dr. dodds suggested we do another ultrasound, as sway last had one in late 2007.
if that were to reveal that everything was okay then she said we should consider stopping the nandrolone-
could the long term administration of nandrolone be a reason for sways cachexia? not sure.
the only thing i know for sure is that it definitely is the anchor that's held her blood count steady...
so potentially stopping it means we are walking a very fine line.
if the ultrasound were to reveal something new or significant, then that would point the direction of her future treatment.
Showing posts with label jean dodds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jean dodds. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
standard processing
while i had just started the enzymes, i had also reached out to dr. tom cameron from standard processing.
sway's latest blood count was 26% (and it had been holding mid-20's since june of 2008), so my intention was to phase in something that would basically help her put on some weight.
my email stressed sway's lack of body recovery and like dr. dodds before, he kindly accepted my communication attempt and quickly sent back a 12-18 month nutritional (supplement) agenda that was centered around sway's past history and her current compromised condition.
he said that we need to go back to the beginning.
he said that a common history of animals (and people) with AIHA is a negative reaction to vaccination, or a history of allergies and/or sensitive digestive tract.
he wanted to treat her for negative effects of vaccination (last vac was 2004) and to build up her digestive and immune systems.
he said once we get those 2 systems on solid ground, we could then address her other issues with more success.
he was also very happy to know that dr. dodds was working directly with sway and made a point to say that she couldn't be in any better hands.
these are the supplement suggestions he made-
also included are notes i took when he was explaining them to me...
hopefully they will help clarify what each supplement potentially does.
silicea 200c - this is a homeopathic remedy that stimulates the body to get rid of foreign substances.
vaccines have chemicals and heavy metals in them that lodge in the body causing chronic problems.
this med comes in little sugar crystals that go on the dogs tongue 1x daily.
glutamine 500mg - an amino acid that is critical for GI health.
when there is stress on the tract, the body's need for glutamine rises dramatically.
best given without a meal, 2x daily.
enteric support - standard process support formula.
designed to "normalize" the digestive system, promotes healing, creates a supportive environment for the growth of beneficial gut flora, promotes digestion and absorption of nutrients.
for dogs 20-40lbs = 1/4 tsp 2x daily
immuplex - standard process support product.
formulated to support the various components of the immune system (spleen, thymus, liver, bone marrow, gut flora).
AIHA is an overreaction of the immune system, this supplement looks to support a normal immune response. 2 per day.
catalyn - standard process support product.
provides broad spectrum nutritional support (multi-vitamin, multi-mineral, enzyme, phytonutrient, trace-nutrient) 2 every 12 hours.
dr. dodds & dr. woods were both on board with dr. cameron's suggestions and so they were added to sway's daily routine as of january 31.
dr. cameron explained to me that this process could very well take a year or longer, since we are treating the base of any disease by trying to cultivate a new environment from within her body.
he has been very helpful and very open with his line of communication, going as far as to even request that i call him every couple weeks just to give status updates and go over any progressions or declines.
i appreciate greatly the initiative he has taken, as I don't even know him at all...
just like dr. dodds has always taken initiative with sway and continues to offer her endless resources to me (for going on the last 2 years!)...
...to anyone with a dog going thru AIHA, or any other disease for that matter:
don't be afraid to reach out to people, regardless of how famous or well known in there respected fields they are.
you never know who will actually respond back,
the worst thing that could happen is that you lost 20 minutes of your time by typing up an email...
it absolutely IS worth your time.
sway's latest blood count was 26% (and it had been holding mid-20's since june of 2008), so my intention was to phase in something that would basically help her put on some weight.
my email stressed sway's lack of body recovery and like dr. dodds before, he kindly accepted my communication attempt and quickly sent back a 12-18 month nutritional (supplement) agenda that was centered around sway's past history and her current compromised condition.
he said that we need to go back to the beginning.
he said that a common history of animals (and people) with AIHA is a negative reaction to vaccination, or a history of allergies and/or sensitive digestive tract.
he wanted to treat her for negative effects of vaccination (last vac was 2004) and to build up her digestive and immune systems.
he said once we get those 2 systems on solid ground, we could then address her other issues with more success.
he was also very happy to know that dr. dodds was working directly with sway and made a point to say that she couldn't be in any better hands.
