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- May 13, 2016
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Hello all,
It’s been quite a while since I posted or checked in on the network. I hope everyone and your frenchies are doing well. As some of you may remember, Nellie was diagnosed with severe inflammatory bowel disease last October, and since then she has been up and down with her health and around Christmas until March she got so bad I didn’t think she was going to make it. Her specialists had given up on her and as a last ditch effort, referred us to the Ontario veterinary college for final analysis. The team there is amazing and since working with them in March, things have been taking a turn for the better. She was diagnosed with another form of severe IBD on top of the original diagnosis as well as small intestinal disease. She had a bleeding ulcer too, but the team at OVC put her on some meds and did another endo-colonoscopy to review a second and third time. Long story short, the fixed the ulcer and put her on a new novel protein diet of low fat kangaroo maintenance with mashed white potatoes mixed in. This has been a godsend! They also did a combo of Pepcid ac and metoclopramide three times a day to help with the regurgitation and she did not vomit for a whole month! All is this to say that things are looking up, however we are being faced with two new challenges. 1. Due to her prolonged steroid use, her liver enzymes are crazy elevated at 1800 and the vets are concerned. They have put her on Denamarin for a month to see if this makes a difference, and if not they will look at starting to wean her off the steroids.
2. the second and perhaps most annoying aspect of dealing with her disease is the constant flare ups that happen from her eating food she is not supposed to. I try my best to hover over her like a hawk and make sure she doesn’t pick things up from the ground but alas am only human and every so often she finds a bone in the yard or something then we go back to square 1. But perhaps more annoying is that friends and family keeping feeding her things she cannot have! Two weekends in a row, at a BBQ at my house and a friend’s BBQ, she has been fed steak and guacamole after I told everyone countless times not to feed her. It is so frustrating because she now has bloody diarrhea and the vomiting is back. I can’t do much about it and have to let it ride its course. I have ordered for her a bandana and button that says “do not feed me” but we will see what that will do.
All in all though things are much better than they were 4 – 6 months ago. Her constant companion and dog walker Yvonne was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and can no longer watch her and this is putting a kink in our routine as I may have to take her to day care but she is no longer vaccinated due to her immune compromised state. I am scrambling to figure out options.
It’s been quite a while since I posted or checked in on the network. I hope everyone and your frenchies are doing well. As some of you may remember, Nellie was diagnosed with severe inflammatory bowel disease last October, and since then she has been up and down with her health and around Christmas until March she got so bad I didn’t think she was going to make it. Her specialists had given up on her and as a last ditch effort, referred us to the Ontario veterinary college for final analysis. The team there is amazing and since working with them in March, things have been taking a turn for the better. She was diagnosed with another form of severe IBD on top of the original diagnosis as well as small intestinal disease. She had a bleeding ulcer too, but the team at OVC put her on some meds and did another endo-colonoscopy to review a second and third time. Long story short, the fixed the ulcer and put her on a new novel protein diet of low fat kangaroo maintenance with mashed white potatoes mixed in. This has been a godsend! They also did a combo of Pepcid ac and metoclopramide three times a day to help with the regurgitation and she did not vomit for a whole month! All is this to say that things are looking up, however we are being faced with two new challenges. 1. Due to her prolonged steroid use, her liver enzymes are crazy elevated at 1800 and the vets are concerned. They have put her on Denamarin for a month to see if this makes a difference, and if not they will look at starting to wean her off the steroids.
2. the second and perhaps most annoying aspect of dealing with her disease is the constant flare ups that happen from her eating food she is not supposed to. I try my best to hover over her like a hawk and make sure she doesn’t pick things up from the ground but alas am only human and every so often she finds a bone in the yard or something then we go back to square 1. But perhaps more annoying is that friends and family keeping feeding her things she cannot have! Two weekends in a row, at a BBQ at my house and a friend’s BBQ, she has been fed steak and guacamole after I told everyone countless times not to feed her. It is so frustrating because she now has bloody diarrhea and the vomiting is back. I can’t do much about it and have to let it ride its course. I have ordered for her a bandana and button that says “do not feed me” but we will see what that will do.
All in all though things are much better than they were 4 – 6 months ago. Her constant companion and dog walker Yvonne was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and can no longer watch her and this is putting a kink in our routine as I may have to take her to day care but she is no longer vaccinated due to her immune compromised state. I am scrambling to figure out options.
