Hmmm Tina, what happened at the vet's the other night, you haven't posted since and now I am a tad worried, hope all good you guys!! See you soon no doubt! :)
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Hmmm Tina, what happened at the vet's the other night, you haven't posted since and now I am a tad worried, hope all good you guys!! See you soon no doubt! :)
Thanks you guys, glad you like the plan. Trish - didn't mean to worry you, I have just had a lot going on the past few days and didn't get a chance to post. Jasper's "jab" went just fine Tues night, LOL. :) So are you saying that you missed me on Jasper's middle of the night potty breaks? :D
Well, things have been going well for most part. Then on Friday morning before work, colitis reared it's ugly head again. Jasper had a large very loose poo with lots of mucous. :mad: :mad:
His poos had never really firmed up to what I would call normal since the last colitis break a few weeks ago, but they weren't getting any worse either, so I figured he was holding his own. Fortunately, his appetite has not seemed to be affected. I immediately restarted him on the metronidazole before I went to work yesterday.
My immediate fear is that he isn't tolerating the renal MP diet, of course. I talked to my vet yesterday. (Gee, can we maybe go more than 48 hrs without needing to talk to the vet about something?) :rolleyes:
She said we are going to keep him on the metronidazole for 2 solid weeks this time even if the poops get back to normal before that time. She said at this time of year in our area, for some reason there are lots of problems with colitis. She said she had seen 6 dogs with it on Friday alone. She is not sure if this is part of the reason Jasper has it again or not, but also feels that it may be that we didn't totally kick it from the last round. She said it may very well be related to the food, but didn't want to blame the food just yet.
She is also starting him on a probiotic - Fortiflora - we started it this morning. It is a small packet of powder that gets sprinkled in with his food once a day for 30 days. She thinks since he has been on the antibiotics so much that it may have messed up the normal bacteria in his gut. He has had the Fortiflora one time before many years ago when he had a tough bout of colitis, and it worked like a charm then. But he was fully healthy then. Hopefully it will make a difference now. Fingers still crossed that it IS NOT the food!
So the metronidazole has kicked in, and he does not seem to be feeling bad today. He has continued to eat ok, so no bland diet for now! I had planned to restart the Welactin this morning but now need to hold off on that again until the poo is normal for a few days. I am anxious to get that restarted since it is such an important part of the treatment for both the kidneys and to lower the triglycerides.
So a bit of a setback, but hopefully we will be back on course quickly.
It has been rainy today, and the forecast was for a couple of inches of wet snow tomorrow, supposedly no big deal. Now I see that we have been placed under a winter weather advisory and there are blizzard warnings a bit to the West. Sheesh, will it ever end?! :rolleyes:
Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend.
Hugs,
Tina and Jasper
Molly loves that Fortiflora powder. I sprinkle it on a bit of wet food and she gobbles it up. I last had to use it last march when she had that awful problem with the diarrhea. It seems to work pretty well if the stomach bacteria is all messed up.
I hope it isn't the food too, but there is a chance it isn't if dogs in the area are getting colitis. I wonder why that would be. A seasonal issue? hmm :confused:
Hopefully this is just going to be a small bump on the path to getting the kidneys in a good place. Heck with Jasper, it isn't really Jasper if there isn't a bump somewhere. I'm convinced he is rewriting the medical books in secret at night while you sleep and then while you are at work. All of the stuff is probably just his lab work to verify his findings so he can put them in the book. ;) I wonder if he has his own group here on the forum and they are all collaborating while we think we are being the smart ones and looking at them!! :eek:
oh no, not another winter advisory! *sigh* That is a bummer. :mad:
Have a good rest of the weekend!
hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin
that is what Shysie uses in her diet. 1/2 packet twice daily. has helped her a great deal. i keep her on it year round. good stuff. :)
i know the ims mentioned fish oil to me as well and we use one though i am wondering if it wont be increased....
next step would be ACEI
i think i am going to start adding more water to her food. If jasper eats kibble....to help him digest it....put it in blender and it will turn to near powder, then you can add water to it and it is like soft food. great way to help keep them hydrated.
I am also bothered that her BUN was at 28
i have a spread sheet of all her labs and different test. some tests (each listed seperately) have same things as some others but i still listed them seperately......listed by test and date. if would like i can email you her spread sheet and you can see if something like that would help you track all his inclines declines and stables readings.
Jasper losing protein through urine?
kidney is very confusing as it can be blood, then branches out from there, or it can urine and branches out from there. and from each branch is 5 stages. ugh.