these are the supplement suggestions he made-
also included are notes i took when he was explaining them to me...
hopefully they will help clarify what each supplement potentially does.
silicea 200c - this is a homeopathic remedy that stimulates the body to get rid of foreign substances.
vaccines have chemicals and heavy metals in them that lodge in the body causing chronic problems.
this med comes in little sugar crystals that go on the dogs tongue 1x daily.
glutamine 500mg - an amino acid that is critical for GI health.
when there is stress on the tract, the body's need for glutamine rises dramatically.
best given without a meal, 2x daily.
enteric support - standard process support formula.
designed to "normalize" the digestive system, promotes healing, creates a supportive environment for the growth of beneficial gut flora, promotes digestion and absorption of nutrients.
for dogs 20-40lbs = 1/4 tsp 2x daily
immuplex - standard process support product.
formulated to support the various components of the immune system (spleen, thymus, liver, bone marrow, gut flora).
AIHA is an overreaction of the immune system, this supplement looks to support a normal immune response. 2 per day.
catalyn - standard process support product.
provides broad spectrum nutritional support (multi-vitamin, multi-mineral, enzyme, phytonutrient, trace-nutrient) 2 every 12 hours.
dr. dodds & dr. woods were both on board with dr. cameron's suggestions and so they were added to sway's daily routine as of january 31.
dr. cameron explained to me that this process could very well take a year or longer, since we are treating the base of any disease by trying to cultivate a new environment from within her body.
he has been very helpful and very open with his line of communication, going as far as to even request that i call him every couple weeks just to give status updates and go over any progressions or declines.
i appreciate greatly the initiative he has taken, as I don't even know him at all...
just like dr. dodds has always taken initiative with sway and continues to offer her endless resources to me (for going on the last 2 years!)...
...to anyone with a dog going thru AIHA, or any other disease for that matter:
don't be afraid to reach out to people, regardless of how famous or well known in there respected fields they are.
you never know who will actually respond back,
the worst thing that could happen is that you lost 20 minutes of your time by typing up an email...
it absolutely IS worth your time.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
10-21 update
we went almost 3 months without a PCV...
that was basically just based on how consistent her days have become.
her water intake is extremely high.
the past diabetes and cushing tests all came back negative so its very odd that her water obsession is so out of control.
she is also peeing far more often than normal and her bladder function seems to not nearly be as strong.
but still she had seemed well.
for me she seems like she goes up and down every other day.
she might have 2 days where she looks pretty normal, and then the next morning she will look completely anorexic, looking visually like she lost 7/8 pounds overnight.
this will then normalize by the next night and it is a constant cycle.
but as far as her energy level, it stays the same, she moves around well, she goes out biking with me and leads the charge. she is amazing.
anyways, a few weeks ago her PCV revealed a 21% ... so she had declined from the 26% in july.
we cultured her urine again to check for diabetes.
she actually had to stay overnight at the vets in order to do a water deprivation test.
that is where they withhold water from the animal and repeatedly check the urine thruout the day.
this revealed that sway was not concentrating her urine very well.
dr. woods & dr. dodds came to the conclusion that sway likely has diabetes insipidus.
it was suggested that we start her on DDAVP drops, and that is where we are...
thanks for the prayers for sway.
that was basically just based on how consistent her days have become.
her water intake is extremely high.
the past diabetes and cushing tests all came back negative so its very odd that her water obsession is so out of control.
she is also peeing far more often than normal and her bladder function seems to not nearly be as strong.
but still she had seemed well.
for me she seems like she goes up and down every other day.
she might have 2 days where she looks pretty normal, and then the next morning she will look completely anorexic, looking visually like she lost 7/8 pounds overnight.
this will then normalize by the next night and it is a constant cycle.
but as far as her energy level, it stays the same, she moves around well, she goes out biking with me and leads the charge. she is amazing.
anyways, a few weeks ago her PCV revealed a 21% ... so she had declined from the 26% in july.
we cultured her urine again to check for diabetes.
she actually had to stay overnight at the vets in order to do a water deprivation test.
that is where they withhold water from the animal and repeatedly check the urine thruout the day.
this revealed that sway was not concentrating her urine very well.
dr. woods & dr. dodds came to the conclusion that sway likely has diabetes insipidus.
it was suggested that we start her on DDAVP drops, and that is where we are...
thanks for the prayers for sway.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
...and then amazing news!
sway's newest blood panel revealed a hematocrit count of 26% which is 10% higher than it was just a week ago.
