10/28/12 - Reo has had a "bug" for the past 3 days. She's been rather lethargic, not eating, drinking quite a bit. She has also thrown up (mostly water) a few times. I wondered if she might have caught canine influenza (we've been watching a friend's dog for the past week, and so it made me suspicious). But, the symptoms of canine flu are supposed to be similar to kennel cough, with lots of coughing and nasal discharge. She has none of that. All of her functions have been normal, so I was waiting to see if something changed for the worse before I brought her to the vet (I usually am fine with waiting 3-4 days to see if something resolves itself, as long as some food/water is consumed, and there aren't any alarming symptoms).
I made her boiled chicken and sweet potato, which she ate sporadically/unenthusiastically. I was able to hide her Medrol and L-thyroxine in the sweet potato a few times, but a couple of times I had to force them down her throat (thus making her hate me!). Today she got to take a nice sun bath, and I think it helped to reset her - it's been rather cold the past few days, so she's been inside mostly.
Anyway, now it looks like she's coming out of it a bit, which is a relief. I got her to eat some of the ZiwiPeak food, sprinkled with some Welactin, for dinner. She ate less than her normal portion, but it was something! I was planning to bring her to the vet tomorrow for a chemistry panel, but if she continues to improve, I'll just guess it was a little bug that she caught from who-knows-where! Fingers crossed!
Showing posts with label inappetance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label inappetance. Show all posts
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
2 steps forward, half a step back
08/26/11 - Reo is so sassy lately! I know she is feeling great, because she is acting better than she has in at least a couple of years! She's prancing around, killing her toys, and being little miss personality these days.
Today, she went up the stairs into Sean's office by herself. She hasn't done this since before losing her sight. Typically when going upstairs to bed, I encourage her up and I'm always behind her, just in case. This evening, we were watching TV downstairs and hadn't seen her for a bit. "Where's Reo?" I went looking for her, and she was perched on the couch in the office, looking innocent! :)
It's really encouraging to see her have her confidence back like this!
I have noticed that Reo has problems seeing when the lighting is dim. It's particularly noticeable when she comes inside from being outside in bright light. Sometimes she'll bump into things, and it takes her several minutes to acclimate to the new lighting conditions.
09/01/11 - I got back from a work trip yesterday, and Reo seemed a little off. She had an accident (urination) in the carseat on the way home, which is extremely unusual (as in, this has never happened before!).
This morning, she had stomach aliens and refused breakfast. This continued throughout the morning, so I had to force her morning hormone meds (she really hates me when I do this...). Later in the day, her temperature was quite warm, and she still wasn't herself.
She ate dinner just fine, and seemed to be back to herself afterwards.
I wish I knew what caused this occasional tummy upsets. I can't find any rhyme or reason - is she eating something funny somehow? It's frustrating to not be able to solve this issue. I know dogs self-fast when they're not feeling well, but why isn't she feeling well?
Today, she went up the stairs into Sean's office by herself. She hasn't done this since before losing her sight. Typically when going upstairs to bed, I encourage her up and I'm always behind her, just in case. This evening, we were watching TV downstairs and hadn't seen her for a bit. "Where's Reo?" I went looking for her, and she was perched on the couch in the office, looking innocent! :)
It's really encouraging to see her have her confidence back like this!
I have noticed that Reo has problems seeing when the lighting is dim. It's particularly noticeable when she comes inside from being outside in bright light. Sometimes she'll bump into things, and it takes her several minutes to acclimate to the new lighting conditions.
09/01/11 - I got back from a work trip yesterday, and Reo seemed a little off. She had an accident (urination) in the carseat on the way home, which is extremely unusual (as in, this has never happened before!).
This morning, she had stomach aliens and refused breakfast. This continued throughout the morning, so I had to force her morning hormone meds (she really hates me when I do this...). Later in the day, her temperature was quite warm, and she still wasn't herself.
She ate dinner just fine, and seemed to be back to herself afterwards.
I wish I knew what caused this occasional tummy upsets. I can't find any rhyme or reason - is she eating something funny somehow? It's frustrating to not be able to solve this issue. I know dogs self-fast when they're not feeling well, but why isn't she feeling well?
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
1 step forward, 2 steps back
04/09/11 - Today on our walk, I think Reo reacted to a squirrel in the distance. It was maybe 100 feet away - I'm not sure if she could smell or hear it. After that, her mood completely changed! She was trotting out ahead of Leigh and me, and her tail was held high (not tucked like it usually is). I didn't want to read too much into it, but it was pretty cool to see some of our "old" Reo back. She also went up all the front porch steps with some encouragement (first time since losing her sight).
