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HI Julie
Just checking in to see how Hannah is, hope that improvement you noticed the other day has continued and she is feeling better. I am sure your Mom will be fine supervising the acupuncture, so good to have their support eh! Have a good week you guys xx
Me too stopping by to check in, hope you have seen more improvement
Thinking of you both with lots of positive mojo and prayers
Big hug
Mel
Xxxxxx
Hi Guys-
Hannah has maybe been slightly better. She did have some troubles Sun. morning, but only for a few minutes. I kept her a little more rested on Sun. Mon. and today she also had no problems walking in the morning. Her legs are still not quite right though. I can tell. She just lies and sits in weird positions and sometimes the stance she stands in isn't right either. I'm hopeful this means the acupuncture did its trick, and I'm eager to see how the vet thinks her back feels at her appointment on Thurs. She'll get acupuncture again then, and as of now I have laser scheduled on Sat. I'm not sure if they'll just do it on Thurs. or if we'll go back.
One really nice thing that happened-I called the derm vet to see if I should get a refill of Atopica for Hannah or not. It doesn't seem to be working wonders, but we haven't gotten to the 6 week mark yet. It's over $100 for the bottle I buy, so not knowing how she would do with her back, and if the Atopica was helping, I didn't know what to do. The woman was so helpful and said they had a bottle returned because the dispenser wasn't working. Since I had my stuff from the current bottle, they just gave me the full bottle for free! That really helps out a lot.
I'm almost scared to say that things have been pretty good because I'm worried I'll jinx it. This is such a busy time at work and I can't really afford to be out of my classroom much.
I'll keep you posted on how things go Thurs. I hate that I can't be there, but I'm glad my parents can. Thanks so much for thinking of us and checking on us; I KNOW it helps!
Julie & Hannah
We are all always thinking of you and Hannah.
It sounds like things have improved so we will take this as a good update and great score on the free meds:D:D:D:D
((((((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))))
Hi
Just wanted to say hello and wish Hannah good luck on Thursday!Love that you got something FREE!! at the vet-now THAT rarely happens!:).Good for you!
stopping in to say hello and hoping all things are still looking good and improving. Even the slightess improvement is such a huge thing and the feeling that washes over you is amazing. so whootwhoot party like a rock star!
Hey Julie
How you both doing? Hope her little legs are feeling a bit better....
Big hug, kisses to your cutie pie :)
Mel
xxxx
me too, I'm checking in, eveyrthing ok?
Hi Julie,
Hope that things went well on Tuesday and Hannah is doing better.
hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin
Hi Guys,
Hannah's walking seems much better-she hasn't had any issues for several days; however, she is now not interested in eating...she acts repulsed by her food some of the time. But then around 8:00 or 9:00 at night she will bark for food and will usually eat her kibble. I don't know what's going on because she's always been a pretty good eater, and she had been loving her new food. She is supposed to be on an Rx food to do a food trial. Everything was good for a couple of weeks, so I don't know what happened. She doesn't even want canned food most of the time. She'll eat treats and I bought a new food to see if she'd eat it and I would try to gradually transition her. She does seem to like that food.
The vet gave her a B12 shot last Thurs. after acupuncture to stimulate her appetite. It didn't seem to do much. She also placed a couple of needles to try to help with digestion. My primary vet wonders if Hannah just has some digestive upset right now so her food doesn't smell good to her.
She is otherwise acting normal. She seems happy. The other thing I wonder is if there is something wrong with her teeth, but the vet tried to look in her mouth on Thurs. too. Hannah resisted a bit, but things looked okay to her. She just had a $2,000 dental surgery/cleaning 2 months ago, so I hope there isn't anything wrong, but who knows??? I'm wondering if I should have my regular vet check it out. She doesn't have many teeth to begin with, but it takes her forever to chew...
Sometimes she throws up if she doesn't eat enough (just bile) so that stinks too. I've been wondering if the sucralfate could have anything to do with it because sometimes she's eager to eat around 4:00, but I have to give the sucralfate around 4:30 (on an empty stomach) and then she has to wait an hour to eat. By the time I feed her she has ZERO interest, but an hour earlier she was barking for food. I don't get it. :confused:
Worried and frustrated,
Julie & Hannah
In looking for canine side effects with suralfate they mention constipation as about the only one for dogs - however for humans they list nausea, and other digestive upsets. The timing does seem suspect, huh?
