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Absolutely, good job, Creighton. :)
I grew up in Des Moines, so even though you may still hate Iowa State from your Big 12 days, maybe you'd still wish them well tonight...:o
And YAY for Mercer, the Georgia school that took down Duke!! :p
They don't call it March Madness for nothin' !! :D :D
Oh my gosh Marianne, I am totally pulling for Iowa State!!! :) I have always liked the Cyclones and all of the original Big 8 teams. I loved that conference and felt there were really good rivalries there. I am one of those that was not in favor of the addition of the SWC teams to form the Big 12, and felt sad with the changes that brought about. :( So it will be doubly nice if Creighton can pull off another win on Sunday. (insert icon for evil grin here) :)
I totally didn't realize that Mercer is in Georgia, a big YAY for them!! :D :D I hope they do well in their next round, that is a tough match up.
I don't have the whole bracket in front of me, but I am also pulling for Wichita State.
I couldn't agree with you more!! ;) ;) ;) ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Tina
Hi Tina,
Wow, congratulations on the Triglyceride number!! It came down so much. Maybe besides the low fat diet the fish oil helped too. All in all Jasper got a good report!!
We're having so much fun with March Madness! We're Syracuse fans here!! Duke is our rival so we were thrilled with the Mercer upset today!! Those guys were great! Good Luck to your favorite teams and have a great weekend!! :D
Barbara
They call it "March madness" because finding that basketball games have usurped normal programming day and night makes folks like me HOPPING MAD! :mad::mad::mad: :pQuote:
Originally Posted by labblab
Hmmm not heard of the March Madness. Not real big on basketball but love all sports so I will be into it!!! Go Tina's Team!! :)
LOL Leslie!! :D :p Yes, that is maddening for those that are not interested. But the teams are quickly dwindling, so it will be better soon, not like the NBA playoffs and finals that seem to go on for months! :rolleyes: ;) Hang in there!! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Squirt's Mom
Trish, March Madness is the NCAA college basketball tournament in the U.S. It starts out with a field of 64 teams, playing at several venues around the country and in designated brackets. Lots of games going on at once at first. Then the field goes down to 32, then 16, then 8. Then it goes to the final 4 teams and then the last 2 undefeated teams standing play for the NCAA championship. There are usually lots of exciting games, and lots of unexpected upsets, hence the term March Madness.
Basketball is not my favorite sport, but I do like it a lot. I am a football and hockey nut. :D But March Madness is very exciting and I really enjoy it. And this year is extra fun for me because we have two schools from Nebraska in the tournament, which is very unusual. I wouldn't say we are known as a basketball powerhouse here! Nebraska lost in the first round and is out already, but Creighton (the school I graduated from) managed to win their first game and play again Sunday night. So I am excited for them. Go Bluejays!! :)
Jasper's UPC from 3/20 is 1.81 (<0.5). The last one from 12/23/13 was 1.63, so this is increased a bit. :(
His previous UPC's and dates:
10/22/12 1.27
1/14/13 3.57
5/6 1.49
8/31 0.6
12/23 1.63
A tech called and left a voice mail message with the results and said that my vet was pleased with the result and felt it was stable, and to continue everything the same. I did not get to talk to her so will call the office on Monday with my questions.
I don't like that it is up a bit, but not sure if it is considered a significant increase or not. It sounds like my vet was not concerned, and I remember last time when it had gone up some, she said that she was more concerned with trends. So maybe she doesn't consider this a significant change. This I will have to ask. I would feel better if it had gone down some, but am also grateful that it didn't go up more than it did, considering the diet change in December/January.
The current plan:
- Continue Royal Canin Low Fat GI prescription diet
- Continue on previous meds and treatment:
Enalapril 5 mg 1/2 tab BID
Welactin 1/2 spoonful mixed with food BID
Dexamethasone 0.5 mg 1/4 tab every other day
Denamarin 225/24 mg one tab daily
Percorten injection - decrease to 0.5 ml monthly
So that is where we are at. I plan to call on Monday to ask her thoughts on the UPC increase, and also to clarify what the plan is for follow up on labwork at this point.
