Chitchat on anything thread

SeaBreeze said:
It's continuing, he's thrown up several more times, and we noticed some coagulated blood in the last two vomits. Hoping he lasts till Monday to see the vet. He's just laying there between episodes...been a bad month or so for him all around. The blood may be from his spleen, or maybe something else. Been googling around and it's very depressing.
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Oh Seabreeze, I am so sorry about your dog:( I have known that heartache of wanting to do something for them, but feeling so helpless. I don't want to try a play vet, but have you tried any vanilla yogurt to settle his stomach? I dont' have a clue if it would help it's the only thing I can think of. I'm going back up to read the rest of your posts darling, my thoughts and prayers are with all, Denise
 
SeaBreeze said:
Ina, I'm sure you've started this thread because you thought I was yelling at you about hijacking a thread. I'm very surprised that you would take it as something against you personally. If you took it as something against you, I apologize.

I said that I didn't want to hijack Justme's religion thread, out of respect for her. It's because my dog is very sick right now, and talking about his diseases can go on and on.





I'm glad you started this thread though, maybe I could share what my dog has been going through. He's 11 1/2 years old, and since he's a larger dog, that's pretty up there in years.

His arthritis had gotten much worse in the last month, and the Rimadyl medicine had to be given to him at much higher doses. He can no longer jump into the car or on the bed, but when we help him up, he screams in pain.

We had to take him to the vet because he had a nasal infection so bad that he had trouble breathing. They put him on an antibiotic, but it didn't cure him completely.

Then, last week or so, he stopped eating. And this is a dog that is normally food driven, so we knew something was wrong. We took him to the doctor again, and they said he had a 104 degree temperature, and his spleen was very inflamed.

He was put on Prednisone and more antibiotics, including an injection. Then they did some bloodwork. The vet said that his condition was very serious. He has developed a serious auto-immune disease, where the body attacks its own red blood cells. The bad thing is, he can't take any NSAIDS (Rimadyl) while he's on this medication, so he has no relief from his arthritis pain. The vet said he was at 40% of his joint movement only.

He has to go in for another blood test on Monday, and we'll see if he's getting any better with the medicine or worse. Regardless, it seems that he will be on medication for the rest of his life if he gets through all this. The auto-immune disease he has is IMHA. The reason why he was screaming so bad when me or my husband tried to pick him up, was because of his swollen spleen.

Again Ina, I'm sorry if you thought I was jumping on you for hijacking a thread. I just didn't want to hijack it myself, and turn it into too many posts about my dog.

Thanks again for asking about me in that other thread, we've been very concerned here are home, with an ailing furkid in the house. The good thing is he has started to eat a little bit again with the Prednisone and high-dose antibiotic treatment. He has enough medicine to last a month, then the vet will let us know what he needs to take. He hasn't been able to go for walks in the park at all, which he loved, because his footing is unsteady and his balance if off. :(
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I don't see anywhere you said anything wrong J, I don't know what this is all about but with all the heartache we all go through, and the awful things happening in our world, there is always room for more love for one another. Guess I sound like a preacher, oh well, I don't care. You are a kind and loving lady, and I am with you. The truth is, none of us here truly know each other's hearts, have any of us actually met anyone here in person, probably not. We "guess" what people mean, sometimes it's all too clear and it can be hurtful. Maybe we didn't mean something but it just came out that way, maybe we did mean it because we are in such pain over something in life, we strike out at those around us. Who knows, and this may sound like one of those "play nice" yarns but it's more of a forgive us our rotten attitudes we may have, or our mistakes, omg, the unpardonable sin.

If we have a place here we can at least know people aren't going to throw us out when we are imperfect, well, I'd say we are very blessed (don't ask me by what as I don't know anymore about God or any of that).
 
Thanks Falcon. Nwlady, your a very wise woman, and your thoughts and words are so kind. I do appreciate your thoughtfulness and insightfulness. We have given him some greek yogurt plain, but trying not to give him too much of anything today. Hugs, and thanks for being here for me. Some wonderful folks here that's for sure! :love_heart:
 
Oh, you were up on that already, the yogurt. I know I read that the 5 cultured types go in and kill the bad bacteria. I so hope it help hans. You hang in there and keep us posted k? denise
 
I know you peeps are going to fill my ears with all kinds recriminations about this question, but I have to ask. I'm having a lot of pain with this IBS condition, and one of few thing that doesn't set it off is Ramen noodle. I put chopped green onions and a little diced ham in it. The concoction doesn't cause be me any pain. So just how badly am I messing up.
 
Update on Hans...the vet said that the coagulated blood that he was vomiting, was because the auto-immune disease causes internal bleeding, and the blood that is digested will show with a blackened coagulated appearance.

