As a dog owner you never want a positive MG test, but after all we have been through and considering the uncertainty that would accompany a negative test, we were relieved when she tested positive. We have had her on the Pyridostigmine for nearly a week now and she is doing better. In addition I have done an extensive amount of research and we have applied all we have learned and modified the treatments to improve them. We know what to look for and what is normal. We also know that Sammie's biggest enemy is pneumonia. I have kept her on the antibiotics for some time now.
Fast Forward Mid-December: I took Sammie in for a scheduled appointment with Dr. Crumley. She has been doing very well and Dr. Crumley took another chest x-ray and confirmed that the pneumonia is completely cleared up. Sammie still has her ups and downs. We have calculated the first possible date of remission to be about May 1st. We need to keep her healthy up until then.The staff at Baring Blvd Vet Hospital did not even recognize her as she had her energy back and ran around the clinic greeting all the friends she had made in her 10 days of residence at the hospital. Of course after all that she regurgitated in the waiting room because of all the excitement. A reminder that it is going to be a long road for all of us.
Fast Forward 12/27/2009: Because Sammie regurgitates mostly at night, we have prepared our laundry room for her. We put her bed and a comforter in there. She was sleeping with Scott, my 12 year old, but that was taking a toll on him and his bed. Since isolating her at night, I believe she is sleeping better. There seems to be far less regurgitating going on.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Diary Entry #3 - 11/18/2009 - Sammie Crashes Again
I have not mentioned that our other Scottie, Fergie, who is 11 years old was recently diagnosed with bone cancer in her front right shoulder. It is untreatable and we just trying to buy her a few months so we can spoil her rotten, which of course we are doing.
This has not been a good month for dogs. Sammie has been having terrible nights with vomiting all night long. Last night was especially bad so I checked her in again. She again had a high fever. We learned about a disease called Myasthenia Gravis. Dr. Crumley has suspected this all along. There is a single test that must be conducted at UCSD that determines if she has the disease. He has explained to me that if she does not test positive, it is considered "Idiopathic". That is worse than having the disease because it is untreatable and most dogs die from complications sooner rather than later. The test takes about 2 weeks and we will know if she has MG the day after Thanksgiving.
Because this is pretty much the last chance for Sammie, we have put her on the medication Pyrodistigmine Bromoid which treats MG. Even though we don't have a positive test result the medication will not hurt her. In the event she does have MG, this will help her.
Fast Forward: 3 days before Thanksgiving, Sammie is back home and doing much better. Fergie was very happy to see her and was running around like a puppy despite her cancerous shoulder. We have now targeted feeding and picked up the bowls. We used to just leave the food and water bowls full and the dogs would eat and drink when they felt like it. Now we have to put the water down for Fergie, but make sure that it is up for Sammie as she must eat and drink in an elevated position.
Fast Forward 11/25/2009 - Pretty much the worst day of my kid's lives. Fergie must have aggravated something in her shoulder. She was in a tremendous amount of pain and whimpering regularly. I increased her pain meds, but nothing seemed to work. At 1:00 am I took her to the all night clinic and had her put to sleep the pain had gone on too long and it was time. Fergie was 11. Ironically it was Sammie's birthday. My two youngest children (12 and 8) have never known life without Fergie and were devastated. On top of that the clock is ticking for Sammie. Friday we find out about the MG test.
This has not been a good month for dogs. Sammie has been having terrible nights with vomiting all night long. Last night was especially bad so I checked her in again. She again had a high fever. We learned about a disease called Myasthenia Gravis. Dr. Crumley has suspected this all along. There is a single test that must be conducted at UCSD that determines if she has the disease. He has explained to me that if she does not test positive, it is considered "Idiopathic". That is worse than having the disease because it is untreatable and most dogs die from complications sooner rather than later. The test takes about 2 weeks and we will know if she has MG the day after Thanksgiving.
