Another diagnosis
I got a call from our vet Thursday when I got home from work. He wanted us to come in Saturday after he got done with all of his appts and he wanted to xray Matties hips and have extra time to spend with her. So we took her in today. She let them xray her with out sedation. She really cried when they put her on her back and extended her back legs. They ended up giving her a shot of some pain killers to get a good xray. So my Mattie girl has some arthritis in the lower part of her spine, and Severe Hip Dysplasia. She has only bone rubbing on bone. Well to me that explains why she doesn't want to do anything, and why she has no stamina. If she's in pain, so wonder she doesn't want to exercise, and no wonder why she has a weight issue. So Miss Mattie will start taking rimadyl, and tramadyl tomorrow. Along with her supplements. He suggested Therapy would be good for her, but I can't afford to send the both of the. So our thinking is one day a week for Frankie instead of 2 and Mattie and take his other day. Then with any luck, if we find out in a couple of weeks, that Frankie no longer needs PT then Mattie can go both days. I'm not shocked this time. She bunny hops when she walks, so I knew something was up. Just one more chapter in our Sheepie Chronicles. Lisa Frankie and Mattie |
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Well, I guess this is good and bad news. At least you know what is wrong with her, but, as you know, HD is not fun. You are a strong woman Lisa, I would have a hard time emotionally handling all that you have so gracefully sailed through in the past few months. to Mattie. Hopefully you will be able to end hydrotherapy with Frankie all together. It took us a year of therapy with Oliver before our vet sent us home with exercises. We only went 1/week though, it was just too expensive. |
| Yes good news was it was not a heart problem, bad news is the hips and spine. Positive side, get the weight off her and have her on the lean side from now on and that will help all her issues and give her a bit more mobility. Also with exercise later on when the weight is off, exercise her on soft surfaces, what I mean by that no road or foot path walking on grass or sand to lessen the impact on her joints. Supplementation will help along with the pain meds till the weight comes off and of course the hydro therapy once a week will help that process of taking off the pounds and keeping her muscles toned. I am sure jaci will have a bit to contribute to this too as far as long term maintenance goes and helping stop any more deteriation of her.  The weight she is carrying must come off and a slow build up of a good but not too hard exercise regime to keep her on the lean side will benefit her and keep her going. Hugs lisa so much has been going on with frankie and now this, all I can say is I admire you enormously for the dedication to your babies and stay positive because you are on the right track and with her already loosing 10lbs since you have had her, more weight loss and I think you will find she will in the long term prospect of things be more mobile even with the latest diagnosis. You might even find she wont need the pain meds just the supplements if you can get that weight down and have her leaner for the future. |
I'm sorry to hear this news.  As Lisa says, the excess weight needs to come off because it might allow her to move with less effort and pain. With her other health concerns, I'd talk to the vet to discuss the best way. Hills Prescription r/d kibble @ 241 kcals per cup is really low calorie but I don't know if it's right for Mattie. Not keen on the ingredients but I was even less keen about having a couple of overweight dogs... and it was for only a short time. You don't want them too thin though or they'll also loose muscle. Panda looks real twiggy, especially in the rear end, but she does have a tiny bit fat. Panda now takes a Tramadol because she can take that with the Betaine Hydrochloride for her stomach. She's also taking Glycoflex III, fatty acids and Denosyl. It made me really sad when I learned Panda's spine had also been affected by arthritis... my vet and I were both shocked to see how bad it is... it's fusing too. But... below are some pictures from earlier today. Jim and I had just finished mowing the lawn so all the Jolly Balls were congregated in one area of the yard. Panda's not real big on playing with toys but she does have times where she'll play. I swear that dog thinks some things are funny.  She shuffles more rather than limps... her hips are narrow, bunny-hop running, sometimes has to work harder to get up on hard floors. I try to get her to sleep on the furniture, the bed or a kuranda bed. Video- Panda and Emma playing tug with a Jolly Ball about a week ago- http://oesusa.com/PandaAndEmma051311.html We don't know how these kids will do... no crystal balls that will give us answers. I just wanted to give you some hope. As I've said before too, Mattie is so fortunate to have you. |
| Jaci Frankie wants to know when he can move over to your place. It looks like Jolly Ball heaven to him  Panda's build looks alot like Frankies. She sits pretty on her butt for having bad hips. Very cute pictures. I failed to mention she lost 3 lobs since last Sunday. Carrots Carrots Carrots. She loves them. The spine wasn't bad, so I'm not going to give myself that to worry about yet. I'm just hoping that the 2 pain meds don't bother her tummy. She eats everything, so It shouldn't. Mattie eats Solid gold dry kibble. For less active and older dogs. It's supposed to be really good for all of her skin issues. It also seems to have all good ingredients. It's 330 k kal per cup. We will see what this week, brings maybe a little less pain and little more exercise. Lisa Frankie and Mattie |
| Oh Lisa so sorry to hear this. Poor Mattie! Hopefully the PT and pain meds will help. |
| Oh my! When it rains, it pours! With the anti-inflammatories and pain killers on board, you will probably start to see a positive difference in Mattie's movement right away. As you mentioned, with these meds, the tummy can be an issue, with the possibility of bleeding ulcers. As a preventive measure, you might want to start Mattie on famotidine (Pepcid AC). Please talk to your vet first, as I don't know if there is some contraindication due to the diabetes insipidus. Pepcid AC (20 mg) is fairly expensive ($23 for 50 pills), but they recently came out with the generic version which I buy much cheaper at Sam's Club ($10 for 170 pills). Oscar takes 40 mg (2 pills) once a day. I don't want to freak you out, but we lost our first OES, Quincy, to bleeding ulcers. (After OCD surgery on his elbow at 18 months old, Quincy took Rimadyl for three years, and then Deramaxx for another 6 months before he passed away just after his fifth birthday.) Stoic to the end, Quincy showed no signs of any discomfort until three weeks before he passed away, when he started vomiting intermittently. Due to our experience with Quincy, we started Oscar on Pepcid AC when he was a pup, as he seemed to have a higher than normal acid content in his tummy, and my vet didn't want to risk it. (Oscar's troubles turned out to be IBD, but the vet kept him on Pepcid AC as a preventive measure.) Hope Mattie is felling better soon. Laurie and Oscar |
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