They did more blood work on him this morning, and I just received the results this afternoon. The vet is very concerned, and the prognosis is very poor. The disease makes him kill off his red blood cells, which is a bad thing. His white blood cell count has doubled since last weeks tests, even with his taking his anti-biotics and the Prednisone. The vet said that if the medicine was helping him, the white blood count would be going down, not doubling.

I don't know much about these blood tests, but his HCT is 19%, and it should be much higher. The doctor said than when they get down to around 12%, a transfusion is mandatory. However, the transfusion is rarely successful, as even if they replace all of his blood with healthy blood from a donor, his immune system may destroy all those red blood cells too. So the vet does not recommend that action.

He gave him an additional medicine to take (Azathioprine), it is supposed to work in conjunction with the Prednisone, and may give him a better result. We have to take him in again next Tuesday, to monitor his blood levels and see if he's worsening or stabilizing. The vet said he was surprised that he didn't see improvement this past week with the meds.

Thanks again for all who gave support and wished him well, both on forum and privately. :love_heart:
 
Sea, let us know about the tests you pooch has. How old is your dog?

I know in my older years that my puppies are so important to my well being.

Izzy, Reba, Amber, and Boo have become our children, and they have entertained us for many years.
 
I hope it works Seabreeze. However in many cases some animals instinctly know that their time is up and their systems begin to cease functioning.

That's is what happened to my friends' cat Miranda.........so she had her "put down" as much as she hated to do it.

I hope that isn't the case with Hans but you must consider it.
 
Falcon said:
I hope it works Seabreeze. However in many cases some animals instinctly know that their time is up and their systems begin to cease functioning.

That's is what happened to my friends' cat Miranda.........so she had her "put down" as much as she hated to do it.

I hope that isn't the case with Hans but you must consider it.
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Thanks Falcon. The vet doesn't show much hope, but we'll know next week if things are stabilizing, improving or worsening. We have definitely been talking about that possibility, we just had to put our other dog down 3 years ago, and she was younger than him, but suffered with severe epilepsy, hip dysplasia and other issues.
 
I'm sorry for what you are going through as I know the feeling very well. Our little girl had cushings (sp) disease and would just lay right down and scream. The vet said he didn't think she was in pain but I know better. After about 10 episodes of this, we had to make the big decision. That was 7 years ago and we still miss the little gal. Good luck with meds, but your Hans knows what to do.
 
Thanks Jilly, Pappy and Vivjen, your kind thoughts mean a lot. Pappy, I'm so sorry, that must've been horrible for you to go through with your baby girl. If there was screaming going on, I think I'd be headed to put him to rest much sooner, that's for sure. :( Your heart never heals completely with these furkids, tears flow easily when I speak of ones I've lost over the years.

We just had to say good-bye to his younger sister around three years ago. They were not from the same litter, but they had the same parents and were 1 1/2 years apart in age. She developed Idiopathic Epilepsy at the age of 5, she had grand mal seizures very often, and she had clusters, so she would have several in one day, wearing all of us out, especially herself.

She was on increasing doses of Phenobarbital, Potassium Bromide and Valium for that. She'd lose all control of her bodily functions during a seizure, and afterwards she would be almost blinded and fearful of all of us, I think she was hallucinating before seizures, and just seeing shadows after. She was also on Rimadyl for hip dysplasia and arthritis in her spine. So she was pretty spaced out there for the last couple of years.

She relied so much on her front legs and shoulders, that eventually they were injured to the point where she could stand, and would scream if we tried to help her. The meds made her so dopey, she was constantly tripping and falling, even took a tumble down the stairs by the back door, luckily they were carpeted, and she didn't break anything. She's yelp right after a seizure when getting up from the lying, paddling position, from her hip pain...it was heartbreaking, even Hans seemed to know how sick she was.

I'm up early today, couldn't sleep last night. Hans looks a bit worse for the wear too. The Prednisone he's on makes him super thirsty, and he drinks constantly. Of course that means he has to be let out very often to relieve himself. Well, we started with this new med in addition to that last night, and he seems even worse. He was up drinking lots of water every 2 hours, and we were letting him out so there was no accidents in the house. He's also eating a lot of dirt and grass outside, so I know his stomach is upset from all he's taking.

Hoping for better news next Tuesday, will post an update when I have one. Thanks. :thankyou: This is Hans on the right, with his baby sister Sigilwig (Sigi) on the left, they were very close from day one.



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My heart is with all who have lost a pet. The most intense pain for they are such innocents in this world with no agenda unlike the real animal...man.

They just don't live long enough, but the truth is that it never would be the right time to lose one.

My little dog still comes to me in dreams. A little boy in a dog suit he was.
 
Gael said:
My heart is with all who have lost a pet. The most intense pain for they are such innocents in this world with no agenda unlike the real animal...man.

They just don't live long enough, but the truth is that it never would be the right time to lose one.

