Sorry I have yet to welcome you to our little family -- sad that you are here, but grateful you have found this board.
I understand completely how scary it is when the breathing is labored. And it's not just the strange smells from other dogs that is making Wylie nervous to be around Teddy. Izzy is our blasto pup, and other dog Casey had a really difficult time adjusting to her illness for the first couple of weeks. It's a different smell, a different personality, scary breathing...they don't understand why there's such a difference in their buddy. We ultimately made the decision to send Casey off to visit friends for a week or so until we had the worst of it out of the way, and it was the best decision for us. If you keep Wylie around for the initial treatment, be sure to try and spend some time one on one with her to keep her as reassured as possible.
Sadie (Shelley) is right - don't be disheartened if the chest xray comes back with little to no change -- or even worse. It takes at least three months to kick blasto, and usually longer than that. We decided that unless Izzy's breathing was in severe distress that we weren't going to do another x-ray.
I had a couple of other suggestions as you get through your first week. First, Shelley's right, fatty foods are the way to go. We were really lucky with Prescription i/d - it had full nutritional value, was very rich and meaty smelling, and we could get Izzy to eat a good bit of it most of the time. We also had success with ground turkey, rice, and a can of no salt green beans -- all have nutritional value for the pups without being too high in sodium, which is bad bad bad for pups, especially when their systems are upside down already. Scrambled eggs (or a raw egg if you have no choice, Barb had to resort to the eggs a few times) are good too.
Secondly, for pills. A slice of American cheese will do wonders, it’s rich and smooth and they practically swallow it whole. The calcium is good, and the cheese will help avoid the gastric issues a lot of dogs have as they start on the anti-fungals. The peanut butter works well too, though I always feel bad when they’re trying to lick it off the roof of their mouths.
Thirdly, breathing wise. I’m sure your vet has talked to you about signs of true respiratory distress. Izzy would sit up every so often and start panting heavily. She also had a lot of rapidity and the occasional cough as she tried to get oxygen in her lungs. It’s counter-intuitive, but these are all signs that the medicine is doing it’s job. When the breathing gets fast and/or labored, check Teddy's tongue and gums. Pink, you're good. Blue, get to the vet. Blue means oxygen deprivation. Also, get used to taking his temperature. 99-102 is normal, 102-105 is high, and if you start approaching 108 start to worry a little. Anything over 108 can mean organ damage, and a trip to the vet is needed. To help keep the temp down, get a bunch of ice pads and have them on the ready. Damp towels help too. Cool off his tummy and the pads of his paws and you'll bring his temperature down. We could bring Izzy down by almost three degrees when her fever got bad.
The anti-fungals work in a three step process. First, it works to sterilize the fungus to stop it from reproducing. This sends the fungus on the run, grabbing hold of anything possible to stay alive. By the time there is a diagnosis, typically there is at least some lung involvement, and that’s the first place the fungus starts grabbing on to keep from dying. Second, it starts attacking the fungus to kill it off. This is when you’ll see the fungus start to ‘run’ to other places, and gather in groups (we call them lumps) to protect itself. For Izzy, this resulted in a swelling in her left leg. Third, it starts to kill of the fungus, slowly but surely. This is frequently when you’ll see skin lesions as the fungus eats through the skin to escape the medicine.
Now, here’s where it gets frustrating – those steps can come in any order, at any time, in any number of ways. Bennie first had a lump, with little lung involvement. Izzy had involvement in her eye, followed by a skin lesion, and then lung involvement. It all just depends on where the blasto has taken hold first. The best advice I ever got through this when I asked if Izzy’s progress was normal was this --- NOTHING IS NORMAL. The great thing about this board, however, is that for every symptom, there is a blasto family that has dealt with it and has advice on how to treat it.
One other thing about the breathing. What has worked for Izzy and some other dogs is a form of doggy-yoga or doggy-massage. When Teddy starts panting heavily or his breathing goes up, try to calm him yourself first. Get him to sit up, stand behind him, and lift the front part of his body from under his front legs. Not all the way up, just enough to open up the chest cavity. Our dogs frequently don’t have the energy to sit up straight, which reduces their oxygen intake. If you can physically do it, looping one arm under his legs to open the airway, and using the other to stroke from throat to chest, then chest to belly helps calm as well. Prednisone helps the inflammatory response, but use it with caution, because it does counteract the anti-fungal. We were on 10mg/day for the first 7 days, then removed it completely to allow the anti-fungal to do its job.
Be sure to call around on the itra, and use the resources on this board to find what works for you. Every pharmacy is different. We are on fluconazole because of Izzy’s eye involvement. We pay about $68 for a month’s supply at Costco. The same medicine at Walgreen’s (even with a discount card) is a whopping $1008 -for generic. And no, I’m not kidding, it was really that much of a jump. Itra costs are even higher and more varied. Do your research and you’ll be fine.
The last piece of advice I have for you is to be sure to get some sleep. We spent a horrific few nights with Izzy waking every 20 minutes to check on her breathing, give her medicine, etc. Any time she stirred, or got too quiet, or breathed a little heavy we were jumping up and running. We finally made the decision to trade off nights – Ken kept her in the bonus room with him while I conked out, and the next night I did the same for him. It’s a wonder what a full night’s sleep will do for you. It is an emotional roller coaster, one I wouldn’t wish on anyone. We asked ourselves a million times if we were doing the right thing, and now, a month in and some marked improvement, we are so thankful that we did.
Ask questions of the board, learn the search facility, and don’t hesitate to private message any of us. We are here with you and understand what you are going through. Whatever we can do to help, we will.
Best of luck – hang in there and keep us updated!
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Topic: Teddy Came Home (Read 1053 times)