03/24/12 - Today we had an appointment with a vet in our neighborhood. I came prepared with all of Reo's history, bloodwork, and treatment specifications. I picked this vet's profile out of those in the office because she was pretty young, has a molecular biology background (like me!), and said she was interested in geriatric medicine and internal medicine.
She (I will call her Dr. V) was fantastic! She was super friendly, looked over all of Reo's bloodwork, was shocked that her liver values were so high surrounding SARDS diagnosis, and then came down so drastically post injection - and have stayed that way with long-term Medrol usage, agreed that Reo was in excellent health, and said she'd have no problem continuing with Reo's treatment, as long as I understood the potential risks.
Dr. V was also interested to read more about Caroline Levin's and Dr. Plechner's work, and so I let her photocopy a big stack of papers from Reo's folder. I will be interested to get her take on it.
HOORAY!!!! :)
So, we have a new vet about 2 miles from our house, who is interested in Reo's story and success, and is committed to helping me continue her treatment. I made sure that she understood that the hormone injections were not a regular occurrence, and it had been about a year since we'd last done them, and my opinion was that it was only due to extended stressful situations that she might need "boosters".
After Reo's exam, we gave her another injection of DepoMedrol - 25 mg this time. I decided to do another injection based on the fact that Reo is still in the throes of a lot of stress at the house (construction), the fact that it's spring, and the fact that pollen levels right now are 5 times their normal levels. Even my other two dogs are scratching and have watery eyes.
It was the biggest RELIEF to find a vet who didn't think I was crazy, and was willing to help, on our very first try. Reo and I are lucky-loos!
We'll see how Reo reacts to this injection, and if she has any ill-effects like PU/PD/PP. We may consider to do another in 10 days, as we did with her first injection series in May 2011, to give her the support of an overlapping series to curb the estrogen spike.
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.
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment