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Thread: Our Silver Belle Labrador~Athena has crossed the Rainbow Bridge

  1. #141
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    Default Re: Athena - Silver Lab (Vetoryl); Cortisol now too low

    Hi and first off....Happy belated Birthday, Athena!!!!!

    You will see that I have merged your post into Athena’s original thread. We normally like to keep all posts about each pup in a single thread as it makes it easier for members to refer back to the pup's history when needed. Thank you for the update although I am sorry that Athena is having some difficulty right now. Could you do us a favor and post the results of her ACTH stimulation tests and the dosage of Vetoryl she was taking when the monitoring tests were done? Were her electrolytes checked recently? Also, I see she is taking pain medication, is this for arthritis or something else? When did Athena restart the 30 mg of Vetoryl? Was her cortisol checked before restarting the Vetoryl?

    For reasons that are not yet fully understood, it also seems that larger dogs may need lower doses of Trilostane per pound than smaller dogs to control clinical symptoms, on the forum we have witnessed this too. So, it just may be that Athena is one of those dogs that needs their cortisol to be in the higher normal therapeutic ranges to feel her best. Is her appetite good? Is she drinking/urinating normally?

    Sending you and Athena tons of loving hugs, Lori

  2. #142
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    Default Re: Athena - Silver Lab (Vetoryl); Cortisol now too low

    Quote Originally Posted by Harley PoMMom View Post
    Hi and first off....Happy belated Birthday, Athena!!!!!

    You will see that I have merged your post into Athena’s original thread. We normally like to keep all posts about each pup in a single thread as it makes it easier for members to refer back to the pup's history when needed. Thank you for the update although I am sorry that Athena is having some difficulty right now. Could you do us a favor and post the results of her ACTH stimulation tests and the dosage of Vetoryl she was taking when the monitoring tests were done? Were her electrolytes checked recently? Also, I see she is taking pain medication, is this for arthritis or something else? When did Athena restart the 30 mg of Vetoryl? Was her cortisol checked before restarting the Vetoryl?

    For reasons that are not yet fully understood, it also seems that larger dogs may need lower doses of Trilostane per pound than smaller dogs to control clinical symptoms, on the forum we have witnessed this too. So, it just may be that Athena is one of those dogs that needs their cortisol to be in the higher normal therapeutic ranges to feel her best. Is her appetite good? Is she drinking/urinating normally?

    Sending you and Athena tons of loving hugs, Lori
    Thanks Lori. For your comments and relocating my post I appreciate it
    I’ll get all the test results posted tonight as we are spending our time staying close to her right now. We ended up having to take her to the ER vet because she got worse. She is home with us now but I will post an update for everyone later if you could just keep us all in your prayers and thoughts we’ve had a rough 24 hours for now I can say she’s been taken off of the Cushing’s medication Veteroyl that’s a separate issue from them suspecting that she may have ingested something toxic out in the yard and we have some suspicions of what may have happened but I’ll have to explain more later We still can’t get over how she was acting. Scariest thing ever
    She is on pain medication and has been for a while because when she was a puppy she was bitten by a lyme tick that we didn’t know until later the people we got her from never told us so she developed some sort of arthritic issue and her back legs are often stiff and sore and the medication really helps her so that she could walk easy and even run at times the Vets Have kept her on that medication to help her because her back legs Plus she’s carrying around weight that we can’t get rid of them matter what we do and we tried everything under the sun

    We will post more tonight we thank everybody for their thoughts and prayers ��

  3. #143
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    Default Re: Athena - Silver Lab (Vetoryl); Cortisol now too low

    Keeping you and sweet Athena in my thoughts and prayers, sending healing energy along with tons of loving hugs.

  4. #144
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    Default Re: Athena - Silver Lab (Vetoryl); Cortisol now too low

    I haven't been around for a while myself, but just popped on and remember your girl. Sorry to hear she's had some issues recently. Sending more healing hugs and prayers your way.

