A journey with SARDS - from despair to a cure!: January 2013

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not regularly update this blog any longer, much of the information is still relevant (though some of the links may be out of date).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.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Seventh EI-1 results (and happy birthday!!)

01/03/12 -

Wishing my sweet Reo a very happy 12th birthday!! :)

I get a little overwhelmed each birthday since her SARDS diagnosis, as I'm so thankful that she is with us, and there were so many times I thought she wouldn't make it to 11, let alone 12! :) She got some dehydrated lobster meat treats (made by Bravo) today for her birthday. Boy, did she LOVE those!!

Over the holiday week, I got Reo's EI-1 panel results back from NVDS. The results are added to her master table in the far right column.

	Reference Range	16-Mar-11	30-Apr-11	15-Jun-11	4-Aug-11	4-Jan-12	25-Jun-12	10-Dec-12
Total Estrogen	30 - 35	35.19	35.15	35.11	35.06	35.04	35.05	35.02
Cortisol	1.0 - 2.5	8.43	7.03	0.97	0.82	0.68	1.4	0.96
T3	100 - 200	62.7	72.12	87.92	156.94	135.29	169.94	157.64
T4	2.0 - 4.5	0.87	1.15	1.6	3.99	3.21	7.17**	5
IgA	70 - 170	50	53	57	65	67	66	68
IgG	1,000 - 2,000	722	754	883	946	973	970	992
IgM	100 - 200	74	76	87	97	97	97	98

Overall, I am really happy with how it looks! Her total estrogen is the lowest it's ever been (great!), and her immunoglobulins are the highest they've ever been.

Cortisol is slightly below normal (but doesn't seem to be anything to worry about, given her erratic cortisol levels in the past), and T4 is slightly elevated. But, T3 is in the normal range, so the vet is not worried about the high T4. Her previous high number in June of T4 was due to a course of Clavamox she was on.

Both Caroline Levin and Dr. Plechner have suggested that Reo doesn't need blood testing since she's "stable", and we should only do a panel if she seems like she's off track. I'll admit that it's like a crutch for me, to have a snapshot of how she's doing every 6 months. I'll see if I can limit myself to one EI-1 panel per year! I still plan to get a CBC and chemistry panel and thyroid test every 6 months, however, because I feel it's very important to keep track of these values as she is a dog on long-term Medrol.

That's the update from here. Happy New Year to all!