admin - 78. page

[admin]

Hi Rica. Sorry – just seeing this – company over weekend……

I have to say, for you thinking you are not very educated with medicine and that you are feeling lost, you have already done an amazing job getting your precious Vincent the exact help he needed and there seems to have much improvement. Perciverience, it’s a must have with this stinking disease – and YOU have it. Vincent is a very lucky boy to have your love and diligence. You have already done a wonderful job.

I love his picture. He is so handsome!

As others have said – glad you found our forum, but so sorry for your ordeal. You feeling lost and confused is where we all have been and exactly why Patrice started this forum, in honor of her wonderful Chance, in hope of helping fur parents navigate through all the questions and concerns dealing with AIHA/IMHA.

You have already heard from the ones here that can help with the bloodwork AND have been reminded of the precautionary supplements (thank you pesty Auntie Sheena – keep pestering – never let up!). We have an awesome team here.

I am not sure where you live, but looking for a vet that will communicate with you sounds like a plan to me. The communication, especially dealing with this disease, is key.

Along with the three protective supplements and meds: tummy protection (Sucralfate) anti-clotting (my cocker spaniel, Sadie, is on the genetic form of Plavix, Clopidogrel) and liver protection (Denamarin)
I would also recommend PetTinic supplement. Sadie was put on this from day one (diagnosed March 2009) and continues on it today, everyday.

I will check in on computer. Please excuse typos – on phone. Keep up the AWESOME diligence and know you are not alone in this fight for Vincent’s resumed health.

Love and hang-in-there hugs,

Linda and Sadie

[admin]

I clearly have to get my hands on that Billinghurst book! the poodles get Meaty bones, Turkey necks work great, I cut one in half, the big part for Enzo, small for Ripley. Chicken necks are almost to small for my boys, they tend not to chew too much and just swallow them. I don’t think that is the idea:) Chicken backs are better, but the turkey necks are best for us. I guess everybody has to try out what works best for their dog. Cleo the Standard Schnauzer finally got a real bone from me. Her mom has been giving her those disgusting Denta Stics. Unfortunately I can’t get her to take the bones. She sucks on them a bit, chews a bit and then just leaves them. I guess she is into junk food. There is really nothing better to clean a dogs teeth than those meaty bones.
Patrice I will try the whey in my next batch of fermented veggies, even though I use very little salt I guess that would be better.
One thing from that nutrition seminar that confused me a bit, I seem to remember that the dogs digestive system is actually to acid(?) for probiotics to be beneficial.
An other thing to keep in mind when feeding raw and seeing a vet that is not familiar is that raw fed dogs can have different blood results. A friend of mine had her Australian Terrier’s blood checked and the vet told her he is close to be into kidney failure. There was nothing wrong with the dog. His blood results just showed differently than a kibble fed dog.
Sorry Tamara, I seem to have highjacked your thread with nutrition stuff, maybe I should have started a new topic.
Good night,
Brigitte

[admin]

Tamara,
even though I have been feeding raw for over 30 years the fermented vegetables were new to me. I have bought them for a Bernese Mountain Dog breeder and they were ridiculously expensive. After a nutrition seminar and getting all that info from Patrice I finally was brave enough to give it a try and do it myself. It is NOT rocket science or brain surgery, I can do it! I did not use a starter, only a tiny bit of salt and apple cider vinegar. I don’t even have a food processor, I used my immersion blender. Not ideal but it worked pretty good. I chopped or grated the veggies by hand. White cabbage, zucchini, broccoli, parsley, spinach, carrots, celery. Most of the veggies I got organic, but not all of it. Some of the celery I chopped very long until it was almost liquid and mixed that in with about 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar and a pinch of salt. I also added some oregano from the garden. I let it all sit in a big bowl on the counter for half a day and then in small batches chopped it finer with the immersion blender. I filled those in canning jars. It took about 3 days for the “stuff” to bubble a bit. I stirred it and let it sit for an other 3-4 days on the counter. It should be always covered with a bit of liquid or you can cover it with a cabbage leaf and then loosely close the jar. It smells pretty good, I take a bit here and there, tastes a bit like raw sauerkraut and now I add about a heaping teaspoon to every bowl of food. (My dogs are 44 & 54 lbs) I think this would also be good for dogs that are on cooked diets or kibble. I ended up with 4 jars of 4 cups each and I guess it will last me about 4 weeks.
Patrice, you having German dogs should know that it is not only an Asian traditional food but also German:) Good old Sauerkraut!
Just go for it Tamara, it does not take that much time and I actually enjoyed doing it.
Brigitte

