A lot has happened in the two years since I've posted to this. Well, really it's only been the last 13 months that things have happened. Catcher was neutered in February 2008. Despite his nice structure and beautiful markings I knew that given his temperament he would never be a breeding option. Shortly after the surgery he developed Keratoconjunctivitis Sicca (KCS or Dry Eye). While treating him for the KCS he became very ill. We rushed him to the vets where after a battery of tests he was diagnosed with Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI) which had led him to develop Diabetes. This was all 6 days before he turned 2 years old.
The last year has been a trying one. It has taken that long for Catcher to become healthy again. However, I feel that the treatment protocol laid out for us is only masking the issue and not addressing it. Under the advisement of a trusted colleague I took Catcher to see a holistic vet. She has changed his life, and in my opinion enabled him to lead a better one.
We are in the beginning stages of his new treatments. I intend to document everything that happens from this point forward, as well as what has happened in the last year. I will back date all entries so they will appear as in real time.
Thank you for your support reading Catcher's story.
~Casey~
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
ACTH results
Catcher was a total trooper while getting his injection for the stim test and his blood drawn. He was happy to just sit with me, twitching his tail while they took the blood.
Observation I've discovered: In reactive classes we always talk about mat exercises. You spend an enormous amount of time building a relationship between your dog and their mat. Their mat is their safety zone, where no one enters it, and only happy things happen. It's used for calming, settling, and a great shaping exercise. Here is what I've now noticed: Catcher has generalized that the benches and scale at the vet clinic are "mats". When we walk into the lobby he runs to a specific spot on the benches. He jumps up on them, and sits there, happy and looking for treats. Then he makes a break for the scale, and will do a sliding stop onto it, sitting there twitching his tail and smiling at me, because again it's a highly reinforced space. It's nice to see him calm at the vets.
Firstly: Weight: 45.0 pounds!!!!! We've successfully gained back the 6 pounds he lost while he was sick, and have gained an additional 2 pounds!
Results:
Pre-ACTH Cortisol: 6.5
Post-ACTH Cortisol: 2.5
Comments: (as best I can understand them)
Reference Range:
Pre-ACTH: 2-6
Post-ACTH: 6-18
Equivocal: 18-22
Post-ACTH w/ hyperadrenocorticism: >22
Post-ACTH w/ hypoadrenocorticism: <2
According the vet clinic he shows no signs of Cushing's or Addison's. Yay! That is one big boost of confidence for me. Now back to the roller coaster that is regulating his blood sugar.
Observation I've discovered: In reactive classes we always talk about mat exercises. You spend an enormous amount of time building a relationship between your dog and their mat. Their mat is their safety zone, where no one enters it, and only happy things happen. It's used for calming, settling, and a great shaping exercise. Here is what I've now noticed: Catcher has generalized that the benches and scale at the vet clinic are "mats". When we walk into the lobby he runs to a specific spot on the benches. He jumps up on them, and sits there, happy and looking for treats. Then he makes a break for the scale, and will do a sliding stop onto it, sitting there twitching his tail and smiling at me, because again it's a highly reinforced space. It's nice to see him calm at the vets.
Firstly: Weight: 45.0 pounds!!!!! We've successfully gained back the 6 pounds he lost while he was sick, and have gained an additional 2 pounds!
Results:
Pre-ACTH Cortisol: 6.5
Post-ACTH Cortisol: 2.5
Comments: (as best I can understand them)
Reference Range:
Pre-ACTH: 2-6
Post-ACTH: 6-18
Equivocal: 18-22
Post-ACTH w/ hyperadrenocorticism: >22
Post-ACTH w/ hypoadrenocorticism: <2
According the vet clinic he shows no signs of Cushing's or Addison's. Yay! That is one big boost of confidence for me. Now back to the roller coaster that is regulating his blood sugar.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
More Trouble
Catcher went to the vet for his yearly 4DX test. I decided to do a full work up on him since we were drawing blood anyways, and he hadn't had a complete set done since last June.
The good news is he was negative all around for Heartworm/Lyme/Ehrlichia/Anaplasmosis!