Yes, Leslie, it is a little suspect. I've searched extensively on the side effects for dogs and found the same thing, constipation. I did not, however, think to look at side effects for humans. Thanks for thinking of that. My vet doesn't think it should cause any issues, and she's been on it for 3 weeks straight, so it definitely didn't affect anything right away, which is also weird. She took it for a week at first, then we had a three day break before going back on it (because her stool was dark again).
The vet did more research and said Hannah should take it for a full 4 weeks to get the (potential) ulcer to heal completely. We are so close to four weeks (without those three days). I'm thinking of either skipping it tonight or trying it 2 hours after her food to see if there is any difference.
It's so hard with all of her other meds to space everything out. Here's the list of her meds: Sucralfate, Pepcid, Denamarin, Cosequin, Atopica, Hydroxyzine; then she gets Tacrolimus drops and NeoPolyDex ointment put in her eyes, and then I have keto wipes and a steroid cream and spray for her skin, as needed. It's like a pharmacy over here.
I am proud of the fact that for the last three weeks I have been able to give every med at the correct time. It is so hard to space them out because some need to be on an empty stomach, they can't be too close together, etc. I set alarms for all hours to make it work. It will be wonderful if we can eliminate the sucralfate, as I'll be able to sleep again, and we won't have to be so strict with when she can eat.
Thanks for looking into it, Leslie!
Julie & Hannah
Here are links to videos of Hannah. The first one is showing her trying to walk in the morning when she was having trouble. The second one is showing her last weekend with no problems. Even in her cone, she's still a happy camper!
http://s1301.photobucket.com/user/jm...tml?sort=3&o=0
http://s1301.photobucket.com/user/jm...tml?sort=3&o=1
Oh gosh those two are so cute.
There is a marked improvement I think between video 1 and video 2. The cone might throw her balance off a bit if she is having some rear leg problems, which might make it look worse than it is without the cone on. You'd know about that. In the second video though she looks to be doing pretty good and no falling over.
Just adorable though. :) I love how she makes her bed with the blanket. Molly does that too and it always is such fun to watch.
hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin
Julie:
I too have given Tipper this to Tipper, but not on an empty stomach. She has issues with acid reflux and I thought it might be helpful to her throat if she had any lesions from the acid. She is still having the throat issues and as you know going to the hosptal tomorrow for it. I didn't notice any stomach upset or anything, but her stool was harder. She didn't get constipated as I gave her pumpkin. She would fight me when I had to give it to her though, so it either bothered her stomach, or she hated the taste, because she is smart and when I give her something that helps her she is wanting it again.I have stopped giving it to her. I will try and remember to ask the Dr. at the hospital about it for you. Hope your baby is doing well. God Bless You and Hannah
Patti
Hi Julie,
How is Hannah? I was tryin to watch the videos but for some reason they were not playing on my lap top. I must have something set wrong.
How are things? Just checking in to let you know I am thinking of you.
OMG those are adorable little videos!!!!! she was "nesting" I LOVE IT when they do that. so precious. and she was just zipping right along with her little cone. lol........zip zip zip!!!!
She is SO adorable... Love her, she is so gorgeous with a evil cone on and all. I am just signing up to photobucket so I can share videos of Flynn, should have done that ages ago... stay tuned :) Hope she is a having a good day Julie xx
Hi Guys,
I haven't been on too much lately-busy with Hannah, the end of the school year, and trying to get yard work done. I have my staff party at my house in a week and a half. I've kind of just needed to focus my attention on Hannah, Izzy, and my hubby during my free time lately.
I just wanted to give an update on Hannah. I think she was starting to have some back trouble again, after improving from a few weeks ago, so she got a laser treatment.
She also had a change in her appetite a few weeks ago. I thought it may have been tied to a medication but stopping it didn't really change much. She is off and on about eating, but usually wants to eat around 8:00 or 9:00 at night.
My vet also recommended doing a fecal occult blood test to see if there is blood in her stool, since after treating her for the possible stomach ulcer, her stool returned to a darker color. It isn't black, and it doesn't look like coffee grounds or anything, but it is so much darker than her stool used to be. It used to be a golden/light brownish color, and now it is a darker brown, but the inside is usually a lighter color. Of course, I have no idea what normal is, but there was just a significant change one day, and I hadn't changed her food or anything else. When she was on the sucralfate it was lighter, which worries me. So the vet wants to do the test.
