Kiki - I Think This Will Be Our Last Week With Her

[Guest KiKi_Girl]

Sorry this is long. I couldn't update my original post regarding KiKi. It is not looking good for my old girl and I am afraid I will be saying goodbye to her towards the end of next week or whenever my husband gets back to London from the US.

About four weeks ago KiKi started acting like she wasn't feeling well and was getting weaker in her back end, almost to the point she couldn't stand on her own from a lying position. She also started not eating much…which I attributed to pain. She was diagnosed with LS about 1.5 years ago when we were living in Chicago. She had been on 50mg Rimadyl bid and 100mg Gabapentin bid which she was tolerating well until this point. I figured she just turned 12 and it was about time we upped her meds since she had been on this regimen for quite some time.

Monday, Feb 17th I took her in because she was really struggling to get up from a lying position. It had been over a year since her last x-rays (in Chicago) and this is a new vet for us in London so she wanted to get a new set just to rule out any tumor, etc on her spine. She could tell she was really hurting. Tuesday afternoon I took her in for the x-rays. Not much new other than the narrowing between L3-4 and then L5-S1. However, she had significant back spasms, even while sedated for the x-rays. Plan was to increase her meds. ( Stopped Rimadyl, added 200mg Tramadol bid, and upped Gabapentin to 200mg bid).Got her home and a few hours later she shifted in bed and her back leg was wet; she had urinated. I figured the incontinence was due to the sedative they gave her. Through the night she ended up incontinent 3 more times.

Called the vet Wednesday morning and we figured either manipulating her cause inflammation and may have impinged the nerve even more, so we were going to give it a couple days. Throughout the day she increased her water intake and needed to pee often. Around 5 I took her out and she just so happened to pee on a painted strip in the road and I noticed blood. Went to the vet and picked up a sample collection and got a sample…super red. Started her on an antibiotic and then sent it off for culture.

So from Wed-Monday she only ate about 1.5C of food on her own and most of that was on Sunday. I force fed her a bit but she just would not eat. I took her in Feb 25th for an antibiotic injection (since she wasn't eating) and got a B12 shot to increase her appetite and drew labs.

Vet called the next morning and her creatinine (117 umol/l) and phosphate (1.64 mmol/l) were slightly high and her calcium was low (2.22 mmol/l); liver values were high ALP (177 u/l@37C) and ALT (111 u/l@37C); and we were waiting on labs for pancreatitis (which ended up negative). So I had to take her in for an IV the next two days to try and get her phosphorus levels down. By this time she had lost just over 6 pounds.

She has continued not to eat since then. The only food she gets is the food I force feed her (which sounds more barbaric than it is and she tolerates me doing it), however, it is still not enough nutrition for her and she has now lost just over 10lbs. She has zero appetite and will turn her head away from any food that is placed in front of her. I have tried ANYTHING and EVERYTHING to entice her. She is a very fussy eater when she feels well and does not eat food that any normal dog would devour. There has been no vomiting or diarrhea. Her stools are a little loose and sort of orangish colored…soft due to the new diet and the color I'm not sure why.

I took another urine sample in on Monday and it was still full of blood. She had acupuncture for her back on Tuesday and then Wed I took her back to the vet for x-rays of her bladder and kidneys and a scope of her bladder. They ended up just doing an ultrasound and saw nothing so didn't proceed to put her through any more.

I will preface this by saying I do not like this vet….but I have had to ask for everything so far that they have done or given KiKi. He wanted to just refer us to an orthopedic doc for her back, for which I told him even if they could do surgery, she is too old and I am not going to put her through that. I then had to ask if we could start a different antibiotic because clearly this one wasn't cutting it after 2 weeks. I also asked for some medication to coat her stomach in case she had an ulcer or just felt sick from all the meds. He agreed and it has been almost 48 hours with the new meds and no improvement. As I said, we are in London without a car so it is hard to transport her around to find other vets and she stresses so much going to them I don't think she needs the added stressor.

At this time, she is having a very difficult time walking and I have to support her when she potties. She is drinking water but will not eat at all on her own. I know it is time to say goodbye but my husband is in the states waiting for his visa and passport so he can get back into London. She is comfortable (except for when she has to walk) and I can still get some nutrition into her. So as soon as he gets back we will spend a little time together and then say goodbye.

I am a mess and I don't think I have ever cried so much in my life. Her little body is just giving out on her.

[Brandiandwe]

I'm so sorry to read this. My thoughts are with you and Kiki.

[fliggie]

Yes, many thoughts with you and your family.

[Batmom]

My heart goes out to you.

[Fiona3]

I am so sorry to see the awful time you and your beautiful girl are having. It is heartbreaking to see your much loved pup having such terrible symptoms. My heart goes out to you and your family. Please know we'll all be thinking of you & KiKi.

[DocsDoctor]

I'm so sorry you're both having to go through this - and that not having your husband there, and not having confidence in the vet, are making it all that much harder.

 

I am also in London and carless so had a few practical suggestions I wanted to make, you may already know of them/not need them, but just in case they help....

