Another Hannah update:
She had her NSAID monitoring this week to see if her ALKP dropped from the month on Denamarin. It went from 826 to 437, so almost dropped in half. We are going to continue and recheck in a few months. Her BUN was normal too, after being just slightly elevated on the last two, so that is also good. She was a little low on MCV and MCH, but just barely, and a little high on BASO, but the vet said it is rare to get a completely normal result with an older dog and that he isn't concerned about any of this. Everything major looks good.
One thing made me a little sad though, and I'll have to ask him about it because maybe I was just interpreting wrong. I said something about maybe the blood work would coincide with her dental, depending on how she is doing. He just kind of went, "Eeehhh." I wasn't sure what that meant. I of course thought, "Does he think she doesn't even need a dental and won't be around long?" I realize that maybe it meant we don't want to hold on that long, or let's not worry about a dental now, etc.
I feel like she is doing pretty well: back is okay, blood work looks pretty good, very minor Cushing's symptoms, if any. She can't see or hear well at all and she licks/itches like a crazy lately, but she is happy as can be. Wags her tail, follows me around, enjoys a short walk, and chewing on her bones (and yes, I watch her like a hawk while she chews). She is almost 13 (in a few weeks), and not problem-free, but I feel like it could be much worse. I'm hoping that she might have a decent amount of time left...
Julie & Hannah