Update on Lilly

I figured I would start a new thread to talk about my Lil. I feel some relief, this afternoon, and hopefully my sweet girl does, too.

I got slammed on the instant messenger, as soon as I started up the computer, when we got home, so I'm just now able to post! It is so nice to know that people care. Lilly and I have lots of good friends out there in our "cyber" world, and it means so much! :)

First of all, it wasn't anything "horrible", so our minds can be at ease about that. All 3 issues are unrelated.

He feels she is having allergy issues with her eyes, so we have antibiotic drops for that.

He also feels that the diarrhea is not related to the pain issue at all, just coincidental. Lilly has been prone to episodes of diarrhea, periodically, for several years and it is because she tends to eat things she shouldn't (dead things). She got a shot to help her with that and medication.

The hips are the main concern. He truly believes that the elevated temperature was probably due to the inflammation in her hips, so that makes me feel better, and I guess the ER vet wasn't off base on that one, after all. He told me that he did not x-ray her today because we have already established, years ago, that she has hip dysplasia, and there was no need to go to expense of a new x-ray and putting her under anesthesia to take them. I appreciate the fact that he is sensitive about cost and unnecessary anesthesia. He said his hope was always that the hips wouldn't cause her a major problem and had not expected her to have so much trouble when she is still relatively young, but it is what it is. He gave her a shot for pain to help her, immediately, and he observed her while she was there (she was the office dog for the day and was not caged). She said "thank you" for that. He is going to treat her with pain medication, right now (Loritab), and wants to take some time to do some investigating into medication that we can use on an ongoing basis with her. He is not keen on Rimadyl for her at this point because she would have to take it regularly, and it has so many negative side effects. He said if she were elderly, he might take a different approach, but since she is not, he doesn't even want to tempt fate by using it. Again, I appreciate his candor and caring attitude about that. He is going to get back to me next week on that when I take Mack in. Whatever he decides on will probably be a lifelong med for her, so he wants to be careful and also to see if he can find something that won't be so terribly expensive.

We talked about surgery. I asked him if he thought it was an answer. He does not do hip replacement surgeries, himself, and he said the only surgical answer would be a total hip replacement, and he does not advocate it. He said it is terribly invasive and also very, very expensive (that part I knew). He said the only hospital that he would even recommend is Ohio State University because they are the ones that mastered this surgery technique. He said that he believes we can manage her pain with a regular regime of medication, we'll just keep on working on it until we find the right thing to keep her comfortable.

Lilly must go on a more strict diet, too. He would like to see her weigh 70-75 pounds. She was 88 pounds today. Lilly has weighed as much as 98 pounds, before, so we know we can get it off, will just have to ease her into a diet food, rather than the regular food she is eating now. I told her that if she would lose 13 pounds, I would, too! LOL!! She only gets a cup in the morning and a cup at night, so we need to switch to something with less fat, I guess. I'll probably switch Honey, too, just to make it easier. Honey is not "fat", but it won't hurt her to knock off a few pounds as well. Honey is a smaller framed dog, and her best weight is around 60-65. She's about 70 right now. Scott and I will "shop" for dog food tomorrow at Petsmart and online. Mack is still on puppy food and will be for a while, so I'll only have the two to change over at this point.

I've got one med here that I've got to investigate because I'm not sure what it is for. It is called Diphenoxylate and I don't think we've had that one before. Didn't realize I had it until I got home or I would have asked about it.

He also suggested doing the heated bed, so we will do that. He sent me home with two catalogs, plus we will do some checking on that, too. As you all know, my dogs are chewers, so we'll have to watch that bed closely to make sure Honey doesn't chew it up, and Lilly, too, for that matter, when she is feeling better.

OK. I think that's it for now! The sweet girl is sleeping. I swear, she looks just like Zip as all I can see is the top of her head and her eyes. She has those white, raccoon rings around her eyes, just like Zipper did.

I hope that each and every one of you can enjoy the relationship with your veterinarian that I have with mine. He actually apologized for not being available to me Wednesday night. I reminded him that I know he does not work on Wednesday nights!! Bless his heart, he just always aims to please and get to the bottom of these issues.

Thanks again, everyone. Sorry for being so dramatic this week. I was just scared to death, as you know.

