Jasper (12 yr old Mini Schnauzer) is now at peace

[molly muffin]

This is fabulous news Tina!!!! yay to both you and Jasper!

Now, you can hopefully breathe again.

hugs, have a good week,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[Trish]

Hooray for the kidney test, so pleased to hear that Tina!!!!! Booooo for the cholesterol/triglycerides! Had Jasper fasted for that? Not sure if it makes a difference but humans need to fast for 12 hrs for that test. Might pay to check?!? I guess they will redo those and his liver tests/bili when they recheck his renal function in a week? Are they checking his BP with the enalopril to make sure he is not going too low?

He probably just walking away from food as it is a change from his usual diet, picky pups He must be hungry as he goes back for the rest!

But all in all, I think that calls for a high paws five!!

Trish xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[addy]

High five paws from me too, you needed some good news!!!

[Squirt's Mom]

WOOHOO!! Way to go Jasper and Mom! That's a great report, Tina, even with the little "glitches". Keep up the good work you two!

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

[Tina]

Thanks everyone! Yes, I have been pretty happy. I almost hugged the little guy to death the day we got the results back!

Lori - his thyroid level has always been normal in the past. It was last checked when we were ruling out things before he was diagnosed with Cushings. On 5/25/12 the T4 was 1.5, ref range 0.4-4.0 ug/dL. I looked through all the labwork that I have and I don't see that it has been checked since that time. Do you think I should ask about re-checking it?

Trish - yes, Jasper was fasted for a little over 12 hrs for the chem profile, thanks for asking about that. It was the first thing that my vet verified when she called with the results. So the triglycerides were that high on a fasted sample. Tomorrow he will just be getting a renal profile drawn rather than a full chem panel. My vet said that it would be too soon to see any changes in the triglycerides or bilirubin yet. His Alk phos and ALT have been elevated due to the Cushings and now due to taking the Dex. She said taking steroids causes the liver enzymes to be elevated. So I am not sure that we will see much improvement there. I am hoping once we get the kidney stuff under control, we can talk about maybe starting him on Denamarin to help with that. I don't know how that will affect his kidney issues, it may be contraindicated. I will need to find out about that. And as far as the blood pressure, before he started on the Enalapril I asked my vet about that. She said it would have minimal effects on his BP, could maybe lower it by only 10 points, so she said that would be ok. I probably should ask what the signs of low BP would be, just in case. Thanks for mentioning that also.

I will get a copy of the chem profile from 2/7 tomorrow when I take him in, so I can see the specific results and post the numbers.

Jasper seems to be doing pretty good I think. (Do I dare say it?). He is still doing the walking away from his food while eating thing at most meals. I don't know if this is due to poor appetite, or what. He acts hungry when I put the food down, but after eating about half of it, he walks away a few times while chewing. So far he has always gone back and finished, but just eats kind of slow. This morning was the worst, I had to encourage him to finish, but he did thank goodness.

So he is hanging in there. He has been getting the full dose of Enalapril since last Friday, so it will be almost a full week when he gets the renal values re-checked. So all fingers and paws crossed that they will all still be good!

Hugs to all,
Tina and Jasper

[Harley PoMMom]

Lori - his thyroid level has always been normal in the past. It was last checked when we were ruling out things before he was diagnosed with Cushings. On 5/25/12 the T4 was 1.5, ref range 0.4-4.0 ug/dL. I looked through all the labwork that I have and I don't see that it has been checked since that time. Do you think I should ask about re-checking it?

Since it has been normal in the past I would probably just keep an eye on it. My feeble mind forgot that Jasper is a mini schnauzer and this breed is prone to elevations in the triglycerides.

You're doing a great job, Tina!!!

[SoggyDoggy]

Hi Tina,

Just wanted to comment on the food and walking away while eating. I'm not sure if this is a huge change or not for Jasper, but Fraser has pretty much done that his entire life! He is not exactly what one would call "motivated" by food, and often has to be encouraged to finish. In fact, it was when he needed no encouragement for a few months that i realised something was actually going on - this was the early cushiness rearing it's head. Now that he is right again, he will find the perfect bit of food in his bowl, pick it out and chew it up properly before swallowing, then i his own time return to his bowl to hunt up the next "perfect" morsel. Dinner can take 20-30 minutes sometimes! (or even longer if he gets a sense I might be trying to rush him or go out somewhere)

Might it be now that Jasper is not ravenously hungry, that he is instead savouring his food? or perhaps even that he just doesn't like it and only is eating it grudgingly to please you? Just some thoughts, but I would think that even if it is taking time, as long as he is not off food completely he should be fine. Just watch out for the pancreatitis with the higher fat kidney food.

Glad about those kidney results though!

[Trish]

Hi Tina

So pleased Jasper is still doing well!! I will be waiting for the news on the latest blood tests with fingers crossed.

Flynn can be slow sometimes too when he eats, especially if it is food he is not that keen on like his bisuits. He will eat all the good part of the meal, ie meat and leave some of the biscuits but goes back and eats them later. I know he is off colour when he does not even want the meat!

Hope your day goes well!
Trish xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[Squirt's Mom]

Hi Tina,

I'm so glad the report is as good as it is! YAY, Jasper and Mom!

Just navel gazing and found this tidbit so I thought I'd share. Is it possible that something is affecting Jasper's sense of taste? Maybe the meds? It could be that he eats until he no longer feels really hungry but the food itself has little taste to him so he isn't motivated to finish it - kind of like chewing cardboard.

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

[Tina]

Jasper had his blood drawn for the renal profile tonight as scheduled. We should have the results late tomorrow. Everyone at the office said that they thought he was looking good, and seemed to be feeling good.

When we got home I figured he would be pretty hungry since it was later than he usually eats. He seemed hungry but when I put the bowl down he just looked at it and stepped back. He wouldn't even start eating. He took a few morsels from my hand but that was it. He wouldn't even eat with encouragement this time. Over the next half hour I heard him go and eat maybe 3 or 4 bites, maybe about 1/4 of what I put in his bowl. I wondered if the fish oil that I mix with his food was possibly causing him to not want to eat, even though he has always liked it before. I got him to eat about 1/4 cup of the food with no fish oil, but then he wouldn't eat any more of that either. The rest of the food is sitting in his dish, and it has been over 2 hrs now. He is sleeping on the couch.

I held the Enalapril tonight. I am not sure if it can be given on an empty or mostly empty stomach. Also, before we started it, my vet said that if he had any drop in appetite to stop the medication. She said that decreased appetite is a sign that the kidneys aren't happy. So I don't know if that is what is going on now or not. It's hard to say, because the Addison's and cortisol issues can cause loss of appetite also. We had so much trouble with that before. He was doing so well on the low fat i/d food before, I am just worried it is the k/d food, and the novelty is wearing off.

Leslie, it does seem like maybe the food doesn't taste good to him now. And Naomi, this is a change for him. When he is feeling good and all is normal with his eating, he usually eats steadily and enthusiastically until the meal is gone. He has never been ravenous or snarfing down his food, but he always finished all at once.

So I guess I will go and pick up the food dish for tonight, it doesn't look like he is going to eat any more. Poor Shelby has been confined to the living room this whole time so she doesn't eat it. If I can't get him to eat in the morning, I am going to hold the Enalapril then also. I will talk to my vet tomorrow. I don't know what she will say because I don't think we have much flexibility with his food, and that is a big concern.

I will keep you all posted. Thanks so much for all the positive words and support, it means a lot.

Hugs,
Tina and Jasper