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Thread: Afraid of losing my dog

  1. #21
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    Re: Afraid of losing my dog

    I understand your worry and I'm sending positive thoughts that all will be well with him

    Positive thoughts
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  2. #22
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    Re: Afraid of losing my dog

    It's a legitimate worry but I think you do have to try to maintain control of what are what ifs. It may happen bit it may not. If it doesn't you've just worried yourself for nothing. If it does happen you will confront the difficult decisions then anyway and they won't be any different for not worrying about them beforehand. But yes it's only natural to have concerns.

    We've just decided not to bother with ultrasound. The vet mentioned it could rule out a mass. I asked him if finding a mass would change anything in how he treats him. He said no. So my thinking was all the ultrasound would provide is a label. The vet said a lump would still need a biopsy and with our dog being 15 he wouldn't want to do it anyway.

    So, does having it change the situation? If your vet thinks it may be a mass that needs removing them that makes sense with your dog being younger than ours. But without insurance it can be very costly. You want the best for Chisum, we all know that. Understanding the true costs might be useful in planning and getting some advice from your parents.
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  3. #23
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    Re: Afraid of losing my dog

    The ultrasound itself might reveal no mass and that's not going to be expensive. But see what the blood tests reveal. We had blood tests and the next test was a bile test. That was enough to start treatment.
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  4. #24
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    Re: Afraid of losing my dog

    Thank you, both of you.

    I struggle with both the concept that I won't be able to help him, or that his illness is something I've done. For example, he's been on Paxil for five years. He needs it - he has severe anxiety - but what if that caused a problem? Though it would probably just mess with levels if anything, surely it wouldn't cause him to have a constant fever for a month plus. It's absolutely heartless of me maybe, but I keep thinking it would be so much easier if they said "there's nothing that can be done" versus "we can do X, Y, or Z" but they are all out my range, or too stressful, etc. I guess I just don't want the pressure of having to make that decision.

    But, Terry, you're right. All I can do is take it one step at a time. Get the blood results and go from there.

    He seems a little low sometimes, and a bit crankier than usual, but there are plenty of times too when he seems perfectly fine. He gets excited when my mom comes to visit, or when we can go out and go hiking. Hopefully that's a good sign? Who knows. But it's supposed to be nice this weekend after a snowstorm tonight/tomorrow, so we'll go out and get muddy for a good long while.
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  5. #25
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    Re: Afraid of losing my dog

    With him being in pain he's bound to not feel himself at times. Sone dogs go into themselves and some are snappy. Just like we humans then!

    You might find colder days or darker days do such things just as they do with us when it's something like arthritis. And on those days they may not eat much or want to play.

    But on the better days they are more themselves and bounce back. As long as they are bouncing back I think you worry less because whilst there is a pattern in there it's not a continual negative one.

    It's a very tough call to make. I think we have to remember we are not in control of our thoughts. The subconscious can blurt any old nonsense out. The mistake is ignoring all the evidence to the contrary and allowing the negative thought to influence you. Don't kick yourself, don't feedback with negatives about yourself as it only reinforces them. Think of them as automated checklists. A brainstorm. You discard the nonsense.
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  6. #26
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    Re: Afraid of losing my dog

    Yes, and he does have arthritis so that for sure comes into play as well. And with a fever, he's bound to have additional aches.

    My vet called back, and we have a sort-of plan of action, but not really. I'm one that really likes to know what is going to happen and what to expect (perhaps a side effect of my own anxiety) but that's not the case here. She is going to prescribe some doxycycline for him in the hopes that it will combat his fever, in case he has an infection. Then in a couple of weeks, we will do a recheck of his temp and see if he's still been running a fever (and I'll monitor myself).

    But ultimately, I guess getting the fever down may say if it's an infection or something else, and that's the info she's after. But it appears we'll still end up with an internal medicine consult - I'm lucky there's a vet school here where we can do it. It's hard because his bloodwork shows his liver enzyme keeps climbing up, but the one that is climbing can elevate for a ton of different reasons. His other levels that are very liver-specific are all normal.

