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[evayola]

Hello Everyone,
My name is Eva and my boyfriend and I have two WONDERFUL Saint Bernards named Homer and Marge. We adopted Marge from a women's prison in Ohio. We live in the suburbs of Chicago so you can imagine the trip we made for her. It was well worth it. She has been a huge joy to us. So back in December she started limping on her rear leg and we didn't think much of it because we knew that she had a partially torn acl. We got meds and everything was fine for a while. In April her front paw started swelling really bad. We did xrays and found out that her toe was producing new bone so we decided to remove the toe before it spread up her leg. The biopsy came back with nothing out of the ordinary. We just figured it was an infection and that was that. In May her other front paw started swelling and the same thing was going on. We put her on antibiotics and through xrays it seemed as if it was helping. She started really babying that rear leg again so we decided to see a speacialist about knee surgery. He didn't like that she had all these problems so he decided to do a chest xray and that's when we found out it was blasto. She had not showed any symptoms. No fever, coughing, lethargy, annorexia, weight loss, vision loss. She is a saint so she typically is very lazy. We didn't suspect anything like this. We went to our vet right away and started treatment. The first few days were horrible. We didn't think she was going to make it after she had the introconozole and ampercerin b mix. They only gave her a half dose of the drip because they didn't want to attack it too fast. Marge was not doing good at all. My vet contacted a woman who speacializes in blasto and has gotten many dogs through it. We came up with a plan where we would do a slow kill. We stopped all med right away and she stayed off of them for a few days. She got so much better within those few days. Her breathing wasn't that bad and she was moving around more. She is now taking the itroconozole once daily but she has lost ten pounds. She is still eating but very very picky with what she eats. The blasto did spread to her eye and she is taking steroid drops for that. Her spirits are very very high. She is moving around decently and is very attentive still. We own two retail stores so we have been working crazy shifts so that somebody can be home with her at all times. We moved our bed onto our first floor so that she doesn't have to walk up and down the stairs. We are doing everything to keep her comfy and well rested and hopeful. I read to her which might sound crazy but I think my voice helps her along when she isn't feeling so good. I am so glad that I can post to you all and hopeful get some comfort or feedback because it has been soooo hard on us both. We have spent hours crying. I can't stand the thought of losing her. I am not giving her an option to give up. She is a fighter! She is a champ! We are all rooting for her. Can anyone out there give me some ideas on how to keep her well fed and hydrated? We did kidney and liver function last week just to make sure everything is okay and she was a little dehydrated so they gave her fluids and she seems to be a bit better. I need to get food in that tummy and pack on the pounds? Any ideas? Thank you everyone for all your past posts. It helped me out a lot yesterday but also was very scary.

[Jen]

Wow, you guys are lucky to have had a quick diagnosis! We were also lucky in that respect, as we had treated Dirtbike with antibiotics for about a week for a resp. infection, but when it didn't get better and the vet saw the sore that wouldn't heal - we had the dx of Blasto in about 10 min.  Lots aren't so lucky.
   She will be very picky, but you have to keep the calories in her no matter what - and the med won't work unless there's something in her stomach, preferably fatty, like butter.  Dirtbike refused all food and liquids for a while, and we fed her Ensure Plus by bottle, and I would shove peanutbutter down her throat, tricked her into eating things- she had no choice but to swallow it.  She did drink, usually after we "fed" her. It took a long time to get her to eat regularly, nothing made her happy except Cesar dinners, which are tiny and expensive. A big dog can go through a lot of those!
   It broke my heart to see DB through the first month, she was so sick. At one point my dad, my mom, and my husband were all in the hospital at the same time, and I had to take care of her on my own. I spent many sleepless nights talking to her, crying with her, treated her like a child, so don't feel silly. Dogs are blessed, and they depend on us to do their best for them.
   It was also scary to read stories here, many of them are not good outcomes, but there's alot of helpful information, and a few bright spots, like Wilson. 
  Dirtbike is fine now, but still taking her medicine.  The only sign of sickness is that she takes a nap after the pill, and pants maybe a bit heavily but it's hot.  The wheezes are gone, nose is back to normal, no sores.
 Otherwise, she is running, swimming, playing, hunting, eating like a horse, and is back to being the alpha dog.
 Sorry I didn't check in sooner, you must be wearing yourself out.  I wish the best for you guys - hang in there, because it gets worse before it gets better, but you sound like you have a great chance to pull her through. 
Best to you-
jen

[jpwade]

(...)
 I need to get food in that tummy and pack on the pounds? Any ideas?

