Zoe By My Side- Our Journey with Cushings

dear Addy
Just checking in on you and Zoe.
It is costly,but an MRI could reveal more on her leg. Also if her legs are getting skinner , it could be muscle wasting. I see Sharlene is trying cold laser therapy for Molly,which I also did for Apollo, and his leg issues did not relate to his spin. I use and also give Arial Tramueel in the drop form,sprinkle on his food,which is all natural, and may not interfer with other medications. I feel the combination of drugs did Apollo in. I do not know if Zoe is old enough to have arthritis if it is an old injury. For know, I do not what to mention the c word. And as you said,like Zoe, Apollo had other issues as his body got weaker. Praying for you and Zoe.
hugs Sonja and Angel Apollo

Thanks for checking, Sonja. I know she has muscle wasting in her back legs but shouldn't that be cumlative? I dont know that she would go from I can get in my bed to two weeks later I cant climb in my bed to I dont want to walk it hurts. I dont think it progresses that quickly.

I wish Zoe could do therapy but I dont see Zoe doing any therapy, she gets too stressed and she cannot handle the stress any more.

She is perkier than she has been for a week but she thas trouble now after the acth tests and she has not had tramadol BID for two days, so once again, more than one thing changed.

We have made the decision to stop the Vetoryl for now. It does not appear at this point that any miracle from the prednisone is going to happen.

We will continue to help her when she cant get up on her own. Sometimes she can do it herself, try to control her pain. I have pee pads down by the front door and lots of little throw rugs that can be washed when she piddles by accident. She still asks to go out but sometimes I cant get us dressed fast enough to make it outside and when it is so cold and slippery and she cant pee and mark then she has problems. She is still eating well and we had a mini bark fest last night, her bark sounded stronger.

One year ago on Valentine's Day she had her vulva surgery. She shocked everyone with her come back, nine months later normal labs, great skin and coat, even her UPC was normal. That is what makes this so dang hard for me, so dang hard. Looks like God had other plans for us.

Thank you for stopping by. I am having a Starbucks sea salt caramel hot chocolat. It does no compete with a Sonja Super Sunday Special.:);)

Give Ariel a belly rub from me, okay? Love you bunches.

dear Addy
it was gradual for Apollo, it was within months that he could hardly stand. He tried very hard to stand on his own. remember I did small exercises with his legs! massaged them and bent to keep him limber.going for water therapy showed him we were still fighting, he did enjoy going. This was a dog who did not like baths. Maybe it gave him a purpose. Also we did the cold laser.
as long as Zoe eats and yes barks, doesn't matter what kind of bark, she is showing you that she is still alert and what's to be here. I did use doggie dippers with Apollo when he started to have accidents, put a lot of beds around the house for him and but his bed in a little wagon which I pulled around the house when I went through out the house ,because it was hard on my back and arms to keep picking him up. As long as he could be with me he was happy. I took him out a few times a day,and set a timer so that I would not forget,took him outside so he could smell the air. And I would do it again for those precious months I still had with him. When he was suffering, I held him said how I did not know how I could bare his lose, I asked if he wanted to go and that I loved him.
This is my story. Only you can decide what is best for you and Zoe. Apollo was off the Trilostane to increase his cortisone to fight the infections. But I feel the Ivermectin, strong dosage of Advantage Plus, plus numerous antibiotics affected his intestines and caused other complications and maybe cancer. All I know is they did not have cancer before starting all these other drugs. But,please realize each case is different, and Zoe is still here after 3 years. I feel Apollo
Started in 2008 with Cushings and lived with it for 5years. MY concern is to often vets start at higher dosages than needed.
Hugs Sonja and Angel Apollo