    Shana
    Mama to Jackson and Kira, and my darling Cushing's angel, Visuddha

  5. #145
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    Post Update long overdue. Athena our Silver Lab

    Hello to all
    So sorry we have been out of touch we have had many things that have kept us away But we have often thought about each and everyone of you that have helped us so much along the way with Athena
    As you know we have two other dogs we lost our oldest one two years ago she crossed over the rainbow bridge in November 2016 and right before Christmas our oldest of the three left our only boy Axle crossed over the rainbow bridge. It was very difficult his last night before we took him to the vet in the morning we all slept in the doggy bed with him we knew it was coming and he let us know (He had basically been placed in a hospice dog status for just a couple weeks he was completely out of pain due to being on extra pain med but the vet was trying to see if maybe the issues he was having would resolve if we just kept him on extra pain medicine and muscle relaxers but Axle et us know it was time and we had already come to the conclusion that it was coming in as we promised him from puppyhood we would give him a great life and when his time came we would allow him to go with love and dignity and we had an appointment first thing on Saturday morning but we laid in the bed with him and we talked to him and thanked him for all the years he gave us 12 beautiful years and we read to him and for some reason the song that kept playing in the background was baby itÂ’s cold outside on a little radio that we kept in that room we always kept the radio on for the dogs and their favorite room to sleep in Which if I knew how to post a picture inside this post I would because a year ago I took a picture of him and Athena together at the back door and I put it in one of these frames on the phone app and it was a winter frame and it said baby itÂ’s cold outside
    Anyhow around 4 oÂ’clock in the morning he needed to go out so we took him outside at that point he was still walking fairly well but not the best but has he tried to go to the bathroom he fell backwards and that was it we knew it so our appointment was not a minute too soon. We carry them up the stairs mind you he was a nearly 90 pound American bulldog but had started losing weight and muscle tone. We brought them inside and for the last couple hours we just wrapped them up in blankets and kept him comfortable
    Athena and our other dog Lucky had been with us all night as well tending to him mostly Athena since she is our resident nursemaid. She was extremely close to him and sheÂ’s the one thatÂ’s always near anyone who is not feeling well The day before when we needed him to eat a little bit of food which he didnÂ’t want to in order to give him his pain meds it was Athena that got him to eat we would give her a couple pieces and then he would eat out of our hands after she licked in the face as if to tell him it was OK to have some food
    As we left the home to go to the vet when morning came our hearts are breaking the doggies said their “till we meet again” licks
    We got to the vet and of course our vet and the staff was amazing they gave us all the time we needed although we already had all the time we needed the night before and we didnÂ’t want him to suffer any longer but we did spend some time with him they sedated him and then a little while later they came in and we said our final till we meet agains we laid our heads on his chest held his paws and heard his very last heartbeat.
    When he was gone they left us so that we could have some time we were taking him with us to our local Sacred Paws. We wrapped him in his blanket that he had been laying around that we brought with us And they let us leave out the back door and we carefully placed him in our truck and I stayed with him until we reached our destination
    The sweet soul of a man that runs Sacred Paws here is amazing He only does one dog at a time youÂ’re welcome to stay as he has nothing to hide and people come from out of state because of the level of integrity and care that he gives
    Of course thereÂ’s no way we could watch that process and we had already trusted him with our girl two years ago and they were absolutely amazing
    So we went again had a chance to see him off and we wrap them in a beautiful soft blanket thatÂ’s the dogs leave pop prints in your heart and we put his favorite toy and stuffed animal and some treats wrapped in a gold ribbon to take to his sister who we knew was waiting for him at the bridge. We kissed him goodbye one more time
    We walked away brokenhearted bawling our eyes out but we knew that we had done right by our boy and kept our promise and we knew where he was going
    My husband has a very strong Marine who is injured and come back and has been through a lot we both have but we cried all the way home holding hands knowing we did the right thing but knowing that our our boy was really gone
    Axle had a host of medical issues starting with pancreatitis and started losing the use of his hind legs slowly although he kept trying to be a strong boy we knew he was only doing it for us and we couldnÂ’t let him go on and injure himself or continue to suffer in anyway. Even though we kept them on the best medication for his medical issues for paying for anything he was 12 years old and we realized that there was no way we were gonna let him go on like this he did have an area of his leg they thought maybe cancerous and would require surgery and we said no way not at his age he wasnÂ’t going out that way and in the end and our awesome vet completely agreed with us and said she wish more people thought that way instead of letting an animal go through so much at an older age and suffer
    The outcome of the surgery wasnÂ’t going to change anything because we would never allow him to go through chemo there was no way we would put that beautiful boy through all of that
    This is our new vet and you recall our previous vet wasnÂ’t very good and thatÂ’s how we ended up going back-and-forth because with Athena after spending a ton Of money and having no resolution we had to find a new vet
    Anyway the next morning we were able to pick up Axel‘s ashes and bring him home His beautiful errands it’s right next to his sisters and they gave us paw prints and so many other things and I carry a locket which hasn’t left me since we lost our girl that has ashes in it from her and they added some of axles ashes in it as well. It was something that my husband picked out for me when we lost our girl. She was a Staffordshire terrier that made it to 14 1/2