Hello Evayola,

below is also in response to your question about diahrea in msg: http://blastomycosis.ca/forum/index.php/topic,44.msg239.html#msg239


Our last loss a male lab Blanca, had diahrea with the trailing end of the stool a bit more consistent towards solid. Into about the 3rd week of treatment the solidness ending discharge started to become more in volume, about 2 days before death the stools became solid. By the this time Blanca was very dehydrated and he did not survive.

We had to force feed him:
hamburger rolled into 3" long x 1/2" diameter sausages
(3 ro 4 pieces 3-4 times per 24hrs, each sausage was chased with a good squirt of water from the turkey baster and at times i would squirt water over the sausages before sticking them into the back of his throat )

we tried hamburber mixed:
raw eggs
bread
oatmeal (dry)

we gave 1 cup of water every other hour or so with a turkey baster, alternated straight fresh water with solution of salt and sugar.

Blanca was pooping only once per 24hrs., urinating was about every 5 hrs. (urine: discharge was good in volume)

with each restroom break, I would walk him around the yard for exercise.

i wish i had known about the Ensure Plus that Jen mentions in her feedings, also i would have likely tried getting peanut butter and a bit of butter in the food to see if that would have altered the stools.

at one point i tried to give a high degree of oats mixed with the hamburger hoping it would help the diahrea, this did not seem to make the stools more solid.

we tried babyfood veggies at one point to try and give more vitamins which caused havoc with the stools.

hope some of the above idea's are helpful

info for force feeding tips & salt sugar solution in msg: http://blastomycosis.ca/forum/index.php/topic,42.msg227.html#msg227

[evayola]

Just wanted to give a quick update. Thank you both for the responses, they help a ton. Marge went to the vet today to get the pressure in her eye checked and to have blood work done for her kidney/liver functions. She has been in such a good mood the last couple of days it is so cute. She is jumping on the couch and shuffling around with her favorite toys. We were convinced that she gained weight but the scale at the vet says no. She has been eating lots of chicken breasts and some steak and those are both very lean so it is building her muscles back up but not putting weight on but she needs that! Her daddy cooks for her both meals everyday. He is awesome! So the vet listened to her lungs and said that she can hear an improvement in one lung and the other one is still at the same place as before. We have been on treatment for one month exactly. She still has diahrea but the vet said that the pills will cause that and she gave us a prescription for it. We are giving her lots of pedialyte popsicles during the day and good healthy treats to keep the appetite going. The other night she was so excited to eat that she scarfed it all down and then threw it all back up. Silly girl! She ate again right after that and kept it down thankfully. We are giving her Deramax once daily and I cannot believe the difference it has made. Her fever is gone (was up to 104.6 on a daily basis) and she is having less trouble getting up. It seems to have made her feel a lot better. We are not giving her pain meds anymore. It made her really sluggish and we didn't like it. She is eating lots of peanut butter again. There was a point where she was refusing it because we had given her pills in it and she caught on. I gave some to her brother and she realized it isn't bad. If she isn't eating I show her that Homer will eat it and she gets right up. I have been doing a lot of praying. I hug her and kiss her everytime I can. Homer is starting to get really jealous so we have to make sure we keep him included. He has been soooo good to her. She has been such a trooper and I am so proud of her. We will do xrays of her lungs in one month because the vet doesn't want us to get discouraged. Her eye pressure is up but not at a dangerous level. She is on three different eye drops that she gets throughout the day. We are keeping our fingers crossed that her eye will be okay but if not, then at least we still have our baby! We are staying really positive and this message board helps me a lot. I check it often to see what's new with everyone's babies. As if things couldn't get any worse one of our kitties was diagnosed with fip which is fatal and untreatable. We are nursing both animals and just trying to keep everyone comfy. Wish us luck!
Eva

[Jen]

A St. Bernard jumping on the couch and shuffling toys - whoo! (Actually 2 of them, you have your hands full.)
Glad to hear she's doing well so far, and her eating means a lot.
Good luck, and keep us updated.
Best-
jen

[evayola]

So... today Marge had chest xrays at her two month mark of treatment. Her lungs have cleared about 60 to 70%!!!!!! We are soooo excited about it. We weren't sure how well the treatment was going but we are all estatic. The vet would like to continue with treatment for about four more months. She did lose the vision in one eye though. She is adjusting to that still. I am just glad that she is alive and getting better. Whatever it takes. I do need to find somewhere else to get her meds though other than cvs. I am going broke!!!

