she is dropping again,
last weekend she was down a few points to 20%
this weekend she is down further, to 16%
i've been concerned for months.
thing is, her body is dwindling again, only this time...slower.
i don't know how to explain it but once you've been through it, you then develop an eye for even the slightest of change.
it's different this time than it was during our outset.
she was on such high doses of meds last year, and it broke her body into pieces...
it was a drastic dive into the ground; and with it came setback after setback.
for months she was a skeleton of a dog and it was just a nightmare that held her on the edge of death, literally.
then we got an answered prayer.
and here we are 9 months later...
yet what happens now?
at this moment the meds are reduced so much, and the changes in body are so slight that it's hard to know when to panic.
but those numbers can sure make your heart sink.
it's been a year now since she was diagnosed, and this is the first time since mid-september (and since the use of durabolin) that she has been below 19%
yet if you look at her weight, it's close to normal.
if you watch her interaction, it reflects an interested and capable dog.
from september of 2007 to june of 2008 sway has been holding a RBC count between 19-29%
this had become our 'new normal' and for the time being i was okay with accepting that.
but with each passing week i wondered to myself and aloud, why won't her count go any higher?
why has her skull not filled back out?
why is she so damn dependent on drinking as much water as she can get her hands on?
i know the steroids create a greater desire for water, but this is above and beyond being obsessed.
if sway had it her way she would never take her mouth out of the water bowl.
i keep in touch with dr. dodds and a few folks who have pets going through this same disease (like patrice) ... and the obvious thought is there's got to be something we are missing with sway.
so a few days ago i setup another in person with dr. dodds for july 9th in irvine, she is in australia right now.
the first time i met dr. dodds, sway was in the 24 hour hospital and so i was actually unable to bring her with me.
now, the hope is that we can take this a step further and possibly pin point what...if anything, we are missing.
i tell you,
just meeting with dr. dodds is such a morale booster.
i can't explain how recharged i felt after meeting with her in 2007.
it was like she validated that everything i was doing was okay.
in a situation like this, that is really important for someone to do.
i struggled daily with how terribly bad sway was doing physically.
it's tough to look back at that awful time and i'm praying that history does NOT repeat itself.
but my point is that dr. dodds replenished my conscience with a dose of hope that i desperately needed...
at this point her blood spin from a few hours ago has made everything much more urgent...
especially if her holding period is now over.
i have no clue what our next week is going to be like,
i have no clue what to expect.
please think of sway and send some good vibes her way.
my heart goes out to everyone who has a pet dealing with this disease,
may they all be given the strength to battle through it.
Showing posts with label dilemma. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dilemma. Show all posts
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Thursday, September 20, 2007
up to speed...
before i get into future updates, i wanted to summarize what we've been thru thus far...
end of june - this all came out of the blue when i had her yearly blood panel ran.
a dog's red blood cell count should normally be around 45-50%
...sway was 29%
this was strange but not too alarming, so we planned to run another CBC to verify that this wasnt a mistake.
it wasnt.
over the next few weeks she had dropped to 21%
this is the disease we are looking at...
AIHA (auto immune hemolytic anemia)
july 27 - sway was at 18% and we decided to go ahead with an ultra-sound.
this was to basically rule out any tumors or internal bleeding, 2 potential reasons for the drops.
the ultra sound revealed no red flags, so as it was great to know that there were no tumors/bleeding, we still had no specific reason as to why this suddenly was brought about.
from there we looked to rule out another potential reason...
ticks.
she was put on doxycycline, which ideally would take care of all versions besides 1.
for the one rare tick, a babesia titer was ran and sway was in the clear.
july 28 - we started medication to counter the possible AIHA.
10mg of pepcid ac 30 minutes prior to meds/food.
carafate 30 minutes prior to meds/food.
20mg of prednisone 2x daily.
25mg of imuran 1x daily.
down the line we added other meds:
soloxine & RX hepatosupport (liver protection) are to be given 60 minutes prior to meds/food.
100mg of cyclosporine 1x daily 60 minutes after meds/food.
the cyclo was later stopped because sway's digestive tract is unable to handle it...most dogs do fine on this tho.
& finally a liver cleansing diet was suggested, you can try that here.
we chose not to run bone marrow tests, or any other tests for that matter...
reason being,
regardless on how the results would pan out, she would end up being on the same medication...
also, the $ for those tests would really take away from my ability to get her the treatment she needs....
im single, i dont have a great job, i dont have alot of money, and i live by myself in the most expesive county in the country.
i 'barely' kept my head above water before all of this,
now it will be 1 day at a time & i will just find a way.
...we decided to cross our fingers and wish for the best.
august 4 - 15.5%
august 7 - 15.5%
august 9 - 12% (blood transfusion #1)
this was also sway's first blood transfusion.
this procedure is basically hooking your dog up to an IV and running fresh blood into the vein thru a drip.
from what i have been told, sway tolerates these quite well and they usually will provide a boost.
however, if there is still no regeneration of cells, this fresh blood will soon be attacked and destroyed.
the point is to buy you important time while the medication is given an opportunity to work.
august 13 - 17%
august 17 - 13% (blood transfusion #2)
august 21 - 16%
august 28 - 12% (blood transfusion #3)
august 31 - 9% (blood transfusion #4, double unit)
i knew something was drastically wrong.
my girl was falling over when peeing outside and she could not walk straight.
her breathing was erratic as well and i was in a panic.
unfortunately my vet was closed and i was sure sway needed attention asap.
this meant going into the 24 hour care, and that meant me paying $1,200 for a one night visit.
i was right tho, because the 9% was the lowest she had ever been and after a long night of getting transfused sway was back up to 26%
september 1 - 28%
september 4 - 16%
september 6 - 13% (blood transfusion #5, double unit)
the meds are really beginning to re-shape her body...