...and it's almost the highest she has ever been since being diagnosed back in july of 2007.
so that is really reeeeeeeeeeally good news.
she does have another UTI so she is back on cipro for that.
we are culturing both the urine sample from saturday and the new sample that was taken when i met with dr. dodds yesterday.
the panel didn't show any red flags for diabetes and dr. dodds is running another test to *hopefully* rule out cushing's.
should get all the results shortly,
her water intake remains as crazy as ever but in sway's case it just seems to come with the situation we find ourselves in.
thanks for the prayers.
...and it's almost the highest she has ever been since being diagnosed back in july of 2007.
so that is really reeeeeeeeeeally good news.
she does have another UTI so she is back on cipro for that.
we are culturing both the urine sample from saturday and the new sample that was taken when i met with dr. dodds yesterday.
the panel didn't show any red flags for diabetes and dr. dodds is running another test to *hopefully* rule out cushing's.
should get all the results shortly,
her water intake remains as crazy as ever but in sway's case it just seems to come with the situation we find ourselves in.
thanks for the prayers.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
difficult news
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.
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.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
toughest, emotional weekend
september 28 - sway spent friday at dr. woods' office receiving fluids & plasma, she was incredibly weak.
i would pick her up after work and she would stay at home with me until the next morning. she was still refusing food, she could not stand & could barely support the weight from her own head.
thursdays mess, coupled with her anemia was really taking its toll.
each day when picking her up, dr. woods would speak to me and the outlook was obviously not very optimistic...
this was clear, but he would still take the time to throw around ideas and scenarios, while maintaining frankness.
he would tell me that he didnt have a good feeling about this one, but at the end of the day would still respect my view and make it known we could keep going.
this is why i am lucky...that is what you want in a vet. someone that is straight forward, listens, provides ideas and clearly has an emotional investment in the pet...
his office clearly does, and i could see that it hurt him and his staff to know that sway was doing so poorly.
friday afternoon he had highlighted his fear that a leukemia might be the culprit.
we had so many hurdles and others were seeming to pop up in addition...
the auto immune hemolitic anemia, the side effects from meds, the breaking down of sways body, the weakness, now she wasnt eating (+4 days), and was refusing all meds by mouth...
on top of this was the revelation that thursdays episode was most likely some form of a stroke brought on by heat or a blood clot.
and then the mention of cancer just doomed the entire situation.
i left his office on friday not knowing what i was going to do.
the only thing i did know was that i wanted to spend the next 12 hours with sway and make sure she knew how much i loved her.
friday night was emotionally the toughest night of my entire life.
some say she is "just a dog," or "then you must live an easy life..."
...these type of people are in extreme contrast to someone like myself.
have i been thru tough things? sure...
the divorce of my parents,
great relationships with a few nameless girls ending in heartbreak,
the cross country move from my home in ohio to california, by myself...& did i mention i had no job or any place to stay when i got there?
the next 3 years hacking it in a place where the cost to live is unbelievably high.
and dont forget the fact that i had to leave my entire family and all of my lifelong friends in the process...
i havent been home in 2 years, i havent even seen my twin neices in person yet.
this type of seperation from everything you "knew" causes a great amount of hurt on someone from an emotional standpoint, atleast with me it did...
...i dont say these things to talk up what ive been through, but rather to underline how important sway is to me.
i HAVE been thru some things...but trust me, this night was emotionally my toughest, ever, and i can say that with certainty. my heart was broken.
sway IS my family here...she is all i have and i love her with everything i got.
ive had family pets my entire life, but she was the first that i was solely responsible for...
