Tag: Monty (Page 4 of 6)

Someone’s Feeling Better Today

10/01/2012 / Matt / 2 Comments

After all the troubles last week it’s very apparent that Monty is feeling much better, and I whould say this is the best we’ve seen him in weeks!
He kept down all of the special food over the weekend (we rolled through a full 4 days worth in 2 days, and he was STILL hungry) and has had more spunk and attitude this weekend in as long as I can remember. Even when he needed a break he was just as content to cuddle with us on the couch for once. Talk about a 360! We ran out of the special food this morning and are getting him back to the dry food he was on before to then transition to a higher protein kibble. I also need to talk to the vet about continuing the Sucralfate longer term as this may also be a reason for the improvement since the digestive system protection it provides may be helping with the damage the Prednisone is surely causing.

Monty felt well enough this morning to steal an empty water jug from the recycling pile and run around the apartment trying to destroy it…

Tummy Troubles

09/29/2012 / Matt / 2 Comments

Another week, another visit to the vet.

Wednesday morning we were woken up in the pre-dawn hours to the not so soothing sounds of Monty vomiting, and for the rest of the day he seemed overly lethargic and just plain miserable. We called and spoke briefly with the vet and decided that we would forgo Wed evening & Thurs morning’s antibiotic to see if he was having trouble with the Clavamox. He seemed to feel better Wed evening, but we woke up the next morning to the same morning vomit. Once again he had no interest in a morning walk and just muddled around the house, so I put another call in and decided it might be best to switch back to an antibiotic we know he has responded alright with in the past (Zenequin) and see how things went. Thursday night he again seemed better so we were hoping to put this behind us. Friday morning he ate breakfast and took his morning meds and all seemed well, but about an hour later proceeded to send everything back up. I panicked on noticing what appeared to be blood in this vomit, so back to the vet we went. He received some anti nausea (Cerenia) and B12 via injection, an additional daily stomach protectant (Sucralfate), and some bland prescription canned food to determine if the issue continued. Once home he ate nearly 2 cans during the afternoon and evening and still seemed hungry, barking at the spot where his normal food dish sat to let me know he knew it was empty (he’s so considerate).

So far so good today though, he’s had another can of food this morning and a normal poo with no early morning vomiting episodes, and appears to be feeling better.

Crap, Another UTI

09/24/2012 / Matt / 0 Comments

I had high hopes for the changes we implemented after the last two UTIs Monty went through. We started up with a cranberry supplement, had the Prednisone dose lowered, switched to distilled water, and implemented an every other dishwasher cycle bowl wash routine, and yet here we are again just over a week since the last bit of antibiotics ran out, with Monty battling another UTI. This time it came on suddenly first thing Sunday morning. I knew something was up when he woke us up twice between 6-7AM to go out, and then it all came unhinged about the time a group of our friends came over for brunch. Fast forward to another trip to the vet (this time the emergency vet doh!) and another course of antibiotics (this time 14 days of 250mg Clavamox 2x/day). The family vet followed up today recommending a urine culture immediately following the antibiotics to try to figure out if it’s something that can be specifically targeted, as well as a sonogram of the abdomen to see if there is an underlying physical issue causing the sudden and frequent UTIs. For now we’re stuck watching him feel like crap for several hours after the antibiotic dose and doing all we can to keep him comfortable.

So Far So Good

09/20/2012 / Matt / 1 Comment

It’s been an exciting week here filled with little positives as we’re finally beginning to see more of Monty’s personality extend out from under the drug haze! It’s simple things like attention towards other dogs, interest in long walks, and just plain willingness to hang out that we have been deprived of for so long that we are happy to be seeing again. He’s been off the antibiotic now for about a week so we are keeping a close eye on bathroom behavior to try to quickly spot any new UTI issue but so far so good. I’ve started feeding him a scrambled egg on the days he doesn’t get a chicken breast to keep pumping him full of protein to try to regain some of his lost weight and muscle mass which also appears to be paying off.
We’ve now passed 2 months since diagnosis and he continues to be doing better than anyone anticipated, so if you are reading this at the start of your GME journey take heart and have faith. It’s a difficult road but not impossible, and every moment is worthwhile…

