10/14/11 - Today was kind of abnormal for Reo. First, her poop was kind of loose at the end of her movements, with a fair amount of mucous. It's been a while (about 2 weeks) since she's had any pumpkin in her meals, so I added it back in to her meal tonight.
The second weird thing was this evening, after dinner, Reo was sort of grooming Leigh as she normally does. Then, out of nowhere, Reo began to hump Leigh! This is completely abnormal behavior for her! I have never once seen either Reo or Leigh hump any dog or object at all. EVER. So this was a big surprise to me. It didn't really seem like she was trying to be dominant, and Leigh was rather oblivious (sleeping). I corrected her, but she repeated this a few times over the course of an hour. It was really strange! I don't know if this could be due to hormones...but definitely quite strange. :-/
I also think her vision was a little bit off today - she seemed to be moving slower than normal for her, which makes me think she's less confident and seeing less. However, she is still doing excellently with a high-contrast item (white, or light-colored) like cotton or a tissue. She can follow it up, down, left, right, all around (we had this exercise when I had to blow my nose and she watched with interest!).
As I said previously, I've been pulsing Reo's Medrol dose since last week's ophthalmologist visit. I had only planned to pulse until Sunday (tomorrow), as Caroline had suggested two week intervals. So we'll see how she does next week on her normal "constant" dose.
If she continues to decline in terms of mood/behavior/vision, we may choose to get another NVDS panel at the end of this month, to see how she is doing (last test was August). If her estrogen is still quite high, we could consider to do another injection of DepoMedrol to help get her through the fall. I wish there were an at-home testing kit from NVDS - can you imagine how much easier this would be? :)
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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