Zoe By My Side- Our Journey with Cushings

Addy

You know you never have to apologize for losing it - we all do that!! Thats what we are all here for - we laugh together - cry together - vent - scream - get angry - yell - etc. etc. --- we are family - so again dont ever feel you cant express how you are feeling. We are all here for each other. You love your baby - you feel so bad for her and you just want her to feel better - and that vet was totally wrong!! After all you have been through you didnt need that from her. I hope the new meds make a difference. I am sending you lots and lots of support - strength - prayers - love and hugsssssss - wish I could hand you a bottle of chocovino right now:D:D Give Zoe a kiss and hug from me and Penny xoxoxo

I've tried to do a little more reading about the blue solutions, and it looks to me as though the issue has to do with the relative concentration/effectiveness of the active ingredient in the particular solution. The Nolvasan Solution definitely carries a pretty daunting EPA warning, so there must be something about their Diacetate ingredient/formulation that is different from the generic Chlorhexidine Gluconate Solution. So Addy, I'd definitely encourage you to make sure as to which solution you're using and how much you should be diluting it before continuing to soak Zoe's paws. The Nolvasan write-up definitely states for human workers to be very careful not to get the solution in the eyes or to inhale it when using it to clean surfaces, and also to clean it off their skin if they are directly exposed at the concentration with which they are using it to disinfect.

The Nolvasan people do make a specific product that they market for wound care:

http://www.drugs.com/vet/nolvasan-sk...-cleanser.html

Marianne

From the link Marianne posted -

Quote:

---

Rinse the area to be cleansed with clean water. A moistened gauze pad may be used to apply a small amount of Nolvasan Skin and Wound Cleanser to the affected area. Gently cleanse for 2-4 minutes. Additional water may be needed to obtain adequate sudsing. Repeat cleaning if necessary. Wipe away excess foam with a clean gauze pad. After cleansing, an antiseptic ointment or suitable dressing may be applied.

---

This are the instructions I was given with the blue solution from the vet in TN so this must be the form of Nolvasan solution she gave me. She poured it from a gallon jug into a little butter bowl with gauze pads in it and printed off the above instructions. She didn't say to dilute it any and the solution is quite sudsy so they may have previously diluted what she poured from and no mention of wearing gloves when using it.

Those warnings were a bit jarring to me since I have used this stuff on many pups and had great luck with it. I have always used it via the gauze and not poured directly onto the wounds - maybe that makes a difference tho I can't see that it would make much of one.

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

Wow----there sure has been a lot going on over here!

Addy I don't have much to add. I do think the derm vet sounds necessary.

I love that Shirley MacLaine scene. I always wished I had a protector like that. :D I can see myself doing that in a nano second.:D

I think the fact that Zoe let you examine her paw is an indication of how painful it is for her, at other times. The growling/snarling etc. is the only way they can let us know that we're not making it better. They're protecting themselves. I think it's important that you not take it personally. She's still your loving Zoe.....she just needs for something to be done.

I agree with the others about talking directly with the vet and I think the best way to do that, by far, is to make a consult appt. without Zoe there. Don't offer any guesses as to why she acted the way she did, just ask her to explain her actions to you. You either need to get a true working relationship with this vet or you definitely need to find a new vet. There is no excuse for her behavior and you definitely should not put up with it. The only "flaw" I see is that you haven't followed her directions......which I am not faulting you for....but it sounds kind of like the situation I went through with Palmer's vet where she felt a need to remind me that she was the dr. and she had the education. I never deviated from what she told us to do, but I was getting ready to have a second opinion by another vet we know. By that point she agreed that if the second vet agreed about switching to Lyso, she would do that with us. We never got that far, as it turned out. :(

I am so glad you are using this to vent. It's best to get it out.

I wish I had more to offer. As always.............here comes one huge hug in the hopes that it gives you comfort and strength.

