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Hi Tina,
So glad Jasper has been doing well and overall good test results for him too!! Great work on those schnauzer triglycerides!! They are waaay down!!! Yay Jasper!!
Like you I havent been on here so much lately, but so glad to check in and see good news with you and your duo!!
Hope all continues to go well!! Happy Thanksgiving! :D
Barbara
Hmmmm now according the "the plan" check UPC and CXR due beginning of December, which is now... so be looking for the next update when you get time. My work always gets busy prior to Christmas so I bet yours does too, seems like everyone likes to get things sorted before the end of the year!! Hope all still going good with Jasper and Shelby, wow that little Miss nearly 3, how did that happen!! Hopefully see you over the weekend sometime xxxx
Hi Everyone,
Thanks so much for checking in on us! Yes Trish you are correct, had an appointment for Jasper at the vet Saturday 12/6 for a follow-up chest x-ray. I ended up not bringing in the urine for UPC however, because he had a couple of accidents in the house over Thanksgiving weekend, while I was home. :( This is unusual, and usually is a sign that he might have a UTI. So I ran him in on Tuesday after work for a sterile urine sample for culture.
Got the results at his appointment Saturday and it was negative. Very thankful for that, I was worrying about that all week since the last UTI that he had took months to get rid of. The antibiotics wreaked havoc on his stomach, and he went off his food. Very stressful trying to get him to eat and get him back on his food after all of that, and it took forever for him to get back on track.
Not sure why he had the accidents in the house like that, he has been fine since, and seems to feel okay. The vet did say that it is possible that he could have a mild infection starting up but it just didn't show up on the culture since his urine is always so dilute. But I guess this can be more likely to happen if the infection is in the kidneys rather than the bladder. And since he seems to be feeling okay, she doesn't feel his kidneys are involved. I plan to run a urine sample in tomorrow morning before work to run the UPC. She did say the office UA showed a lot of protein, so I am worrying about that of course. :o
The chest x-ray showed that his heart has enlarged a little bit since the last x-ray at the beginning of October. :( She said she needs to do all the specific measurements from the x-ray and is going to call me today with the exact results of that, but just on visual examination of the films, it did look like it was a little bit larger. Unhappy about that of course, but I'm going to wait to hear from her today to see what the measurements show to see if we need to do any adjustment in his treatment. She mentioned possibly needing to add the Vetmedin, but I'm really hopeful that we don't have to do that yet, as it can be hard on the kidneys. She said the murmur sounded the same as before, and his pulses in his extremities were all good, lungs looked and sounded good. So I'll see what the report is when she calls. Trying not to worry but not being too successful with that.
I've had a couple of my own medical issues going on also that have resulted in several doctors appointments. With work as busy as it is, it's really tough to fit those in, so feeling a little stressed about that also.
So I hope to have more information from my vet by the end of the day today, I'll post an update when I have that. Thinking of everyone so much. I wish I had more time to be on the forum, I am reading when I can. Miss you guys.
Hugs,
Tina and Jasper xo
I don't like the sound of YOU having medical issues to take care. Don't like that at all!:o:eek:
No UTI. So that's good! we'll take it!:p I am glad that Jasper seems to be feeling okay. There are so many worries!
Please update us regarding your appointments and Jasper's when you have more information. We miss you too Tina. xxxxoooo
Hey Tina, thanks so much for the update and we are very anxious to learn what additional info you heard from the vet yesterday. With as much as you have going on, we are very grateful on the occasions when you grab the chance to check in with us. So we'll be watching for your next visit and surely hoping that, in the meantime, things will go as well as they possibly can around your house!
Marianne
Good to hear from you and hope the report from the vet is positive. Let us know when you can. And I certainly hope you are feeling better!
Thanks girls. It's been a little bit of a tough week here in Jasper land. Apparently the Little Man didn't think that Mom has enough to worry about, so on Tuesday 12/9 while I was at work, he decided to pull some of the stuffing out of a little hole that he found in one of the dog beds, and eat it. Hard to say how much he actually ate, it looked to be maybe about a handful. So due to this "dietary indiscretion", I have been on "detailed" poop patrol all week. :eek: And of course, by that night he was acting pretty mopey, and didn't want to eat. I struggled to get him to eat all week. For a couple of days I was worried he wouldn't eat any of his food at all, but I finally did get him to eat something with each meal. Last night and today that seems to be getting better, so maybe things are getting back on track. He is continuing to expel the stuffing, even this afternoon. I wonder how many days it's going to take to get out of his system. :rolleyes:
My vet had left a voicemail message for me late on Monday about the heart measurements from Jasper's x-rays that were done last weekend. I had some questions and wasn't able to talk to her until Wednesday. She explained that what they measure is a vertebral heart score. It is based on a measurement of the length and width of his heart and then calculations are done compared to the size of his vertebrae to check for enlargement. (I later looked this up online to get some more specific information about it). She said that 11 is the upper end of the normal range for Jasper and right now based on the most current x-ray his score is 12. :( Two months ago it was 11.5 and on the original x-ray four months ago when the murmur was first detected, it was at 12. (Yes, it was a little bit smaller two months ago than on the original films).
