01/29/11 - Last week, I was on a work trip and gone the entire week. Previously, when I traveled, Reo always seemed to have some sort of setback. Despite Sean's best efforts, there was always something that developed - maybe a little melancholy, maybe a little weight gain, maybe she got into the cat food, maybe she drank a little too much. It was always something that I attributed to the "stress" of me being gone, because Sean follows her meal and dosing instructions to the letter (literally - because I write it all down!). We even tried pulsing her Medrol dosage to see if it would mitigate this stress. Because of this, I always had a lot of guilt about leaving her and stressing her out.
This past week was the first time since Reo's SARDS diagnosis that she didn't have any noticeable stress or increase in symptoms when I was gone! Sean reported that Reo was in a great mood all week - playing and killing her toys. Indeed, when I got home late Friday night, she looked great! And yesterday, we went for a walk and she was displaying her show dog hackney action and feeling fine!
This is definitely a milestone for us, and I hope it is yet another indication that Reo is healthier than ever!
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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