I added more two more times and he ate everything. Tonight at dinner, he had roasted chicken and some rice. Again he seemed hungry and was willing to eat it, so I heated it up and gave him another cup or so after he finished the first handful of chicken. I gave him his pills in the small cocktail meatballs again. Thank goodness he's still eating them. He also did eat half of a milkbone after dinner.

 

I do have some questions for you KF in Georgia, what flavor of Ensure are you giving you Sam and which variety is it, the one that puts on weight or the other one (can't remember what it was now... maybe "protein")?

 

Thanks again. I appreciate you asking about Gunner and your insights.

 

 

Kristin, I'm really sorry to hear about Fritz. Ugh... that's just a huge bummer. I'm sorry and will keep both you and Fritz in my thoughts and prayers.

[jaym1]

now that i understand what this is like, i am even more sorry to hear this news than i already would be. no less because you've already had to deal with this so many times.

[Guest greytgrandma]

so sorry you are going through this again.

"day too soon than a day too late" is a good thing

Edited March 30, 2013 by greytgrandma

[KF_in_Georgia]

Kristin, I'm so sorry to hear about Fritz. I hate that you're in the club again.

 

Jean, Sam gets the basic Ensure Nutrition Shake. I give the vanilla flavor since that's easiest to find; I suspect Sam would enjoy the strawberry flavor, too. (He likes sweets.) This Ensure formula is 250 calories a bottle. See here for a calculator that will show you how many calories a day Gunner should get. It says Sam needs 1141--which is more than three cups a day of his kibble (336cal/cup). Lately, Sam has been eating maybe two cups of kibble a day; thanks to the Ensure and the yogurt and the occasional egg or treat or peanut butter sandwich, he hasn't lost a lot of weight, although he is skinnier than I'd like (and his sister is chubbier). The Ensure is $8/6 bottles at Walmart, which has several formulas and different flavors. At Costco, it's $33/35 bottles for the vanilla. I'd probably try just the six pack until you're sure Gunner will like it.

 

The ground-up kibble was a success tonight. Sam ate 3/4-cup of kibble, which is way more than he usually eats in a single meal. I started him with a half cup mixed into two big tablespoons of peach yogurt. He finished that and came back for more, so he got another quarter cup of kibble in some Ensure. He'll get more of that at bedtime. Since Sam eats four times a day, he should be getting 285 calories/meal, and he got that tonight. And since he liked his dinner so much, he polished the dish--leaving nothing for his sister to finish off afterward.

[krissn333]

Good boy, Sam!

 

Thankfully, since we switched to TOTW a few years ago, Fritz almost always eats his meals. He was always a little bit picky before.

 

Interestingly, he's been happily taking his meds in peanut butter. He's ALWAYS been my difficult pill dog-but he's always allowed me to pill him without difficulty.

 

He's been resting since we got home, he just ate his dinner and went outside to potty. He's back to laying down now

[KF_in_Georgia]

Sam was a voracious eater until earlier this year, when he got an ulcer (from his meloxicam). Since then, he wants things like cookies or potato chips or even a peanut butter sandwich, but all he's been willing to do with his kibble is lick off the Ensure or yogurt or canned dog food or whatever other topping I've put in there.

 

(Today is the seven-year anniversary of the date Oreo broke her leg standing in my living room. Tomorrow is the anniversary of when I lost her to a pulmonary embolism in surgery. No cancer showed on her x-rays, but I've always been sure it was there. Mama still misses you, baby.)

[BauersMom]

I'm so sorry to hear about Fritz.

[NeylasMom]

Kristin, I'm just brokenhearted for you.

 

I built a step for Neyla because I was worried about her jumping off the furniture and that worked really well for us. It was relatively cheap using materials from Home Depot. I got the instructions here and then modified them slightly. If you're interested, I'll see if I can explain what I did or unearth the instructions.

[TwiggysMom]

Kristin, I can't believe this about Fritz.

 

I mean, you are the best person to deal with this given all your experience with osteo, but it is just so incredibly unfair to you to have to go through this with yet another of your loved ones. Of course, I realize your concern is with Fritz having to go through it, but still....

 

We all know you will do the best of everything for him.