 

I would recommend a black taxi cab for transporting your girl to and from the vet, providing she can stand on her feet. The low floor/access makes them much easier to use than a conventional car. And I've never had one refuse us, even when Doc has been wobbly post-anaesthesia, but obviously you can always prebook and mention the dog at the time of your call.

 

If she can't manage a cab, it may be worth checking out http://www.veterinaryassist.co.uk/index.html which can provide an 'ambulance'. No personal experience of this, but it is something I have made a note of just in case I ever need it.

 

In your shoes I might be thinking of a change of vet, maybe talking to other local petowners for recommendations. (Mine's in SW11 so probably too far from you, but PM me if you want details.)

 

I note that there are also vets in London who will do home visits, especially for end of life care and euthanasia, e.g. http://www.homevisitvet.co.uk/ (Again, I have no personal experience of them.)

[dante2zoe]

I am so sorry. You and Kiki are in my thoughts.

[Guest june]

Sending hugs and prayers to help you and your girl through this.

[Charlies_Dad]

I'm sorry to read this about Kiki. You will both be in our thoughts during her last days.

[4My2Greys]

This brings back so many unhappy memories. I'm so sorry your having to to go through this.

Edited March 8, 2014 by 4My2Greys

[greytpups]

My thoughts are with you and Kiki.

[DesiRayMom]

Prayers for strength for both of you........I'm so sorry you're going through this.

[galgrey]

[FiveRoooooers]

There is so much cyber-strength here for you. Love up your girl for every moment you have together.

[Guest grey_dreams]

I'm so sorry to hear about Kiki. I wonder if it might be because of long-term Rimadyl? Then she would need IV to flush her system. I wish you strength and sending prayers for Kiki

[GreyhoundGirl]

I'm so sorry to hear about the tough time you're having.

[Remolacha]

I am so sorry, it sounds very much like what I went through with my first greyhound. It is very hard to watch them fail

[MP_the4pack]

[GreyPoopon]

I'm so sorry.

[o_rooly]

[Guest Doggone]

So sorry for you.

[Houndtime]

I saw this on facebook too. I am so sorry. It is so difficult when they get to know what is the right thing to do.

[carronstar]

I am so sorry that Kiki and you are going through this difficult time. Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.

[scullysmum]

I am so sorry. It sounds as though Kiki's little body has just worn out. I went through the same thing last year with my Angel Sadi. It is heartbreaking.

[Guest avadogner]

Hi,

My name is Alicia and I am Ava and Augie's Mum. I haven't been on GT for a while since Ava passed almost 2 years ago. I have Augie and he is great but seeing so many old GT friends pass on to The Bridge has kept me off here for a while. I used to be a regular here and chat more on FB with closer contacts made here.

 

Anyway, I am so sorry you are having such a horrible time right now with your darling KiKi. I went through all of this with Ava. We fought LS for almost 3 yrs. She was also pet therapy/medical assistance animal for my kidney failure and heart problems.

 

We went through a similar episode as you are now. Ava's required assistance getting from laying to her standing and her rear feet knuckled over causing a drunk like gait. We used a sling under her belly to he'll lift her to reduce slipping. She would lose control of her bladder and bowel when pushing to stand during flare ups. We followed the same medication routine as you are except we added a over the counter regular stregnth acid blocker 20 min before meals. This helped at first but her appetite was huge challenge.

 

She did just as KiKi has with refusing food. Cooked meats like venison actually were worse for her. She would push he bowl away till it flipped over spilling. She lost 10 lbs before I found the right combination to get her eating again. I actaully had similar issues with my appetite from the kidney failure and applied what I could tolerate to finding something for her.

 

Anything with a strong smell repelled us both and I was drinking a Vanilla flavored Ensure each morning. Vanilla Boost is a similar item. I poured half a bottle into her a smaller portion of kibble and added, shredded cheese, apple sauce, high quality high protein Brewer Yeast from a holistic foods store (regular kind from a pharmacy lacks the nutritional boost the higher qualty kinds have), fish oil and crushed up chicken flavoured daily vitamin. I woukd stir thus up and put a bid on Ava (it is messy) and hold the bowl right in front if her and praise her as she ate little bites. We would try for 15 min, then I would put it up in the refridgerator for 45 min and then try again. It would take several trys but she would eventually get it down. It was at first a Hail Mary but actually turned into our daily regimen and ket her going another year. Her LS progressed and we had to let her go a week after her 13th BDay.

 

I don't know if this Magic Mix food recipe is something youwant to try, but it helped Ava get through a very similar episode that began with a bad UTI. The anti GERD (Zantac) before helped ease stomach discomfort and the high calorie supllemented meal helled keep calories in her despite her aversion to eating. It is similar to the suplemental feeding I did with my patients in the Neonatal ICU except theirs is breastmilk with a powdered calorie booster added. We give by feeding tube to help them save energy for growing and healing.

 

I will be thinking of you and hope KiKi starts improving and feeling better.

Thinking of you,

Alicia aka Ava &Augie's Mum