03/03/14 - Well, Reo is doing just wonderfully at present! There have been no more seizures, thankfully.
After only a couple of days on the reduced thyroid dosage, she was perkier, seemed happier and more active. That trend is continuing, so I am very happy. We will repeat her bloodwork in a couple of weeks and see how she is doing, but I am optimistic!
With respect to diet, I reduced her Stella & Chewy's portion, and have replaced that with ZiwiPeak tripe recipe canned food. I rotate the canned food with sardines or canned salmon, just to give her some variety. Will see how her kidney panel looks soon and see if she is improving. I would like to get her to gain at least 8 ounces if possible, my skinny girl!
Monday, March 3, 2014
Saturday, February 15, 2014
New issues
02/15/14 - Reo has been having some new issues lately, so wanted to share with everyone. :-/ This is the time of year when Reo always struggles with something. We are about a month away from her SARDS-versary when she was diagnosed. She has a presentation of estrogen spike in a new way each year, which is a little frustrating! (You might remember Levin's assertion that spring is a natural increase in adrenal activity in mammals - us too!, and because many of our dogs can't make cortisol, this results in an estrogen spike, which can manifest in different ways in different dogs.)
About 2 weeks ago, Reo had a seizure, followed by another one 4 days later. I wasn't home for either, but my husband was (and was terrified, poor guy!). We suspect the stress of me traveling, coupled by -20 degree temperatures was enough stress to put her over the edge (her second seizure happened when she went out to go potty, poor girl!).
This week, we went in for a check up to the vet - she is neurologically great, whew! Since her last blood chemistry done in January looked great on the liver enzyme side, but showed a little uptick in kidney values, I asked my vet to run a renal panel just to check. Sure enough, she had further increases in kidney values and was now abnormal for BUN, creatinine, sodium, and potassium all elevated (but nothing off the charts). We are not sure if this is "true" renal issues, or if it's changes from post-seizure activity.
So, we will monitor, and do another renal panel in a month. I will also make a slight change to her diet, and phase out the very high protein Stella & Chewy's patties (45% min protein), and replace with a high-quality canned food (~8% protein) as a topper for the ZiwiPeak dehydrated raw (34% min protein), to see if slightly less protein will ease the load on her kidneys. I refuse to put her on any sort of prescription diet!
We were also in the process of making some changes to her thyroid dosage (we think she is getting too much thyroid replacement, since her metabolism is super fast and I cannot keep weight on her, even with the high protein/fat food), so we'll have to see how she does with less. Reo was close to 10 lbs when she was diagnosed with SARDS, so we have been treating her at the 10 lb dose for Medrol and thyroid, since it was most convenient. But, she now weighs only 6.5 lbs, so it's possible she's getting more than she needs of both, and we need to find the best dose for her.
And, just for fun, she has also developed a heart murmur! My vet put it at grade 1-2, so not incredibly serious. When we took x-rays, we saw a slightly enlarged heart, and also a little bit of collapsing trachea. It's hard to know what caused what, or what is just a normal part of aging (she is 13, after all!). We are not doing anything for the heart at this time, and will just monitor.
I don't want to change too many things at once because we won't know what's made a difference. But, I feel fortunate that my vet loves Reo, is open to new ideas and possibilities, and is willing to do whatever is recommended by Caroline. So, I remain optimistic and grateful! :)
About 2 weeks ago, Reo had a seizure, followed by another one 4 days later. I wasn't home for either, but my husband was (and was terrified, poor guy!). We suspect the stress of me traveling, coupled by -20 degree temperatures was enough stress to put her over the edge (her second seizure happened when she went out to go potty, poor girl!).
This week, we went in for a check up to the vet - she is neurologically great, whew! Since her last blood chemistry done in January looked great on the liver enzyme side, but showed a little uptick in kidney values, I asked my vet to run a renal panel just to check. Sure enough, she had further increases in kidney values and was now abnormal for BUN, creatinine, sodium, and potassium all elevated (but nothing off the charts). We are not sure if this is "true" renal issues, or if it's changes from post-seizure activity.