04/11/11 - Our one month "anniversary" of SARDS diagnosis
We are still struggling to get Reo to eat any breakfast, and now starting to have problems with dinner as well. I had begun to put all of the powdered supplements in her dinner, as she wasn't eating breakfast - maybe it's too much powder?
Reo refused to eat her sulfasalazine in peanut butter this morning - had to force it down her, along with the Medrol and L-thyroxine. :( I tried to feed her only ground beef/organ meat, and she ate about 1/2 Tbsp.
At dinner, I removed all powder, and she ate some ground beef/organs and some chicken thigh. I was able to give her her L-thyroxine and supplements in peanut butter after her meal. Reo has absolutely zero interest in sardines lately.
04/12/11 - Reo refused all food this morning. No peanut butter for her! I had to force-feed the sulfasalazine, Medrol, and L-thyroxine again. She HATES it, and fights, spits out the pills, and looks at me as though I'm torturing her. This is hard.
Tonight, I wrapped her meds in a slice of Velveeta (yes, most definitely not the healthy thing!) - but, she ate them!!
I also spoke with Dr. N today - we discussed Reo's inappetance, and thought that maybe we could compound Reo's medications if she continues to refuse to eat.
Today, I stopped trying to give her Phosphatidyl Serine, in an effort to reduce the amount of things I'm forcing down her.
04/13/11 - Another symptom - Reo wet the bed at about 5:30 am. She was sleeping and leaked out some urine - and was not aware that it happened. I took her outside, and she had a long pee, so maybe her bladder was extra full?
She was not interested in breakfast again, but she ate her meds wrapped in Velveeta. I took some pastured pork ribs out. I haven't tried pork with Reo yet, so hopefully it will spark her appetite!
Later, at dinner, she wasn't interested in the pork. She also was not interested in Velveeta or cream cheese for taking her meds - I had to force them down her throat.
I began to worry that she hadn't had any food today, so I offered her some Orijen kibble - she ate maybe a dozen pieces, so that was encouraging.
04/14/11 - Reo woke up quite early this morning, and threw up in the bed. She wouldn't eat anything this morning, so used some cream cheese to force her meds down.
In an effort to get Reo to eat something, I went out and got some Wellness canned food, as well as Organixx and AvoDerm, in case she doesn't like the Wellness. I begin to feel guilty offering her a commercial diet - this is not part of the Levin protocol. Reo will no longer eat any beef liver, sardines, or salmon oil.
I also got some low-sodium deli turkey and liverwurst, to see if she could take her meds in this.
The canned food worked - she ate some turkey/sweet potato canned food right away for dinner! And, she took all of her meds and supplements in the liverwurst. Mommy wins - haha!
04/15/11 - Reo woke up several times during the night. She drank a lot of water, had diarrhea about 2:30 am, and threw up a small amount. She wouldn't eat anything for breakfast, and refused liverwurst and turkey breast. I had to force down the sulfasalazine, Medrol, and L-thyroxine.
Sean reported that Reo seemed hungry around 3 pm, so he offered her 1 Tbsp of Orijen in warm water and she scarfed it down! She ate a little bit of dinner - kibble and wet food. But, I had to force all her post-dinner meds - she was really difficult tonight.
04/16/11 - Last night was tough. Reo was up about every 2 hours for water. She is so restless and doesn't want to stay in our bed.
Reo ate a few bites of kibble, but had to force her meds. I feel pretty awful about Reo's condition right now. It sucks. :(
04/17/11 - Another sleepless night. She was up every 2 hours for water/urination. I am becoming an expert at making a medication "bolus" in Velveeta and shoving it down Reo's throat. It's not a good feeling, and Reo is starting to resent me!
Sean got her to eat about 2 Tbsp of kibble today, so that was something. I forced her evening meds in liverwurst.
04/18/11 - Worst night yet with Reo! :( She was up every hour to drink or urinate. She also leaked out some urine on me after I picked her up, which was strange.
Reo's schedule is totally off. She is sleepy/tired at 6 am on, but insomniac at night. How can we get her back on track??
(Note: Insomnia is often reported by owners whose dogs have adrenal diseases, like Cushing's. But remember - elevated estrogen can mimic the symptoms of Cushing's!)
Today I decided to take her to see Dr. N. I learned that sometimes sulfasalazine can cause nausea in dogs, and we wondered if this couldn't be why Reo was unwilling to eat. We agreed to stop all supplements except the Medrol and L-thyroxine, and repeat the CBC. Dr. N drew some blood and sent it out.