    Our vet staff said if they ever come back reincarnated they want to come back and be one of our dogs ♥️

    Now as for Athena
    As soon as we got home Athena knew immediately knew he was gone
    At first she searched for him
    Then it all sunk and then he was gone and never have we seen a dog grieve as fiercely and she has been grieving
    We have done everything we can to help her but also being careful because they said they can develop separation anxiety but we are all trying to get through this loss together
    Going in the week three I kept getting a feeling that something wasnÂ’t right with Athena although she has CushingÂ’s I just didnÂ’t know what was going on it just seem like something different. I was wondering if she was just having another crisis with CushingÂ’s if the stress of losing a Axle was just too much for her either way I booked an appointment to see the vet Our vet was going to be going out of town for a week and we wouldÂ’ve had to use an emergency vet or a back up so I did everything I could to get her in and we were able to take her first thing Saturday morning as the first appointment so that she could be seen before our vet left town for a week
    Athena had lost 8 pounds And we had to told our vet that she had not been eating
    She had pretty much ceased eating except for a few scoops enough to give her her medication since losing a Axle. Anyone that has a lab knows that that is very rare they would eat the kitchen sink if you want them
    So we told our vet that we wanted her to have a complete work up the money didnÂ’t matter we were just very concerned that this was something more than just a grieving dog and maybe something outside of CushingÂ’s but we didnÂ’t know what it could be because the only symptoms were that she really wasnÂ’t eating and doing her usual Cushing stuff
    We brought in a UA sample just in case because heÂ’s generally too nervous at the vet to do one And we thought she might be getting a start of a UTI which she has had in the past
    They drew her blood and they were testing it and the UA. Our vet was doing an exam on her because she had a spot under her arm we were worried about but a quick little punk of it and we found out it was just a little fatty area nothing to be concerned about
    She also had one on her hind leg that weÂ’ve always been concerned About but our old vet that told us it was nothing to worry about that she had checked it and it was fine but nothing could be farther from the truth this vet said it was a very concerning spot so while we were discussing the probability of having it surgically removed She checked it and then said she wanted to run and see if the labs were completed because they were shortstaffed that day they didnÂ’t have another vet tech to help so she left the room and two minutes later came flying into the room top speed
    The news was devastating on top of CushingÂ’s Athena has been officially diagnosed with diabetes requiring to insulin shots per day 12 hours apart
    Her number is 534 and it was even in her urine
    She did have a very mild UTI which we jumped on with antibiotics but this new vet we had went into full speed ahead printing off everything we needed writing our prescriptions out for the insulin getting us everything set up I am going over the new food we would have to put them on and slowly switch her to
    And actually sheÂ’s on 14 units every 12 hours we are going to watch that for week and see how she does her out for track meet or will be here by mail tomorrow along with her special food that we will slowly introduce into her current holistic food that she eats and was doing well on
    To say that we were stunned is nothing short of an understatement we kept wondering how did this happen what did we miss but our vet assured us that we missed nothing but the greatest thing we did was follow our gut feeling and insist on getting her in before she went out of town because the symptoms can often mimic CushingÂ’s we would not of been able to pick up on her being diabetic
    This vet is extremely reasonable compared to our old vet that charged us a mountain of money for nothing
    Are all the vet was so extremely overpriced but at the time we didnÂ’t care we would do anything to help our girl feel better but in reality she did nothing and didnÂ’t really care about our dog
    So two hours later because they devoted so much time to help us and Athena we left the vet office to go pick up her insulin first we took her home and my husband stayed with her because she was just spent from that appointment Plus we had our other doggy at home and didnÂ’t wanna leave her alone any longer I went off to get the insulin at one of our local small pharmacies who did their very best to help us with the price as opposed to the larger chain pharmacies which wouldÂ’ve been almost double but it really wouldnÂ’t of mattered we have always said we would move the moon and the stars for our dogs but considering everything we went through that day and just losing a Axle a few weeks ago it was nice To have not only our vet but our pharmacist help us with the cost as this was going to be overwhelming on top of the CushingÂ’s

    So we are day two of the insulin shots and already we are noticing that Athena is perking up and starting to feel somewhat better we wonÂ’t know her levels and tell her glucometer arrives tomorrow
    Today was the first day she actually ate everything in her bowl

