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.