Addy:
Still praying for you and Zoe. Blessings
Patti

She is definitely feeling better without her Vetoryl today. She is alert, laying on her blanket but with her head up not on her side like she is so ill. Her tail has been up more not plastered between her legs. She has had tramadol only at night now for two days. It is obvious that front leg is still hurting her and she does not want to walk much. She tries to walk along a wall for some reason. Yesterday she slept most of the day and you could tell that leg hurt her last night. Yesterday she hardly drank any water at all and had no accidents but then last night she wanted to get up at midnight and drink and pee. The temperature had gone below zero again and the heat was on a lot. Not sure if she gets hot and then wants water. Yesterday morning she did not want water, this morning she drank water as soon as she got up and then two more times after breakfast which she did a mini barkfest for.
This is the last day of prednisone and I am tempted to give her the ¼ tablet of Tramadol at 11:0am just to see what happens. I am to call her vet tomorrow to tell her what happened.
I don’t think I want to continue the pred, I want to see how she does without it and I don’t know that the dose is high enough to affect the possible inflammation in her leg. She wont be restarting the Vetoryl for now.
Funny, but the pred has helped her IBD. I feel bad about that, that her poos could have been this much better.

Hi Addy,
SO glad to read that Zoe is feeling better and you can notice some improvement. She even had her little barkfest which I'm sure made you feel relief!
Hope she continues to do well!

Barbara

Quote:

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Originally Posted by addy

She is definitely feeling better without her Vetoryl today. She is alert, laying on her blanket but with her head up not on her side like she is so ill. Her tail has been up more not plastered between her legs.

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I think the tail often can be a good barometer of how things are going in general.:) I think the alertness is great. :) I think the mini barkfest is wonderful. Three good things before lunchtime!!!:D:D:D
I think you are doing a wonderful job and are handling this like the champ we all know you to be. I'm also sure you are having your meltdowns and hard times and that is appropriate as well.:( This is a tough, tough place to be in. None of us wants to go through this. How lucky Zoe is to have you help her through this difficult time, to love her and to guide her. I am so sorry for all that is going on. I've been madly waving my magic wand, but perhaps it needs new batteries.:confused:
Love,
Sus

Addy, my 2nd IMS almost scolded me when I told her I held pred for one day to see how Ginger does without it and she said her clinical signs definitely shows she needs it to survive which was reflected in her ACTH test results. Zoe has more than one issue that need to be treated individually therefore regardless of Vetoryl if you stop prednisone therapy now that means you will not be treating her Addison's like symptom. No one wants to be dependent on prednisone but I think this is one of those times that she really needs it at least for now. I think she will tell you when you should stop it or not.
It could be she is feeling better not only no more Vetoryl but also because of prednisone in her body. I'd continue beyond 3 days and also give her low doses of tramadol for her leg pain even during the day if her vet oks it. For now tho I wouldn't even worry about restarting Vetoryl and would give her longer than a 3 day trial with prednisone since she seems to be doing better each day. Take a step back and try not to micro analyze her by every hour.
For me at this stage in Ginger's life I'm trying to focus on her eating and comfort level, mobility and pain free days. She's been on pred since 10/17/2013. I know but what can I do? She really needs it now more than ever. :( These are my thoughts for the day.

Her doctor told me to only try prednisone for 3 days and then we would evaluate her reaction. Her last stim does not indicate she is Addisons. Our thoughts were to see if her issues were due to her cortisol being to low for her not that she was necessarily Addisons. We just know something is going on with her adrenals that has made her sensitive to Vetoryl and she may not need it anymore. If I keep her on prednisone how would I retest her cortisol in two weeks?

I will try calling her doctor today rather than tomorrow. I just don't want to delay doing something about that front leg. She cannot have Metacam with Prednisone, the drug Sharlene is using has gastric upset as number one side effect so that is out for Zoe. Rimadyl has always been out for her and I don't think I am willing to increase her prednisone to the levels she would need to address the inflammation.

But then, that is today and always subject to changes:)

Hmmm, does pepcid ac help with Zoe for gastric upset? Although with Zoe haveing IBD that might not work. The only gastric I have noticed so far with Molly, is her toots can clear a room and when she is on this meds, she toots. Her poops though have actually been the best in ages! No upset tummy when it comes to eating either, she's right there at dinner time and no vomiting.
I do understand though that Zou is more sensitive due to her gastric issues. Just thought I'd let you know what molly's side effects have been...horrendous toots! LOL

I'm glad that Zoe seems better and Susan is right, 3 good things for lunch if pretty awesome :) I hope this leg issue can be figured out pronto though.

hugs
Sharlene and Molly Muffin