Border collie Jack passed away on February 28, 2022

[pgcor]

Re: Jack the project!

Oh boy, of course everything is crossed that Jack will be okay with the prednisone. I'm so sorry you're having these issues with Jack. Plus, you're so busy now....when it rains it pours. We're your umbrellas Natalie - so don't apologize for not being here as often!

Pam

[Margaret Boyle]

Re: Jack the project!

Interesting... the bloodwork came back with low thyroid. Not borderline but quite low. She's adding on a Free T4 with ED to see if it is a fluke or persists with the more sensitive test.

Natalie

Hope everyting is alright with Jack Natalie.

Hugs
Margaret

[diggydog]

Re: Jack the project!

I guess I better unpack Alfie's bag and cancel his flights then

Fingers crossed on the prednisone!

[k9diabetes]

Re: Jack the project!

Interesting... the bloodwork came back with low thyroid. Not borderline but quite low. She's adding on a Free T4 with ED to see if it is a fluke or persists with the more sensitive test.

Natalie

[k9diabetes]

Re: Jack the project!

I'm so sorry to be so absent. Honestly.... I am not sure when my life started running completely amok but I just can't seem to find enough time to give anything the attention it needs lately. I think it's an overrun of little things combined.

So don't be sending me any of your dogs! I could lose track of a dog just on my desk right now! Especially a Pip-sized dog!

I just talked to the neurologist after seeing the vet, a new vet, yesterday. Jack started shaking his head and scratching at his ears so that gave us a push to get him in to the GP vet for the blood panel.

He's got a yeast infection in both ears with an assumption that it started with an allergy of some kind and the yeast just joined the party later. Maybe wheat flour that was in some new treats or perhaps environmental.

Because I try very hard to avoid the Gentamycin that comes in so many topical ear products (it can cause deafness - see the sticky thread in this forum), he's taking oral Ketaconazole for the yeast and we are talking about putting him on prednisone for the inflammation in the ears and for the back problem both.

We plan to discontinue the Gabapentin after he goes through a washout of the Metacam so he can start the prednisone. (That kind of sums up the craziness, doesn't it?) Just in case he is getting some pain relief from the Gaba that he will lose while off of Metacam.

It's not clear how much pain he is in moment to moment but he exhibits signs of pain on very short walks. Moderate speed - no running, no jumping - of 15 minutes and his tail starts to tuck and he limps. If he chases a ball or runs at all, then he's in a lot of pain.

That's a significant reduction from this summer, when he could go 25 minutes and do some running and jumping and be okay. He really wants to play out there and will do it even though he winds up in pain. But then will be subdued and appear to be in pain all evening afterward. I think he got worse during the acupuncture visits because of the weekly 35 minute car rides one way and the extended appointment, where he was tense.

And even one day without Metacam and he seems much more painful.

So it wouldn't surprise me if he is in pain even when not exercising. I think he's pretty stoic. And the pain we can see is restricting his exercise significantly and generating pain when he does exercise.

So I'm waiting on the blood panel results before stopping the Metacam. I should have them later today. If liver and kidneys, etc. all look good, then I will stop the Metacam for 3 days and we will try the prednisone... please cross all of your fingers that the prednisone doesn't set off anything...

Natalie

[buddingartist]

Re: Jack the project!

Natalie has left the country out of earshot.

Louise

[pgcor]

Re: Jack the project!

Carol - I just couldn't help but laugh at your comment....I love Pip but I would also love for Natalie to take him and then send him back to me "all good and trained". LOL

Are you listening Natalie?

[CarolW]

Re: Jack the project!

If we're not careful, Natalie could end up with 947 dogs.

Hehe!

Sun, 9 Jan 2011 20:34:42 (PST)

[buddingartist]

Re: Jack the project!

I'm sure Natalie is thinking <wow, back the truck up here< cause there's a lot of people who think like you Pam.

Louise

[pgcor]

Re: Jack the project!

Natalie - as much as I love animals and dogs in particular, if I had to, I would give up ownership to only you!

[Patty]

Re: Jack the project!

I'm glad he's not worse Natalie, but sorry it hasn't been a miracle drug for him.

[buddingartist]

Re: Jack the project!

Hi Natalie,

It almost looks like (if I am reading and comprehending right) that he is not in any significant pain, which I guess is good.

Also with all the rain that California has been getting, would humidity exarcerbate his condition?

Thank goodness he has someone as knowledgeable as you to care for him.

Come on Jack, give mommy a break.

PS: More work for you is good. Ah the joys of consulting work... earnings up and down... I sure don't miss those days

Louise

[k9diabetes]

Re: Jack the project!

Hi Louise! Thanks for asking.

I've been trying to get around to composing an update for the neurologist and still haven't managed it! Here's my chance to update here and him! My work tends toward feast or famine and there's been a burst of activity this week after the holidays.

My general take on the Gabapentin is that if it's helping it's only a very small amount of pain relief.

Sometimes he has seemed more cheerful.

But the drug also has had a pretty big sedating effect. Which on Jack can, for us humans, look like a good thing! He displays it in kind of a sweet way... But - besides being wrong to control your dog's problem behavior by making him sleepy - the sedation makes it hard to tell how much the Gabapentin is helping him. Plus the weather and park closure have limited his exercise recently.

He still sometimes limps and his back right leg will roll. I took him for a very slow but longer than usual walk a couple of days ago. About 22 to 24 minutes, and he was limping and quite tired by the time we got back to the car.

The other thing I have noticed over weeks of wiping his feet through this rainy spell is that there is less resistance in his back right leg than in the left one. If I push up on it from the bottom, he doesn't resist much and it feels light when I pick it up. If that has changed at all, it is only a slight change.

So the Gaba is definitely no miracle cure and I do believe that he has some weakness from lack of communication over the spinal cord. But he's no worse either. It seems like the regular car ride and acupuncture sessions were hard on his back as he was much worse those weeks than he is now.

I'm tending toward it's not doing enough for him to justify having him on it but am considering tapering it off and see if a fresh look at him off of it will give me a clearer idea of what it does for him.

I can say that, other than making him somewhat sleepy (he's more than capable of rousing out of it to play and was hyper yesterday when I couldn't get him out of the house for even a drive), he has suffered no other side effects at all. So it has seemed to be very safe for him.

We are about to do a blood panel to check his kidney and liver values again. And I'm finally going to give in and let the techs trim his nails.

Natalie

[buddingartist]

Re: Jack the project!

Natalie, how is Jack doing lately? Any improvements in his condition?

Louise

[MaryLea]

Re: Jack: bad back and anxiety issues

He also would be comfortable with Jack taking Metacam for the rest of his life if it works for him. With frequent monitoring of his blood work.
Natalie

Hope things work out well for you and Jack. I'm glad you plan to monitor his blood work. We feel one mistake we made was not getting at least a kidney/liver panel when Ruffles was first diagnosed. Of course, she was old and had other issues--Jack is young and doesn't have diabetes. Both of those factors are in his favor.

Best wishes,

Mary