I had to switch her to a vegetarian dog food for at least 3 days before the test. It took a little over a week to transition her, and she doesn't love the food either. We were in the middle of a prescription hydrolyzed protein (HP) diet to see if her itching is due to food allergies. They recommend this because the protein source has been modified so the dog's body cannot recognize it. Unfortunately she also got the weird appetite in the middle of that, so between not wanting to eat sometimes and needing to switch to the veggie food, we didn't get too far. It's frustrating because that food was not cheap, but at this point I just want her to enjoy eating, so as soon as we are off this strict diet I'll let her eat the food she likes.
I'm hopeful I can take tomorrow's stool to the vet. I transitioned her fully on Thurs., so it's been 4 days. I'm worried about what they'll find, but have no idea what we'll even do if there is blood. I'm not doing an endoscopy on her, so we really won't know if it's an ulcer. Maybe we just go back on the sucralfate, regardless. If it is some sort of tumor I won't do anything anyway, so really I'd just keep her comfortable.
If we find out there is no blood, then she can go on a steroid if needed. Since her itching has not resolved and she is still in the cone, I'd really like her to live a little more comfortably, and I'm willing to try a steroid, since we really don't even know if she has Cushing's. She sure doesn't have the appetite, and her water intake isn't crazy. The only real symptom she has is rear end weakness.
I just wanted to give you an update on us. Thanks for checking in. I'll let you know what I find out.
Thinking of all of you and wishing you and your pups the very best,
Julie & Hannah
Hi Julie,
I think you are doing really great and giving Hannah as happy of a life as possible.
Poor thing, with all the back problems. I wonder if the different food changes she's been through has just sort of messed with her appetite? Molly gets off food when I start trying to change things around, then she gets the runs and things just are not normal for awhile. Usually until I go back to the SO, which she leaves sometimes and eats other times. Her poop changes by how much she eats too.
It's good sometimes to just take the time to spend with hubs and pups. It makes life just seem okay when you can have the time to do that.
Hope you have a wonderful staff party. End of year ones are the best!! hahaha
hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin
Hi Hannah
Glad to hear you are spending time with the babies and hubby, hope you are enjoying it and Hannah's poor back and appetite improved. I am interested to read how she is going on the vegetarian hypoallergenic diet as Flynn has been recommended the same and will be starting it soon when I have had a chance to talk to his local vet about introducing it. Is she just having the kibble version or wet food too? Another question, how do you get pills into her as I always wrap Flynny's in a bit of meat and he gobbles it down but I worry it will be much harder if he is only allowed kibble. Thanks for any tips and hoping she settles down again soon
Trish :)
Hi Julie,
I hope it is just the food for Hannah not being crazy to chow down. Maybe she just doesnt like being a vegan:):) I watched the videos of her, she and Izzy are so precious.
Maybe the steriod would help her. I know you want to try and we sure dont know if Hannah has Cushings.
It is so hard to know what is going on when we have so many issues with our pups but you continue to do a wonderful job, Julie, and Hannah is a lucky, happy little girl.
Try to enjoy your summer break. My granddaughter's graduation is in two weeks and then off to Lake Forest she goes in two months. I miss her already but I am very proud of her.
love ya
Hi Sharlene, Trish, and Addy,
Just thought I'd let you know that Hannah's fecal occult blood test was negative! I was very pleasantly surprised. I am a little concerned because from what I've read online it sounds like there can be false negatives if the blood isn't evenly dispersed in the stool, and with Hannah's there is sometimes a darker area, vs. the whole stool being dark. I want to clarify with my vet if the lab checks more than one spot in the sample. It also mentioned that you can do the test more than once to be certain.
The other good news is that her eating has picked up again. I am transitioning her back to the Royal Canin HP (hydrolyzed protein) food to do the food trial and she is eating it again. She is also eating some ID, which she was on before the HP, because I didn't want to shock her tummy by going right from the Natural Balance Veggie to the HP. She was not a fan of the veggie food at all. She wasn't too fond of either of these foods a couple of weeks ago either, so maybe she did just have an upset tummy.
The vet said we can try a steroid whenever I want now that the stool was negative for blood. I'm going to give the Atopica another week or so (so we have 6 full weeks of uninterrupted treatment) and see how she is. I've been taking the cone off more often when I'm home to see if she will eventually stop trying to bite and itch. I sometimes wonder if she just feels she has to go crazy because she figures the cone won't be off for long. I feel like if I find out they don't check more than one spot in the stool, then I may want to repeat this test before putting her on the steroid. The vet said it could be really bad to give her a steroid if there was an ulcer, so I don't want to do that.
