LOL! It's the 9th, and a recliner sounds awesome...I've got Sibbie on one side, Cooper on the other, Gable next to us either on the floor or ottoman, and Doree on her chair with the space heater on to keep her warm. I need a full night's sleep!
Printable View
LOL! It's the 9th, and a recliner sounds awesome...I've got Sibbie on one side, Cooper on the other, Gable next to us either on the floor or ottoman, and Doree on her chair with the space heater on to keep her warm. I need a full night's sleep!
Surely thinking about you guys today and hoping that those staples will soon be out with no problems!! (And that now everybody will be able to get back to a good night’s sleep ;-))))))
OMG—I couldn’t decide whether to post this update here or on my gratitude thread. THE STAPLES ARE OUT!!!!!!!!!! Unfortunately, ����������, there were only 32 instead of 33��. Most important, the baby is out of her play pen. I apologize for the sarcasm and the fact that I figured out how to use the smileys—just can’t help myself.
Now for the official update...saw Doc this afternoon and the techs removed her 32 staples and I made sure that I received all of them. ( I’m thinking about making them into some kind of necklace or bracelet ). Annie was also supposed to have a complete CBC done, but after Doc looked at it he came in the exam room with the sample and told me he couldn’t even spin it because of hyperlipidemia(sp?). She had not eaten anything since her breakfast at 8:00am this morning and he drew blood about 4:15 this afternoon cst. It really did look like a pink milkshake. Anyway, her dad will take her in tomorrow morning early for a fasted blood test and hopefully it will be ok. The plan is to take her back in next Tuesday for a glucose curve and a stim test. He was asking me about her eating,drinking....yadayadayada...telling me that she was doing ok and could probably wait on the stim test. I said “Hey Doc, remember who you are talking to—-can we get a stim test done—I really don’t care what your schedule says how this should be done, I need to know what her numbers are if it’s feasible at this point”. He just took a step back and said, OK.
Moving forward with our visit. By now, Annie is at the exam room door wanting out—I would want out too at this point, but once again, we had drawn a small crowd from the office in addition to a vet intern from Germany working with doc for a few months. So Annie gave up and found solace near my right leg as I sat on a hard bench in the corner. I flat out asked him in over his 25 years as a veterinarian if he had ever had a success case like hers. He was actually quiet for almost a second, and all he could do was shake his head no. He told me with everything against her, cushings, diabetes, pancreatitis, he would have told me to put her down. My reply was, “Doc, I looked in her eyes and I knew it wasn’t her time.” I think he got it. The problem is he deals with people all the time who just give up on their pets, dogs or cats and has never run into a “me”. Please don’t misunderstand, I’m a retired teacher, grandmother—nobody special. I don’t dress up or down, I just throw on whatever feels comfortable for the day and I gave up social circles with the first husband.
Continuing on...Doc’s intern from Germany was asking me questions about Annie’s prior health and she didn’t have much knowledge about cushings but I don’t know exactly how far she is in her vet school. Back to my discussion with doc...the man finally admitted that Annie was a one in a million miracle. Truth be told, Doc is an excellent vet, but he also knows and admits his limitations. I’m hoping that from this experience with Annie, he will tell other patient parents that there is a specialty clinic in Chicago that may be able to help if he can’t but it may be expensive. He had never heard of this clinic until we came along. I’d like to hope that a little learning was filtered his way as I learn everyday on this site from all of you.
Now about Annie’s physical appearance. I know this is so stupid but she’s just gone to ‘hell in a hand basket’ as fas her appearance. I can already hear the yelling at me through cyberspace right now—“Karen,get a grip, her appearance doesn’t matter, she’s alive.” I know, I know, I know. However, any of you out there who have ever been a parent to a miniature schnauzer should know the breed is a very proud breed, especially when it comes to their grooming. Gracie was the most prissy schnauzer I’ve ever had. If she had a whisker out of place and couldn’t get it back herself, she would sit and bark at me until I would get the brush and fix it. Thankfully, Annie’s a little more laid back, but I haven’t been able to brush her for two weeks. Tonight, she was rolling all over the floor to our delight but tomorrow morning I ‘m calling her groomer for an appointment ASAP. After Annie is groomed, she prances around the house like a diva. I can’t wait and tomorrow she will be brushed
Thank you �� for putting up with all this verbiage but it is what it is. Blessings to you all and your pups, here and beyond. Karen
I’m awake so early this morning with such a new found hope for Annie’s future no matter what happens from here on out. I’m almost giddy with excitement! In fact, as I sit here I’m imagining having a spa day with her. I think this afternoon I’ ll give her a nice warm bubble bath in my big kitchen sink and just clean her up a little. I also think the warm water might feel good on her tummy where her big scar is. When she’s dry then I’ll gently brush all her little tangles out. She also has a tuft of hair on the top of her head that makes her look like a quail but I’ll let the groomer take care of that next week.
I hope we get the results from her blood work today. I’m hoping her liver enzymes are in the normal range. Blessings to you all and have a great weekend. Karen
I am so very glad her staples are out and she is acting more like her old self! I know she is thrilled to have her freedom back again...as are you. ;)
I’ve been in and out all day so didn’t have a chance to write before this. But I’m soooooooo glad to read your news, and hope both you girls are thoroughly enjoying your spa day :-))))))))))
Well, what can I say, other than the euphoria of having a spa day with my little baby boiled down to Annie's thought process of "GET ME OUTA HERE". I had the nice safe paw protector in the sink, the water was perfect in temperature, I had plenty of towels on hand, and all the safest suds that a pup could want plus conditioner.
