Molly, 13 yr, shih tzu - lhasa aspo - Molly has passed

[molly muffin]

Okay, so we have the ACTH results back. She is coming down, although her pre was up a bit from last time. We talked about increasing but in the end decided that with lack of symptoms, other than BP and protein, we should continue slow and low and see if she continues to come down any further on the 8mg trilostane.
Recheck of ACTH in 3 weeks (Daniel has his surgery at 30 day mark so I can't do that and neither of us think she'll be too low on the same dose)

ACTH Oct 17, 2014

Pre 74 nmol 2.68ug
1hr 858 nmol 31.09ug
2hr 1024 nmol 37.11ug

ACTH Nov 07, 2014

Pre 102 nmol 3.69ug
1hr 582 nmol 21.09ug
2 hr 608 nmol 22.03ug

I think I did that right, dividing by 27.59 to get ug.

We will recheck her BP this thursday and see if the increase in dosage for that has helped.

We fully expect this week she'll be either at 150 or too low the way things seem to go with molly. 1 time she is way too high and the next at 150. I think they use the same cuff on her, the small - med dog cuff. We'll see how this one goes.

We need to get the cortisol down and the protein controlled and then see how that adrenal nodule is doing. We can't really determine pheo right now till we rule out the other possibilities. She isn't thinking pheo off the bat, with the cortisol being raised, but anything is possible and it's not unheard of.

Daniel is having a double hernia surgery and will be in the hospital for 4 days at least.

I've ordered thai food for dinner and plan to have a weekend with hubby, who has had a rough week himself so guess I'm spreading the TLC between him and molly right now.

When this is all over and his surgery is done, he's healed and molly is more stable. I'm going to need some serious Me time. LOL

We're hanging in there and dealing with things as they come up. Molly doesn't act a bit different, is still a little diva just doing her thing. She doesn't know there is a thing going on in her life and she seems to feel just fine.

thanks everyone for the well wishes.
Hugs!

[jas77450]

Glad to hear Molly is acting like she feels ok. You definatley have your hands full for now. Take care of yourself too!

[Budsters Mom]

(((((((hugs)))))))

[Squirt's Mom]

Sending healing white light to Daniel, praying all goes well and he is up and at 'em again very soon.

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

[Trixie]

Hi Sharlene...so weird, I posted on your thread here late last night...I must have not clicked on the POST button hard enough as my post is not here!!
Anyway...I have missed a lot of things going on with Molly. Happy to read she's acting like herself though...and not showing any signs that she's uncomfortable in any way.
Looks like really good progress on the decrease post number..looks like the Trilostane is doing a good job and not causing any issues for Molly. Hoping you notice a positive change in the BP number, though it is not easy to get a good reading and we never could with Trixie...just too nervous and hyper walking in the vets...
Between your husband..(hope all goes well there) and Molly you must be ready for your "me" time...hope your day comes soon!
I wonder what happened to my late night post!? I'm so puzzled!!
Barbara

[Bailey's Mom]

Hi Sharlene-
I'm sorry to hear Daniel is heading for a rough go. 4 days is a very long stay, these days.
I'm glad Molly is hanging in there.
You know-I think I posted on here yesterday and mine is not here either. That is weird.
Maybe you could take your "me" time in Florida???
Susan

[labblab]

Hey Sharlene, I think you're on exactly the right track with the trilo (that's great the cortisol's coming down!), and I'll surely be thinking positive thoughts about the BP and most certainly for Daniel's surgery. What day does Poor Boy have to go in?

[molly muffin]

He goes in on the 18th. Surgery is on the 19th and 20th. (it's a double hernia so they do one side each day) He's doing it under a local instead of general anesthesia. I feel nauseous just thinking about it.

The hospital said today he will be in till Monday the 24th. So, it's a fairly long stay. 6 nights. Everyone says they have good results though with healing and want to make sure there are no complications going forward. He'll have mentors that are going through the same thing before he goes in and then he will mentor others until his release. Interesting eh. They are up on their feet 4 hours after surgery. My neighbors dad had his hernia surgery at the same hospital and said it's more like a 5 star resort, with their entire focus being on the patients well being and whole health recovery. This should be interesting.

Molly is still doing good. I have a couple things that have to be worked out in that I can't keep going to the IMS for the BP readings every week or other week. It's too far and I'm running out of vacation to take doing all these tests and being there all the time. My vet however, does not have a BP machine. *sigh*

I can find another vet, but none of the other vets do boarding and after some not so great experience with boarding her at other places, the vets is the only one I currently trust. My current vet though is the only one who does dog boarding and doggie day care when needed.
So, what to do about all this. Do I see if I just get a vet to do the BP readings and stick with my current vet which is what I'd like to do? Or do I have to switch because my vet doesn't have a BP machine and then what do I do about boarding.

I feel like I'm stuck in a hard place with no good solutions. I've been trying to figure this out since September, with no real answers.

I need to make sure my vet can do the ACTH and send to the lab that the IMS wants used also. IDEXX. She wants consistency with the testing since molly is not symptomatic and harder to determine what is happening without the tests being done in the same lab so we can see the drops or increases without any other factors (lab factors). I'm pretty sure that my vet can send to IDEXX lab, but need to verify. Also that she will order the trilostane compounded from same place my IMS orders it.

My head hurts just thinking about it.

hugs all
Sharlene and molly muffin

[judymaggie]

Sharlene--one thought re trying to find a solution to get Molly's BP tested. Since vets (and doctors, in general) seem to prefer conferring with each other, do you think your vet would be willing to locate a vet nearby who can do BP readings and ask him/her to work out the details (a professional courtesy would be ideal)?

Will be thinking good thoughts for your husband's surgeries--sounds like a great facility!

[doxiesrock912]

Sharlene,
Is there a mobile vet willing to come to your house to check Molly's BP? This would rule out the stress factor of being at the vet's office.

Double hernia under general. Wow! Hubby is brave!

Happy that Molly acts no different.