Hannah's BUN was still elevated at 32, but it came down from 51. Her Hematocrit looked really good and was back up. She just had a UA about 6 weeks ago, which was perfectly normal, so the vet doesn't think there is a kidney issue. Not sure why the BUN is elevated, but the ALT was back to normal, so aside from the BUN, high ALKP, and high platelets, everything looked pretty good on her blood work a couple of weeks ago. I'll take it!
Julie & Hannah
Hi Julie
So pleased to hear the good results today, no blood in the poop and the BUN improving like that! Way to Go Hannah!!!!!!!!!!!! :D:D
I hope the hydrolysed food helps Hannah's skin and tummy, Flynn has started transitioning tonight to it but I think it might be different version of Royal Canin hydrolysed than your one, it is called Anallergenic my vet said it is new here but we so far behind the times in NZ it has probably been available to you for ages!! I am looking forward to seeing the effect on both Hannah and Flynn so will be keeping a very close eye on your thread! xxxx
Good news Julie and I hope Hannah will continue to like her food That is always such a worry when she does not want to eat her food.
I hope you have a wonderdul weekend, not many days left of school. Maybe you will be able to try taking off the cone for longer and longer periods and she will be fine. Here's hoping to that.:)
Now if it would just stop raining!!!!
We always love a good news day :)
hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin
Hi Guys,
Just wanted to post a quick update. Hannah started on a steroid on Fri. morning. We were unable to control her itching with Hydroxyzine and Atopica, and since the fecal occult test was negative the vet and derm vet thought it was fine to move forward with a steroid. The derm vet chose it, methylprednisolone, and said she chose it because the increased eating/drinking side effect is a little lower with this one. She wanted to start with a very low dose and increase if necessary, rather than start with too much. I appreciate that. I am still nervous about putting her on it (partly still worried there could be something bleeding in there, even though the test was negative, and partly because I don't know what negative effects it could produce), but at this point I really do want her to be comfortable. She has lived her life in a cone since Sept. and despite the fact that she seems happy, I know she is itchy and it must be miserable not to do anything about it.
School is done and I'll be home more often for the next few weeks, so this seemed like the time to do it. I'm really hoping this will relieve Hannah's itching and nothing horrible will happen. I just have to keep reminding myself this is in her best interest. I want her to be comfortable and live the remainder of her life without an e-collar.
I still check in quite a bit, but I haven't posted much. I was in meetings most of last week (the first week school was out) and have just been focusing on enjoying some of my free time with Matt, Hannah, and Izzy. Hopefully I'll be around a little more often this summer.
Julie & Hannah
Lucky you with holidays, sounds like you deserve them with all the time you have been putting in. Hope you are slowly getting into relax mode now you are off! Hoping the low dose steroids do the trick and settle down Hannah and she stops itching poor wee girl. Send lots of good luck your way and lots of hugs to go with it! :)
Julie, I'm glad you are giving it a try. I sure hope it helps. You have tried so hard with Hannah, maybe this will be the right avenue.
Crossing all fingers and paws.:)
Hi Julie, I hope this helps Hannah with the itchiness.
Enjoy your summer holidays. :) Hopefully without a cone in the house this year. :)
hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin
Oddly enough, chamomile tea does help with itchiness. Although it only helps temporarily, it can be used repeatedly without any side effects. Buddy is a highly allergenic dog. I always keep some of it in the refrigerator, because I never know what is going to get him started itching. I brew one tea bag with about 6 ounces of water and let it cool. Then I pour it into a small spray bottle. I use it cold from the refrigerator. That helps soothe the itching even more. I also clean Buddy's eyes with it. It has Anti-inflammatory and Antibiotic properties. Each batch lasts about three or four days in the refrigerator. Just a thought....
Hey Julie
I noticed we haven't heard from you in a while, hope you are all doing ok?
Big hug, kisses to the furlets
Mel
Xxxxxx
How is Hanna doing on the steroid? Has her itching decreased? It's horrible to have to coned for so long! Sending tons tons of hugs and healing energy.:)
Kathy
Hi Mel and Kathy,
Thanks for checking on us. Hannah is on the steroid, and is doing fine in terms of side effects. After about a week, she actually had three or four days with no cone!!!!! :D:D:D:D:D:D
Unfortunately, the past couple of days she has been really itchy again--almost like she is at her worst. I'm not sure what's going on. She's been back in the cone because she is otherwise scratching her chin, licking her feet, or licking her crotch. The derm vet emailed me on Sun. and said to add in Benadryl to see if it helps. Apparently Hannah is on a "medium" dose, at 4 mg of methylprednisolone every other day. I'm thinking we might have to increase to daily again for a little while, depending on what the doctor says.
