After several days of vomiting and low appetite (for a Lab to turn down hamburger & rice and scrambled eggs??) we finally got in to see our vet this morning. After blood work and x-rays, it turns out Molly is suffering from liver disease, cause unknown at this time. Her liver enzymes were off the scale, but everything else was in the normal range. So now she's on several kinds of meds (antibiotic and a liver support drug) and has a special diet. I had to hand feed her a few kernels at a time to get her to eat anything when we got back from the vet, and the canned version wasn't much more appealing. I'm really hoping that, as the meds kick in, she will start to improve and her appetite will return. She's always been such a chow hound that seeing her like this really freaks me out. She's been so healthy as she's aged - this is really coming as a shock. I know they will die from something, but are you ever truly ready for it?? :'( Can't give up on her yet, though. She's 14, but if we can get her through this, I will insist on another 2 years! Cross your collective fingers for us...
Re: Molly in Minnesota is sick! Lots of good thoughts for Molly. Hope the meds and the special food will help. Sending virtual hugs.
Re: Molly in Minnesota is sick! So sorry to hear this. Hoping the medication improves the situation for Molly. I remember well when my old boy was suffering from liver disease, and can sympathise. But the vet did manage to stabilize his condition, and we had several months of happy, pain free time together.
Re: Molly in Minnesota is sick! Fingers all crossed for you and thoughts sent over the ocean and land for the best possible outcome x
Re: Molly in Minnesota is sick! Thinking of you and Molly. I hope she shows signs of improvent soon. Everything crossed here.
Re: Molly in Minnesota is sick! Sounds like a real shock for you! Here's hoping she makes a good improvement with the medication x
Re: Molly in Minnesota is sick! Thanks for all your good wishes! Karen, can you give me any sense of what to expect over the next few months? Is Molly likely in her final phase and we're just aiming for comfort, or is there more hope than that? Do you know what the root cause was for your old guy's liver disease? The last old dog I had to put down showed neurologic symptoms on a Thursday and by that Saturday couldn't even stand up. He was gone by noon on Feb 14 (what a day to have to put to sleep a dog you love...). We figured an asymptomatic tumor finally got to the point where it interfered with his nervous system. At 15 (Lab/Husky mix), I was not about to put him through treatment or surgery, so a peaceful death was really the best choice, It was all so quick, though! This thing with Molly, though...
Re: Molly in Minnesota is sick! Hope Molly is beginning to feel better and ready for her food. Thinking of you.
Re: Molly in Minnesota is sick! Hope the meds kick in soon and you still have some quality time with her. Its so tough having old dogs. Emma and Meg.
Re: Molly in Minnesota is sick! Poor love , hoping Molly improves with the new regime , poorly dogs are such a worry x
Re: Molly in Minnesota is sick! After a week of treatment with an antibiotic, a liver support med (Dinamarin), and various tempting foods, Molly's latest blood work shows a definite improvement. YAY! ;D ;D ;D The vet didn't tell me to give her the Denamarin on an empty stomach , so she threw up the first two days worth of meds. After some internet research, I discovered the empty stomach rule and changed my routine. No more vomiting! Now why in the blazes didn't they tell me that?? I asked about it yesterday while there for the blood draw, and they didn't even know about it! Shakes my confidence in them a bit... :-\ I finally got her to eat when I mixed up some Sojos (raw freeze-dried dog food made locally) with the specialty liver diet. It was scary to see her walk away from her food bowl! She sure likes this Sojo stuff, though . (So, is a labrador appetite a labbetite?) She's looking much better, but still has another 10 days on the Denamarin. Then we'll check her liver chems again. If all continues to go well, the plan is to find a maintenance level of meds and a food she likes, and just cross my fingers that she'll be good for another year or two. One of the people at Daisy's puppy class went through liver issues with a younger dog. She switched to feeding her dog basically the same stuff as her family, plus canine vitamins and an OTC version of the Denamarin (SAMe is the generic name) and her dog's blood values dropped back to almost normal withing a couple weeks, and the dog lived for another three years. Her vet was astounded.