Hugs,
Tina and Jasper xo
Hi Tina,
Do you keep a spreadsheet or a diary to see what it was that was done that got his numbers down so well to this:
8/31 0.6
he was really high in January, and then the transition to Hills k/d and the enalapril, but it really went down to almost where it should be for the August test.
hugs
Sharlene and molly muffin
Are they doing an urinalysis first? Any kind of sediment in the urine will falsely increase UPC results.
When I bring Sampson in for his UPC the lab always checks his urine for any sediment/infection and if the urine doesn't show any then the lab runs the UPC.
Hi Tina
Have you talked to your vet about the UPC, I would be inclined to put the rise down to the fact Jasper had been a bit off colour recently. Hopefully your vet agrees and when it is repeated we will see it come down again. They do seem to go up and down and it is the same with Flynn. That is a good point Lori made about any sediment skewing it. I took Flynn's sample in with him this morning for his checkup and I thought it looked slightly cloudy so I will see what the results are when they come in.
I like the plan!! It is so hard with diet when you are facing a few different health issues. I have had a similar talk with my vet, when I was worried about liver, kidney, tumour issues.. at that stage he said well we have to concentrate on the MOST pressing issue, which at that stage was the same as Jasper's which was getting his gut right as that was having the biggest impact on quality of life issues so we work on that and hopefully it will not adversely affect his kidneys. Our boys are holding up pretty well considering what they have been through!! Hopefully next time I check in on you there will be an update on current thoughts of your vet :) Hope this week is being kind to you and all good with your Nana too xxxx
Hi Tina,
I think Trish is right, when they are feeling off tummy wise, it seems to affect their UPC, they can throw protein for so many reasons.
Hugs to you and our boy and Nana too
Thanks for your post Tina. I was in a panic yesterday. As you know going through those really bad bouts of gastro/pancreatic upset are so awful. Thankfully this did not escalate into something worse but it's still worrisome that Trixie has the episodes intermittently and after a time when she seems just fine, something is causing it. Maybe many of these things point back to the high trigylcerides? Wish I knew.
She had so many tests when hospitalized last time and nothing glaring showed up, but it really makes me nervous that something inside Trixie isn't right. For today she's fine but I stayed with white rice today and added a little bit of chicken this morning. I guess like all of us I need a vet on call at all times for my questions!! Having a vet in the family would work too!! :D
I hope Jasper is feeling good and doing well...and Shelby too. :p
Barbara
Tina, what's happening with Jasper? You mentioned there were a few issues but haven't updated yet!! Hopefully nothing major to worry about but now I have read that I am worried about the wee man!! Talk soon xxx
Hi Tina
Hope the week finished better than how it started and you are spending some much needed time with Jasper and Shelby! Hope it is a relaxing weekend with no new problems! xx
Hi Everyone,
I'm finally posting an update on Jasper. Thanks for checking on us. Lori - as far as checking the urine sample for sediment, I have asked about this in the past, and my vet has told me that they always spin it down to check for sediment, rbc's, etc. before sending it off for the UPC. So I would guess it was done this time also.
I talked to my vet about the most recent increase in his UPC (1.81 on 3/12, up from 1.63 in December, normal < 0.5). She basically said she felt it was a mild increase and was not concerned. She said she was pleased with this result since we had switched his food to low fat and he is no longer on the renal diet. She admitted that she had been concerned that it would have increased much more than this and she said she feels "it is the best we could hope for". :confused: I guess this comment caught me a little off guard, because my hope was that it would have decreased. That may have been unrealistic, especially with the need to change his diet, but at the very least I had hoped it would stay the same. :(
I mentioned the 0.6 result that we had in August. She said that this was several months after we first started all the treatment, and his kidneys were responding to the meds and diet. She said after time, the kidneys adjust and the protein loss will increase again. She said that although the UPC does fluctuate and on a different day it could be a bit lower, we probably won't get a value like 0.6 again. She reminded me that it is a progressive disease and the protein loss is going to go up no matter what, that we can't stop it. :( :mad: The goal is to slow the progression. She did say that it could stay steady for a year or more, but of course there is no guarantee, and no way to know.