    So again, back to one step at a time. I guess a silver lining is that the denamarin liver supplement he was on didn't do anything, so he doesn't have to take it anymore. It was expensive and the pill was huge so nearly impossible to hide, and I think it tasted terribly. He was not a fan.
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  7. #27
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    Re: Afraid of losing my dog

    Oh yes, Denamarin. It is very expensive unless...you look at the contents. It's just SAMe and milk thistle. Both can be bought far cheaper in supplement stores We are having this, a different brand, for our dog but we have insurance. If they will pay it then the 20% we pay is fine but if not it will be at least 60% cheaper to buy the exact same thing from a shop for humans.

    Infections that get out of hand are a big cause of liver problems. With ours the vet said he was producing too much urea and he wasn't weeing it out fast enough. That started cause the strange episodes. So he gave us lactulose to reduce the symptoms of that and a penicillin.

    He hasn't repeated any blood tests which we expected were needed. Instead he is continuing on a lower dose of lactulose, a lower strength penicillin more aimed at long term use and the Denamarin equivalent. He said the bad bacteria in his gut was producing too much ammonia and the penicillin will kill that off. I do wonder what effect that will have on good bacteria as the antibiotics we take mess that up.

    He's had a couple of rough days starting them. This penicillin can cause sickness and stop them eating. He's very tired. Poor lad.

    Our dog doesn't like taking pills but if he won't take them in food we have to put them down his throat. I'm not sure how yours would cope with that since he's so nervous.

    It seems your vet is waiting to see what changes come from medication. Until you get that next appointment you won't get the answers you need so do your best and you will soon get there.
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  8. #28
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    Re: Afraid of losing my dog

    Terry, I hope your pup feels better. It sounds like hopefully they’ve got a good handle on what’s going on. Is it a chronic issue do they think, or will the meds kick it?

    Unfortunately, I don’t have insurance for Chisum. It’s not something we ever had or needed, and then by the time he started having health issues I figured everything would be seen as pre-existing. But he’s a candidate for it, if there ever was one.

    Thankfully he’s very good about taking pills. I just put in a bit of wet dog food. He takes anxiety meds so is well versed. But the denamarin pills were huge, I had to bury them in cheese whiz, and he’s not so sure he likes cheese whiz, lol. I had to give the cat some each time to entice him to check it out.
    __________________
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    When you're looking for space and to find out who you are...When you're looking to try and reach the stars.
    It's a sweet, sweet, sweet dream; sometimes I'm almost there
    Sometimes I fly like an eagle, sometimes I'm deep in despair.

  9. #29
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    Re: Afraid of losing my dog

    Just posting to try to sort out my thoughts. I’m currently dog sitting overnight for a friend’s dog. He’s very sweet but my boy is at my parents’ and I’m missing him and that’s not easy.

    I’m finding that my own health anxiety is a bit triggered with this, which I am trying to rein in as of course that’s not helpful for the situation. But I worry that he is contagious (unlikely) and every time I think of what he may have it’s like I start to think I have it too. And whenever I feel a bit under the weather (headache, stomachache, etc) I feel guilty because I wonder how poorly he feels. He’s still overall pretty peppy, but he has a fever so that alone wouldn’t make him feel great.

    The waiting and seeing feels impossible too. I feel like I just need to know something so I can rip off the bandaid and come to terms with it, but it won’t be that easy.
    __________________
    On the road of experience, join in the living day. If there's an answer it's just that it's just that way.
    When you're looking for space and to find out who you are...When you're looking to try and reach the stars.
    It's a sweet, sweet, sweet dream; sometimes I'm almost there
    Sometimes I fly like an eagle, sometimes I'm deep in despair.

  10. #30
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    Re: Afraid of losing my dog

    How's your doggie doing?

    FMP
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    "Eat. Drink. Enjoy the work you do. Be thankful for the blessings God gives you in this life. Live, love and seek out the things that bring your heart joy. The rest is meaningless... Like chasing the wind." King Solomon

    The best help is the help you give yourself! http://cbt4panic.org/

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