07/29/11 - Today, I got back from a one week trip for work, and noticed that Reo lost her "waist" again. She seemed to be really bloated. Sean reported that Reo's thirst had really increased, and she was drinking quite a lot of water. Hmmm. This makes me wonder if Reo might have too much cortisol now, since she's been on the increased dosage?
I emailed with Dr. P, and he suggested that we scale back to 1.0 mg Medrol, but keep the L-thyroxine at 0.15 mg until we get the next EI-1 panel back. I will probably accelerate the blood test - I hadn't planned on testing her again until end of August, but I think we'll do it sooner.
Today, Reo walked down our flight of stairs all by herself. This was the first time she has done this since losing her sight, so she must feel more confident in her abilities. In addition to the "sighted moments" that Sean witnessed when I was out of town, I saw her walk over to a piece of black fuzz on our carpet and sniff it with interest. PROGRESS! :)
07/30/11 - Today I reduced Reo's Medrol dosage back down to 1.0 mg. Her stool this morning was quite soft. It's not diarrhea, but it comes out really fast. No blood or mucous in there, but I think it must be the supplements that cause the loose stool. Keeping her on the pumpkin for sure.
This morning, Reo was sitting on the living room floor, and she looked at the variety of toys strewn about. After doing this for a few seconds, she chose one and attacked! It was really funny and made me laugh at how she did this with such purpose.
Also, we dropped Sean off at the airport this evening, and I brought all the dogs along. When Sean got out of the car, Reo watched him walk past. Both Sean and I noticed her following him, so he made a few passes left to right outside the car - she seemed to follow him each time. Pretty cool!
We are getting more and more excited at her improvement. Part of me thinks that it's too good to be true - so we're still just cautiously optimistic.
07/31/11 - This morning, Reo didn't want breakfast. She had aliens (the loud grumbly sounds coming from her belly). I took her for a long walk (about an hour). I let her off the leash a bit and she did pretty well navigating around, but she's not being very responsive to "Reo, come" lately, so I put her back on leash to keep her on track. She seems to be far more interested/distracted in smells these days, then coming when called (this is true even in the backyard!).
She still didn't want anything in terms of food when we got back - that is rather unusual, as walking typically exorcises those aliens right out. I coaxed her to eat a small meal a couple of hours later, and this allowed me to get the Medrol and L-thyroxine in her without forcing it down her throat (which she absolutely hates!!).
I also browned up some grass-fed ground beef with organ meat that I got from our local farmer's market. She really loved this!
In March 2011, our Miniature Pinscher, Reo, suddenly went blind and was diagnosed with SARDS (Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome). We were given no hope for vision recovery, but through research, perseverance, love, tears, and a lot of luck, we brought our dog back from a serious illness, and restored some functional vision in about 5 months! This is our story, our journey...and we hope that by sharing our story, we can help other dogs diagnosed with SARDS!
BLOG DISCLAIMER
**DISCLAIMER** Please note: I am not a veterinarian, and the purpose of this blog is solely to educate, provide resources, and share Reo's story. In this blog, I will present research and information on the theories of SARDS to which I subscribe, along with my own narrative. If you think your dog may have SARDS, or adrenal exhaustion/Plechner Syndrome, please seek veterinary care right away!
If you are just beginning your SARDS education, I suggest you start with the blog post from August 22, 2011 entitled "SARDS Resources". If you'd like to know our trials, tribulations, and joys from the beginning, start with "But first...Reo!" and click chronologically on from there.
If you would like to read my suggestions as to how I would approach treatment for a newly-diagnosed dog, check the November 16, 2011 post "If I had another SARDS dog" (and then read my blog more fully for appropriate context).
Though we have decided to suspend Reo's retinal protection supplements in September 2012 (see September 16, 2012 post "Decision for Reo") due to the fact that she had very little remaining vision, I am still strongly supportive of our treatment approach, and know that it changed Reo's health and longevity in a positive way. Feel free to comment and ask me any questions - I am happy to help if I can!
Update: Reo became an angel on October 21, 2014. She had a profound kidney infection, causing acute kidney failure, and she was unable to recover. The contributing factors to her decline are covered in my February 16, 2015 blog post "Farewell to Reo".
Though I do not regularly update this blog any longer, much of the information is still relevant (though some of the links may be out of date). Feel free to join the conversation at "SARDS Dogs United" on Facebook.
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