I don't know why I have been so upset over everything she said. She told me in the very beginning when Jasper was diagnosed that protein losing nephropathy is a progressive disease and that the goal was to slow the progression. I guess I have put that fact out of my mind, especially when the UPC had been decreasing and we got that 0.6 result. So this was a big reality check that I guess I wasn't ready to hear. She pointed out that it was still under 2.0, and she feels that the 1.0 to 2.0 range is a gray zone. She said once it gets up to 2 or 2.5 it is more of a concern.
I feel that I have been stalling posting all of this because I have been upset over it. I am concerned that we really aren't very far from the 2.0 mark, and the 1.81 is the second highest it has ever been. But I am trying to focus on the positive that it didn't go any higher than it did with the change in diet, and also that my vet said with continued treatment it could stay steady for a year or more.
There have been a couple of other things going on with Jasper that I will post later. Hopefully I can get some feedback and suggestions from you all on that.
We have had a pretty good weekend. He seems to be feeling good. I had a horrid week at work last week, and was away for longer hours than usual. It was so nice having the time home with him the last couple of days. I sure appreciate our down time, I love just hanging out at home. He is the most affectionate and loving little boy, and sometimes he looks at me in a way that just chokes me up. It's like he's trying to tell me he is so grateful that I'm there. I love my sensitive little boy so much. ❤️
Hugs,
Tina and Jasper xo
Hi Tina
I do not like what your vet is saying either :o I am still of the opinion that the protein loss is worse when other things are playing up, like I know when Flynn's IBD flares his proteinuria is higher as I have seen that direct correlation twice now, but it has righted itself too, so I am going to hang on to the thought that we can still see the UPC turn around and improve. Especially considering Flynn's is 2.5 right now!! Next time I am not even going to test it if he has been in the least bit off for a couple of weeks prior, it is not worth the stress for me to see these higher numbers. I guess what she is saying is right, it is progressive. Mike explained it to me by asking me to imagine a metal sieve in the kidney, it has holes in it that should not let the protein molecules though. But over time they can slowly wear down and rust :eek: until finally it does not hold the protein back anymore at all. But THAT is not going to happen for a long long time for either of our boys as we have them on treatment and are managing this, so chin up Tina!! I am sure we have better UPC days ahead and I will be there celebrating them with you!! Hopefully catch up over the weekend x
Hi Tina,
I don't really understand much of your update, but I just want to send you and Jasper lots of love and hugs and let you know that I'm thinking of you. Xxxxxx
Oh Tina, I too think that the protein can be affected by other illnessses, I would hope you may still see some lower readings. I know it is a progressive disease but other issues factor in as well.
I know it is hard not to be upset and to just go day by day and enjoy and love your little boy but try to take a moment to hold him and just enjoy him, even if only for a few minutes, putting the rest in a drawer.
Hugs and love to you and Jasper and your Nana.
I agree with Addy. Sure, progressive, but that doesn't mean that it is progressing right now, after all he has just gone through some upsets and that could affect the protein I think too.
I would think that you really don't know that it is progressing until you've had several tests come back with continuous higher levels. Until then it could be other things affecting the current levels.
You and Jasper have been through so much. You are all due to just have a good summer and no emergencies. :)
hugs
Sharlene and molly muffin
Hi Tina,
I'm with Kathy...I don't understand all of this but I will read up on it so I know more about it. I'm sorry that the numbers always create so much worry and stress. I just hope Jasper is doing well, feeling fine and enjoying spring with you and Shelby!
