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Okay seriously now, I did hear that Viagra was being used successfully to open blood vessels in the lungs, resulting in freer breathing. :)
Sorry about my tasteless joke. I have been watching too many Viagra commercials. ;):eek: But, IT WAS FUNNY!!!:o. Xxxx
Hi Patti,
Wow, reading the last month of posts on Tipper. And Tipper has a high Hematocrit and taking some blood away would certainly lower that. I am thinking that recitulocyte count might be a good test to add to the regimen of tests done on Cushing Dogs. I don't believe our Lulu had one. I am going to check her folder and see. It's an easy enough test.
ONE thing, and I know the more red cells you make, the more iron you need. Now, I don't know if an iron test was done, but by checking the dogs eyelids you can get a ballpark idea if she is anemic with respect.
You can also see iron deficiency anemia under the microscope. The red cells will be very pale, normally they have a red hue with a little bit of white.
The iron would be an issue if she is continually making red cells, but of course you would be also losing them very quickly too.
I had iron deficiency anemia when I had my ulcerative colitis the first serious bout I had. I had lost blood to the point that I depleted my iron reserves. It was very noticeable under the microscope as I worked in a lab at the time, and looked for myself. I also was tired when I jogged just a small bit or around someone smoking.
In Tipper's case her hematocrit is up, mine was very low. :)
I have fed Tipper the same diet for years so I never changed it except the chicken part. She eats 4 small mini meals a day to keep her going and try to control her hunger. She has a heart murmur from a leaky valve that is ever so slight according to the Cardiologist. The told me about Royal Canin food, but there have been so many recalls on it I will not use it. I feed Tipper Newmans Own and have personally spoken to Paul Newmans vet 3 times about it. It is Organic human grade chicken and had never had a recall. It is lower in fat than a lot of the other foods, not too much salt. I give her 3/4 cup of that divided into 4 meals. With that I give her organic chicken, because all other chicken on the market is shot up with saline solutions, this Gerber Amish chicken is fresh and no additives. I add a little bit of cooked lentils to this mixture to fill her up without the calories of more dog food. Paul Newman's vet told me to do this, as they are low n carbs etc. I buy them dry and cook them. Tipper takes a supplement for her heart called Cardio Strength form Vetri Science and it has many good reviews. I also give her Hawthorne which is really good for heart ailments and has been known to help many dogs. Her blood pressure today was 110, so I know from her flow chart I keep she does not have hypertension. I record every weeks weight and blood pressure on her chart. She has had very few moderate blood pressures most were normal. She did however lose 4 ounces Yeah!!!!! I have been waiting and hoping to get some off her. So I will continue on with the cut down version of her food. She slept well last nite, it rained all nite and she was ok with it. I think she now realizes with the cooler weather the thunder goes away. I was on the heating pad last nite as I started having pains in that breast again form being squeezed to death from that mammogram test. It is still bothering me today and is the worst feeling. It is raining lightly here, but I did manage to get one walk in for Tipper and Toby. Today is a good day to make a pot of Chili so that is what I am going to do. Blessings
Patti
Hi Patti,
You asked about melatonin- I use Nature's Bounty which I purchase at Walgreens. I use 5mgs when I am trying to reset Zoe's inner clock, otherwise I will use 1mg to help her sleep here and there as the higher dose bothers her dry eye disease. It also causes her to drink more water. It usually take 5 - 7 days to reset her clock;)
You want plain melatonin, no time release, nothing else. It is okay to use with Vetoryl, I checked with our doggie pharmacist. He did say to give it 2- 3 hours apart from Tramadol. I have never given her both Tramadol and Melatonin in one night.
Hope this helps!
Hi Everyone:
Pretty quiet nite here. Tipper walked 3 times yesterday and I don't know if that is why she conked out early or not, but she wanted up at 5 and I would not let her get up. It sounds cruel, but to keep her on schedule with eating etc. I had to do it. Otherwise she is hungry and begging for food. I have been bringing up the fact that a lot of dogs on here have spleen troubles and what is the connection to Cushings. Well I think Diana may have put the missing piece in the puzzle yesterday. She said her Teddy got a nodule on his spleen from too many RBC's. The same trouble Tipper is having, too many RBC's. I think the Cush dogs need to have their Reticulocytes checked. So is this the cause of everyone's spleen troubles? Could Be. Any one with a dog with spleen troubles , please check you blood work and tell us if there are high RBC's or Reticulocyte counts. I am hoping Tipper does not start with this trouble too. At last check she had nothing wrong with her spleen on the US. We have snow on the ground and Tipper loves it. Blessings
Patti
Hi Everyone:
Well no one has contacted me from the vet's office about the oxygen yet. They are really on the ball aren't they? She wheezed quite a bit last nite. She is going to bed too early and waking too early. It is very hard to keep her up. Since I have cut her food down, she gets hungry too, that makes me a nervous wreck. Tipper is not your typical dog in so much as she not only begs, she jumps on you, she barks at you, she stomps her feet, she starts looking for crumbs on the floor, and she will keep drinking water as a last resort to fill herself up. Those things are quite hard to deal with for any length of time. I am going to have to make her stay out of my room tonite so she does not go to sleep early again. I am still researching her issues, and the oxygen. Yesterday for the first time I read somewhere that too much Coconut oil can be harmful too, so anyone using it beware. I use it, but I do not give my dogs that much every day. Blessings
Patti
Oh dear Patti, you've got your handful with little Tipper's more than healthy appetite, huh? I can't imagine what you are describing of her regarding foods from a 17 lbs tiny body of hers. Was it even worse for her with eating problem before the treatment? I've got it lucky in that dept. with all my babies except for the wild one Stella (about 17lbs.) though she doesn't yet know how to be persistent as long as she is not around foods. But boy, doesn't she live for food!
I hope Tipper will adjust to the time change soon so you can enjoy each other more instead of being apart from each other. In my house it was almost not noticeable. :p
About RBC, Ginger's RBC is 6.94 (5.5-8.5 M/uL) and Reticulocyte is 104 (10-110 K/uL) which I don't think quite supports your post I read though there appears to be some kind of connection between cushings and spleen. And Ginger too has a spleen mass. Hope you and Ripper have a good day. :) Song.
Haha, I really meant to say Tipper. ;)
Quote:
Originally Posted by My sweet Ginger
Hi I chat to Patti too, and she and Tipper are wonderful, I noticed you mention that your Ginger has a spleen mass, Have they said where it is in / on the spleen and have they ever taken any biospy, Teddy was said to have cushings, then not, but I am not convinced he hasn't for sure.
That is another issue, I am interested in the Spleen mass, Teddy has a 1cm nodule at the tail end of his spleen.
I have got the diagnosis of the exact type in his notes.
I would be interested to know more about Gingers Spleen, If you don't mind sharing.
Take care Diana & Teddy x
Morning
Hoping Tipper had a better night last night, they can be so stubborn and determined it is hard as you are only keeping her away from the food for her own good
That vet of yours is very hit and miss, I had hoped they would be better after they realised you were right the other week but clearly not. It must be that they are just very busy and mean to do something but don't get around to it in a timely manner!
Boyce would love having snow, I am glad it is cooler so you don't have to worry about the heat or the storms, made me smile to read she is back by your side
Hope your feeling ok and not still sore from that exam
Big hug, kisses for Tipper the Ripper
Mel
Xxxx
P.S Hope Toby and Elvis are doing well x