So she basically said that while it is up a little bit from the last x-ray, it is back to where it was on the original films. So she feels that she wants to hold off on starting any additional medication for him at this time. She feels it is a mild increase from last time, although she was hopeful there would be no increase as soon as this, and said we will be tracking any pattern or progression. We're going to get another x-ray in three months and if it shows an increase again at that point then it sounds like she will be strongly considering adding the Vetmedin at that time.
I brought a urine sample in on 12/9 for UPC, and got those results on Wednesday also. Unfortunately it has crept up a little bit again. :( It is currently 2.48. Four months ago it was 2.14. She said it consistently has been going up by about the same amount for the past year or so. Very unhappy with this, of course. :( But it is still better than the 3.57 starting value when we first started to treat him. We are continuing with the same treatment.
His previous UPC's and dates: (Normal is less than 0.5)
10/22/12 1.27
01/14/13 3.57
05/06/13 1.49
08/31/13 0.6
12/23/13 1.63
03/20/14 1.81
08/02/14 2.14
12/09/14 2.48 :mad:
So I'm feeling a little bit discouraged on both of these fronts. It's always a blow to hear not so good news, but I also realize it could be much worse. I am trying to pick myself up and start adjusting again. I guess that's why I waited a few days to post the update. I needed to regroup just a little bit. And then of course we had to add the "dietary indiscretion" into the mix just for good measure. He has never done anything like that, other than tearing up toys when he was much much younger. I have no idea what got into him. Thankfully so far, "everything seems to be coming out alright". LOL!
So here's the plan, a lot of it is unchanged.
- Continue Royal Canin Low Fat GI prescription diet
- Re-check the UPC in 4 months
- Re-check chemistry profile (triglycerides) in 3 months
- Re-check chest x-ray in 3 months
- Continue on previous meds and treatment:
Enalapril 5 mg 1/2 tab BID
Welactin 1/2 spoonful mixed with food BID
Dexamethasone 0.5 mg 1/4 tab every other day
Denamarin 225/24 mg one tab daily
Percorten injection 0.5 ml monthly
Trizchlor shampoo every 2 weeks
So that's where we are at. I guess I just have to hope for the best and that neither of these issues progress quickly. Of course I wish they wouldn't progress at all, but it doesn't sound like that is very likely or realistic. I told our vet that I have kind of had my head in the sand for the last couple of months since he's been feeling so good. Not that it is effective, but I guess that's been my coping skill as of late.
As far as my issues, I think I've just been burning the candle at both ends too much, along with working a wicked ridiculous amount of hours. Add in all the stress with the pooch, financial stress, holidays, and ongoing issues with my Nana, and it's been getting the best of me. I definitely need to take better care of myself, I just am not sure how to make that happen on a consistent basis. :o :rolleyes: I'm sure you all can relate.
Hugs,
Tina and Jasper xo
Big hugs Tina. You definitely have your hands full.:o I was hoping that my visit to Jasper Land would be a little more positive, but happy that he's still trucking along. You go Jasper!:p xxxxoooo
Hi Tina and Jasper and Shelby!
Hugs to all 3 of you.
You have to take care of you, because you're important. :) :) I know the overwhelmed feelings though, they can sure drag you down.
Drat that UPC. grrrrrrrr I'm hoping that it doesn't progress too much either, too quickly.
What is up with that heart enlargement. Man, too many things and meds to keep track of. The whole thing is overwhelming to the brain.
Lets hope that he just continues on with no major problems for a long time to come.
It is very good to hear from you.
hugs
Jasper ate a dog bed :eek::eek::eek::eek: Bad dog Jasper LOL!! Naughty pup, obviously he not liking his food Tina!!!! Oh but seriously that must have given you a fright, pleased it seems to be coming out the other end OK!
Sorry to see that darn UPC up a tad, but it is not too much, why is she not wanting to increase the enalopril? I am about to have this same discussion with our IMS tomorrow if his has gone up again too, one article said to keep adding meds to get it back down close as possible to normal. http://files.dvm360.com/alfresco_ima...cle-819277.pdf
I know those heart measurements worry, but it is only a fraction over normal and has gone up and down a little so hopefully next time it will be back down into the normal range :)
But other than nibbling beds it sounds like he is doing just fine, that is the main thing as far as I am concerned, but think I would be pushing to perhaps increase his ace. xxxxx