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not regularly update this blog any longer, much of the information is still relevant (though some of the links may be out of date).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.




Sunday, April 29, 2012

Obstacle course videos, take 3


04/29/12 - We were out in the yard planting and doing various things today, and I thought I'd take a video of Reo.  It's been quite a while since I last did a video of her going through a course, and to be honest, I was not expecting her to do well, given her backslide with vision lately.

But, what do you guys think?  Totally blind or something there?





Note that she bumps the orange bucket with her body and the last black bucket with her face.  I was not surprised by the latter, as I have thought for a while that she has no vision in her right eye.  Overall, I was pretty pleased with how she did, though clearly she did not do as well as she has in the past.

She did these courses so quickly/well in the past (8 months ago and 6 months ago):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cookypuss1/6062205311/in/set-72157594384341971/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cookypuss1/6223332331/in/set-72157594384341971/


But, this gives me hope that she still has something and her vision is not totally gone...we'll see!

Looking at the video again, I realize I didn't lay out the buckets perfectly to be an extremely effective obstacle course, but because it was warm out (you can hear her panting!), she wasn't very interested in doing it again when I re-arranged - she went and lay in the shade!  Will probably practice this exercise again in the not-so distant future, hopefully with better materials that are closer to what I had last year.  :)

Friday, April 27, 2012

The importance of new places

04/27/12 - I haven't been updating as much, because I've been busy!  That, and Reo is quite stable these days; nothing too much to report.  She is still "mostly" blind, but she has been surprising me lately, which makes me think I need to set up an obstacle course to see how she does.

Example:  we went over to a friend's house last week, and brought all of our dogs.  None of us had ever been to this house before, and I carried Reo inside, and then outside to the yard, so she could sniff and pee with all of the other dogs (there were four other dogs there).  She obliged, roaming around, sniffing, etc.  Then, out of nowhere, she hopped up the two stairs that lead to the deck, without bumping or anything.  Sean and I were shocked!

I say that exposing Reo to new places is important, because she gets along so well in our house/yard, maybe I don't get a full sense for her vision.  She does well on walks, too, but maybe I'm taking that for granted.

A true test will be next week!  Sean and I are taking a trip to California, and will be bringing Leigh and Reo with us.  Our Min Pins have traveled extensively with us - they've been to 22 states, which I'm sure is more than the average American human!  They travel super well on the plane, but we haven't brought them anywhere by plane since before Reo's SARDS diagnosis.  So, it will be interesting to see how she does, not only with the trip, but out and about in CA as well!

Stay tuned...

Monday, April 16, 2012

The pleasure of "the kill"

04/16/12 - I thought I'd make a light-hearted post today.  Reo is doing well (steady eddy), back on oral Medrol after her "reboot" injection series.

Since we are back in Denver, with all of the glorious sunshine, all of the dogs love being outside pretty much all day.   I leave the backdoor open (note to self:  get doggie door!) so they can come and go as they please.

Lately, Reo has taken to going into her toy basket to select her favorite toy, which we call leopard mouse. It's a cat toy!  I removed the catnip and added in a squeaker, and it became Reo's favorite.  Well, after she retrieves this from her toy basket, she brings it outside and proceeds to "kill" it all over the yard!  It is truly one of the cutest things!  And, if you try and take it away from her, watch out!  She'll snatch it and trot away with it to a different place.

We're convinced that she is practicing for the day that one of our yard squirrels makes a false step and falls off the fence, or a phone line!

Below is a picture of Reo in the yard with her "kill":


Monday, April 9, 2012

More DepoMedrol

04/09/12 - Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

Reo is doing well lately!  She had a DepoMedrol injection on March 24, and did not display any PD/PU/PP (increased thirst/urination/hunger) afterwards.  This caused me, along with my vet, to conclude that Reo "needed" the injection, and did not have an excess of cortisol (which would cause those symptoms).  This proved to us that as a result of all of the stress (emotional and environmental) over the past couple of months, Reo's estrogen had likely spiked.

Therefore, we agreed to give Reo another injection at the same dosage, which she had on Thursday the 5th.  It's been 4 days, and no symptoms, which has surprised me a little bit - I was expecting to see them with this injection.  Even though there have been no excess cortisol symptoms, I'm not sure if we will have an additional injection after this one, but I need to speak with Dr. Plechner and see what he would suggest in this case.

Otherwise, no changes, really.  Her mood is fantastic, she looks wonderful, and still some light/dark perception.  There have been a few moments where I was sure she was sighted again, only to have her bump something shortly thereafter.  I have to remind myself that this was how it started last year - little glimpses here and there of vision returning.  I remain optimistic.  :)

**Edit** spoke to Dr. Plechner and he suggested that we go back to oral Medrol and not do another injection, so this is what we'll plan on!

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Costs of Reo's treatment

04/02/12 - I've been asked a few times about the costs of treatment for adrenal exhaustion/Plechner's syndrome, so I went about the exercise of filling out a table for Reo.  It's worthy of note that I've added a couple of things to Reo's diet that aren't specified by either Caroline Levin or Dr. Plechner (Standard Process Adrenal Support, Lutein, Prozyme, Welactin, Dasuquin).  I consider these to be at my discretion as a dog owner, and contribute to Reo's overall health as a geriatric dog.

I buy Reo's supplements from Amazon.com, as I find the costs reasonable, and the shopping experience easy.

Reo's treatment as below costs $2.35 per day, or about $70 per month (assuming a 30 day month).

Of course, the costs will vary with the size of the dog, and which supplements are used (or not used).  Hopefully, this helps my readers understand some of the breakdowns of costs, and that it is reasonable, as compared to other treatment options available.

(Please note that the table below does not represent any veterinary costs, such as exams, blood tests or panels, diagnoses, ultrasounds, hormone injections, etc.  This is only meant to outline the approximate costs of oral treatment.)



Cost
Cost Per Day
Cost Per Month
Cost Per Year
Medrol (20, 2 mg tablets)
$27.00
$0.68
$20.25
$243.00
L-Thyroxine (120 0.1 mg tablets)
$18.00
$0.30
$9.00
$108.00
Phosphatidyl Serine (120 caps)
$33.00
$0.28
$8.25
$99.00
Magnesium Taurate (180 caps)
$25.49
$0.14
$4.20
$50.40
Cell Advance (60 caps)
$13.97
$0.23
$6.99
$83.88
Standard Process Adrenal Support (100 g)
$54.00
$0.28
$8.40
$100.80
Lutein (180, 6 mg caps)
$21.94
$0.12
$3.66
$43.92
Prozyme (454 g)
$23.96
$0.11
$3.30
$39.60
Nutramin (2 lb)
$21.71
$0.10
$3.10
$36.00
Welactin (480 ml)
$23.95
$0.06
$1.80
$21.60
Dasuquin (150 tablets, under 60 lbs)
$65.25
$0.05
$1.50
$18.00





TOTALS
$328.27
$2.35
$70.45
$844.20