Right!??!?! And this was a month ago - when he could manage just about 5m at a time and needed help getting up: https://www.instagram.com/p/BVeP9vChBFF/ !
LOL! Definitely! I'm not sure if its even possible, but for a while he had this ridiculous squeaky bark! Now he's more mobile he has his big, deep voice back.
My precious Riddick managed a play bow this morning! For the first time in weeks! I've watched him start to try but stop just before he goes down. Its usually part of how he greets and talks to me in the mornings when we're all waking up and getting ready to eat and part of his greeting when we have been out - and this morning he did one again! He's so much more mobile and more like himself. And still very much a mama's boy. He's more and more able to wrestle with the other dogs to get or keep a toy, and he's no longer collapsing if one of the other dogs jumps on him or runs into him. He's still very skinny, having lost 4kg, but he has stopped losing - so as we perfect his insulin dose he will pick up weight again. On Wednesday he will be examined by a specialist with an uber ultrasound machine so we can make sure there are no lesions or growths that the blood tests might not be picking up, considering he seems to react so strangely to meds... I am so pleased by his progress every day that he literally makes me laugh with joy!
My precious Riddick was back at the vet for a sugar curve yesterday. We're still trying to get his insulin dose right - his sugar curve was still high, but lower than last time so we have increased his insulin to .42 and we'll continue with the extra food (she's concerned that he's losing weight so fast, so I will take him to weigh on Monday to see if he's stabilised), and she doesn't want to increase his insulin again for a while. The vet even did a fecal flotation - just in case - to make sure there are no worms causing his weight loss - all clear. A specialist did a very fancy ultrasound to check if there are tumours or something we may have missed in the blood tests, but she didn't find anything strange or abnormal in his abdomen. Yay for good news... right? Except that his tummy is shaved so now he's itching and scratching! My boy has lost so much weight, I am so worried about him. He was down to 30.2 on Wednesday morning so he's lost about 5 kilos! The vet is concerned that maybe his body isn't absorbing nutrients from his food, but his #2 still looks good and the same as it always has, and if he wasn't absorbing nutrients then apparently his busies would show it? He has come so far in the last month! He's so skinny, but in every other way he is back to his old self again!! And tomorrow - touch wood - we will be 50 days seizure free!
In some humans who can't gain weight, inflammatory bowel disease is investigated. Has this been considered in Riddick's case?
A quick google brought up a couple of articles that would perhaps support this. Looks like some trials were performed where phenobarb was added to oral diabetic drugs to improve control, which might support your finding of reducing the phenobarb and deterioration in diabetic control (ie increasing sugar levels). If Riddick's sugar is high due to lack of insulin, then he will just be peeing it out without it entering his body cells, so weight loss would likely be a symptom. Can you check his sugar yourself or does he have to have a formal sugar curve?
We haven't considered it for Riddick - apart from the weight loss he isn't in any pain, and his busies are nice and normal. All his blood tests and the specialist abdominal ultrasound are normal for kidneys, liver, bowels, stomach, et al. When he was first diagnosed with diabetes his main symptom - apart from the drastic thirst and endless peeing - was weight loss. Once we get his sugar right, all of that normalises again. This time it has taken longer because of his epilepsy meds complication! :/ Very interesting! I must mention it to my vet - maybe it will help other dogs! I have a human glucometer that I use to check Riddick's sugar twice a day (once in winter 'coz his ears are too cold in the morning ), it gives me a lower reading than the vet's doggy machine, but its on the same curve. Then he goes to the vet once a month or so for a formal curve. If he's doing well we might skip a month. Its these regular visits that have made him okay with the vet again! After his obstruction surgery a couple of years ago you couldn't get him in an exam room for love or money! He once pulled himself out of his collar and a harness!
Weighed Riddick at the vet this morning - he's picked up 1.3kg since last Wednesday - he weighs 31.5kg!
That's a great weight gain . Any idea what you're aiming for, or are you going purely by his physique?
Today marks eight weeks since Riddick lost all hind end mobility and couldn't even sit up by himself. He has come SO far in that time and I am beyond relieved to still have my baby boy with me! He is 55 days seizure free, so I am pretty convinced the new medication is working, but I think he may have regained as much mobility as he is going to - there haven't been any significant changes lately. He is so much stronger, he is even running a little, but he is still wobbly, and when he gets tired his hind legs tend to swing out when he's walking. He can stay on his feet if the other dogs bump him or jump on him, but if they are playing tug-o-war he often gets pulled over. At least I no longer have to worry about leaving him home with the other dogs. I am hoping that once we get his weight up again and his insulin stable, then he may get even stronger.