the skull is taking on a cone shape, and the muscle is being evaporated from the pred.
alot of the time she has a hard time turning or squatting to pee without falling completely to the ground.
these are the effects of the disease, mixed with the effects of the treatment.
it is part of the path to a potential recovery. it is hard.
september 11 - (blood transfusion #6, double unit)
september 15/17 - (blood transfusion #7, double unit)
as i type this we have yet to see ANY regeneration of new red blood cells.
everyone is working hard though, and her doctors have been GREAT thru the entire process... (dr. woods / dr. dodds) THANK YOU!
i gain strength from a prior case that dr. dodds worked on, where a dog took 9 months before it began to create new cells in the marrow.
it is hard.
it is disheartening.
it is brutal at times emotionally.
you never want to see your family member stricken with such an unfortunate thing.
but better days do come, and i have faith in that.
no matter what she is dealing with, she is still a happy girl...
she still wags her tail feverishly when i walk in the door,
she still loves waiting in anticipation as i cook her patties, the fish or the boiled chicken,
and scarfs them down in record times!
still loves to wrap herself under the covers and make sure she cant be seen,
and loves to sit on my lap in the car so she can try to eat the air,
still hates baths,
still hates taking pills,
& still hates when i leave her...but i will always come back.
and i will never give up on her.
end of june - this all came out of the blue when i had her yearly blood panel ran.
a dog's red blood cell count should normally be around 45-50%
...sway was 29%
this was strange but not too alarming, so we planned to run another CBC to verify that this wasnt a mistake.
it wasnt.
over the next few weeks she had dropped to 21%
this is the disease we are looking at...
AIHA (auto immune hemolytic anemia)
july 27 - sway was at 18% and we decided to go ahead with an ultra-sound.
this was to basically rule out any tumors or internal bleeding, 2 potential reasons for the drops.
the ultra sound revealed no red flags, so as it was great to know that there were no tumors/bleeding, we still had no specific reason as to why this suddenly was brought about.
from there we looked to rule out another potential reason...
ticks.
she was put on doxycycline, which ideally would take care of all versions besides 1.
for the one rare tick, a babesia titer was ran and sway was in the clear.
july 28 - we started medication to counter the possible AIHA.
10mg of pepcid ac 30 minutes prior to meds/food.
carafate 30 minutes prior to meds/food.
20mg of prednisone 2x daily.
25mg of imuran 1x daily.
down the line we added other meds:
soloxine & RX hepatosupport (liver protection) are to be given 60 minutes prior to meds/food.
100mg of cyclosporine 1x daily 60 minutes after meds/food.
the cyclo was later stopped because sway's digestive tract is unable to handle it...most dogs do fine on this tho.
& finally a liver cleansing diet was suggested, you can try that here.
we chose not to run bone marrow tests, or any other tests for that matter...
reason being,
regardless on how the results would pan out, she would end up being on the same medication...
also, the $ for those tests would really take away from my ability to get her the treatment she needs....
im single, i dont have a great job, i dont have alot of money, and i live by myself in the most expesive county in the country.
i 'barely' kept my head above water before all of this,
now it will be 1 day at a time & i will just find a way.
...we decided to cross our fingers and wish for the best.
august 4 - 15.5%
august 7 - 15.5%
august 9 - 12% (blood transfusion #1)
this was also sway's first blood transfusion.
this procedure is basically hooking your dog up to an IV and running fresh blood into the vein thru a drip.
from what i have been told, sway tolerates these quite well and they usually will provide a boost.
however, if there is still no regeneration of cells, this fresh blood will soon be attacked and destroyed.
the point is to buy you important time while the medication is given an opportunity to work.
august 13 - 17%
august 17 - 13% (blood transfusion #2)
august 21 - 16%
august 28 - 12% (blood transfusion #3)
august 31 - 9% (blood transfusion #4, double unit)
i knew something was drastically wrong.
my girl was falling over when peeing outside and she could not walk straight.
her breathing was erratic as well and i was in a panic.
unfortunately my vet was closed and i was sure sway needed attention asap.
this meant going into the 24 hour care, and that meant me paying $1,200 for a one night visit.
i was right tho, because the 9% was the lowest she had ever been and after a long night of getting transfused sway was back up to 26%
september 1 - 28%
september 4 - 16%
september 6 - 13% (blood transfusion #5, double unit)
the meds are really beginning to re-shape her body...
the skull is taking on a cone shape, and the muscle is being evaporated from the pred.
alot of the time she has a hard time turning or squatting to pee without falling completely to the ground.
these are the effects of the disease, mixed with the effects of the treatment.
it is part of the path to a potential recovery. it is hard.
september 11 - (blood transfusion #6, double unit)
september 15/17 - (blood transfusion #7, double unit)
as i type this we have yet to see ANY regeneration of new red blood cells.
everyone is working hard though, and her doctors have been GREAT thru the entire process... (dr. woods / dr. dodds) THANK YOU!
i gain strength from a prior case that dr. dodds worked on, where a dog took 9 months before it began to create new cells in the marrow.
it is hard.
it is disheartening.
it is brutal at times emotionally.
you never want to see your family member stricken with such an unfortunate thing.
but better days do come, and i have faith in that.
no matter what she is dealing with, she is still a happy girl...
she still wags her tail feverishly when i walk in the door,
she still loves waiting in anticipation as i cook her patties, the fish or the boiled chicken,
and scarfs them down in record times!
still loves to wrap herself under the covers and make sure she cant be seen,
and loves to sit on my lap in the car so she can try to eat the air,
still hates baths,
still hates taking pills,
& still hates when i leave her...but i will always come back.
and i will never give up on her.
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