Zoe By My Side- Our Journey with Cushings

yup, word for word, I copied and pasted their words. The written report from old IMS was detailed because of a heated debate we had previously over unreturned phone calls. A lot of it parrots my talking points to her.

This is why I have not been on the forum much, so much to think about. At least new guy addressed her skin isssues. The old IMS always tells me, Im not good with skin go see a dermatologist. The new guy at least addressed it rather than ignored it. I even asked the old one if Zoe had yeast, she said no, nothing wrong with Zoe, never noticed the build up of crud on her feet and legs durring her exam. :(:(:(:(

Thank you all for reading and your input.

love you.

FWIW, the new guy gets my vote. ;) And you get another HUG

Addy-

I only have a minute, but wanted to weigh in on the BUN thing. Hannah's BUN has been elevated the last two blood tests, and it is higher than Zoe's. Her creatinine has always been normal. My vet said the same thing about the BUN being elevated for other reasons other than kidney issues. She said she believes it is due to the suspected ulcer. We are going to recheck it in a week or so to see if it is lower (after she finishes the treatment for the ulcer). FYI, other than darker stool, Hannah had no symptoms of an ulcer, so who knows how long it could have been an issue. Of course, we don't even know if she does have an ulcer, but the stool is now normal again.

Julie & Hannah

Hi Addy,

I apologize that I haven't had the chance to be of support to you in the midst of all you've had going on. But FWIW, I do think the similarities between the two reports are far more numerous than the differences. So hopefully that, in itself, is somewhat comforting -- that nothing glaring has been overlooked or unaccounted for. I am perhaps "odd girl out" in that I really didn't feel a preference for one IMS or the other based on the wording of the reports. I thought they were both very professional and very thorough.

Which leads me to dumping the decision back into your lap :o, insofar as I'd say it really comes down to your decision as to which vet feels more accessible to you and easy to communicate/negotiate with. Of course you don't have a track record with the new guy, so you have less info in that regard. But hopefully you gained enough of a "feel" through this first consultation upon which to base a choice. And just remember, no decision is irrevocable, after all.

Marianne

Dearest Addy,

You and Zoe have been through so much. Such a loving mom you are. Being a bit OCD I can only comment that I would take each item of concern and break them down. List them in order of importance and comfort for Zoe and which of the comfort items that can be addressed and how to address them. Don't try to do it all at one time, but leave the list close by to write down any ideas or concerns that pop in your head. I wish I could be of more help.

You know how I feel about group hugs...

(((HUGS))) and Belly rubs to Zoe.

Thank you all:):)

Ultimately, I know it is my decision and I think the reason I posted the two reports is not so much for input as to which vet should I continue seeing thought it does help to hear opinions, but more importantly it is me wanting to compare their recommendations for my Zoe so I can decide which battles to pick to fight.

I, like Lori, am uncomfortable with both recommendations about using Lysodren on Zoe. If I was worried before because of her IBD, now with chronic pancreatitis, I am even more unwilling to try it.
It does not matter which vet I pick, I have to decide what treatment options to put in place and that is where I am hoping for experienced feed back.

Do I hold off on treating her kidney disease and continue to monitor it only? I have to be concerned about using Ace inhibitors with the Vetoryl .
Do I try to change her diet or leave it as is waiting to see if the new probiotic helps her IBD? I have seen some improvement and also need improvement with her yeast issue. I’m not sure there is a prescription diet that foots the bill for all her conditions.
Do I give her Vetoryl more time now that she is finally down under 5 and try to keep her post as low as possible as some symptoms have improved? New Ims said take her down to 1-2 post ug/dl on her Vetoryl. With her elevated pre stims, that concerns me and I told him why.

New Ims wants to change her Vetoryl dose to 30/30, change her to Tylan and slowing introduce a new prescription food. He is not worried right now about starting an ace inhibitor, only if I am worried about it.

I don’t really know what the old IMS wants except leave her Vetoryl dose as is, leave her metronidazole as is and maybe look into a home made diet and maybe start an ace inhibitor.
These are the things I am weighing. I probably did not explain it well.

Wow! That is so much to weigh in on.
I won't ever use Lysodren because I and Daisy's IMS don't believe in destroying healthy tissue.

Here is my take, for what it's worth. Treat life threatening issues first, then I would go after things that can be completely rersolved, cured, or that would inhibit the positive affects of whatever you decide top use for the Cushings, then the Cushings itself.

Daisy is on the Fortiflora and it's done wonders for her. Some days, her stools aren't as firm as we'd like, but no accidents inside, we can sleep through the night, so that's good enough for me!

Good luck!

You already know my thoughts on Lyso VS Trilo...and my thoughts on raw feeding, especially with a pup who is already ill. ;) In your shoes I would want to know if there was anything I could be doing now other than drugs that would help the kidneys stay as strong as possible for as long as possible. Other than that, I don't have much else to offer except another HUG and to tell you that I have the utmost faith in your ability to make the right decisions for Zoe.

I'm confused about chronic pancreatitis being a contraindication to the use of Lysodren. I'm not familiar with any linkage there. Is there some reasearch or specific drug warning about that?

Marianne

Marianne,
Lysodren can induce pancreatitis from what I am reading. I would explore other options first. It is not a nice drug.