[Jen]

Glad to hear it, Eva.  That's all kinds of yay!
Dirtface is still gettin medicine, but the vet thinks there's not really much need.  What a lard-butt she is now! Hard to believe she got so skinny or was ever sick.
I still don't want to stop too soon. It's not worth the risk.
The meds...Go to Pet Health Pharmacy. They're in Arizona, and they ship overnight.  2 months supply of Itraconazole is about $80 with shipping. 

[evayola]

I just ordered my meds through them and it is amazing. I got Marge's meds (130 lb dog) for $22/month!!!!!

[evayola]

Marge went to the doctor yesterday just for a quick check up and everything looks really good. She gained FOUR pounds! That was awesome to see. Her one eye is definitely blind and the doctor can see the blasto granulomas in there so we are still treating that eye but her other eye looks totally normal. Her lungs are sounding better and better and she is so active now. We decided to do a slow treatment with her so we will probably continue this until January or so. I don't want to mess with what's working! She is slowly adjusting to her blind side though. We had a friend come over with his dog who Marge has known since she was a baby and they got into a fight. Marge is the most loving dog that I have ever met and I think that she got really scared because he came up on her on her blind side and she just freaked out. I will have to say that Marge having blasto has definitely changed her. She is still here though and getting better everyday.

[FrenchieMom]

Glad to hear Marge is hanging in there!  Congrats on the 4 pounds!

[buddyawi]

Congrats on the weight gain.  Buddy's at the vet right now he'll be getting a check-up and an x-ray.  I would love to hear the x-ray shows great improvement and he's gained some weight back. 

I know what you mean when you say your dog's personality has changed.  Buddy wants to hang by me more than ever. When I'm home he follows me around.  He's become more protective than ever of me.   Amazing considering I'm the one taking his temp, syringe feeding him, giving him fluids!  All  the things he hates!

Hopefully I'll have good news to report later.

[evayola]

Tuesday I was walking Marge and it was really strange - she picked her head up and blood was pouring out of her nose. It was out of one nostril and I ran inside and grabbed paper towels til it stopped. I called the vet and we went right away. The vet thought that Marge looked pretty good. She did lose some weight but the vet thinks it is because Marge was sooo hungry that she was eating more than normal and now her hunger is at a normal level so her weight is fluctuating. I think I just need to up her food but with a big dog I am scared of her stomach twisting as she already eats 3 cups dry food & one chicken breast twice daily. The vet said that her lungs sound the best they have ever sounded and she can hear breathing in EVERY SINGLE LUNG CAVITY!!!!!!  That made me super excited. So, the vet didn't want to alarm me on the phone but the reason that she had me come in is because with fluconozole in humans it can reduce your blood platelets but there has never been a reported case in an animal and she didn't want Marge to be the first. So, we ran bloodwork on marge to check everything. Her liver and kidney values are great. Her red blood cells are lower than normal. When Marge was first sick she was at 42% and then halfway through then and now it was 40% and now she is at 38%. The vet was concerned but not alarmed because you just want to stay above 40%. The vet thinks that Marge may be developing an ulcer due to the medication. She is on 300mg 1x daily of fluconozole and one dose of deramaxx daily to help with her torn acl pain. We took her off the deramaxx as this can increase stomach irritation. We now have to have her on pepcid 10mg 2x daily along with another pill that we have to dissolve to help coat her stomach. I am hoping that it is nothing serious. Her activity level has been great and I have been taking her with me to work often. She loves that. Her tolerance her Homer's shennanigans is definitely decreasing. She has never ever had an ounce of meanness but it seems as though since she has gotten sick she doesn't want to put up with his crap. It cracks us up because he is such a puppy at heart even though he is three and Marge is like the grandma that doesn't want to do those silly things. I thank God everyday that Marge is still with us because we almost lost her and I swear that if we would have continued with the aggressive treatment and higher dosages we would have killed her. I am so happy with the progress that she has made. She lights up my life. I love when I come home and she want to do nothing but suck on my fingers like a baby. She follows me around the house just gumming my hand. I cannot imagine life without her - without any of my animals. They are the greatest thing ever! I will keep everyone posted on Marge and wish everyone the best. I am always here to answer any questions because I know how heart wrenching this disease is.

[gunner]

Hi Eva,

I just finnished reading this post as I am trying to make my way through this entire forum.  I got a tickle reading about Marge sucking your fingers!  :-)

I have had Gunner since she was 5 days old and since she was weaned she has always sucked my thumb and fingers, especially when we are sitting on the couch together.  Everyone keeps telling me how lucky Gunner is that she has us, quite frankly I think that it is my husband and I that are the lucky ones.  We just love her to pieces~!