Buddy, The Mighty Lizard Hunter - Suspected Pituitary Macro Tumor

Hi Kathy, good the vet got back to you so quick! Good on them :) Hope the wee tweak improves the mobility again, it can be a fine line we wak with dosages eh. A little bit this way, a little bit that way can make all the difference in symptom control. Has is less wobbly today or much the same? xxx

Buddy's mobility has been fine today. I haven't made any changes as of yet. I'm going to wait and see how he does this evening. I called the doctor anyway because I knew today would be his last day that he's going to be there. He will be gone most of July. I needed a backup plan just in case. Now that I know how, I can go ahead and tweak Buddy's prednisone dosage when I need to. It is all somewhat complicated because all changes have to come through the neurosurgeon who is overseeing Buddy's treatment plan. I contact my doctor who calls her and reports. She then tells him how to proceed. Buddy is his first Trilo/Pred patient. He hadn't even heard of this treatment before I sent him Dr. B's email recommending that we do it. That's when he contacted the neurosurgeon that did Buddy's neural evaluation and she agreed to supervise his treatment. This is cutting edge stuff and not something a GP vet usually attempts.
To recap.... Buddy has been walking normally today. I will have to tweak his prednisone dosage if he has any more mobility issues. I have the instructions from the neurosurgeon to do that. You don't just add prednisone to Triostane willy-nilly and expect it to help. There is a very delicate balance involved and each pup has unique needs of their own. It's quite a process.
Kathy

Yes it is quite a process, so it is lucky Buddy has a super Mom to monitor it for him and get on top of any changes that crop up!! You rock Kathy :D

Kathy...Good for you to talk to the vet asap and get this tweaking worked out! That in itself is a jumped hurdle and will give you some piece of mind going forward. :)
So glad ole Budster is having a good day today! :p
Barbara

Smart girl Kathy, getting this sorted out while your vet is still here and getting the recommendation from the specialist too.
You are doing wonderfully in keeping all of this straight. Buddy is a lucky boy. :)

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

Addy, How can I forget the bad when it repeats?:( Buddy lost his mobility again abruptly this evening. His legs gave out on him and he's unable to walk without falling over. Not only did his legs give out on him, he is having a hard time settling to sleep. I could hear him crying and moaning, so I know he's in pain. I have the new prednisone instructions for tweaking Buddy's medication that I got today. It has him going back to twice a day dosage until his symptoms are resolved. The doctor thinks it will be about three or four days. There will be a maintenance dosage after that, which is somewhat different. I posted the change earlier on my thread. I probably should've waited and started tomorrow, but since he's having difficulty walking tonight and seems to be in pain, I went ahead and gave him the second dose of Prednisone. I also gave him one quarter of a tramadol tablet. Buddy is also panting a lot tonight. To be fair it is hot. It was over 100° here today. I have to get him controlled because watching him suffer tears my heart out. I chose this treatment plan to give him a better quality of life for the time he has left. If I can't do that, I have to let him go. I am not strong enough to do that. Right now I'm sitting on the floor petting him hoping that the meds will kick in and he will be able to go to sleep. He is still making crying noises. I can give him another quarter of tramadol if I need to, but I'm hoping that the prednisone will kick it and reduce whatever swelling is causing the pain. It is really going to be hard to get in all of his SEB dosages around so much medication and he needs that to. I am totally overwhelmed right now. I think I need a few of those tramadol myself.:o

It has been about an hour since I gave him the prednisone and tramadol. He is walking much better and isn't crying for the moment, but he won't lay down and settle either. The prednisone seems to be helping. The meds have upset his stomach and I can't give him any SEB for at least another hour or so. It is going to be another long night. I think I need divine intervention from the angel brigade.
Kathy

I am here, holding your hand.

Hoping those pills have kicked in and he has settled so you can get some sleep.

The effect of the pred was quite fast first time around so praying that's the case this time

Big hug to you and a gentle rub to the little man

Mel
Xxxxx

Oh Mel, I am so glad that you are there. :)I have been thinking of you.
Big hugs,
Kathy

That blinking heat wave is not going to help things I wouldn't think

Tia had such a tough time with our heat, I can't imagine what it must be like in 100. I would fry, I can't cope with heat either..

Has he settled down a bit now?

Mel
Xxxxx

Remember that the bad days remind us why we are so grateful for good days.

It shouldn't be like this, its so bloody unfair it's untrue but think of what improvement you have seen and try not to dwell on right now, you reduced his medicine as per instructions so we now know that dose isn't the right one.

Bigger tighter hug.
Mel
Xxxx