[admin]

Hi Rica
It’s really good to hear from you & to know Vincent has made such a great improvement! Any chance of some photos of these bumpy lumpy skin lesions? It might help us to identify what they are. I have never experienced anything quite like this, but maybe someone else has. It is possible it’s a drug side effect, and as you say, it’s less important than getting Vincent on the road to recovery. Let’s have a look & try to save you $500 – wow – that’s too much money.
Love & hugs
Sheena x

[admin]

Hi Mike

Number 3 is what Worzel had, so yes, you can do something. If the azathioprine hadn’t worked, we would have stopped it & tried cyclosporine. If that didn’t work, we would have kept on trying other drugs. My specialist said we would try anything & everything & we would not give up – small transfusions to keep him going until we found the answer. It’s much more rare to have a bone marrow problem, obviously, so hopefully it is number 1 or 2 & you won’t need to think about number 3!

Really good to hear Lola is holding steady & adding B12 injections has got to help – that will go straight into her system, but I don’t know how quickly it will take effect – sorry. Worzel had a different supplement from PetTinic – being in France means we get different medicines from you guys – he only took it for a month & his hemoglobin came up really well (6th Dec hgb was 7.7, 12th Dec hgb was only 6.9, rose to 16.9 on 8th January – wow!) – hope the same will happen to your lovely Lola. Our specialist also suspected he was short of red cell building materials because he had been ill for so long. He also agreed with Dr Dodds suggestion to add thyroxine if Worzel didn’t improve & was very open to all her advice, thank goodness.

If you you would like me to I can send you a spread sheet of Worzel’s progress – PCV, hemoglobin & reticulocytes, plus medications – it shows that the aza (& iron supplement) made him regenerative at the beginning, BUT reducing it made his PCV rise & rise after he became stable. He also had the tick borne disease which had to be eliminated & this was a vital part of the initial treatment too. Ehrlichia is a nasty but clever disease which can hide itself away in the bone marrow for a long, long time before any symptoms appear. I know we were lucky in that we eventually found the cause though – that doesn’t always happen. I wish our local vets had done more to find out what was wrong with him in the first place, before he was knocking on death’s door. That is why I’m such an old nag about encouraging everyone to get every possible test done.

Anyway, I hope you get a nice surprise – an increase in retics, PCV & hgb would be good, but it’s early days. Let us know how she’s doing.

Sending all our best wishes
Sheena, Worzel & Ollie x

[admin]

Patrice – I missed the photo! I know he is the ideal dog to do this job & I bet he brings a lot of happiness to the people & they love seeing him. Makes life more interesting for them & for Willie too. The home my Mum was in always welcomed dogs, so I used to take my two in – everyone loved to see them & have a cuddle. It was lovely to see the older people get more animated & happy. You & Willie are doing a very good thing.
Sheena

[admin]

Patrice, I totally get that boy! I have a rather short attention span and sometimes got bored visiting for too long. I was always happy to say; I think the dog wants to go. People are more understanding when the dog gets antsy than the handler:) Don’t look at it as impolite when he needs a change, that’s just who he is. He is not a robot or a machine, he is a dog and his “imperfections” will make him so endearing to everybody. I wish he could visit with me:)

Brigitte

[admin]

Darn, I was too late to see the picture. It is great that you both enjoy the visits at the nursing home. From my observation, having a calm and laid back dog and a firecracker, for some people the firecracker is so much more entertaining. Much more of a conversation starter. I am pretty sure Willie is in the firecracker category:)