I certainly don't want to give her too much because that's when we have to worry more about side effects, but my whole goal here was to make her comfortable.
Hannah got groomed on Sun. and has no ill effects from that....so far. Last time after her groom she had her worst episode with walking/back issues, so I'm crossing my fingers that she remains okay. We were just talking with the groomer about how great her coat is. It's no longer greasy at all (she must've had a yeast issue for long time because since we figured that out her coat is sooo much better) and it is soft and full. She has no issues whatsoever with growing hair, that's for sure. She was a wooly girl before her cut.
Aside from the itching returning, and the fact that she is now waking me up a few times in the middle of the night whining (I'm not sure why--thinking maybe she's begging for food), she is doing well. I'm hopeful the derm vet will get back to me soon and let me know where we go from here if the itching doesn't resolve with the added Benadryl.
Julie & Hannah
(Zoe too, which is why I am so peeved at her vet. Zoe did not have to lose all the hair she lost and I kept asking is this yeast?:eeQuote:
she must've had a yeast issue for long time because since we figured that out her coat is sooo much better) and it is soft and full. She has no issues whatsoever with growing hair, that's for sure. She was a wooly girl before her cut.
It sounds like you are on the right track, Julie. Maybe it is just a matter of tweaking the dose. I am so glad she came back from the groomers with no injury. That is a blessing indeed.
I have been thinking about you a lot, I know you have your hands full and I hope Izzy is behaving as well. I hope you have a trip planned for the summer.
I'm going to have to pick your brain about Zoe's leg. I know you like the lazer treatment. I need to see where I am with her cortisol and kidney issues at the end of the month first.
You have taken such good good care of Hannah, Julie. I know how hard you work at it.
Hi Julie! Glad to hear that Hannah is doing well and her coat looks good. Really sorry that itchiness has come back though. How very aggravating that is.
I hope you are having a good start to the summer.
hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin
Julie, Mary Beth posted about Alivia.
http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/show...d=1#post112239
Maybe the two of you can compare notes:):):)
Hi, Julie.
Addy told me about poor Hannah and her constant itching. Alivia was continuously licking her butt and feet. Her butt was furless, raw, red, swollen and seeping. She was miserable and I was questioning the quality of her life more so from this than her Cushing's symptoms. We tried Benydryl and every topical treatment, supplement, shampoo, antibiotic - both over the counter and prescription, with little to no improvement. I was desperate. Her vet and I agreed we had to try Prednisone and went FULL out with it - the high dose and then tapering down. Initially, the Cushing's symptoms got a little worse and I worried (a lot), but at the same time her skin was improving and so we stuck with it. It stopped her itching/licking and she is not exhibiting Cushing's symptoms anymore, either! :) Is Hannah on the full prednisone course that a dog without Cushing's would be on? I really hope she gets the same good results Ali got!
Just re-read your post..."every other day". With Ali we did the typical non-Cushing's dog dosing. I can't remember the exact dosage, but it was every day, something like 5 days at a high dose and then tapering off for another 5 days, I think. Scared me half to death. Maybe the every other day is not allowing the improvement to "hold"? Just a thought...
Hello!
Thanks for the info., Mary Beth, and thanks Addy for alerting me to her post.
Here's the update on Hannah:
I talked to the derm vet again yesterday because Hannah had not shown improvement with the added antihistamines after 5 days. The vet decided she wanted to switch Hannah to another steroid. So now we will try Triamcinolone. This is what Hannah actually took years ago in the summer to help with her allergies. I'm going to start it today.
I guess I'm not sure on what protocol we're following. I think all of Hannah's vets (gosh, it's sad how many there are!) are with me in the "maybe she has Cushing's, maybe she doesn't" boat. I know the derm vet, who prescribed the steroid, and I talked a lot about the negative side effects we could see, and what we could do about it. From what she said, I don't think she started Hannah on a different dose than what she would do for another dog.
We will start this one with the high dose (1.5 mg of Triamcinolone) for 7 days, then taper to one pill every other day. She said Hannah's body might absorb this drug better. I hate the fact that I have to start all over with this with yet another drug, but again, I have to remind myself what I want: Hannah to be comfortable. I sure hope we will continue to do okay without any horrible side effects. Cross your fingers for us.
Julie & Hannah