"Booster" shot, and a happy liver

02/18/12 - Went to our vet yesterday for Reo.  I had to stock up on her meds, since we are in the midst of a cross-country move.

I also wanted to get a CBC and thyroid test to see how she was doing (it has been about 6 months since her last CBC, which was normal).  Reading other lists and groups makes me a little paranoid sometimes, like Reo's liver is going to fail for being on Medrol long-term (been almost a year).  I've also heard people complain that the NVDS blood lab that I use for Reo is "inaccurate, particularly in thyroid testing".

It's no secret that the treatment we pursued for Reo is controversial - and some people have had extremely averse reactions to her success.  Because I read a lot of views/treatments/theories about SARDS, I do question myself sometimes, even though Reo is healthy and she regained her sight.

As our vet says "the proof is in the pudding!" - kind of hard to argue with that!

Anyway, our vet does the basic blood testing right in his office, so it didn't take very long to find out her status.  I'm very pleased to report that Reo's thyroid is normal (confirmed NVDS normal result), and all of her liver and kidney values are normal, and her blood glucose is normal!  :)  

If her dose of Medrol was a therapeutic dose (as many people and vets feel is the case) - there is definitely concern that there can be long term liver or kidney problems, and high blood sugar.  In my mind, this proves that Reo is not on a therapeutic dose of Medrol - her daily dose is only replacing what her body cannot produce naturally (again, making her like an atypical Addison's dog).

Because she has had a decline in vision the past 2 weeks (stress of me being gone on a trip, coupled with stress of the house packing/chaos), I had contacted Caroline Levin and Dr. Plechner to see what they suggest.  They both suggested a "booster" shot of cortisol hormone.

Caroline cites her experience in that spring and fall are natural periods of enhanced adrenal activity in pets and people (allergies, anyone?), and so sometimes dogs with adrenal exhaustion have challenges during this time.  Take this, coupled with stress, and it can have an effect - it seems to have had an effect on Reo.

So, I talked about a "booster" with our vet, and agreed on a dosage.  We went with 15 mg DepoMedrol, which was less than Dr. P suggested to me, but a dose with which my vet and I felt comfortable.  I am interested to see how this helps with Reo's stress, and if her vision will improve again.