Moving Forward

09/11/2012 / Matt / 1 Comment

Monty’s second checkup with the neurologist went very well today. After we reduced the Prednisone at the last checkup from 15mg to 10mg, we’re ecstatic to have gotten the go ahead to reduce this to just 5mg twice daily beginning today. This should be a huge step in his treatment since even at the previous reduced levels we were all having trouble dealing with the side effects. After his CBC came back in good shape he received another Cytosar treatment as planned, so he had a bit of a rough go for most of the day. This tends to make him uncomfortably warm and not very social but we are hopeful for what the next few weeks will bring while keeping cognizant that this does increase the possibility of a relapse.

Checking In Before The Check Up

09/10/2012 / Matt / 1 Comment

Two weeks have passed and we’ve reached a kind of routine zen between medication doses, bathroom trips, and boiled chicken, but complications continue to pop up up along the road keeping the roller coaster ride going.

For several days last week Monty seemed to be a ghost in the room, completely uninterested in anything more than shifting around from place to place uncomfortably. Then came another urinary tract infection and a trip to the vet for confirmation and more antibiotics. We’ve added 500mg (250mg 2x daily) of dried cranberry as a supplement in the hopes of keeping the UTI issue under control once this round of treatment is over in a few days. This week we’ve seen the return of higher activity levels and interaction with us, more interest in walks, barks for a knock at the door, acknowledgements for noises outside, and in general what seems like much better spirits.

Tomorrow morning we have a follow up with the neurologist for what should be another Cytosar (chemo) treatment and if everything checks out another reduction in the Prednisone dose.

I know I’ve said it several times already but it’s important to remember there will be good days and bad days. We’re just shy of the two month mark from GME diagnosis and the little dude continues to defy the statistics and fight to stay with us, so we keep fighting for him as well. I’m not going to say it has been easy, financially or emotionally, because it hasn’t. We’ve had to and continue to make sacrifices, but it has been rewarding beyond words to have the opportunity to spend just a little more time with him.

Another Followup

08/25/2012 / Matt / 0 Comments

Yesterday’s followup with the vet was to check a urine sample to determine if the bladder infection had been knocked off, and it was great to hear that it came back clean. For whatever reason Monty seems to have a hard time with antibiotics in that they seem to make him just seem “off”, so once again we can discontinue antibiotics and hope that his overall demeanor improves.

Our Vet Is Awesome

08/22/2012 / Matt / 0 Comments

Not only did they deliver a replacement prescription to replace their mistake, but they included some special treats and a hand signed card with a frenchie on the front from both docs. Thanks Dr Naugler, Dr Johnson, & Katy Trail Animal Hospital, we really appreciated that!

Perspective

08/21/2012 / Matt / 1 Comment

It was a good day today.

It’s surprising how the little things can make you happy; a good walk, some healthy activity, normal poops. Everything was aligned today and we managed a good mile long walk hitting up some of the spots we haven’t been able to get to lately due to the illness and/or heat. We stopped at Main Street Gardens for a break and some water, to take a stroll through the dog park, and to say hi to some of the downtown Safety Patrol that hadn’t seen him for a while.

There was a bit of a mixup at the vet yesterday. I picked up a refill of the antibiotic he is on (Zeniquin) and ended up with 25mg instead of 50mg. Called them today and not only are they coming by tomorrow to deliver a replacement, but Dr Naugler called twice in person to apologize for their mistake.

Mmmm Chicken

08/18/2012 / Matt / 2 Comments

Monty has lost well over 3 pounds since his diagnosis and treatment began, primarily due to muscle atrophy, which is one of many well documented and not fun Prednisone side effects. Ironically we were warned more to watch for weight gain, and though this hasn’t caught us completely off guard it’s a little scary to see how gaunt our little 33 pound brick of a dog has become. It’s especially apparent that his hind quarters have suffered the brunt of this wasting and are now pretty sure this is the cause of the “weakness” we have been observing. In an effort to combat this we’ve started giving him a whole boiled chicken breast every other night for the extra protein, and he’s loving it.