So, we will monitor, and do another renal panel in a month. I will also make a slight change to her diet, and phase out the very high protein Stella & Chewy's patties (45% min protein), and replace with a high-quality canned food (~8% protein) as a topper for the ZiwiPeak dehydrated raw (34% min protein), to see if slightly less protein will ease the load on her kidneys. I refuse to put her on any sort of prescription diet!
We were also in the process of making some changes to her thyroid dosage (we think she is getting too much thyroid replacement, since her metabolism is super fast and I cannot keep weight on her, even with the high protein/fat food), so we'll have to see how she does with less. Reo was close to 10 lbs when she was diagnosed with SARDS, so we have been treating her at the 10 lb dose for Medrol and thyroid, since it was most convenient. But, she now weighs only 6.5 lbs, so it's possible she's getting more than she needs of both, and we need to find the best dose for her.
And, just for fun, she has also developed a heart murmur! My vet put it at grade 1-2, so not incredibly serious. When we took x-rays, we saw a slightly enlarged heart, and also a little bit of collapsing trachea. It's hard to know what caused what, or what is just a normal part of aging (she is 13, after all!). We are not doing anything for the heart at this time, and will just monitor.
I don't want to change too many things at once because we won't know what's made a difference. But, I feel fortunate that my vet loves Reo, is open to new ideas and possibilities, and is willing to do whatever is recommended by Caroline. So, I remain optimistic and grateful! :)
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Another SARDS dog's blog
I came across another SARDS dog blog today! I'm feeling flattered that it was inspired by Reo's blog, and Shasta's mom is right on in trying to help get out information as much as possible.
Shasta is a gorgeous GSD/Malamute mix, so she brings some "big dog" perspective to SARDS. Bounce on over to their blog here: http://sardshastastory.blogspot.com/ and read their story!
*Spoiler alert* They were also able to restore vision by following Dr. Plechner's treatment recommendations!
Shasta is a gorgeous GSD/Malamute mix, so she brings some "big dog" perspective to SARDS. Bounce on over to their blog here: http://sardshastastory.blogspot.com/ and read their story!
*Spoiler alert* They were also able to restore vision by following Dr. Plechner's treatment recommendations!
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
Eighth EI-1 panel results
As promised, below is an updated table of Reo's EI-1 panels. I've added the results of her panel at the end of November.
Overall, Reo looks great. No major changes in anything - just the typical slight ups/downs we see over time. She is stable.
We did a blood chemistry and CBC as well (we do this every 6 months to make sure she is tolerating her medications and is healthy) and her liver values and cholesterol have actually gone down since the summer, which is pretty cool. :)
|
|
Reference Range
|
16-Mar-11
|
30-Apr-11
|
15-Jun-11
|
4-Aug-11
|
4-Jan-12
|
25-Jun-12
|
10-Dec-12
|
22-Nov-13
|
|
Total
Estrogen
|
30 - 35
|
35.19
|
35.15
|
35.11
|
35.06
|
35.04
|
35.05
|
35.02
|
35.03
|
|
Cortisol
|
1.0 - 2.5
|
8.43
|
7.03
|
0.97
|
0.82
|
0.68
|
1.4
|
0.96
|
0.85
|
|
T3
|
100 - 200
|
62.7
|
72.12
|
87.92
|
156.94
|
135.29
|
169.94
|
157.64
|
154.03
|
|
T4
|
2.0 - 4.5
|
0.87
|
1.15
|
1.6
|
3.99
|
3.21
|
7.17**
|
5
|
4.89
|
|
IgA
|
70 - 170
|
50
|
53
|
57
|
65
|
67
|
66
|
68
|
67
|
|
IgG
|
1,000 - 2,000
|
722
|
754
|
883
|
946
|
973
|
970
|
992
|
981
|
|
IgM
|
100 - 200
|
74
|
76
|
87
|
97
|
97
|
97
|
98
|
98
|
Overall, Reo looks great. No major changes in anything - just the typical slight ups/downs we see over time. She is stable.
We did a blood chemistry and CBC as well (we do this every 6 months to make sure she is tolerating her medications and is healthy) and her liver values and cholesterol have actually gone down since the summer, which is pretty cool. :)
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
SARDS Dogs United Facebook group
My goodness, I am behind in updating! I'm sorry, fair readers. Wishing you and your pups a wonderful New Year!