    We bought a logbook so we are locking everything up thing every time we give her her insulin shot and her meds weÂ’ve always done that with our dogs but now particularly since we are giving her injections
    We keep a close eye on her post injection just to make sure and watch for any signs to make sure sheÂ’s OK and they may adjust her insulin level depending how she does over the next few weeks

    Needless to say we had a tough year in 2018 and a rough start to 2019 but we are all each other has and weÂ’re going to get through this The two of us and our doggies but I just thought I would update everybody on what was going on and if anybody is in a similar situation and you can offer any opinions thoughts advice please feel free to


    The one good thing is Athena is great with her injections my hub sits in front of her and talks to her and I give you injections being that I am a nurse they are over so quickly she really doesnÂ’t pay attention but she does very well with everything

    We just feel so badly for her the whole time we just thought it was her CushingÂ’s and her grieving but then something started bothering my gut and I just kept getting a feeling something wasnÂ’t right this was more than just CushingÂ’s and grieving but I wouldÂ’ve never thought it wouldÂ’ve been diabetes

    This poor sweet lab has had a rough that start from day one Of her being a puppy but just like the others we promise to take care of her for better for worse through everything and thatÂ’s exactly what weÂ’re doing

    SheÂ’s an amazing girl and just like our others who have crossed over the bridge and the last two years we are so honored that she is part of our lives as well as her little sister

    Thank you to all for listening and so sorry that IÂ’ve been away from this website I have thought of you all very often life just got very crazy for a while

    Sorry for any typos my phone has a mind of its own and does this crazy spellcheck thing adding words that I wouldn’t put it but I don’t know how to do a spellcheck on this website so I apologize for anything that may not make sense
    Last edited by WeLoveAthena; 01-06-2019 at 11:30 PM.

  6. #146
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    East Coast
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    Default Re: Update long overdue. Athena our Silver Lab

    double post. Trying to edit my original post and correct typos but I’m having a difficult time on my side tonight sorry
    Last edited by WeLoveAthena; 01-06-2019 at 11:27 PM.

  7. #147
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    Default Re: Update long overdue. Athena our Silver Lab

    Hi and welcome back! I am so sorry to hear about your precious boy, Axel. There is no question he left this life knowing he was very much loved. My deepest sympathy for your loss.

    As for Athena, the most important thing I can share with you is to go NOW and join K9Diabetes, our sister site. They are the experts on canine diabetes and are well acquainted with the concurrent conditions of diabetes and Cushing's. They will be able to help you immensely in dealing with her diabetes. Here is the website - http://www.k9diabetes.com/forum/

    Let us know how she is doing. Just because you join our sister site doesn't mean you get to forget about updating us here! We want to hear about her.

    Hugs,
    Leslie
    "May you know that absence is full of tender presence and that nothing is ever lost or forgotten." John O'Donahue, "Eternal Echoes"

    Death is not a changing of worlds as most imagine, as much as the walls of this world infinitely expanding.

  8. #148
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    Default Re: Update long overdue. Athena our Silver Lab

    Hi and welcome back. I am so incredibly sorry to hear of Axle's passing. My heart broke and tears fell as I read about your final moments with your precious boy.

    I see that back in September, you took Athena off of medication for cushing's. Did you restart treatment since then? If not and if her cortisol is high, getting her blood sugar regulated is going to be very difficult until you get her cortisol back down. I didn't have time to go back through your thread to see if she was on once a day or twice day dosing and if on once a day, you should talk to your vet about switching to twice day dosing. The reason for this is that Vetoryl (trilostane) has a short half life and it's effects start to wear off after 8 hours. This may be long enough for most dogs to see complete resolution of symptoms but a dog with diabetes needs maximum control throughout the day. If you did restart treatment, when was the last acth stimulation test done and can you share those results. Athena is lucky that her mom is a nurse and is an expert at giving injections. You should also be pretty good at doing home testing curves. I second Leslie's recommendation to join our sister site, k9diabetes.com. The folks there are amazing and I may be a bit biased but so are we when it comes to cushing's so you will have the best of both worlds. Please keep us posted on Athena's progress.

    Again, I am so sorry for your loss and I hope we can be of help in getting Athena on the right path to a continued great quality of life with both conditions well controlled.

    Glynda

  9. #149
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    Exclamation Update on Athena

    Will update soon
    Last edited by WeLoveAthena; 06-23-2019 at 09:17 PM.

  10. #150
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    Default Re: Update on Athena

    Welcome back to you and Athena! I’ve gone ahead and merged your note into your original thread right now, and we’ll definitely be watching for your continued updates.

    Marianne

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