Love,
Sus

Addy, like others have said, there is no need to apologize!!! And, in my opinion, you have nothing to apologize for in the first place. I completely understand how you were/are feeling. I would have been in tears before I could even hang up the phone! Others are right, this IS the place to vent! We are all going through similar struggles and most of the time I feel like my "friends" on here are the only ones who can relate to me, and often, you are the ones who calm me down, and bring me some peace.

I really hope this new plan will bring Zoe some relief. And again, I am so sorry you and Zoe have had such a tough time.

I'll say extra prayers for you tonight! And please, continue venting to us. That's what we're here for!

Julie & Hannah:)

Addy, I never thought about it, but Susan has a point as to how sore Zoe's paw has got to be. Remember Sas telling us that Yunah had gotten to the point that she was baring her teeth as Sas because she was so uncomfortable, & painful. It just seemed that this was so unlike Yunah that you knew something had to be badly wrong. Reflecting on this makes me wonder about Zoe.

Debbie

I asked for a referral. She said they no longer have a dermatologist on staff. My response was then well, can't you give me a referral or some names? She said no I had to find one on my own. I then looked at the other speciality clinic and they have a "traveling" dermatologist. I have no idea how good they are or who they are so I called the GP because I knew he had helped an acquaintance with her dogs skin issues and she was very pleased.

I am not so sure this paw chewing is allergy related. How do they determine that? I have had vets tell me the allergy testing is not always reliable.

Zoe is a reactive dog. Has been since I brought her home from animal control. Biting and snapping is her way to cope. We had managed to overcome most of it after alot of patient work on my part. I read every book I could get my hands on about fearful dogs. Which is how I came to Pat Miller and Jean Donaldson. But I broke the sacred trust when I used the bitter apple. I don't know what I was thinking. I should have known better.

Which is why I am wondering about her thyroid again and her IBD. If this chewing is not from her feeling pain somewhere else, is tied perhaps to the obsessive need to lick to soothe herself. Or her estradiol being out of whack again. She was so reactive and then when the estradiol was normal- a changed dog, calm sweet, angel zoe.

Which is why I am so angry with the IMS. She had not even scratced the surface with this. She broke the sacred trust too but with me.

I will try to find a dermatologist. Maybe then my mind will rest about her coat and the worsening tail, her beahvior. She has never fit the norm, not with Cushings, not with IBD, maybe that is why she does not seem allergic to me. She never fits the right profiles.

love,
addy

Addy, I wish there was something I could say to help. All I can do is send you my love and support and I pray you find the answers you need soon..

Addy, what I can tell you about derm vet care is that in the right situations, it can be almost a miracle. Both Barkley & Chewy manifested their allergies with chronic ear infections. B would have an ear infection almost every time you would look at him wrong, we're talking 3-5x a year. My GP vets tried everything they knew to do, & the infections would come right back. When we finally got sent to a derm vet, (my wonderful Dr. Lewis), is when all of this finally got under control. With the Cushing's, B was not a candidate for skin testing, so Dr. Lewis put him on several meds which cut the infections done to once, possibly twice a year. Chewy went through all of the skin testing, & is on allergy shots. When the shots first started, he went about 16 months before he had an ear infection, & it's probably been a year since that one.. I really think they can help figure out what is bothering Zoe, even if it's Cushing's related. Most derm vets should be used to dealing with Cushing's as they will see them for the skin/coat issues.

I can't promise anything, but let me call Derm Clinic for Animals on Monday & see if they know of a derm vet in your area. I also checked their website, & they now have a clinic in Akron, Ohio. I have no clue as to how far that would be for you, but thought I would put it out there.

Debbie

Hi Addy,

I searched the ACVIM website and found 2 derm. vets in the Milwaukee area.

Patrick J. McKeever, DVM, MS, DACVD from Lakeshore Vet. Specialist & Emerg. Hosp. in Port Washington # 262-268-7800.

Andrew Lowe - DVM, MSc, Diplomate ACVD from Fox Valley Animal Referral Center- 4706 New Horizons Blvd. Appleton WI # (920) 993-9193.

Sending tons of love and hugs, my dear friend.