Reo is doing very well - I will post her latest bloodwork soon. We had another EI-1 panel done at the end of the year, as well as blood chemistry and CBC. Her blood chemistry was quite notable, with liver values and cholesterol number actually going down since her last test (yay!). Hormone levels are stable, with only slight changes up or down over time.
Currently her only health "problem" is a potential issue with collapsing trachea. She's always had issues aspirating water when she drinks, but now she's been sneezing/reverse sneezing/coughing at random times. We have her on a course of Clavamox to make sure it's not a simple upper respiratory infection, but so far I haven't noticed any changes.
The thing that makes me think it is NOT collapsing trachea is because she is not affected when she is walking or exercising. Sort of strange...
ANYWAY!!!
My primary reason for writing this post is to alert you all to a new Facebook group that we have created for SARDS dog owners, or those interested in the disease. It is called SARDS Dogs United, and you can request to join us here: SARDS Dogs United
We hope this will be an easy way to keep in touch with other SARDS owners. Now that Yahoo has changed its groups format, it is less user-friendly. Feedback welcomed! :)
Reo is doing very well - I will post her latest bloodwork soon. We had another EI-1 panel done at the end of the year, as well as blood chemistry and CBC. Her blood chemistry was quite notable, with liver values and cholesterol number actually going down since her last test (yay!). Hormone levels are stable, with only slight changes up or down over time.
Currently her only health "problem" is a potential issue with collapsing trachea. She's always had issues aspirating water when she drinks, but now she's been sneezing/reverse sneezing/coughing at random times. We have her on a course of Clavamox to make sure it's not a simple upper respiratory infection, but so far I haven't noticed any changes.
The thing that makes me think it is NOT collapsing trachea is because she is not affected when she is walking or exercising. Sort of strange...
ANYWAY!!!
My primary reason for writing this post is to alert you all to a new Facebook group that we have created for SARDS dog owners, or those interested in the disease. It is called SARDS Dogs United, and you can request to join us here: SARDS Dogs United
We hope this will be an easy way to keep in touch with other SARDS owners. Now that Yahoo has changed its groups format, it is less user-friendly. Feedback welcomed! :)
Saturday, September 7, 2013
New article discussing the Melan-100 for SARDS screening
09/07/13 - All is well in our household - I have been busy lately with Miniature Pinscher rescue activities, which is rewarding yet challenging! I will write another post once Reo has her follow-up appointment at the ophthalomologist in a couple of weeks.
I wanted to post because there is a new article in the Journal of Veterinary Medical Science coming out from a group in Japan that discusses the Melan-100 colorimetric PLR device that is often used by ophthalmologists to help diagnose SARDS, PRA, and other eye diseases.
This is the abstract:
To determine the efficacy of a colorimetric pupil light reflex (PLR) device (Melan-100®, U.S.A.) in dogs of sudden acquired retinal degeneration syndrome (SARDS; 16 cases), progressive retinal atrophy (PRA; 10 cases) and optic pathway disease (6 cases). The colorimetric device detected PLR abnormality in 32, 16, and 9 eyes with SARDS, PRA and optic pathway disease, respectively, whereas white light detected PLR abnormality in 18, 11 and 9 eyes with SARDS, PRA and optic pathway disease, respectively. SARDS dogs displayed miosis, while optic pathway disease dogs displayed mydriasis by blue light examination. Thus, colorimetric PLR may be a useful method for determining whether electroretinography (ERG) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) should be performed for dogs with acute blindness.
The full text of the article is available (though because it is a pre-print copy, it does not look as pretty as a published article - there are line numbers in the left margin) at this link: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jvms/advpub/0/advpub_12-0363/_pdf
It looks like the authors agree that an ERG is very important for accurately diagnosing SARDS:
"Although the colorimetric PLR device is useful as a screening test, it is risky to diagnose these abnormalities with this method alone. It is necessary to diagnose SARDS, PRA, and optic pathway disease via funduscopic examination, ERG, and MRI."
I wanted to post because there is a new article in the Journal of Veterinary Medical Science coming out from a group in Japan that discusses the Melan-100 colorimetric PLR device that is often used by ophthalmologists to help diagnose SARDS, PRA, and other eye diseases.