Barbara
Hi Tina - just checking in on you guys! Hope the working week is going well and your not overdoing it, you always seem so busy with work and family so I hope Easter gives you some time to relax with Jasper and Shelby! x
Happy Easter, Tina, Jasper & Shelby!
I hope you are having a nice Easter weekend and got a day or two off from work.
I spent Friday curled up with molly on the couch, reading with a blanket and total chill mode. It was wonderful! I hope you get to enjoy the same with Jasper and Shelby. You work too hard. :)
Hope the boy is doing good.
hugs
Sharlene and molly muffin
Happy Easter to you Tina...and Jasper and Shelby too! We have a few night owls on tonight waiting for the Easter Bunny.
I'm making myself crazy on google after Trixie had tummy trouble today. All the yucky details are on my thread. UGH. Too much, my nerves are shot. I'm looking up too much and don't really have any idea what she has or what she doesn't have.
I am going to try and get to bed though...just thought I'd say a quick hello before I shut it down. :D
Barbara
Hey Tina
I'm sure your building up to the Jasper update!! :D
Lol, yes I need to post an update! It isn't going to be anything too exciting. I had so much catching up to do on everyone, that was more important.
I am a little out of sorts. My BFF's mother passed away last week, and it has just been a really hard week. Thank God Jasper has been relatively stable during it all, so that enabled me to really be able to be there for her and her family, and help where needed with arrangements, etc. Very sad time. And work has just been ridiculous. I guess this is just how it is going to be. There are so many people in need of treatment for substance abuse, it is unbelievable really. And really heavy duty addiction problems. :(
As I mentioned, Jasper has been having accidents in the house since I can't keep him confined in the kitchen it seems, so that has been stressful. I need to post fully about that, I am sure I will get some good feedback from everyone here.
Hi Tina
Happy Easter to you and Jasper :)
My BF son is an addict so I know how hard she has tried to get him help but there's been so many cut backs here that the help isn't there anymore and as you say there are so many out there needing help:(
Hi All,
So as many of you know, I confine Jasper to my kitchen with baby gates and pooch pads while I am at work or away from the house, since he can't hold it all day anymore. I am not 100% sure why this has happened to him. I believe it is related to kidney issues that have developed secondary to when he had Cushings. Even though he technically has Addison's now, his polyuria and polydipsia have never resolved. Once he adjusted to being confined, this has worked great for the past year and a half or so.
About 2 1/2 weeks ago, we had a day where the wind gusted upwards of 55 mph most of the day while I was at work. :eek: Jasper has a bit of a wind phobia anyway, and this was just horrid. It literally sounded like my house was going to blow down, and my neighbors fence actually did blow down after a post snapped. I came home that day to find Jasper loose in the house. He apparently had broken out of the kitchen in a panic due to the wind and kind of trashed the house out of fear I suppose. :( He had a couple of accidents on the carpet of course.
Well, now since he knows he can break out of the kitchen, he started doing it whether it was windy or not. No matter how I have fortified the barricades, he just works at it until he budges it enough to get out. On two occasions he had blocked himself out of the kitchen so couldn't get back in to his water for who knows how long. :eek: :( Also, twice he bloodied one of his paws working to get out of the gates. :eek: Its like he gets too anxious being confined to the kitchen now. This was not an issue before, even on windy days, which we have often here. But I think that day of 55 mph plus was the worst it had been with him home alone.
Since then, I have been letting him stay loose in the house, which he seems much less anxious about. But he is peeing in multiple places, even if I put multiple pooch pads down. Thankfully his urine is dilute, but this is still making for tons of carpet cleaning.
I am thinking about trying to keep him in a spare bedroom where I can close the door to keep him in, and it would have less carpeted area to cover with pooch pads. I can't really come up with any other solution because the rest of my house is quite open and next to impossible to barricade. I am hoping that some of you may have ideas that I haven't thought of for this problem. I'm open to any and all suggestions!
