Zoe By My Side- Our Journey with Cushings

Addy, I know this is a real stupid idea. So please don't do it. If you and your dog are so messed up your spitten angry. Biting! Poor thing. Just stop all meds, at least for a day. Sit by the fire and share some boiled chicken and see what happens. Give yourselfs a brake. I know lots of people who felt so much better when they stopped all the meds. Some can't I supose. Oh hell I wish I could help.

Addy - I think the IMS owes you an explanation. Was she saying she is not willing to help you at all or just for this issue? Regardless of the answer if she had agreed to be your regular vet then she needs to be reminded of that and know that she has just thrown you to the curb after earning your trust. This is really hard for anyone to handle. She took an oath and she needs to be reminded of it. Even if the outcome doesn't change I wouldn't let it go. Not fair. Sending love, Kim

Thank you Kim, she is saying she can't help with this issue and from her end everything is in order. I don't understand since she told me to give the benadryl a try for 3 weeks and then we could try a different anthihistimine if the benadryl did not help. She even wrote that on the discharge in december. So now I call for that help and I get the brush off. She wrote on the discharge about Zoe's food as well. So what the heck are they telling me now?

And now zoe's colitis is flaring this morning. I figured something was up with the swollen tummy. I don't even know if this chewing is from itchy paws. I have been wondering if I should have her thyroid rechecked. It has been 2 years. I read they can even chew their paws from experiencing pain.

She is so snappy and crabby. She has always been high strung (like her mama) but I have learned when she does not feel well it gets a LOT worse.

I'll try to figure this out on my own I guess. I need the new vet to advise if my thoughts are okay from a medical stand point. I'll get control of the colitis and nip that in the bud.

I'm used to being on my own with Zoe. The vets have always thrown me under a bus.

Now I'm crying. Gotta go
love,
addy

Oh, Addy, that stinks! I would be angry too! Even if she didn't feel like she would be the best to treat Zoe (which could be the reason why she doesn't want to try), I think she should have contacted you and just given you her explanation. I know how hard it is when we invest so much time and money and most importantly, trust, into our vets and then they do something to let us down. I have had that experience a couple of times with mine (but not nearly to this degree-just little things), and it really is frustrating. I don't think they realize how important they are in the lives of some of us with pups that have many problems.

I can think of two possibilities: call back and ask to talk to the vet herself and just ask for an explanation. Stay calm and just inquire as to her reasoning. If you get the exact same explanation, I would remind her that she has been Zoe's regular vet and that she agreed to that, and see what she says. The other idea is to just go to the other vet you tried. He called back himself, seems concerned about Zoe, and is obviously not worried about her biting.

I'm so sorry you're in this position. It seems like you can't get on top of this thing, and with feeling crappy yourself, it must be extra frustrating. I feel so bad that Zoe is having so much trouble with her foot. Do you think it looks like there could be any infection there? I wonder if that is what is bothering her. They can easily get a yeast infection just from their licking and keeping it moist.

I wish I could think of more ideas to help you. Like I said, I have successfully used Ketochlor, and my vet does say that this spray with a little steriod in it (one is Gentaved, but there are others) is highly successful when they wont' stop itching. I know none of us want to hear the word steroid, and I know that Hannah's Cushing's is not very bad, so that may be easier to consider for me, but both vets felt confident that a little bit topically would be okay to get us over a hump if we needed it. I didn't ever use it, but still have it.

I'm sending some positive vibes your way. Please let us know if you talk to your vet again, or what you decide to do.

Julie & Hannah

Addy, I just read what you posted while I was writing to you. I think if I were you I would get the thyroid checked, unless they tell you it makes no sense. It can't hurt. My parents have a collie with thyroid issues and he is just "off" when it isn't regulated.

After hearing that the vet said all of that and you have info. on the discharge papers, maybe she really doesn't KNOW what else to do and this is the way she is handling it (giving you the brush-off), instead of just telling you. I don't get it.

I am so, so sorry. :(

Julie & Hannah

Hi Addy,

That really stinks for the IMS to do that even if they feel they have done all they can for Zoe in this situation. I would make a consultation appointment and sit down face to face with the IMS, remind her that she agreed to be Zoe's ONE vet, and let her know how this episode has effected you. I would not just let this slide by - for the IMS' sake as well as yours. ;) You seem to have had a pretty good relationship up to this point so you should have a foundation for such a chat.

I am so sorry you had to be given this to deal with too. :(

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

Oh Addy, I am also so sorry that you've been treated this way! When you're up to it, though, I do agree with Leslie and Julie that I wouldn't let this go without talking to the IMS personally. Since the nurse was the intermediary, there is no way to truly know what the IMS really intended (or whether your own info was accurately conveyed to the IMS). No matter what, she needs to know how this brush-off has affected you. It is not right for any care provider to abandon a patient without talking to them directly.

