Author: Matt (Page 10 of 41)

More than 2 weeks later Monty’s cold is FINALLY gone, and we are no longer giving him Metronidazole as his bowel issues seem to have cleared up so he’s down to from 5 to 3 medications daily. We’ve noticed more improvement in overall activity and personality in the last few days than in the last 2 week combined. I’m pretty sure that the severe lethargy he was experiencing was mainly due to both being sick and to the Metronidazole causing bouts of nausea. He continues to eat and drink well and seems to be more of a presence in the apartment again. With the increased activity however we’ve noticed a weakness has developed with his hind legs in that he can’t quite control them with certainty so they sometimes splay out to the side while sitting, stairs are more difficult, and generally just seems a little unsteady at times. This may or may not be related to the Prednisone side effect of muscle wasting. He does seem a bit more gaunt than his normal “brick” self, appearing to have visually aged another few years over the last weeks. He’s also had a few accidents within the magic 2 hour time frame but again could just be due to the Prednisone and increased activity level meaning more water consumption.

Our follow up with the neurologist is Wednesday morning so hoping she has positives for us, but until then here is a video of a happy Monty in the bone zone…

We’ve been in the zone with our daily routine the past few days – morning walk, morning meds, every 2-3 hours a quick trip outside, evening walk, evening meds, trip outside between 3-4am, rinse repeat. He seems to be getting stronger and many times during the day his personality and attitude will shine through. He’s taking his internet fame in stride but will often indulge with a quick peek at this site for himself.

We went back to see Dr Naugler last Wednesday to get him a B12 shot which seemed to do him good, so will probably continue. He has had a cold now for over a week and a half, and it’s just so stubborn! He’s on his antibiotics, and Dr Wolfe reduced his cyclosporine (immuno-suppressant) to only once per day to help him fight it off. He’s not getting worse, nor is he getting better. He has been getting saline drops to keep the mucus on the move, steam treatments in the bathroom, and anything else we can think of to try to keep him comfortable. A week from tomorrow will be our neurological follow up, next chemo treatment, and determination if we can start to step down the prednisone so we are crossing our fingers.

Monty seems stable right now – we’re managing the side effects of all of the drugs and not seeing any worsening symptoms. He still appears congested but it has only been 48 hours with the antibiotics so we remain hopeful that he can get past this without any setback in treatment. Follow up appointment a little more than 2 weeks away to assess neurological status.

Monty seemed a little nauseous after this morning’s dose of medicine, and has been pretty lethargic through the day. He showed some interest in his toy box at one point, but he has seemed pretty mopey for the most part today. We’ve worked out a consistent pee schedule that seems to have cut out accidents, so every 2-3 hours during the day we head downstairs to the sidewalk so he can water the same light pole. At night he can usually last 4-5 hours so I only have to get up once overnight to race out to the patio potty. Had a few pronounced breathing issues that seem to be phlegm related, and have seen some discharge from his nose more pronounced than normal. As a Frenchie this isn’t the first we’ve seen of this with him, but to have a few in a day after not having any recently is a little scary. Hoping this is not the first sign of a cold, which in his current immuno-suppressed state would not be welcome.

I caught Bailey comforting Monty today (in his own way), and have to admit it’s probably just as hard on him with emotions so frayed in the apartment right now.

There are small things that seem positive today though: there is more activity to his left side, his activity level in the last 24 hours has been the highest I’ve seen since coming home, he’s responding to noises from out in the hall again, and he’s eating and drinking. Unfortunately he still seems very ungainly on his feet, continues to have bouts of heavy shallow breathing/panting, restlessness, and lethargy. These are all listed as side effects of the prednisone, so I have a call in to the Neurologist to talk further about that.

Little man seems a bit more aware and functional today. On the morning walk he actually made a left turn (though it may have been completely accidental or unintentional) and was able to navigate the sidewalks without too much issue. He seemed a bit more spry and some of the real Monty came out as he recognized all of the places we would usually stop for him to mark. Ate breakfast, but about an hour after his morning meds he sank back into the antsy yet lethargic pacing and shifting from place to place. Hoping this means it’s just the prednisone side effects and not his overall condition worsening.

Monty came home today at 11:00am, but the celebration has been short lived. He has explosive diarrhea (which we were warned to contact the doctor if we see) so I’m picking up another prescription that is supposed to help (125mg metronidazole twice daily). He seems to be stiff and have some mobility issues, and has pretty much only moped around from one spot to the next as if he is uncomfortable. He is not himself and seems just as bad or worse as he was on Sunday.

I spent $57 on materials to build him a patio potty using a washing machine drip pan, he’s not sure what to do with it yet but when I put him on it at 4am this morning he used it so that’s a good sign.