10/28/12 - Reo has had a "bug" for the past 3 days. She's been rather lethargic, not eating, drinking quite a bit. She has also thrown up (mostly water) a few times. I wondered if she might have caught canine influenza (we've been watching a friend's dog for the past week, and so it made me suspicious). But, the symptoms of canine flu are supposed to be similar to kennel cough, with lots of coughing and nasal discharge. She has none of that. All of her functions have been normal, so I was waiting to see if something changed for the worse before I brought her to the vet (I usually am fine with waiting 3-4 days to see if something resolves itself, as long as some food/water is consumed, and there aren't any alarming symptoms).
I made her boiled chicken and sweet potato, which she ate sporadically/unenthusiastically. I was able to hide her Medrol and L-thyroxine in the sweet potato a few times, but a couple of times I had to force them down her throat (thus making her hate me!). Today she got to take a nice sun bath, and I think it helped to reset her - it's been rather cold the past few days, so she's been inside mostly.
Anyway, now it looks like she's coming out of it a bit, which is a relief. I got her to eat some of the ZiwiPeak food, sprinkled with some Welactin, for dinner. She ate less than her normal portion, but it was something! I was planning to bring her to the vet tomorrow for a chemistry panel, but if she continues to improve, I'll just guess it was a little bug that she caught from who-knows-where! Fingers crossed!
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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