My hubby is a retired--semi-retired-home contractor. When we build a house, it's truly a dog house, but more important, a home where pups don't have struggle with anything, nor do we.
Back to the reality of spa day. Basically it just boiled down to a little girl who did not want to be in water, for whatever reason. After about 3 minutes, I called it quits, plucked her out of the drink and got her dried off. Thankfully, it was warmer outside today and when she was dry I put her out. Well, does anyone want to venture a guess what happened next? You probably already know,...................she rolled, and rolled and rolled in the grass. Well, at that point, I'm dripping in sudsy water, holding a a damp towel and calling her to come in. Then I just stopped....and I realized all this fluff didn't matter, my miracle baby was alive, her staples were out, and at that very moment, I once again realized what a gift had been entrusted to us. This little life, now my cush pup, but she is still here with us.
Fast forward to early this evening. Annie started to pant...which to me she was having some pain so I gave her a pain med as a part of a treat. It took a couple of hours but I think she's ok for now.
For those of you who actually read my ramblings, next week I'm going to dredge up a topic that has been buried for about 5 years and I have just learned about this info. I know I'm a a newbie to cushings but what I dug out of the graveyard was very thought provoking. Please stay tuned. Blessings to all. Karen
Hi Karen, and thanks for the update — I’ve sure had you guys on my mind and hoped that your day would go well. But here’s a question for you — did the surgeon give you instructions about any continued restrictions or care after the staples came out? Perhaps I’m just being a nervous Nellie, but giving Annie free rein to run and roll in the yard with abandon does worry me at this still early stage in her recuperation. If the surgeon said it was fine to resume all normal activity just as soon as the staples were out, you can totally ignore me. But when my dogs have had surgical procedures, I’ve been told to keep them on leashes whenever outside for a fair piece of time, so as to restrict them from running and contorting too aggressively for a while. As I say, this may not be considered an issue for Annie. And of course, you can’t keep her swaddled in bubble wrap. To some extent, she’s gonna do what she’s gonna do. But I don’t like hearing that she started panting again :-(. With a surgery this extensive and an incision this large, it just seems to me that it would be best to remain somewhat restrictive re: aggressive physical activity for a while longer. If your surgeon didn’t give specific instructions in this regard, you may want to double-check. And if they say that a return to full activity is now fine, then you can just ignore everything I’ve written above and carry on as normal ;-).
Marianne
Marianne, you have raised some excellent questions. I was given no post staple removal instructions from anyone. However the top part of her incision is bright pink and that tells me it’s healthy tissue.
Ok Marianne, since it appears you are on board today,, I’Ll just unleash the “blast from the past” on this site regarding early spay/neuter and cushings. I found Dr.Deckers info...but it just seemed to me that she is just in it for the money. I did more recearch on my own through the AKC you really have to spend hours sifting through their stuff. But at one point I was sent in a diffferent direction to another Doc/researcher who qualified dr. Becker’s info. I’m not going to post any sites without permission plus you’ve probably already read them.
The only reason I’m dredging this stuff up again is because Jerry and I are thinking about a baby sister for Annie. I know that she is getting older and we are getting older by the minute, but we have always had at at least two pups in our home. Gracie’s bark in my head says Annie needs a baby to take care of.
Back to the dredge, I have also found a site which lists docs state by state who perform vasectomys, ovary sparing spays for females......and the list goes on. Annie is the only pup after having pups for over 45 years who has had cushings. But if I can prevent a future pup from any hormone related disease I’m all in.
This little rant probably makes no sense to anybody but me.....but we had no sleep last night. As I stated before, she goes in on Tuesday for a stim test plus a bg curve, so I can post numbers after that.
Blessings to you all for putting up with me. I love you all and bless your pups,here and departed. Karen
Karen, I’m so glad to hear that Annie’s incision looks to be healing nicely. As I said, I am probably just being hyper-nervous, so take my suggestions for the two cents that they’re probably worth. :)
As for Dr. Becker — I am not a fan of her conclusions about Atypical Cushing’s, and I’m assuming that’s what you’re talking about. It’s been quite a while since I’ve read any of her articles, but I believe she has tried to link early spay/neuter with the development of Atypical Cushing’s. This is a condition about which there remains a great deal of uncertainty within the endocrinological community. It refers to a situation where dogs exhibit elevated adrenal hormones other than cortisol. Causes for this condition are uncertain, and even the ramifications of these hormonal elevations are uncertain. The University of Tennesse at Knoxville has done a fair amount of research re: this condition in recent years; I really don’t know whether they have hypothesized any linkages with spay/neuter.
However, this is not Annie’s problem. She has elevated cortisol associated with traditional Cushing’s of which the two possible causes are known: development of pituitary or adrenal tumors. I am unaware of any research that links spay/neuter with the development of these tumors, and I don’t think even Dr. Becker is making that claim.
It’s been so many years since I’ve had a puppy that I have not sought out research about the pros-and-cons of spay/neuter and other types of conditions, and there may be other issues to consider besides Cushing’s. But I don’t think traditional Cushing’s has been implicated as a related problem. Here’s a quote from a 2016 Q & A with noted endocrinologist Dr. David Bruyette:
http://veterinarymedicine.dvm360.com...ations-diseaseQuote:
Wooten: Have there been any studies comparing the incidence of Cushing’s disease in our spayed and neutered population vs. our intact population?
Bruyette: Yes, it has been looked at. Unlike the problem we see in ferrets with adrenal disease that are spayed or neutered, we really haven’t seen any difference in the frequency of Cushing’s among spayed or neutered dogs.
If there are other specific articles you’d like to discuss, though, you can go ahead and reference them here.
Marianne