Jasper (12 yr old Mini Schnauzer) is now at peace

Hope things went well with Shelby today!

hugs,
Sharlene

Hi Marianne and Sharlene,

Thanks so much for keeping my little Shelby in your thoughts today. I got back from visiting her a little while ago. She was still pretty out of it, but I think she knew it was me. I got to talk to the surgeon and she said everything went fine, so that is a big relief. I can bring her home tomorrow afternoon. So Jasper and I are having a "Mother and Son night", LOL. ;)

Tina

Hi Tina,

SO good to hear that Jasper is doing well on the treatment so far and hope you see more and more improvements as the days pass! :)

I understand how you felt about the spay for Shelby. My little Trinket was spayed this summer and I was absolutely terrified because she'd had trouble waking up once before. But she'd had two eye surgeries really close together when that happened. She came through with flying colors....can't say the same for her mom, tho. :o:p I'm glad Shelby will be coming home today!

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

My girl Ella got spayed last Friday at the ripe old age of 8 years. I've desided to put tank tops on her instead of doing the e coller! She looks so cute! Note to self...women's size small is perfect for a 30 lb cocker spaniel! Hope Shelby heals quickly!

glad everything went well with Shelby's surgery. Now for a nice long weekend of relaxation. (crossing fingers)

hugs,
Sharlene

Thanks everyone for your good wishes for Shelby! That was a great idea about using the t-shirt to keep her from messing with the sutures. I tried a little doggie shirt, but she manages to scooch it up and still lick the incision. Ugh! She is very crafty unfortunately. So the e collar is back on.

I really don't like it mainly because Jasper seems to be afraid of it. Any time she comes toward him, he kind of cowers and moves away from her as fast as he can. And he gets nervous in general any time she is on the move. He is such a sensitive little boy. But I don't have a choice, it has to stay on her.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

Hugs,

Tina

Hope you are surviving the e-collar. Poor Jasper. I'd be terrified too if some strange looking thing with Shelby's head sticking out of it was coming straight at me too! :p:p:p

Hope the weekend has been great.

Hugs,
Sharlene

Hi Everyone,

Jasper has been on the maintenance dose of Lysodren 250 mg twice a week for 4 weeks. He gets the med on Tues and Sat. He has seemed to be doing pretty good, and we had his follow up ACTH stim test scheduled for Wed 8/29. Last Saturday 8/18 when eating, he briefly walked away from the food, but came right back and continued eating until his food was gone. I monitored very closely and there was nothing else unusual all last week, he ate fine. This was the first time anything like this had happened, even when he was getting the loading dose and his cortisol went way too low, he did not show any change in his appetite.

Yesterday morning, he didn't want to eat, walked away from the bowl when I put it down and went into the other room. I coaxed him to eat a little bit here and there out of my hand, but even that was difficult. After about an hour and a half of hand feeding him off and on, I finally got him to finish what was left in the bowl by crumbling a treat in with the food. Last night he ate all his food, although he ate slower than usual.

This morning he started eating right away but about halfway through he walked away again. He resumed eating with encouragement and did finish, but slower than usual.

This morning I left a message for my vet right away. She called back late this afternoon and first said we should do the ACTH test tomorrow instead of Wednesday, and hold the Lysodren immediately. She said she also wanted to check his electrolytes, and after thinking about it, asked if I could bring him in yet today. I brought him to the hospital urgently, he had the electrolytes drawn and I left him there to get the ACTH test done also. She told me after we got home to give him a dose of the prednisone I have on hand, half a pill which is 2.5 mg. (his weight was 26 lbs tonight).

We got home about 2 1/2 hrs ago. Jasper again did not want to eat. I hand fed him a few bites and gave him the prednisone, he got it about 2 hrs ago. He has been mostly sleeping on the couch since that time. Should I expect that he will want to finish his food once it takes effect?

I have been watching him like a hawk all along, I feel like I am scrutinizing every single thing he does, and now feel that maybe I should have called the vet when he hesitated with eating the very first time a week ago and maybe he should have had the ACTH rechecked much sooner. Ugh!

I will post the results of the electrolytes, likely will have those tomorrow; and of course will post the stim test results when I get them. I just feel so upset, I feel like I messed up, even with how close I have been watching everything. I just hope his level hasn't gone critically low again.

Thanks all, and hugs,

Tina and Jasper

Don't feel like you've messed up Tina. Not at all. There are usually a few bumps in the road getting the dosage perfect and going through the loading phase with Lysodren. Has he had running stools or vomiting or anything else off other than the eating?
Lets just see what his test results show. You'll hold off on any more Lysodren until the results come back and then you'll know how he is doing. Some of the others with experience with this medicine will be by to check in and can offer their thoughts.

Hang in there
hugs,
Sharlene

Hi Tina,

You did the right thing by getting Jasper on into the vets instead of waiting for a few days. You done good, Mom! ;)

If his cortisol is too low again, the pred should kick in and you should see improvement in an hour or so. He may need several doses of the pred so don't hesitate to give more as needed. If his appetite is still low, he is mopey, loose stools, or nausea are all signs he still needs the pred.

Some pups are just super sensitive to these drugs and will do better on a much lower dose than is usually given. And there are those pups who simply cannot handle one or the other and a switch is required. But that is something to look into a few days on down the road when we see these test results and see how Jasper is doing.

Please stay in touch and keep a close eye on him the next few days. Use the pred as needed and know we are always right by your side.

You are doing fine, Mom! ;)
Hugs,
Leslie and the gang