This is the abstract:
To determine the efficacy of a colorimetric pupil light reflex (PLR) device (Melan-100®, U.S.A.) in dogs of sudden acquired retinal degeneration syndrome (SARDS; 16 cases), progressive retinal atrophy (PRA; 10 cases) and optic pathway disease (6 cases). The colorimetric device detected PLR abnormality in 32, 16, and 9 eyes with SARDS, PRA and optic pathway disease, respectively, whereas white light detected PLR abnormality in 18, 11 and 9 eyes with SARDS, PRA and optic pathway disease, respectively. SARDS dogs displayed miosis, while optic pathway disease dogs displayed mydriasis by blue light examination. Thus, colorimetric PLR may be a useful method for determining whether electroretinography (ERG) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) should be performed for dogs with acute blindness.
The full text of the article is available (though because it is a pre-print copy, it does not look as pretty as a published article - there are line numbers in the left margin) at this link: https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jvms/advpub/0/advpub_12-0363/_pdf
It looks like the authors agree that an ERG is very important for accurately diagnosing SARDS:
"Although the colorimetric PLR device is useful as a screening test, it is risky to diagnose these abnormalities with this method alone. It is necessary to diagnose SARDS, PRA, and optic pathway disease via funduscopic examination, ERG, and MRI."
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Ophthalmologist visit
07/24/13 - We went to an ophthalmologist on Monday for Reo. She has been having some issues with her right eye for the past few months, and our regular vet couldn't figure out what was wrong. We tried some eye drops, an antibiotic, and did fluorescein staining - all either didn't help or show anything that could give us a diagnosis.
Her symptoms have been - "swollen" eye appearance, she is not opening her eye fully and the lower eyelid is droopy; very red white of her eye; some clear discharge; occasional itching; white cloudy area appearing in the cornea (not a cataract).
I *loved* this ophtho, as compared to the one in KY that diagnosed Reo's SARDS. He was fascinated by her case, and we are the first ones to have treated endocrine issues in SARDS that he's met. He was surprised by how good her blood chemistries looked, after being on long-term Medrol. I was careful to point out that the Medrol is not a *therapy*, it's only replacing what she can't make
naturally. We talked a lot about our experience and what we did for Reo's treatment.
He did a very thorough exam, and said that Reo's retinas were unlike any he's ever seen before in a SARDS dog, even 2.5 years later. She had a lot of weird stuff going on, apparently! That's my Reo...
After his exam, he pointed out Reo had a slight head tilt to the right, which I could see after he mentioned it. I think she has always walked like that since her diagnosis, and I didn't really think anything of it. He suspected Horner's syndrome, which is another "mystery". But essentially, one of the nerves is damaged and/or not firing properly, which leads dogs to have eye appearance
issues. He thought that because she wasn't using that eye regularly, there was a nerve atrophy of sorts. There is a very simple test used to diagnose this - he put a drop of norepinepherine in her eye. In 15 minutes, she was back to normal eye appearance! That was pretty cool.
He said that because this test is so reliable and a strong positive, there is almost no chance that it could be something more serious (i.e., a brain tumor) that is causing this issue. So, it was a huge relief to me. He mentioned that the redness of her eyeball is also an indication of lack of vascular tone in the
eye due to the Horner's (this might be of interest to some on this list, whose dogs experience very red eyes!). Anyway, there is no "treatment" for Horner's, and he said that most dogs spontaneously correct in a few months - interesting.
Finally, another tidbit he gave me was concerning minerals and lipemia. For the past 1.5 years (since we moved back to Colorado), Reo has had very lipemic blood (lipemic means fat in the blood, which can skew some blood test results). Our regular vet never really said it was a problem, since Reo's cholesterol and triglycerides are normal.
The ophtho said that he could see the lipemia in Reo's eyes, and that she should be on a low-fat diet immediately. I told him there was no chance that I was changing her diet to low fat as she is quite healthy and we do blood chemistries 2x/year to make sure. Also, she has never had pancreas issues - all levels are normal.