But in the meantime, you're stuck with your worries. :( :( :( :(

FWIW, here's a few thoughts. First, it looks as though the Ketochlor shampoo contains the same active ingredient (chlorhexidine) as does the blue Novalsan solution. In addition, the Ketchlor also has the antifungal agent, ketoconazole. One other thing I noticed is that the chlorhexidine in the shampoo is "chlorhexidine gluconate," whereas in the Novalsan it is "chlorhexidine diacetate." Maybe it's the form of the chlorhexidine that makes it OK to put directly on an animal's skin? Because on the same page as Leslie's link to Novalsan, there is another generic blue solution that *is* OK'd for direct wound care. And the listed ingredient for it is also "chlorhexidine gluconate," just llike the shampoo. I never took a chemistry class in my life :o, so maybe this has nothing at all to do with the different uses -- maybe there's just some other additive in the Novalsan that could be a problem. But at any rate, here's the link to the other blue product on the website that Leslie found:

http://www.revivalanimal.com/Chlorhe...-Solution.html

Last but not least, I wanted to tell you that your old-time antihistamine is the one that I still use personally to this day, and that I was also giving to my Peg up until she started on the phenobarb. The brand name is Chlor-trimeton, which I have been able to find in grocery stores (I've also found generics in the groceries, too). The only reason we switched Peg off it is because my vet said that since she is already getting a sedating effect from the phenobarb, it would probably be better to switch her to a newer, nondrowsy med. I know you're concerned about specific interactions for Zoe which makes total sense, but I just wanted you to know that I'd been safely using it with Peg for years. And I still use it myself, drowsy or not, because it works better for me than any of the newer drugs!

Addy, try to hang in there! I can imagine how upset and discouraged you must feel. I will never forget how it drove me CRAZY to sit in the quiet house with Barkis, and hear that constant "slurp, slurp, slurp" from wherever he was sitting. Peg is also so licky and itchy, too, but at least she varies the target :o. With Barkis, it was always his paws. The skin around them turned permanently pink. I always wished so much that I could just ask him "WHY ARE YOU DOING THAT??????????????" :eek: :eek: :eek:

Marianne

Dear Addy,

So sorry your insensitive IMS made you angry, mad, cry and feel let down. It sounds all too familiar to me. My IMS told me the very same thing this past December when Princess rebounded with her symptoms. Reason why? as Glynda once pointed out to me is the fact that her head is way too big and it is beneath her to treat a patient whose mom is trying to play an active role and educate herself with all this cushings non-sense. I know she wants to be done with me and Princess, and under different circumstances I would have been all over that a long, long while ago, but since I do not have a backup IMS at the moment, I refuse to give this one the upper hand of dumping me and my girl before I have the honor of booting her first, and when that days comes, and it will, it won't be prettieeeee. :mad: For now I basically rely on her for the stims and meds. That is my relationship with her at this stage of the game.

I do not know what your situation is there with other IMS's, but if you have access to others, and feel your dr./patient relationship has been jeopardized, I'd jump at the chance to run off with Zoe.

So sorry you and Zoe have to deal with this on top of everything else, but sometimes they are blessings in disguise. I hope that is the case here.

Feel better soon as well as Zoe.

Much love and hope....xo Jeanette

Thank you all so very much for your understanding and support. I guess it got so I was like Shirley McClain in Terms of Endearment when she started yelling "just give my daughter the shot" in the hospital. I called for help for my little girl and could not make that dang nurse understand a darn thing so I lost it after I hung up the phone. It was like I just want an answer and I want it NOW. I did not yell at her, I just lost it in my head and my head went into the Shirley McClain zone. Does that make sense?

I was already upset yesterday because she had been chewing and chewing her paw and when I went to put her harness on she snapped at me again. It was almost like she was guarding a resourse. I finally had to put her collar on to take her out to pee. Then I had to run to work. Her behavior just makes more stress, though I do understand why she is doing it. I will not break the sacred trust again as I did when I sprayed the bitter apple on her paw a month ago It is just harder to help a reactive dog.

When I saw her poo this morning it was like the last straw. I was concerned about giving her another antibiotic, what would it do to her IBD but felt I had to try. Looks like it accomplished nothing but giving her a flare up.

If I am honest with myself, I never really did what the IMS told me to do for very long anyway. I usually changed it to my own comfort level with Zoe. But I did listen to her input and I always considered and weighed her opinion. And in my mind she had done not all that much with Zoe regarding this new problem. I had alot of questions. But then, I always do and vets dont seem to be comfortable with that. I talked to her once about it. But I just can't talk to her right now.

I think I have the right blue solution, I went to the new vet's office and explained to the tech what he and I had discussed. I have the Chlor tabs and a muzzle.

I soaked Zoe's feet and she let me look closely at her paws. I do not see any open wounds, gashes, the large pad is just not black and looks irritated. Maybe I can take a picture of it to show you.

We will try the new meds for 2 weeks and if there is no improvement at all we will go back to the new vet. I will ask how can we tell if it is mental or physical.


I'm hanging on. Sorry I lost it.

love,
addy

Addy, I've been trying to get caught up on what has happened with the IMS. Since she agreed to act as Zoe's primary vet, she needs to be told about all of this directly. Now, for my 2 cents worth, I really think you need to see about a referral to a derm vet. I have had a derm vet on board for a number of years, now, & when it comes to skin, coat, allergy issues, they are the ones you need to see. IMO, it sound like Zoe may be beyond what a GP vet can do for her. I don't know what it is with Lhasa's & allergy issues but Barkley was severely allergic, Chewy is pretty bad, but not as bad as B, & it sounds like Zoe is getting there.

Debbie

PS- Some other antihistamine choices are Zyrtec, which is what Chewy takes. Benadryl can be given as many as 3 per day, & there are several of the other OTC allergy meds that can be used. If I can find the list from my derm vet, I will post back.