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Awwww Tina, so sorry to read about your Nana. Doesn't matter how old they are still leaves such a hole in your days. Especially as you were the one taking care of the day to day issues that cropped up. Big hugs for you my friend. Gotta dash and get going for the appointment, knew I could count on you for the telepathic good wishes over the oceans! Lots of love xxxxxx
Sorry about your Nana, Tina. It sounds like she had a long wonderful life. Can you imagine all the things she saw come to pass in her lifetime?! What a fascinating age to live thru.
I am glad Jasper handled all the excitement good and know he brings you comfort especially now.
Tina. Big hugs. Iam so sorry you have lost your nana thT is always so hrs. My condolences.
What a trooper jasper was. So proud of him.
Hugs
Hi Tina
Just checking in to see how you and Jasper and Shelby are doing this week, end of the month so no doubt you are busy. Hope things are settling down for you, must feel strange not to be heading off to see your Nan all the time. Big hugs for you xxxx
Hi Tina,
I haven't been on her regularly for awhile..but checking in now and sorry to read about your Nana..it's hard losing family isn't it? Glad that you were able to get everything taken care of with her apt. and furniture...it's a big job, and hard to do emotionally...but getting it done right away is the best idea.
Glad to read Jasper did so well with all the activity...hope both he and Shelby are being their adorable schnazuer selves!! :D
Barbara
:eek::eek: Had a typo on Schanuzer!! Can't let they go uncorrected! :D
HI Tina, checking in to see how you and J and S are going this week. Hopefully things have settled down a little and your getting some time to recoup your energy and life. Big hugs for you all xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hey Tina, checking in on you and Jasper and Shelby.
I hope things are going well for you all.
hugs
Hi Everyone,
Thank you all for your kind words and condolences on the loss of my Nana. Yes, it has seemed strange to not have to go and take care of things for her, or have her around to visit. Somehow I was thinking I would have a lot more free time, but it doesn't really feel like that just yet. It is an ongoing adjustment.
I haven't been on the forum very much lately so am trying to do some catchup. And I have a long overdue update on my Little Man.
On 3/7 we had his 3 month follow up check since the last chest xray and UPC. The last chem profile was done 10/4/14, so it was time for that also. There is some very good news, and some not so good. Here are the abnormal lab values:
ALT 194 (<100 IU/L) H (Last 222)
ALP 3884 (<95 IU/L) H (Last 3783) :eek:
CHOL 416 (125-260 mg/dL) H (Last 449)
TRIG 262 (41-115 mg/dL) H (Last 177)
BUN, Creat, Phos, and electrolytes all WNL. A big yay here! :) My vet said she is not concerned with any of the above values.
The chest x-ray measurement of his heart was 12, which is the same as 3 months ago. No additional enlargement of his heart. My vet said that the xray looks almost exactly the same as the last one and that she could almost lay one right on top of the other they were so close. This a HUGE YAY, I was so worried about this. On exam she said his heart rate was nice and slow and lungs were clear, and the murmur sounded the same. All great news regarding his heart. Not great that it has shown enlargement already, but great that it has not progressed further since the last xray. :) I hope this trend continues for a long time!
Now the not so good news:
UPC 2.95 (<0.5) H (Last 2.48)
So it has increased by about the same amt as the last few times. :( :mad:
His previous UPC's and dates:
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
Since his kidney values and electrolytes were all ok, we have increased the Enalapril to 2.5 mg every AM and 5 mg every PM beginning 3/10. He was previously taking 2.5 mg BID. Since Enalapril can cause elevation in BUN and creatinine, and also potassium, we decided to increase it by 50% rather than doubling the dose. I know we still have some wiggle room with the dose, but we have to be extra cautious due to the Addison's and also Jasper has proven time and time again to be very sensitive to medication.
He seems to be tolerating the increase ok, however I have noticed that he has had decreased appetite since about the third day of the increase. I don't know if that is coincidence or not, but he had been eating really well for quite a while until now. He ate better today, but there have been times over the past few days where he has not wanted to eat, doing that walking away from the bowl and laying down in another room, and I have struggled to get him to finish some meals. I did read that loss of appetite can be a side effect of Enalapril, but he has been taking it for a long time and doing fine. Maybe if it is related to the increased dose, it is something that he will adjust to.
I took him in yesterday to have blood drawn for a renal panel to check to make sure that the increase dose is not affecting his kidney values. Should have the results some time tomorrow, so I will ask my vet about the appetite issue then.
I am unhappy with the UPC continuing to go up of course. :( My vet has emphasized numerous times that the PLN is progressive and that this is to be expected, and that the goal is to slow the progression, which she feels we are doing. She said that Jasper has responded better to the Enalapril than a lot of dogs she has treated. Maybe I am being unrealistic to hope that the UPC will decrease now that we have increased the Enalapril, or that it will ever decrease again. But that is what I am hoping.
So that is where we are at. He seems to be feeling pretty good for the most part. He had a brief episode of colitis and bad poos for a couple of days beginning early morning on 3/9. I wonder if it was due to the stress of the vet visit on 3/7. I started metronidazole right away and got it under control pretty quickly. Other than that and now his decreased appetite, he seems happy. He continues to have lots of accidents in the house when I am at work. I put tons of pooch pads down - he obviously can't hold it all day while I am at work - but he manages to still pee on the carpet somewhere a few times a week. :( :rolleyes: My vet is not sure why this is happening, but we both think there is a behavioral component to it now. He does not do this while I am home. I still get up with him at least once during the night to go out, that has not changed. The chronic sleep deprivation continues. :rolleyes:
I will post the results from the renal panel when I get them tomorrow. Not really expecting any problems there but it will be good to see it on paper. I will post our plan tomorrow also.
Hugs from me and Jasper xo
Hi Tina. Great to hear from you.
I certainly do sympathize with you on the UPC. Molly's is increased the same amount as jasper but in 2 weeks! Eeeeeek.
I hope the renal panel comes back okay. We are doing those also.
Glad to hear that Jasper's heart hasn't increased any further. Good news there. Yay. We will take it. Has your vet mentioned adding in an ARB with the enaparil? My vet is talking about it.
Hugs. Give jasper and Shelby a belly rub from me and Molly.