My little dog still comes to me in dreams. A little boy in a dog suit he was.
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I agree completely Gael, and very well said. Sad you lost your boy, I too often dream of my past kids.
 
The bottom line is the quality of life of your pet.....if it's suffering, let it go!

It's like your pet is trying to tell you, "I know how you feel, but I hurt, so please put me to sleep."
 
Falcon said:
The bottom line is the quality of life of your pet.....if it's suffering, let it go!

It's like your pet is trying to tell you, "I know how you feel, but I hurt, so please put me to sleep."
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Absolutely, been there done that and I have no respect for the "I just can't do it" types who let a pet suffer needlessly because they don't want to face the pain of letting them go. We can do better for animals then people.

I had to watch my mother die a death we wouldn't let an animal suffer.
 
Falcon and Gael, I agree. They depend on us to do what's right for them, they can't make these decisions for themselves. I also lost my sister to cancer, and she died in a horrible way with all the chemo and radiation, she was a skeleton when she passed. If she could have had a Dr. Kevorkian type to put her out of her misery, it would have been the kindest thing to do for her. That is what I would want myself.
 
Gael said:
Yes, the problem is they feel so close to children to our hearts and nervous system. I always hesitate to say that though, out of respect for parents who have lost children.
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Gail, I've now lost two sons, several old puppydogs, and three kittys that lived well over 20 years. You're right that it isn't the same, but whether you loose a child or a furkid your heart comes apart. Nothing can lessen that pain except time, and good memories. Thank you for understanding the love of all kinds of creatures, of which we are a part.:love_heart:
 
Ina said:
Gail, I've now lost two sons, several old puppydogs, and three kittys that lived well over 20 years. You're right that it isn't the same, but whether you loose a child or a furkid your heart comes apart. Nothing can lessen that pain except time, and good memories. Thank you for understanding the love of all kinds of creatures, of which we are a part.:love_heart:
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So sorry for all those loses, Ina. But I see your heart is still loving and open. Too often losses can lead to bitterness and retreat.
 
SeaBreeze said:
Falcon and Gael, I agree. They depend on us to do what's right for them, they can't make these decisions for themselves. I also lost my sister to cancer, and she died in a horrible way with all the chemo and radiation, she was a skeleton when she passed. If she could have had a Dr. Kevorkian type to put her out of her misery, it would have been the kindest thing to do for her. That is what I would want myself.
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I hope that as time passes more humane, reasonable approaches will be practiced towards the terminally ill patient.

Also, with the technology in place now familes are often put into unnatural scenarios in which their loved ones are kept going past the time they should have been freed from their bodies and the prolonged suffering is torturous..

People didn't have to go through that years ago.
 
Gail, if I looked to deeply into my depression, I'm not sure I could pull myself up, and I do so love my 71 y/o hubby, can't leave him by himself. Then there are still my furkids, Amber, Reba, Boo, and little Izzy.
 
Seabreeze, It is just heartbreaking what is happening with Hans. I was hoping that it might be something that was more fixable, but it is not sounding like that is the case here, since even the new meds are not helping any.
Making that final decision is the worst possible thing, and I have had to do that myself when a beloved pet was suffering, not going to get better, and there is nothing more you can do. But sometimes, it is the last way that we can show them our love, is to let them go.
I thought I was going to lose my Chipper a few years back. he had something wrong with his liver, or maybe kidneys, the vets weren't sure. he spent several days at the vet's clinic, and recovered enough that they sent him home; but then he just continued to go downhill, until finally, he just lay there like he was dead, and couldn't even raise his little head.
The vet said there was nothing more they could do for him, and it was not likely that he could recover. Somehow, i found an article online that talked about healing with raw milk. I had a friend with a milk cow, got the milk from her, and was spoon-feeding it to Chipper, each time thinking that it would be the last time. All the hair on his back came out, and his skin turned black and crusty, like a huge scab, and the testicles were also black and swollen.

A day or two later, he was able to raise his head a little, and actually showed an interest in the milk, and each day he recovered a little more, until he was finally able to walk again.
He still has a bare spot on his back where the hair never came back, and some days he is very touchy about being picked up, so I know that everything is not right with him, but he has been able to have pretty much a normal life, and is now over 10 years old. He is like having a little Fuzzy Kid, and i don't know what i will do when I lose him.
 
Thanks Happyflowerlady, he's pretty pathetic looking lately, but Schnauzers often have a sad look about them. He's pretty weak, we'll just hope for good test results on Tuesday. Thank goodness Chipper pulled through, I like the idea of healing with natural remedies if possible. I was using the supplement Dinovite for Hans before the infection and antibiotics started, then I discontinued, figured I'd restart it after the meds were done, since antibiotics would work against the probiotics in there. Supposed to be very good for dogs with skin infections, etc. Hugs to your baby boy! :love_heart:
 
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