6 years ago i found her abandoned as a puppy and she has been MY family ever since.
the thought of actually putting her down was unexplainable.
this fear had consumed my mind for months, the 'what ifs' and all that...but for the first time, i questioned whether i was doing the right thing by keeping her alive, and had to literally face the possibility of making that choice.
i spent 2 hours on the phone with my mom, and i cried more then than i have in years.
you can cry, and then you can have one of those cleansing cries...this shit was a cleansing cry.
i was a wreck, but i needed that talk and i thank my mom for it.
truth be told, i was more than likely going to put my girl down...i didnt want her to suffer for 1 second and the fear that something like thursday could happen again while i was at work, and that sway would die alone, was overwhelming. i WANTED to be there if and when she passed. this was a MUST.
september 29 - at about 4am that morning me and sway went to the beach...
i had no idea what i was going to do but i wanted to spend that time just talking to her and clearing my head in the process.
she always loved the beach, and we went out there and sat in the dark.
i had to carry her since she couldnt walk, but it was a good time and sway was alert.
thats the thing...even as her body was breaking down, from the shoulders up she was slowly improving and she was receptive as could be.
this is a picture i took of us @ the beach...
i chose to take her back in for another day of fluids.
dr. woods agreed that she looked brighter & she spent all day getting more plasma etc.
when i picked her up we had another in depth discussion about her condition...
he again underlined his fear that leukemia could be at the center of this, and told me straight that if i chose to go forward she would need hospitalized just to get her thru the weekend.
the bright spot was that, even with all of these issues crashing down on us, her PCV was holding strong at 20.
...that, along with the fact that i had a consultation with dr. dodds on monday was driving home the urge to still fight.
sways spirit was alive, but her body was like a starving child from a 3rd world country...
doc was clear that if we were to give sway a punchers chance of overcoming anything, she would need to be hospitalized the entire weekend...
this meant going to VCA and spending over a $1000 a day...
knowing my financial situation he was concerned that if leukemia was revealed to be in the bone marrow, we would then be up against nearly impossible odds.
...but if this was something that i had to do, take her and hospitalize her, and lets all cross our fingers.
it was pretty clear that laying inbetween didnt make any sense for sway, we needed to go to superhuman levels and get her thru this weekend in blind faith, or simply put her down by allowing her to pass.
my heart said she can do this, she is trying hard, she has plenty of life left, faith is a strange thing but i trusted it.
even tho i am currently pretty faaar in debt, $ was not playing a part in this decision.
i have 4 credit cards and 1 was blank...
if i had to max it out to give her 1 last shot i would.
it was almost like if i didnt then i wouldnt be able to live with myself, and each person will have to work these issues out within themselves...
i chose to take her into vca for the weekend, and dr. woods immediately shifted into the mode of steering the ship...
he gave me a blood sample and prepped me for what to expect, then called over and spoke to one of the doctors personally to bring them up to speed with sways case.
dr. woods is a great vet!!! and i cant emphasize enough on how key having one you trust is in battling this disease.
leaving the office, it was literally like a do or die feeling...
i knew this weekend would either be a turning point, or potentially sways last.
when we got to vca sway was weighed in at 27 pounds...
she had slowly been losing weight but no number stuck out to me like that moment did.
this was a 40 pound pit bull just 6 months ago.
they immediately took her back to start fluids and hemit, & i left there with a broken heart and hope that God would work a miracle.
september 30 - when i came back to visit the next day, her PCV was still holding steady :)
21, 20, 21, 25 (what???)...she is an impressive lil' girl.
it had risen on its own for the first time in almost 4 months.
i spoke at length with the primary vet overlooking sways care, dr. jane armstrong.
she provided some guarded optimism but my dog was VERY sick and there was no way to sugarcoat that.
another full blood panel was taken and the results would be back on monday...
when i went back to visit her at night her ears and gums were flush with a red glow :)
october 1 - monday came and sway was still in the hospital...
i was at work and about an hour before my consultation with jean dodds i got a call from dr. armstrong.
the blood panel was back and sway was still holding on to her RBC count.
bad thing was that she was leaking tons of protein into her urine.
sway had a UPC rating of 22% (a normal dog should be below 0.)
dr. armstrong informed me that damage to the kidneys seemed evident and this was usually something that happens prior to going into full renal failure.
if this happens to be the case, the prognosis given to me was 2-6 months...
ouch. what a blow from the blind spot.
hurt again and again, its a rollercoaster.
i finally got to see dr. dodds at hemopet and brought her up to speed on the new issues.
she called and spoke directly to dr. armstrong while i was in the room.
we think that the durabolin is clearly the biggest attributor to the steadyness of sways RBC count.
dr. dodds also gave me hope that the random kidney issues could be something that was caused by the heat stroke sway had on thursday.
she also said that since this was so out of the blue, it might end up being something that would eventually correct itself.
outside of the specifics i mention here, jean dodds has just really inspired me to hang tough during this battle.
shes replenished me with hope and told me that i should not focus on what sway looks like, but rather we just adjust and establish a plan that will eventually make sway better.