Love,
Logan

I'm so glad you have some answers Logan!
while it stinks that all 3 came together at once - thank goodness they are unrelated!
One thing I will say. Keegan has been on an all natural pain relief tablet since Spring and it has done amazing things for her. I posted about it before. Yes its pricey but Keegan didn't respond well to aspirin or Rimadyl near as quickly or as well as she has this. I started her on it on a Monday and by Friday she jumped into the backseat of my dad's full size extended cab pickup by herself. This is the same dog that I had to help into the backseat of my Olds Alero.
When she jumped into my dad's truck I almost cried. It was like I had my dog back!
I have an article that I got from Whole dog journal. If you would like it let me know and I'll send you the article. I just got a shipment and they send all kinds of info on their products but I threw all that away. Keegan gets 3 pills a day and we get 2 bottles every 2 months.

http://doggonepain.com/

Keegan has put on some pounds too with this HD. I can't exercise her b/c of her hips. I do let her run and chase tennis balls for short times. It only takes about 20 min to a half hour and she's pooped!

big hugs to you and to Lilly!

All I can say is "Thank God". At least you understand what it is and can deal with it from this time on. Feel better Lilly-ith, we love you and your white raccoon eyes, you precious, sweet, adorable baby. Auntie K and cousin K-lo luv ya to shreds. Hugs and kisses to you Logan. The "relief" is the best part. Tell mommy, Lilly, to order me. hooman K, a heated bed too!!! Feel better and know that you have a zillion Lilly Lovers wishing you well and sending you oodles of love and hugs and kisses. Share a few with your siblings too..soooooo much to go around!
Big hugs to compassionate, loving, oh! so wise and dedicated Dr R! May he always have an angel on his shoulder to guide him!

I guess the bad news is also the good news. I'm most encouraged by Staci's post and thinking you might explore this option further. I'm so glad that Dr. R. feels confident in his assessment and that in fact these are separate issues. Distressing as they are, it is better than having them be symptoms of some acute and dangerous condition.

Thanks for giving us the complete update. I kept looking at the clock trying to figure out where Lilly was in the process of seeing the Doc. I'm so glad she was able to get in when she did.

Okay, now let's exhale.

Just wanted to say that I don't think you sounded over dramatic at all.
Just very concerned about Lilly,as we would be about our pooches. :)

That said, I'm very glad to hear that Lilly can be easily treated to help
her feel better.Your Vet sounds so much like Buddy's old Vet.Having a Dr.
like that is a great feeling isn't it.Makes you feel like a real partner in helping
our animals get the most out of life.Did you ever discuss any suppliments
for Lilly to take? (Cosequin, etc) Anyway, just so glad this was not a serious
set back for your sweetie. Glad she's feeling better now. :)

You have a good vet. You can tell him all of Pet Talk thinks so, next time you see him. Glad you got so many answers, and there's a plan for the future as well.

Our Gracie - black Great Dane - got those white circles around her eyes early, by age 5, looked even goofier on a black dog! And she lived well beyond anyone's expectations anyway.

What's funny is that when we met Alicia's golden girl Carina - she has NO white hairs, despite her "lack of youth."

Logan I am glad that the findings of your vet were not as bad as I had feared. With the three things all occurring at once I was really afraid that there was some strange *syndrome* about to be diagnosed, but I tend to leap into worry mode very easily, just ask my kids. :p I'm sorry that Lilly is having these problems at such a young age, but I know you will do all that you can to help that girl. Gosh, a heated bed sounds good to me too. :) I bet Butter is going to want to spend some time on that bed. :) I wonder what kind of pictures you will get to take with all of the furry ones clammering for a spot. Thank you for updating us. We hope she feels better real soon! :)

As much as I said, I failed to mention that Lilly has been taking a Glucosmine supplement, daily, for years. We will continue that while we research other supplements, in case there is something better to try.

Thank you for that information, Staci. I will add it to my list! :)

Sometimes it is a lot of little things that add up! Thankfully, two of the little things really are little things. Tell Lilly if SHE loses 13 pounds, I guarantee that I will lose 13 right along with you guys. :D

Having such a relationship with your vet doesn't surprise me Logan. "Good" people tend to find one another.

Gentle hugs to Lilly and the rest of your herd.

Johanna

Bumping this up.........

I just responded to the other thread, which had gotten ahead of this one, and for a minute, though I had failed to update you all!!!!!

Logan

Just wondering how Lilly was doing now. I sure hope the intestinal upset has resolved itself and that she is having some good days with the hip.