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Thursday, January 31, 2013

Baby Girl Update

Happy Dogs on Thursday (Thorsday) / Thankful Thursday.  It's been a little while since I've done an update on Lola's autoimmune disease, so I thought today would be appropriate.

Who's that peaking in the background?
Lola (and Sophie peeking around) shortly after I got home Tuesday

We had a little scare when I got home from work on Tuesday and found her acting extremely mopey.  Thankfully, we had a check up at the vet that night.  Other than her being really down and not very active, I had noticed anything else in particular... until we got to the vet's office and were sitting in the waiting room.

That's when I noticed that the right side of her face/snout was quite swollen.  It seemed to bother her a tiny bit... until I (feeling bad for her) gave her a cookie and she bit down.  After that, she was in very obvious pain and would shake her head if you tried to touch it.  I was able to see her gums and realized they were indeed swollen.  

Fortunately, my baby girl was very distracted during our time in the waiting room.... especially by this talking box


Untitled
Lola wants to play with the "talking box"

That box contained the most vocal cat I've ever seen.  He was a fat little guy who meowed and meowed the entire time.  I wish I got a picture snapped when he was facing Lola.  She really wanted to play with him and was doing all those cute sideways/tilted head moves. 

Once we got in to see our awesome vet, things began sounding a little bleak.  Lola lost another 3.5 pounds of muscle mass from being on the prednisone and she really is looking a bit weak because of it.  When we pointed out the face/gum issue, Dr C was quite concerned.  It was a good thing that we had just noticed this swelling, however since we weren't sure what it was, our vet had to tell us that it could possibly be a tumor or something else going on in conjunction with the autoimmune disease we are treating.  She wasn't able to rule out anything at that time, and flat out said she was very concerned.  She stated it could be the result of a brain or nose tumor, talked about possibly having to go for an MRI, and of course, that we may have to consider a conversation about quality of life sooner than we would like.  --insert panic, and Mama having all she could do to hold back tears--  Of course, it could also just be an abscess that has absolutely nothing to do with the autoimmune thing... but because of Lola's rare diagnosis and everything going on, she really had to share all possibilities.

Lola was sent home with a pretty blue antibiotic (one that Dr. C says she loves for any nose/gum/throat issues), some pain meds and a decreased prednisone dosage of 15mg a day (which meant we're giving her 3/4 of a pill twice a day now... do you know what a pain it is to cut pills into 3/4?).  My poor baby girl was even more mopey and immediately curled up with a blanket on the couch.

My baby girl is not feeling well today and could use some good vibes... She had her check up and is still loosing weight (muscle mass) on the prednisone. Lumps have almost all disappeared, however she has swelling on one side of her face, which is obvious
Not feeling well...

I was a bit worried, indeed, but cautiously optimistic.  After being home for a few hours, it dawned on me that Lola had broken a large chunk of a marrow bone off on Sunday.  When I noticed it had a sharp pointy piece, I had tossed it.  Could she have possible pierced her gums with it?  I'd never hoped for an infection so badly before...

I woke up Wednesay morning, relived and nearly doing a happy dance.  The swollen had all but disappeared and my baby girl was more alert and upbeat!  When I got home from work last night, she was wagging her tail and feeling even better!  I was able to take a look at her gums and sure enough, there was a bit of puss coming out from the spot... eureka, we have an infection and the antibiotic is doing it's job! 

She's nearly back to her good 'ole self this morning, except for all that muscle mass she's lost on the prednisone.  It's a little scary to see her looking so boney, but the vet assures me this is a normal side effect. 

Thank you all for the continued good vibes... keep 'em coming!

8 comments:

  1. Oh that is good news about the infection. Hopefully the antibiotics will sort it out. Gosh you must have been beside yourself with more to worry about. Glad it it sorted. Have a Terrific Thursday
    Best wishes Molly

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  2. So glad the antibiotics are working and she's feel much better!

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  3. Oh no! We saw your blog through one of our friends and we just read this post. We are glad that the antibiotics are making her feel much better and we will continue to say lots of pawprayers that she feels better, ASAP.

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  4. Poor baby! I'm so glad you figured out what was causing the swelling in her gum.

    Isn't it great when dogs try to visit with kittycats? I had one whose mother was Siamese, and he used to talk to me all the time. He was a hoot. He also ordered the dogs around.

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  5. What a relief that the problem is an infection and the antibiotics are working for Lola! Prednisone comes in 5 mg., and 10 mg. tablets (in addition to 20 mg.), so you could ask your vet to dispense those so you don't have to try to cut the 20 mg.

    Susan and Wrigs

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  6. Oh that poor girl. That must have hurt. I'm glad it's under control. You're a good mom.

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  7. IWe hope the antibiotics work, its so stressful when they get older with worries about your babies and the bills. I know how it feels. I am always seeing lumps and changes in Tubby and Norbert and freaking out, sometimes I think I am imagining them. I am my vet all the time. We have paws crossed for her

    urban hounds

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  8. So glad to hear that it is an infection! You had me on the edge of my seat!
    Sending hugs Lola's way and yes, it does suck to cut pills in 3/4's!

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