04/11/11 - Our one month "anniversary" of SARDS diagnosis
We are still struggling to get Reo to eat any breakfast, and now starting to have problems with dinner as well. I had begun to put all of the powdered supplements in her dinner, as she wasn't eating breakfast - maybe it's too much powder?
Reo refused to eat her sulfasalazine in peanut butter this morning - had to force it down her, along with the Medrol and L-thyroxine. :( I tried to feed her only ground beef/organ meat, and she ate about 1/2 Tbsp.
At dinner, I removed all powder, and she ate some ground beef/organs and some chicken thigh. I was able to give her her L-thyroxine and supplements in peanut butter after her meal. Reo has absolutely zero interest in sardines lately.
04/12/11 - Reo refused all food this morning. No peanut butter for her! I had to force-feed the sulfasalazine, Medrol, and L-thyroxine again. She HATES it, and fights, spits out the pills, and looks at me as though I'm torturing her. This is hard.
Tonight, I wrapped her meds in a slice of Velveeta (yes, most definitely not the healthy thing!) - but, she ate them!!
I also spoke with Dr. N today - we discussed Reo's inappetance, and thought that maybe we could compound Reo's medications if she continues to refuse to eat.
Today, I stopped trying to give her Phosphatidyl Serine, in an effort to reduce the amount of things I'm forcing down her.
04/13/11 - Another symptom - Reo wet the bed at about 5:30 am. She was sleeping and leaked out some urine - and was not aware that it happened. I took her outside, and she had a long pee, so maybe her bladder was extra full?
She was not interested in breakfast again, but she ate her meds wrapped in Velveeta. I took some pastured pork ribs out. I haven't tried pork with Reo yet, so hopefully it will spark her appetite!
Later, at dinner, she wasn't interested in the pork. She also was not interested in Velveeta or cream cheese for taking her meds - I had to force them down her throat.
I began to worry that she hadn't had any food today, so I offered her some Orijen kibble - she ate maybe a dozen pieces, so that was encouraging.
04/14/11 - Reo woke up quite early this morning, and threw up in the bed. She wouldn't eat anything this morning, so used some cream cheese to force her meds down.
In an effort to get Reo to eat something, I went out and got some Wellness canned food, as well as Organixx and AvoDerm, in case she doesn't like the Wellness. I begin to feel guilty offering her a commercial diet - this is not part of the Levin protocol. Reo will no longer eat any beef liver, sardines, or salmon oil.
I also got some low-sodium deli turkey and liverwurst, to see if she could take her meds in this.
The canned food worked - she ate some turkey/sweet potato canned food right away for dinner! And, she took all of her meds and supplements in the liverwurst. Mommy wins - haha!
04/15/11 - Reo woke up several times during the night. She drank a lot of water, had diarrhea about 2:30 am, and threw up a small amount. She wouldn't eat anything for breakfast, and refused liverwurst and turkey breast. I had to force down the sulfasalazine, Medrol, and L-thyroxine.
Sean reported that Reo seemed hungry around 3 pm, so he offered her 1 Tbsp of Orijen in warm water and she scarfed it down! She ate a little bit of dinner - kibble and wet food. But, I had to force all her post-dinner meds - she was really difficult tonight.
04/16/11 - Last night was tough. Reo was up about every 2 hours for water. She is so restless and doesn't want to stay in our bed.
Reo ate a few bites of kibble, but had to force her meds. I feel pretty awful about Reo's condition right now. It sucks. :(
04/17/11 - Another sleepless night. She was up every 2 hours for water/urination. I am becoming an expert at making a medication "bolus" in Velveeta and shoving it down Reo's throat. It's not a good feeling, and Reo is starting to resent me!
Sean got her to eat about 2 Tbsp of kibble today, so that was something. I forced her evening meds in liverwurst.
04/18/11 - Worst night yet with Reo! :( She was up every hour to drink or urinate. She also leaked out some urine on me after I picked her up, which was strange.
Reo's schedule is totally off. She is sleepy/tired at 6 am on, but insomniac at night. How can we get her back on track??
(Note: Insomnia is often reported by owners whose dogs have adrenal diseases, like Cushing's. But remember - elevated estrogen can mimic the symptoms of Cushing's!)
Today I decided to take her to see Dr. N. I learned that sometimes sulfasalazine can cause nausea in dogs, and we wondered if this couldn't be why Reo was unwilling to eat. We agreed to stop all supplements except the Medrol and L-thyroxine, and repeat the CBC. Dr. N drew some blood and sent it out.
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