Girlfriend.......hope you got a hold of my hand in all this............scary stuff. Lets keep our babies strong and stable and not let this stuff go any further at all. :)
i got yours and i am not letting go!
Yes, I do miss your potty breaks!!! :D:D:D Glad the jab went ok, they should show you how to do it. I gave Flynn his 4th Pentosan injection last night, it is real easy and saves a trip to the vet to have it done. :D
Hope the probiotic and antibiotic sort the poopy butt reall soon for Jasper, so typical you have to use one thing to fix up the damage the other does :eek::eek: Still, it sounds like it is working good already and you will get back on the Welactin asap.
xxx
Hi Tina,
Glad things seem to be looking up for Jasper and hope the trend continues!
I used the Welactin with Squirt's first home-made diet and she couldn't handle it - it gave her diarrhea. After trying many different fish oils, both capsules (which are a HUGE mess :D) and liquid, I found one that she doesn't have any problems with and that offers high levels of DHA and EPA - the Omegas that help their systems. I am using Only Natural Pet's Salmon Oil and have been for several years now. I don't know what the difference is that makes this one alright (haven't really looked at it, truthfully) but I'll take it whatever it is! ;)
You might compare the ingredients and analysis between the Welactin and other oils if Jasper continues having loose stools on the oil and find one that you and the vet agree on. There are a lot of good fish oils available to us so we don't have to be locked into one brand or the other.
Hope ya'll have a good day!
Hugs,
Leslie and the gang
http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/produc...il/999060.aspx
Hi everyone, thanks for the feedback and support.
Sharlene - Lol (not really) about Jasper rewriting the textbooks. Maybe that is what he is doing, it sure would explain why he can't seem to follow any expected pattern or response to anything. I understand that being a trailblazer can be a good thing in some situations, but I think it's time he gives it a rest. I keep telling him it is ok to be a follower, that is why the vet makes the big bucks!! :D :D
As far as the colitis, my vet has told me before that for some reason, she and all the vets at the clinic see a lot of it in the spring months here, usually beginning in March. (Although it certainly isn't spring here today, have already shoveled twice, and expecting more snow :eek: ). I remember back a few years when Jasper had a really bad case, I think it was during March then. He did not have Cushings or Addison's then.
Skye - yes, Jasper has been losing protein through his urine, his serum protein and albumin levels have been ok so far. His UPC was quite high, so my vet started treatment with prescription renal diet, Enalapril, and Welactin. I am not sure about the 5 stages that you mentioned. Yes, I would be very interested in seeing what type of spread sheet you use to record all of Shysie's information! I am not good with spreadsheets, and have been recording everything for Jasper, but it would be nice to have everything in one place and easily retrievable. So please let me know about that. And yes, I've got your hand also and won't be letting go. We have to stick together and support each other through all of this!
Trish - the plan is to hopefully get Jasper off the Percorten injections soon. If we aren't able to do that, I will look into giving it myself, my vet has mentioned that before. It seems easy at the clinic, and I have given injections to people, but I don't know about jabbing my baby, that might be a different story. :rolleyes:
Hi Leslie, thanks for the information and link for the salmon oil, I will definitely check it out. As far as the Welactin, Jasper actually has been off it since Feb 15th when he got colitis at that time. I haven't restarted it, so it is not the culprit this time. Jasper was on Welactin for probably a couple of years before he got Cushings to treat high triglycerides which he has had in the past, but the level has not been as elevated as it is now. He tolerated it just fine before, but will have to see now. I will ask my vet about the Only Natural Pets Salmon Oil if he continues to have problems when we restart the Welactin.
Hugs,
Tina and Jasper
Hi Tina
I just wanted to pop on here and say thanks for your kind words on Tia's memory thread in case you didn't see my response there
I read through your thread yesterday and you guys have certainly been through it.... Been a rollercoaster and a half for you two :eek:
Hope you and Jasper are having a good day and little miss Shelby is behaving herself?
Mel
Xxxx
When we lived in TN the dogs would get diarrhea every spring and our vet told us that was common because that was the rainy season. Our yard was at the botton of the hill from several others who had dogs and their bugs would wash down into our yard and our dogs would pick them up then get sick, usually with Giardia. Once it got good and hot and things dried out, they didn't get sick any more - until the next spring. When she first told me that, tho, I thought she was a bit off, ya know? Blame diarrhea on the season of the year? But she was apparently right on the mark!