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[weluvmoose]

Moose tested positive for Blasto - he is sleeping all the time and only eating table scraps.  He doesn't seem to be any better at all - we are on the fourth day of two pills a day of Sporanox.  Thanks for your positive thoughts!   

[luvmyjacks]

If you can find time (I know you re busy with your children too) go back and read early posts from some of the survivors.  The first week is a living hell and the poor pups are just as sick from the Sporonox as they are from the Blasto.  There is a big battle between meds and fungus and sleeping through it is a blessing.  He likely has an on again off again fever if he is like many of the other dogs and he will be more inclined to eat when he is cool so try to keep an eye out for those opportunities.Try to get him to eat something, anything just to keep up his strength.  Again read old posts because there were some pretty interesting ideas for food.  Will is still on home cooked chicken, steak, lean ground beef, veal - fed only by hand one piece at a time.  But as awful as that sounds I am thrilled that as a result he is gaining back the weight he lost.  He went from 25 to 16 pounds and I'm sure he's over 18lbs now.
Again after just four days he will not seem to be getting better, so hold on.  Every day he is still alive gets you closer to a happy ending.

[Jen]

Glad you had started the sporanox already.  It's very hard on them when they first start - I think that the initial fungal die-off is probably the worst. 

Keeping him eating and hydrated are the most important things; we had to force feed Ensure Plus with a bottle for a while.  We gave the Itra the same time every day, but finding a new way to trick her into swallowing it was hard.  Food in the stomach helps to metabolize the meds better. Sleeping is good.  The fever will continue for awhile.  I used antifungal cream on her sores, and Carmex on her nose, which was completely dried up from fever.  Sometimes a car ride when she was really having trouble breathing.

I can't remember DB's timeline.  I know at one point my mom, dad, husband, and daughter were all in the hospital at the same time and I was working & taking care of DB too.  That's kind of a blur!  But the first 2 weeks are usually the worst, so don't get downhearted if he's not up and running around for a while.

Use your vet, and if they don't have answers, use another, and another.  If the meds are too expensive, use
www.pethealthpharmacy.com.  I couldn't have afforded it any other way.
We're all pulling for Moose-
jen
obie
millie
dirtbike

[evayola]

Even though it is a heartache that Moose tested positive, at least you know that it IS blasto and you can treat him accordingly. You really need to make sure that you are keeping Moose hydrated. Make sure you give him plenty of water. Marge refused water for a week because she didn't want to get up and stand to drink. What I did was feed her pedialyte frozen into ice cubes and I also did the pedialyte popsicles. Even when she would spit it out, I would force her to take it. I would keep putting everything including her food back in her mouth until she took it. Sometimes we had to hold her mouth closed until she swallowed. It was the hardest thing that I ever went through. We do not have children and our animals are that to us. Moose will get worse before he gets better due to the die off. Moose is in our thoughts. Stay strong and positive. Just like Wilson3 said, faith can really heal a lot. I prayed every night to God (something I never really made a habit of before) to save Marge. I wanted so badly for her to make it through it. God really answered my prayers because she is still here and fighting. She has been such a trooper and we are so proud of our little (actually very huge) miracle baby!

[Jen]

   Ya, and this is probably not the best thing to do, but when I was sooo afraid that Dirt was going to starve and I had exhausted all the food choices, I went to the convenience store a few miles away, and they started saving their leftover food for her.  (She would not even eat the expensive smelly stuff from the pet store.)
   It worked; she ate sausage patties, egg patties, bacon, croissants, you name it. She has her own fan club there, and now begs to go to see her "Aunt Dori", who still saves her a sandwich once in a while.  It's okay that she's a bit chubby - we can fix that easily enough. She's alive and thriving, which was the whole idea.
jen

[Wilson3]

so glad also to hear you have an answer and have started treatment
the first week is really hell i remember like yesterday day four wilson had a horrible weekend i was at work (on day 4)and anyone i new that new what was going on if they looked at me i would start crying (i work in a hospital) i had spent the first few days with wilson on the leaving room floor i even brought out our camping matts to make the floor a bit softer that 4th day i was thinking how selfish i was to make wilson fight this i just loved him so much and didnt want him to go the day was gloomy and rainy i was going to make the choice when i got home but as i was driving home that night the sun broke through i really started to cry then they always say they see the light when its time sounds dumb but i ayelled out loud damit wilson you are going to beat this and i need you here with me i pulled up in front of the house and waited to see if he was going to lok out the window for me and he didnt i was so scared i thought oh no im to late he went but to my surprise wilsons swelling on his legs has started to go down nad he was sooo very happyt to see me i leter found out what the light really ment wheni was coming home it was the universe shining down one ihim and giving him the strenght to fight after that once a week i would see improvment in wilson but oh my that first week the first 4 ,5 dyas to use where the worst i called my vet all the time he was great if he was busy with someone as soon as he was done he would always call back
i remember when he thought it was blasto he couldnt even look at me i think wilson is his first to make it and i beleave to be treated his vet did a ton of research and always would find the answer to any question i had i think he was even exctied when wilson came for his check upos to see the improvment i used a clay on his lesions he would have lost his foot with out it
(by the way i dont know if anyonehas notice but yes i do have a wonderful animal communicator that was sooo wonderful through this and helped me to understand all this that has happend and got us through this. She is great and always hits everything right one. She knew where wilson still had it and where it botherd him and sure enough i would take him to his check up  and thats where the blasto still was in his lungs) anyways hang in it does get better it just takes a loooooong time and ys every time wilson does somthing that seems like he might be sick off to the vet oh a phone call and yes he still loves the woods and chasing the little critters and i tell him to get his nose out of the blasto and he walks away i was sooo lucky that my other 2 never got it
good luck and keep us posted
wilson3