[krissn333]

My friend is in town, so I went out for a bit to have a drink with him. Another one of our friends got into town today, so, I ran home to check on Fritz. He was at the gate barking and wagging his tail like always. I think upping his tramadol was the right decision

 

So I'm back out for a bit, he's asleep at home

[GreytHurleyDawg]

Oh Kristin, I am also very sorry t hear about Fritz's news. Perhaps the size and location of the lesion are good signs that it will give you more time. But it certainly is NOT fair.

 

 

I am happy to hear Gunner's appetite is doing well.

 

 

Hugs to all! We are having a whinier-than-normal night again with Jimmy. Fortunately, it is medication and feeding time. I wish I had a magic wand to make the discomfort or pain go away. It was my night off work tonight so I have been home all night to witness his level of discomfort....normally, I come home about this time and he is just happy to see me. Of course, that makes me wonder. But we'll see how the overnight goes and hope for a nice morning.

[krissn333]

for a restful night for Jimmy.

 

Thank goodness Fritz is also a champion snoozer. He's fast asleep in bed here right next to me. He is such a love

[Guest FawnFan]

Kristin, hope Fritz continued his champion sleeping ways and had a good night. :-)

 

Johanna, hope Jimmy had a good night too. Hoping it was restful for all parties involved.

 

And Kathy thanks for the Ensure information. I didn't notice this yesterday but did notice it this morning, I bought Pediasure instead of Ensure. Ugh... I've got to go back to the store for more chicken so I'll return it and get the Ensure.

 

Gunner did eat about 2-2.5 cups of roasted chicken this morning for breakfast. Thought he'd eat the mac and cheese - nope, that's not to his liking today. Also heated some macaroni and red sauce up too, that didn't pass the sniff test either. He also passed up deli turkey slices. He is still eating the deli ham and those cocktail meatballs (thank goodness because they're the pill pockets). I also tried Progresso Pot Roast Stew... he did eat some of the "broth" and then ate the potatoes and a few pieces of beef I hand fed him. He wouldn't eat anything else from the bowl; got the turned head, I'm avoiding you Mom move.

 

I do have a question. Can I cook up beef liver and give that to him? I'm thinking in small quantities because it might cause an upset to his digestive system? And do I need to try to get some veggies into his diet? I feel like the only thing that he is willing to eat now is a meat (roasted chicken, deli ham, ground beef). Maybe I'll try pulverizing some meat, some veggies and some pasta or rice with some water or chicken stock and seeing if he'll eat that and then get in some veggies that way. IMHO, this is the worst part... trying to ensure they eat - well really it is trying to figure out what to make them so they'll eat.

 

Hope everyone and their hounds have a good day today!

[Charlies_Dad]

Kristin, I am very sorry. Having gone through this once is one too many and I cannot believe you now have had three pups with Osteo, that is beyond cruel. I hope you are able to continue to make Fritz comfortable for a long time to come.

[KF_in_Georgia]

Jean--I'm not sure about the beef liver; a lot depends on what Gunner's digestive system is used to and how sensitive to new food it is. About the vegetables: your goal isn't necessarily a balanced diet. Mostly, it's keeping calories/weight on him, and keeping food in his stomach so you can give his meds safely. (Although your cocktail meatballs as pill pockets probably are enough of a safety net for his meds.) Also, once a dog really stops eating, it can be hard to get him to start again. But, having said that--if you're worried about vitamins and minerals and such, you could give Gunner a children's vitamin. I'll warn you that although they taste okay (voice of experience), they smell terrible (experience again)--awful enough that my guys want nothing to do with them. You might need to put Gunner's vitamin in a meatball with his other meds.

 

I hope you find an add-on--like Ensure or flavored yogurt--that Gunner likes. Once you do, you can pulverize anything and just top it with "the good stuff". Sam ate well at bedtime, then ate 3/4 cup of kibble this morning mixed with his peach yogurt (and I got more of that at the store yesterday); last night's kibble was accompanied by banana cream pie flavored yogurt, and he filched the empty yogurt container from the trash can this morning for a good lick. Today, I'll pulverize three cups of kibble, and if I can get him to eat it all by the same time tomorrow, I'll be pleased.