Because this is pretty much the last chance for Sammie, we have put her on the medication Pyrodistigmine Bromoid which treats MG. Even though we don't have a positive test result the medication will not hurt her. In the event she does have MG, this will help her.
Fast Forward: 3 days before Thanksgiving, Sammie is back home and doing much better. Fergie was very happy to see her and was running around like a puppy despite her cancerous shoulder. We have now targeted feeding and picked up the bowls. We used to just leave the food and water bowls full and the dogs would eat and drink when they felt like it. Now we have to put the water down for Fergie, but make sure that it is up for Sammie as she must eat and drink in an elevated position.
Fast Forward 11/25/2009 - Pretty much the worst day of my kid's lives. Fergie must have aggravated something in her shoulder. She was in a tremendous amount of pain and whimpering regularly. I increased her pain meds, but nothing seemed to work. At 1:00 am I took her to the all night clinic and had her put to sleep the pain had gone on too long and it was time. Fergie was 11. Ironically it was Sammie's birthday. My two youngest children (12 and 8) have never known life without Fergie and were devastated. On top of that the clock is ticking for Sammie. Friday we find out about the MG test.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Diary Entry #2 - 11/3/2009 - Relapse
After nearly two weeks of normal behavior, Sammie started vomiting again last night. She makes that strange forced sound, like a seal barking. Most of the vomit is a clear, thick, foamy liquid. I took her back to the vet. He took an X-Ray. He noticed an enlarged esophagus and believes that perhaps Sammie has something stuck in her esophagus. He also thinks perhaps she was not on the antibiotic long enough to kill the infection. He put her back on the antibiotic and wants to see her again in a couple of days.
Fast Forward about a week: Took another chest x-ray. Sammie has pneumonia. She seems to be getting progressively worse. The vet now thinks that there is a foreign object in her esophagus that is blocking food from making it to the stomach which is causing her vomiting and pneumonia.
He does not have the facility for scoping the esophagus or checking her stomach. He has recommended another clinic that can do this.
Because of Sammie's rapidly deteriorating condition, I called the new clinic (Baring Blvd Veterinary Hospital) and talked with a Dr. Crumley. It is 7:00 at night and he told me to bring her in immediately. When I got there he gave her an exam and also noticed a high fever. I therefore checked her into the hospital as she was going down fast.
The next day I got a call from Dr. Crumley, who reported that Sammie's fever is under control and they are treating the pneumonia. He also scoped the esophagus and found nothing blocking the passageway. When he moved the scope down into her stomach, it was impossible to see anything. He also took another x-ray and noticed that whatever was in Sammie's stomach had moved on. We were hoping that could be it. I still made the decision to have a surgeon open her up and look in the stomach. There was nothing there. Either whatever was blocking her stomach had moved on, or it was something entirely different. After about 4 days of recovery, we took Sammie home.
Fast Forward about a week: Took another chest x-ray. Sammie has pneumonia. She seems to be getting progressively worse. The vet now thinks that there is a foreign object in her esophagus that is blocking food from making it to the stomach which is causing her vomiting and pneumonia.
He does not have the facility for scoping the esophagus or checking her stomach. He has recommended another clinic that can do this.
Because of Sammie's rapidly deteriorating condition, I called the new clinic (Baring Blvd Veterinary Hospital) and talked with a Dr. Crumley. It is 7:00 at night and he told me to bring her in immediately. When I got there he gave her an exam and also noticed a high fever. I therefore checked her into the hospital as she was going down fast.
The next day I got a call from Dr. Crumley, who reported that Sammie's fever is under control and they are treating the pneumonia. He also scoped the esophagus and found nothing blocking the passageway. When he moved the scope down into her stomach, it was impossible to see anything. He also took another x-ray and noticed that whatever was in Sammie's stomach had moved on. We were hoping that could be it. I still made the decision to have a surgeon open her up and look in the stomach. There was nothing there. Either whatever was blocking her stomach had moved on, or it was something entirely different. After about 4 days of recovery, we took Sammie home.
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