...dr. dodds is truly an angel amongst us, and i am so thankful to have her in sways corner.
monday night sway looked better & her PCV was still holding steady...
earlier it had dropped to around 18 but i was told not to worry.
they explained that it was due to all the fluids sway was on, and at times that could dilute the blood...
sure enough, by the time i went in for a visit it had risen back to 22-25.
she was more alert than usual and wagging her tail when she saw me turn the corner.
she was wide awake.
i would pick her up after work and she would stay at home with me until the next morning. she was still refusing food, she could not stand & could barely support the weight from her own head.
thursdays mess, coupled with her anemia was really taking its toll.
each day when picking her up, dr. woods would speak to me and the outlook was obviously not very optimistic...
this was clear, but he would still take the time to throw around ideas and scenarios, while maintaining frankness.
he would tell me that he didnt have a good feeling about this one, but at the end of the day would still respect my view and make it known we could keep going.
this is why i am lucky...that is what you want in a vet. someone that is straight forward, listens, provides ideas and clearly has an emotional investment in the pet...
his office clearly does, and i could see that it hurt him and his staff to know that sway was doing so poorly.
friday afternoon he had highlighted his fear that a leukemia might be the culprit.
we had so many hurdles and others were seeming to pop up in addition...
the auto immune hemolitic anemia, the side effects from meds, the breaking down of sways body, the weakness, now she wasnt eating (+4 days), and was refusing all meds by mouth...
on top of this was the revelation that thursdays episode was most likely some form of a stroke brought on by heat or a blood clot.
and then the mention of cancer just doomed the entire situation.
i left his office on friday not knowing what i was going to do.
the only thing i did know was that i wanted to spend the next 12 hours with sway and make sure she knew how much i loved her.
friday night was emotionally the toughest night of my entire life.
some say she is "just a dog," or "then you must live an easy life..."
...these type of people are in extreme contrast to someone like myself.
have i been thru tough things? sure...
the divorce of my parents,
great relationships with a few nameless girls ending in heartbreak,
the cross country move from my home in ohio to california, by myself...& did i mention i had no job or any place to stay when i got there?
the next 3 years hacking it in a place where the cost to live is unbelievably high.
and dont forget the fact that i had to leave my entire family and all of my lifelong friends in the process...
i havent been home in 2 years, i havent even seen my twin neices in person yet.
this type of seperation from everything you "knew" causes a great amount of hurt on someone from an emotional standpoint, atleast with me it did...
...i dont say these things to talk up what ive been through, but rather to underline how important sway is to me.
i HAVE been thru some things...but trust me, this night was emotionally my toughest, ever, and i can say that with certainty. my heart was broken.
sway IS my family here...she is all i have and i love her with everything i got.
ive had family pets my entire life, but she was the first that i was solely responsible for...
6 years ago i found her abandoned as a puppy and she has been MY family ever since.
the thought of actually putting her down was unexplainable.
this fear had consumed my mind for months, the 'what ifs' and all that...but for the first time, i questioned whether i was doing the right thing by keeping her alive, and had to literally face the possibility of making that choice.
i spent 2 hours on the phone with my mom, and i cried more then than i have in years.
you can cry, and then you can have one of those cleansing cries...this shit was a cleansing cry.
i was a wreck, but i needed that talk and i thank my mom for it.
truth be told, i was more than likely going to put my girl down...i didnt want her to suffer for 1 second and the fear that something like thursday could happen again while i was at work, and that sway would die alone, was overwhelming. i WANTED to be there if and when she passed. this was a MUST.
september 29 - at about 4am that morning me and sway went to the beach...
i had no idea what i was going to do but i wanted to spend that time just talking to her and clearing my head in the process.
she always loved the beach, and we went out there and sat in the dark.
i had to carry her since she couldnt walk, but it was a good time and sway was alert.
thats the thing...even as her body was breaking down, from the shoulders up she was slowly improving and she was receptive as could be.
this is a picture i took of us @ the beach...
i chose to take her back in for another day of fluids.
dr. woods agreed that she looked brighter & she spent all day getting more plasma etc.
when i picked her up we had another in depth discussion about her condition...
he again underlined his fear that leukemia could be at the center of this, and told me straight that if i chose to go forward she would need hospitalized just to get her thru the weekend.
the bright spot was that, even with all of these issues crashing down on us, her PCV was holding strong at 20.