Also, I have been using Natures Miracle advanced formula, but I don't like the instructions of saturating every spot and then allowing up to two weeks to dry. :rolleyes: I realize that you can't use it in a carpet shampooer, but I am wondering about putting it on all the spots for a couple of hours, and then going over it with just plain hot water in the shampooer to extract a lot of it. Has anyone tried this method? Also open to suggestions here.
Thanks for your thoughts and feedback about the proteinuria. Jasper has been feeling pretty good. <whisper> He had some redness in one of his eyes a couple of weeks ago, and my vet prescribed some antibiotic/steroid drops for that. She thought it might be allergy related. It cleared right up with the drops. I'm worrying about the proteinuria, but I'm grateful for every day that he feels good, and hope it continues. I just have to hope and pray that we can slow the progression of the protein loss from his kidneys and the next UPC will not be worse.
Ok guys, thanks for reading and for any suggestions. I know that he can't help it with the accidents, but I worry that it might be becoming behavioral since it seems he often goes on the carpet even though there are plenty of pooch pads down.
I hope everyone is having a nice Easter!
Hugs,
Tina and Jasper xo
Oh my goodness...poor Jasper, another thing in common with Trixie! She also gets frightened when the wind howls. Sometimes because of the elevator shafts a draft will come under our door and kind of make one of our coat closet doors creak and she is so afraid of that! He must have really gotten spooked to have busted out of the kitchen like he did. awww...:(
I wish I had a good suggestion for keeping Jasper safely and comfortably confined. This sounds crazy but I had a friend who actually installed a screen door on her spare bedroom to keep her dogs in there but still kind of keep it open for them..they also were able to somehow get out of the baby gates. It's a little extreme and not everyone wants a screen door inside their home! :rolleyes: It actually looked kind of cute though...it was white and kind of a conversation piece.
Barbara
I use the bissel little green machine for a carpet/spot cleaner, with the pet deodorizer solution and that seems to work fine.
It's so hard to know what do do, other than try a permanently installed pet gate. One that is attached on both walls that he can't get out of? You could give the bedroom a try for a couple days and see how he does but he might be worried being in there all day by himself and not able to see Shelby?
How very upsetting this must be for both you and Jasper. :(
hugs
Sharlene and Molly Muffin
Hi Tina,
HAPPY EASTER!:)
Now for the business at hand…… I have a brilliant, little escape artist. Rosie can jump over baby gates and climb out of just about any enclosure. It took me several attempts before I found something that has worked so far. I have built a escape proof (so far)area to contain Rosie. I use three pressure gates, bungee cords, Broom handle pieces, a section from a plastic x-pen, a large wire pet crate, smooth boards, plastic pool cover pieces and three plastic floor mats (kind for under desk chairs). Rosies enclosure is approximately 12 x 10 feet. I put her in there when I have to go to work and no one is going to be home to watch her. I put washable pee pads down, but she doesn't use them anymore. She holds it until someone comes home.
A few tips.....
The pressure gates have to be anchored tightly into something. You might need to permanently attach them if Jasper is able to move them in a panic.
I attach a smooth board to the pressure gates with Bungee cords. That way she is unable to climb them. The boards need to face the inside of the enclosure. This could help Jasper from injuring himself. He would have nothing to grip to paw at.
The Broom-handle' pieces are used to go through the holes in the gates to anchor them against some kind of furniture. This makes the gates immovable.
The plastic pool cover pieces go under the large wire crate. The three large plastic desk chair mats (which I rescued from the refuge pile at work) cover the rest of the carpeting enclosed area. That way if Rosie did have an accident, it wouldn't go through onto the carpeting and is easily wiped up.
So sorry that you and Jasper having these problems. I feel bad for both of you. Xxxxx
OMG Kathy, sounds like you would need a building degree for that effort... you could have a new career :D:D I would put Jasper in the bedroom, maybe with the door open so he can see Shelby but with a baby gate. Don't think he could jump over that?? Or do you have an internal room that would be more insulated from weather noises??
