10/11/08 by Lisa
We went to the second vet visit of the week today - not our hope for the vacation, but it had to be done. Her first visit was her annual exam and I wanted to go ahead and schedule it because she has been having ear problems and her allergies are still bothering her (as are mine, so not overly concerned). We got called back for another visit after the first tests were back. Emily has an ear infection, a UTI, and allergies all at the same time. Cushings makes her immune system less robust, so it looks like we are seeing the results of that. She has ear drops in the morning, an antibiotic at lunch, her "gold -plated" pills for Cushings at dinner time (so called by Kenny 'cause they're not exactly cheap), and more ear drops at night. I think she is growing very suspicious of going for a "ride" with me anymore since we end up visiting the vet. Luckily her vet ("Aunt Joanne") is very good and very accommodating. Emily gets her exams on the floor in the corner she runs to so that she doesn't have the extra stress of being put up on the table. She knows that table for sure - the first time we ever saw her, they put her up on one to show her off and she was scared to death. It was quickly to the floor and under a chair for her. Poor thing. Aunt Joanne gives her kisses, so that helps.
We are still awaiting the results of her bloodwork and some cultures. Hopefully, nothing new will come up. We still have to take her again for her stimulation test to see how her body responds to Cortisol and to make sure the treatment levels for Cushings don't need to be modified. That's a several-hours long test that is pretty stressful for both of us. I'm going to wait a while to schedule that. We can't imagine having to increase her dose again - she's about at Great Dane levels now, but whatever it takes, we will do. She is still doing well, and very suspicious of me being anywhere around her with anything in my hands - there just might be ear drops in there you know!
10/8/08 by Lisa
Emily is being a trooper. She has gone through a biopsy of the "thing" on her spleen, multiple ultrasounds, hours-long tests, and tests on each new lump that shows up on her body (especially the big one on her chest). The biopsy was inconclusive and her lumps so far have all just been fatty deposits (Cushings dogs are more prone to them) - the one on her chest still worries me, though. We decided after the biopsy to just stop putting her through the ultrasounds every 6 weeks. Even if they found something, unless it was eminently threatening, we would not go through the risk of surgery. She is feeling like herself and her personality is still very apparent. She is doing fine with her treatment, and I believe hat her connective tissue definitely seems back because her "pot belly" is less prominent. She will be out of her pills soon, so she may have to undergo a test again, but I hope that they will just refill it without testing her blood levels again (she has to stay at the vet with me for 2-3 hours for that).
We are on a "stay-cation" this week so that we didn't have to leave her. We went to the Autrey Mill nature preserve and romped around in the woods. She goes nuts over places with new smells. :) She met three dogs there that were running loose with their mom and were having the best time! Emily has been enjoying us going on family walks with her and life is good!
2/8/08 by Lisa
Emily is going back to the vet on March 5 to re-check her spleen. She also has some new lumps that have formed on her back and stomach. Dogs with Cushings can develop these more frequently, and she already has a few, but these are larger and presented very quickly. We may be taking her in before March just to check those. We generally try to limit the number of her visits if we can, though. Otherwise, she still is trudging along and doing well.
1/28/08 by Lisa
Emily has been holding her own. We have noticed that she is drinking more again lately, but we're not sure if that's just how dry it has been in the house with the heat on higher than usual. She still has energy and of course a lot of appetite. She got a new little Lands' End red coat to wear when it's really chilly out. I think it is just adorable and she looks like a real sporting dog. She tolerates it and hates it less than her sweater, which is more confining. The only down side is that she wants to stay out in the cold longer, which is harder on us! She absolutely loved the snow and went bounding around every chance she got.
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