...that, along with the fact that i had a consultation with dr. dodds on monday was driving home the urge to still fight.
sways spirit was alive, but her body was like a starving child from a 3rd world country...
doc was clear that if we were to give sway a punchers chance of overcoming anything, she would need to be hospitalized the entire weekend...
this meant going to VCA and spending over a $1000 a day...
knowing my financial situation he was concerned that if leukemia was revealed to be in the bone marrow, we would then be up against nearly impossible odds.
...but if this was something that i had to do, take her and hospitalize her, and lets all cross our fingers.
it was pretty clear that laying inbetween didnt make any sense for sway, we needed to go to superhuman levels and get her thru this weekend in blind faith, or simply put her down by allowing her to pass.
my heart said she can do this, she is trying hard, she has plenty of life left, faith is a strange thing but i trusted it.
even tho i am currently pretty faaar in debt, $ was not playing a part in this decision.
i have 4 credit cards and 1 was blank...
if i had to max it out to give her 1 last shot i would.
it was almost like if i didnt then i wouldnt be able to live with myself, and each person will have to work these issues out within themselves...
i chose to take her into vca for the weekend, and dr. woods immediately shifted into the mode of steering the ship...
he gave me a blood sample and prepped me for what to expect, then called over and spoke to one of the doctors personally to bring them up to speed with sways case.
dr. woods is a great vet!!! and i cant emphasize enough on how key having one you trust is in battling this disease.
leaving the office, it was literally like a do or die feeling...
i knew this weekend would either be a turning point, or potentially sways last.
when we got to vca sway was weighed in at 27 pounds...
she had slowly been losing weight but no number stuck out to me like that moment did.
this was a 40 pound pit bull just 6 months ago.
they immediately took her back to start fluids and hemit, & i left there with a broken heart and hope that God would work a miracle.
september 30 - when i came back to visit the next day, her PCV was still holding steady :)
21, 20, 21, 25 (what???)...she is an impressive lil' girl.
it had risen on its own for the first time in almost 4 months.
i spoke at length with the primary vet overlooking sways care, dr. jane armstrong.
she provided some guarded optimism but my dog was VERY sick and there was no way to sugarcoat that.
another full blood panel was taken and the results would be back on monday...
when i went back to visit her at night her ears and gums were flush with a red glow :)
october 1 - monday came and sway was still in the hospital...
i was at work and about an hour before my consultation with jean dodds i got a call from dr. armstrong.
the blood panel was back and sway was still holding on to her RBC count.
bad thing was that she was leaking tons of protein into her urine.
sway had a UPC rating of 22% (a normal dog should be below 0.)
dr. armstrong informed me that damage to the kidneys seemed evident and this was usually something that happens prior to going into full renal failure.
if this happens to be the case, the prognosis given to me was 2-6 months...
ouch. what a blow from the blind spot.
hurt again and again, its a rollercoaster.
i finally got to see dr. dodds at hemopet and brought her up to speed on the new issues.
she called and spoke directly to dr. armstrong while i was in the room.
we think that the durabolin is clearly the biggest attributor to the steadyness of sways RBC count.
dr. dodds also gave me hope that the random kidney issues could be something that was caused by the heat stroke sway had on thursday.
she also said that since this was so out of the blue, it might end up being something that would eventually correct itself.
outside of the specifics i mention here, jean dodds has just really inspired me to hang tough during this battle.
shes replenished me with hope and told me that i should not focus on what sway looks like, but rather we just adjust and establish a plan that will eventually make sway better.
...dr. dodds is truly an angel amongst us, and i am so thankful to have her in sways corner.
monday night sway looked better & her PCV was still holding steady...
earlier it had dropped to around 18 but i was told not to worry.
they explained that it was due to all the fluids sway was on, and at times that could dilute the blood...
sure enough, by the time i went in for a visit it had risen back to 22-25.
she was more alert than usual and wagging her tail when she saw me turn the corner.
she was wide awake.
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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