Tooth problems

05/16/13 - Since Reo was diagnosed with SARDS, I haven't put her under anesthesia for anything.  But, she has this little lesion on her gumline along one of her back molars that continues to not heal, and I think the tooth might have to come out.  Before we got Reo, she had many of her teeth removed due to dental disease, and it has been a struggle to keep her teeth clean (missing many teeth means that she doesn't get good chewing action to keep the plaque at bay).

I use the Leba III product, and brush her teeth with water once a week, and sometimes scale them if there is a good bit of plaque, but it is not doing the job on this one particular tooth any more, it seems.  Leba III is great, but if you forget to spray it one day, it seems like it really makes a difference!

So, I'm going to take her in tomorrow for the vet to look at her gum.  I am hoping that she'll give me some antibiotics and the tooth won't have to come out...but I fear the worst.  :(  I really don't want to have to put her under anesthesia, but we might not have a choice.

Poor little thing!

Her allergies are finally getting under control.  She has had a puffy, weepy eye for about 2 months, and she was sneezing for a solid month.  Glad that she is feeling better.  I'm fortunate that I don't have allergies, but many friends have been suffering extra this spring.

March Madness

04/08/13 - It's official.  March is not Reo's best month.  It seems every year in March, we have something going on with her.  In my last post, I mentioned her allergy symptoms - sneezing, watery eye (just one eye), general mopeyness).  The allergy symptoms continue, though more mild than before.  She's also had some GI upset lately.  Overall, she's doing fine, but definitely a little outside of "normal".

So, 3 Marches of weirdness in a row can't be a coincidence.  It makes me think about Caroline Levin's assertion that spring and fall are normal periods of increased adrenal activity.  It certainly makes sense in Reo's case, though she seems to make it through fall with no problems.  I guess I'll make sure to be extra aware come spring next year, and make sure I'm ready for some bumps in the road!

2 year anniversary

03/05/13 - Today marks 2 years since Reo lost her vision (though we're a little ahead of her actual diagnosis)!  It seems like it's been far longer than that, to be honest!  We have learned so much in the past 2 years.  Every day, I am thankful that Reo is still with us, and healthy!  I'm so proud of this little dog, I tell you.

This is a busy time of year for SARDS diagnoses, and I've noticed that Reo has some allergy symptoms (itchy eye, some sneezing).  We've had an unusually mild winter in Denver, and I think that there are already some allergens in the air.  I'm pulsing her Medrol dose this week to try and help her overcome this.

New(ish) post from Dr. Plechner on SARDS

02/19/13

Hope everyone is doing well!  We are all great, here, including Ms. Reo, who is as sassy as ever!  I recently went on a vacation and left the dogs with Sean - I was nervous, as I hadn't left Reo in nearly a year!  I'm happy to report that she did GREAT, and Sean did a wonderful job keeping to her schedule and meal regimen.  :)

Dr. Plechner has re-worked his website.  Though it looks nicer, a lot of his resources are missing, which makes me sad.

He has written a few new articles on SARDS, for your consideration:

Three case studies:
http://drplechner.com/learn/specific-diseases/sards-clinical-case-studies/

Overview:
http://drplechner.com/learn/specific-diseases/sards/

As you might remember, my own personal opinion is that Caroline Levin knows so much about treating SARDS specifically, and her recommendations for retinal protection supplements can be of great help to newly-diagnosed SARDS dogs.  Her treatment is based off of Dr. Plechner's ideas.  For Reo, I felt that a combination of Levin's and Plechner's treatment suggestions were the very best choice for Reo, and helped restore her vision in 5 months.  If I had to go back, I would do the same treatment (albeit much more quickly).

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!

Waiting for EI-1 results

12/21/12 - Still waiting for Reo's bloodwork to come back from NVDS.  Apparently, their equipment is down and waiting to be repaired.  With the holiday, they think results will come toward the end of next week.  Sooooo, we are being patient.

Reo has been doing very well this week - in a great mood, killing toys.  :)  She probably feels the lightness of our household, too, as we look forward for some time off!  Lots of cuddles and walks in the dogs' future (not that they don't get those every day, but just a little more than normal!).

Special shout-out today to our other Min Pin, Leigh, who turns 12 today!!

Wishing all of my readers a very happy holiday season, with health and happiness to come in the new year!

Diabetes-free!

12/14/12 - I'm very VERY happy to report that Reo does NOT have diabetes!  We went into the vet this morning for a fasted blood draw and urinalysis - both came back negative.  HURRAY!

I was initially concerned that perhaps her adrenal glands kicked in a little bit, and that she had too much cortisol in her system, leading to high blood sugar, but this does not seem to be the case (will wait for the EI-1 panel results next week).  Though, I was definitely miffed that she was not displaying any symptoms of diabetes.

My current theory for the high blood sugar on Monday was the stress of the vet visit.  Because Reo was the second dog to go back for a blood draw, perhaps this was enough time for her to have a little adrenaline rush/blood sugar release, which caused the high glucose reading.