I use a big Bissell, wish I had a little one but luckily no accidents for us. But is was handy when the cats were here and had the odd mess when they aged.
My other though, maybe a melatonin before you leave in the morning if you know it is going to be a dodgy weather day?
xx
Awwww, poor Jasper. Being afraid is no fun. Daisy isn't able to clear gates with her stubby doxie legs but she'll do her best to bulldozed them with her head.
Do you keep Shelby penned in the room with him? Does he get a speiail treat when he gets put in the room? That was the only way we could teach Koko to be contained anywhere without freaking out. He busted gates, jumped gates, I even did double gates on top of each other.
I felt bad having to lock Zoe up in the kitchen with him but he needed her with him and then they were both happy to get their special treats. A few times they knocked down the gate but I think that happened from playing.
Dear Tina,
I am so sorry to read about your worries over Jasper. I wish I had a brilliant suggestion to offer, but I'm afraid I do not, and am so hopeful that one of these other good ideas will end up helping.
Mainly, though, I want to thank you so much for stopping by to post on my threads for Barkis and Peg. When you are in the midst of your own worries, it means so much to me to read your kind words. I really, really appreciate it!!!! And I will be keeping my fingers crossed that you'll find an easily workable solution for Jasper.
With love and my warm wishes,
Marianne
Hi Everyone,
Thanks so much for all of your suggestions and feedback. I will comment a bit later on all of that since it is so late now and I need to get bed!
I just wanted to update that on Monday morning while I was in the shower getting ready for work, Jasper had an accident on the carpet outside the bathroom. He had been outside less than an hour before. :eek: This has happened a few times before when he has had a UTI.
I called and talked to my vet and she agreed that it sounded like a UTI based on his pattern in the past. We also talked about how he has been having accidents all over the house while I am at work now since I can't keep him in the kitchen anymore. I am wondering and hoping that maybe that is related to him having a UTI. I feel so bad, it didn't even occur to me until he had the accident while I was getting ready for work. :o
So she started him on zeniquin for 7 days and if he shows improvement, we will get a refill. She opted to go ahead and treat without checking a UA since his urine is always so dilute and often a culture doesn't show anything even though he has some symptoms. I am hoping that is all it is, and once it is treated his other peeing issues will also improve. So I guess we will see. He got his second dose last night.
I have ordered 4 new pooch pads from Amazon, the ones I have are worn out and leak sometimes. They have lasted over a year with daily washing. Amazing, I don't know what I would do without them. The new ones should be here any day now. As soon as I get those, I may try him in the spare bedroom.
Hugs,
Tina and Jasper xo
I hope Jasper feels better with the antibiotic and that it indeed is a UTI, Tina.
Always something to worry about, I know. I find myself looking at every hair on Koko's head since losing Zoe. Then I tell myself, stop, he is fine.
It is indeed hard not to worry.
EEEK another UTI possibility! :(
Hope that is all it is, as that can be fixed and may be your answer to why the accidents all over the house.
Hope the meds help
hugs
sharlene and molly muffin
Oh dear....I hope the prescription knocks out that UTI quickly. It's always something isn't it?? Any luck building the fort yet?? :D
Kathy's list of materials cracked me up...all that for teeny little Rosie the escape artist..that is too funny.
Hope something will work out so that you can keep Jasper safely confined. :D
Barbara
Speaking of forts....I had a thought that will entail some lumber and screws but should work. You will need some narrow but strong strips to form a channel on each side of the doorway,probably 1 1/2 - 2" thick. Then a piece of plywood cut to fit the width of the opening that will slide down into the channel you made with the strips. The strips and plywood need to be strong enough Jasper can't push through. I would think 1/2" should work fine. You could paint it all up with butterflies and flowery crap to make it purdy. :p