06/21/12 - I've had a rough day! I found out that our new vet is no longer with the clinic - she moved too far away to commute. :( The good news is that the clinic owner saw us today, but I didn't feel like she was as interested in Reo's case as our previous doctor. We'll see how it goes!
I took her into the clinic today because Reo's right eye had been bothering her for a couple of days (today was the third day). I suspected that she got something in it (dirt, grass, etc.) and wanted to see if it would resolve itself. Today it seemed a little worse, swollen. So I flushed with saline a few times, but it didn't seem to help. Then, in the outdoor sunshine, I noticed a frightening bluish cast over Reo's cornea. I panicked, and thought that she had developed glaucoma in that eye!
The vet doesn't suspect glaucoma because the eye didn't seem too painful to Reo. But, their device to measure intraocular pressure was not working correctly, so they couldn't rule it out. We'll go back on Monday and hope they can get a reading.
In the meantime, Dr. V suspects uveitis (kind of the opposite of glaucoma, since it is indicated by low intraocular eye pressure, while glaucoma is high IOP). She gave Reo some oral antibiotics, as well as antibiotic eye drops for us to use the next few days to see if she improves. Fingers crossed!
We got a chemistry panel and CBC for Reo when we were in there, as part of her bi-annual check up, so I am curious to see how those results come back. I was planning to get blood drawn for another EI-1 panel as well, but want to wait until next week due to hot temperatures/overnight shipping. I also need to find out if Reo being on antibiotics will affect the test results at all...if so, we may need to wait to have the bloodwork run.
Silly Reo, always keeping us on our toes! Good thing I love her like crazy... :)
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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