Friday, August 3, 2012

Medical Update

It seems like the right time to give a medical update.

In the spring we had lots of foot injuries. Lola had a bite on her toe that swelled up to an enormous size. She's all healed now and back to racing around the yard.

Bailey had a pulled muscle in her leg and was on rest and pain killers for a couple weeks. She's as good as new now.
Samba had several things going on. First was a toe injury, then another foot had a cyst between the toes. She promised not to chew on her feet if I removed the hat and she has been a very good girl. Her feet are all doing well.
Samba also beat up her tail and caused lots of blood to fly around. Learning to bandage a tail was a new experience. My attempts didn't work too well, but Dr B showed me the secret of keeping a tail bandage on the tail. Now her tail is healed and wagging freely again.
Morgan has had the worst time of all. She has torn the cruciate ligaments in both knees. Her left leg is still pretty weak, but she's been given the go ahead to start therapy. That means I can start walking up and down the hill with her, weather permitting. We don't do this in 100 degree heat, so maybe evenings. We can only do one trip up the hill to start and gradually increase the number of climbs. She says she's ready.
Speaking of Miss Morgan, we had bad news in May. Her blood test showed that her liver disease was getting worse. Two of her enzymes were very high. We started her on Denamarin which is a combination of SamE and silybin. I give it to her each morning a couple hours before she eats. On Wednesday she had her three month checkup and a blood test. One of the two liver enzymes had come down a lot and the other was normal. Yeah, Morgan !!! You are my Energizer Bunny Dog. Even Dr B said she must be part cat with nine lives.

Sebastian went to the doctor this week, too. He had a Lyme booster and had to have his skin checked. He's very itchy and has a couple of sores on his skin that he won't leave alone. He'll be getting a medicated bath this weekend and we're increasing his antihistamines and fish oil. It may take a little time to get his skin back in condition after his adventures on the road, but we're working on it.


Not all the news is good. Last nigh Noah began acting strangely. He paced all night, whimpering or barking at intervals. Rob and I took turns sitting up with him. This morning I noticed that he was stumbling on the stairs and he walked into the wall a couple times.
I called the clinic as soon as they opened and they took us right in. Dr B says there's some weakness in Noah's back end and though his eyes look OK inside, his pupils aren't reacting normally. His guess is that Noah's in pain and probably has injured his back. He can't rule out poisoning however.

We're going to handle this in a certain order. First he prescribed pain pills and muscle relaxants. If that doesn't work or he gets worse, we'll do blood tests. We came home and I gave Noah his meds. He continued to pace, then after about an hour he laid down and fell asleep. It's the first time he's stopped pacing since 7 last night. He's still asleep and Rob and I are going to try to catch up on some of that lost sleep, too.

So, it's mostly wonderful news with a little excitement thrown in. That's life with dogs.

18 comments:

SissySees said...

Oh Noah!! Do keep us posted. We have paws crossed for everyone, but especially for you.

Glad most of the other patients are recovering nicely.

Lapdog Creations said...

It's always something... oy! We've got all paws crossed for Noah to feel better this weekend!!

Marjie said...

Poor babies! Sending healing wishes your way.

Pippen said...

Paws crossed for Noah!

Sam and Pippen

Nicki said...

That denamarin is really remarkable stuff

Matilda the Boxer said...

Paws crossed for Noah! I hope he gets better soon.

I'm glad Samba's tail healed! I got happy tail when I was a new foster dog, and I ended up having to have it amputated eventually. I look cute with a boxer nubbin, but I hope Samba does better!

Bella Roxy & Macdui said...

You are really going through the wars at the moment....but sometimes it's like that. We know that all the dogs couldn't be in better hands.

Paws crossed for Noah and the others.

Keep cool.

XXXOOO Daisy, Bella & Roxy

rottrover said...

Sending healing thoughts to Noah! Goodnews about the rest of the pack :-)

gMarie said...

Oh dear - it's always something isn't it? I do hope Noah is okay. It always worries me when they say poisoning, because like your dogs, mine are never out of my yard. So.....

It's quiet here tonight. I don't know how one dog less can make sure a difference, but it does. g

Molly the Airedale said...

We are sending you lots of AireZen, Noah! The pink bow in your furs is so sweet, Morgan.

Love ya lots,
Mitch and Molly

Soggibottom said...

Keep safe and most of all guys, keep well.... lots of love your way from us. Luvs Freya Rose Blossom X

bbes tribe said...

Noah, we are keeping paws crossed and sending good vibes your way. AND for Mom & Dad, And all the othersl who had/have issues. We thought we had some issues too but yours are MagNifIed!! Sasha is doing better on her antibiotics and pain pills etc and Rosie is doing fine! Hoping you're catching up on sleep and everyone gets better sooner!! :-)
Wags
Ernie and the pack

♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥ said...

All in all, a pretty good pupdate, but we will be crossing our paws for Noah. Hope things can be brought under control soon.

Woos - Phantom, Thunder, Ciara, and Lightning

Dexter said...

That is mostly excellent news. There sure are a lot of aches and pains and stuff at your place. Poor Noah. I hope that he can rest and feel better.

Slobbers,
Mango

Anonymous said...

wow, you have a lot going on. we're keeping paws crossed for Noah.

we've had a few issues too. i guess that's the way when you have several dogs. Buddy had skin problems, but now he's on the mend. now Benson is very limpy, so he's going to see the vetty tomorrow. we're pawing that it's not a torn ACL.

other than that, it's all good.

woofs

Jed and Abby in MerryLand said...

Time for a Canine National Health Service. We could sure use it, and it sounds like you could, too. We have our paws crossed for Noah. Doesn't sound like poison, if he was able to sleep after the meds. Hope he's better now.

Really enjoyed your medal ceremony! It's wonderful to see Sebastian fitting in so well, even if he sometimes has a bemused expression on his cute face.

Jed & Abby

The Daily Pip said...

Sorry, I missed this post on Friday. I am glad it was mostly good news. How's Noah now? I hope feeling better. It is so scary when you don't know the cause of their discomfort.

We just started Pip on fish oil for his heart, arthritis, and skin allergies. I definitely notice that his skin itchies have improved. Hope it helps Sebastian.

Maggie Mae and Max said...

Oh dear,

We will start sendin' Noah and and da rest of da gang extra boxer puppy prayers and hope dat today him is better.

Woofs and Licks,
Maggie Mae and Max