He said he wanted to try her on EDTA drops, which will chelate/pull out extra minerals that are in Reo's eye. I asked him if mineral supplementation could cause lipemia - he said most definitely. Reo has been on the Nutramin mineral supplement, suggested by Dr. Plechner, for 2.5 years, so I wondered if it was causing an issue and leading to Reo's lipemia (maybe she just doesn't need the
supplement any more!). Previously, she was getting the Nutramin 2x/day, and I've dropped down to 1x/day for the time being. Will see how she does, and I will consider completely eliminating it in the future.
*Note - I can't find anything online concerning mineral supplementation causing lipemia in dogs, and not much reliable info in humans. I'll keep searching, and also ask my regular vet. Because the ophtho was so emphatic, it seems weird to me that my vet never said anything about the lipemia, or the supplementation maybe causing it.
We came home with EDTA drops, and cyclosporine ointment, and a re-check in 6 weeks to see how she does. Stay tuned! :)
Her symptoms have been - "swollen" eye appearance, she is not opening her eye fully and the lower eyelid is droopy; very red white of her eye; some clear discharge; occasional itching; white cloudy area appearing in the cornea (not a cataract).
I *loved* this ophtho, as compared to the one in KY that diagnosed Reo's SARDS. He was fascinated by her case, and we are the first ones to have treated endocrine issues in SARDS that he's met. He was surprised by how good her blood chemistries looked, after being on long-term Medrol. I was careful to point out that the Medrol is not a *therapy*, it's only replacing what she can't make
naturally. We talked a lot about our experience and what we did for Reo's treatment.
He did a very thorough exam, and said that Reo's retinas were unlike any he's ever seen before in a SARDS dog, even 2.5 years later. She had a lot of weird stuff going on, apparently! That's my Reo...
After his exam, he pointed out Reo had a slight head tilt to the right, which I could see after he mentioned it. I think she has always walked like that since her diagnosis, and I didn't really think anything of it. He suspected Horner's syndrome, which is another "mystery". But essentially, one of the nerves is damaged and/or not firing properly, which leads dogs to have eye appearance
issues. He thought that because she wasn't using that eye regularly, there was a nerve atrophy of sorts. There is a very simple test used to diagnose this - he put a drop of norepinepherine in her eye. In 15 minutes, she was back to normal eye appearance! That was pretty cool.
He said that because this test is so reliable and a strong positive, there is almost no chance that it could be something more serious (i.e., a brain tumor) that is causing this issue. So, it was a huge relief to me. He mentioned that the redness of her eyeball is also an indication of lack of vascular tone in the
eye due to the Horner's (this might be of interest to some on this list, whose dogs experience very red eyes!). Anyway, there is no "treatment" for Horner's, and he said that most dogs spontaneously correct in a few months - interesting.
Finally, another tidbit he gave me was concerning minerals and lipemia. For the past 1.5 years (since we moved back to Colorado), Reo has had very lipemic blood (lipemic means fat in the blood, which can skew some blood test results). Our regular vet never really said it was a problem, since Reo's cholesterol and triglycerides are normal.
The ophtho said that he could see the lipemia in Reo's eyes, and that she should be on a low-fat diet immediately. I told him there was no chance that I was changing her diet to low fat as she is quite healthy and we do blood chemistries 2x/year to make sure. Also, she has never had pancreas issues - all levels are normal.
He said he wanted to try her on EDTA drops, which will chelate/pull out extra minerals that are in Reo's eye. I asked him if mineral supplementation could cause lipemia - he said most definitely. Reo has been on the Nutramin mineral supplement, suggested by Dr. Plechner, for 2.5 years, so I wondered if it was causing an issue and leading to Reo's lipemia (maybe she just doesn't need the
supplement any more!). Previously, she was getting the Nutramin 2x/day, and I've dropped down to 1x/day for the time being. Will see how she does, and I will consider completely eliminating it in the future.
*Note - I can't find anything online concerning mineral supplementation causing lipemia in dogs, and not much reliable info in humans. I'll keep searching, and also ask my regular vet. Because the ophtho was so emphatic, it seems weird to me that my vet never said anything about the lipemia, or the supplementation maybe causing it.
We came home with EDTA drops, and cyclosporine ointment, and a re-check in 6 weeks to see how she does. Stay tuned! :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)