Results of the bloodwork:
CBC Comprehensive:
HGB: 18.1 (12-18)
MCHC: 36.8 (32-36)
Basophil: 0 (0-1)
Chem 21:
ALK Phos: 229 (10-150)
BUN: 29 (7-27)
Cholesterol: 477 (112-328)
Glucose: 440 (60-125) (this was to be expected)
Chloride: 102 (105-115)
NA/K ratio: 26 (27-40)
My vet called and asked about running a T4 panel. I said that we'd done one in July '07 and it was normal. It was also suggested that we do an ACTH stim test for Addison's and Cushing's.
We decided to go through with the ACTH stim test but hold off on the thyroid panel for a little while.
The thought of Catcher having another autoimmune disorder scared me. I felt like this was a never ending battle and that he was never going to get better. I spent a lot of time thinking about the outcome. What kind of life was he going to have given all of his issues? He hated his shots, even with treats. He runs when he sees the needles for blood draws, even though he gets treats galore. I didn't think that I could put him through another treatment plan.
After thinking long and hard I decided that if either one came back positive that I would let him go. It was not fair to keep him going because I wanted him with me. I didn't see that he was going to have a great quality of life if he was simply going to continue to develop autoimmune issues and not be able to regulate his blood glucose levels.
The good news is he was negative all around for Heartworm/Lyme/Ehrlichia/Anaplasmosis!
Results of the bloodwork:
CBC Comprehensive:
HGB: 18.1 (12-18)
MCHC: 36.8 (32-36)
Basophil: 0 (0-1)
Chem 21:
ALK Phos: 229 (10-150)
BUN: 29 (7-27)
Cholesterol: 477 (112-328)
Glucose: 440 (60-125) (this was to be expected)
Chloride: 102 (105-115)
NA/K ratio: 26 (27-40)
My vet called and asked about running a T4 panel. I said that we'd done one in July '07 and it was normal. It was also suggested that we do an ACTH stim test for Addison's and Cushing's.
We decided to go through with the ACTH stim test but hold off on the thyroid panel for a little while.
The thought of Catcher having another autoimmune disorder scared me. I felt like this was a never ending battle and that he was never going to get better. I spent a lot of time thinking about the outcome. What kind of life was he going to have given all of his issues? He hated his shots, even with treats. He runs when he sees the needles for blood draws, even though he gets treats galore. I didn't think that I could put him through another treatment plan.
After thinking long and hard I decided that if either one came back positive that I would let him go. It was not fair to keep him going because I wanted him with me. I didn't see that he was going to have a great quality of life if he was simply going to continue to develop autoimmune issues and not be able to regulate his blood glucose levels.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
New Year's
New Year's day I brought the dogs in from playing outside. They were with me in the living room when I noticed Catcher acting weird. He became very anxious. He was suddenly eating every speck of dirt off the carpet. He was trying to get to Stewie's food. His nose was warm to the touch. I was concerned and made sure to keep a close eye on him. A few minutes later he curled up on the couch to go to sleep. I watched him and noticed him shiver. Then he shivered again. I found this to be odd since he had been inside for an hour at this point.
I called Mom to help me do a blood draw, suspecting his blood sugar was too low. I was correct. It read 40. He was teetering on the edge of seizures and coma. What I had initially suspected was shivering was really tremors. I quickly gave him some Karo syrup and called the Emergency vet. They said to recheck his BG in 30 minutes. At which point it was in the 130's.
I did not give him insulin that night. The next day I called my vet. They said to not give him any insulin in order for the body to recuperate. Without any insulin his BG went straight back to off the charts. The next day we gave him 8 units in the morning. At 2:00 I noticed the same scavenging behavior and warm nose. I checked and he was in the 50's. Again we gave him Karo syrup and he bounced back.
We decreased him to 5 units as he was keeping in the 250's range, which isn't quite normal, but is better than 500.
I called Mom to help me do a blood draw, suspecting his blood sugar was too low. I was correct. It read 40. He was teetering on the edge of seizures and coma. What I had initially suspected was shivering was really tremors. I quickly gave him some Karo syrup and called the Emergency vet. They said to recheck his BG in 30 minutes. At which point it was in the 130's.
I did not give him insulin that night. The next day I called my vet. They said to not give him any insulin in order for the body to recuperate. Without any insulin his BG went straight back to off the charts. The next day we gave him 8 units in the morning. At 2:00 I noticed the same scavenging behavior and warm nose. I checked and he was in the 50's. Again we gave him Karo syrup and he bounced back.
We decreased him to 5 units as he was keeping in the 250's range, which isn't quite normal, but is better than 500.
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