Vet visit 5/14/2009

There's good news, then there is bad news.

The good news is that after a week on 10 mg per day of Pred, Janine's ALT is lower, platelets are still normal, and RBC and HCT are coming up, closer to normal than before.

The bad news is that Dr. K. checked out her back, and thinks she has a slow response (proprioceptive defect) in her left rear leg and pain around L2-3. Likely a disk. We did not do any X-rays as she is a very poor surgical candidate right now, anyway. She's already on Pred and can't take any NSAIDS because of her liver, already on SAM-e. So he gave me Tramadol and Robaxin to make her feel better.

He said that although steroids are used to reduce swelling, they also have negative effects on all the other tissues, and even something as simple as her muscle loss could have precipitated the back issue. Hopefully if that's the case she could improve once her muscle builds back up.

My gut feeling is not to try to restrict her activities. She already isn't jumping (her choice) and since her life expectancy is already probably limited, I can't see making her spend it in a crate. I'd rather let her run and be a corgi and if her back goes, it goes, we'll deal with paralysis if we have to. (Probably a better bet than risking her life on surgery but I suppose if her ALT is normal and RBC is back to normal at some point, I might reconsider that.)

Vet visit 4/30/09

Janine had blood drawn again- poor baby, she is getting to hate going to the vet! Most of her numbers were pretty good- a little low on PCV and RBC but platelets normal and ALT only slightly elevated. I told Dr. Kahn she doesn't feel very good, though. We are reducing the Pred to 10 mg BID for a week and then 10 every 24 hrs for another week, then the last check before I leave. (Assuming she doesn't tank again before that- I can usually tell by her lack of color.) If she does then it might be time to try another drug or go back up a bit on the Azathioprine.

She will be happy to be lower on Pred if she can maintain her platelet level. I'll watch her carefully.

Some good news

Janine needed some good news, and recently her DM (degenerative myelopathy) test came in. For Janine this may not be relevant, as she may not survive to the age (8-15) when Pembroke Welsh corgis start showing symptoms of DM, but it is good news all the same.

FORPAWS JANINE JUST IN TIME
JANINE
F WCP
DM Received: 03/25/2009
Processed: 03/27/2009
Test: Degenerative Myelopathy
Results: CARRIER (Heterozygous A/N, Carrier)

Being a carrier may not sound so good, but the genes ( a recessive gene) for DM are very prevalent in Pembroke Welsh corgis, so Carrier status, which means Janine cannot get DM, is wonderful news. A pet dog which is a carrier is no problem whatsoever. A breeding corgi that is a carrier means the breeder needs to be careful selecting a mate. The only breedings that cannot produce a puppy At Risk for DM are breedings to Clear (one parent must be Clear.) However, breeding of Carrier to Carrier would still potentially reduce the number of At Risk dogs in the Pembroke population.

A dog that is At Risk may not get DM. But if you are buying a corgi you should get full disclosure from the breeder about testing and the status of the pup, and if you opt to buy one that has tested "At Risk" (or has not been tested) you should be aware of the possibility that your puppy could develop this disease in late middle age. (As early as 8 if he is a corgi.) Until July 2008 breeders could not test, but they can now, so if they tell you they don't, or they don't need to, run as fast as you can away from that breeder! (Or at the very least insist on having the puppy tested- and the results OFA published- before buying it.) If you need help finding a breeder who does test for DM let me know and I can steer you in the right direction.

Back on Pred, platelets back up

Back on 40 mg a day of Pred (from 5!) Janine's platelets did respond to pred this time and are back to low normal. Blood count is a bit low so she may have had some bleeding while her numbers were low. ALT only slightly elevated. She will stay home this weekend instead of boarding at the vet, but I'll take Teddy so she can't fight with him (Pred makes her grouchy) and can have the run of the house (Teddy can't have the run of the living room.) Linda will take care of Janine and she is a loner anyway- likes to sit outside and in the living room when she can.

and bad news...

Janine's platelets are back to 45,000. Dr. L. wants to increase the pred again and not the Imuran so we're doing that but I'm taking her in Friday morning to make sure it is working before I leave for the weekend. Janine may spend the weekend there at the vet's where she is safe from fights (dangerous with low platelets.) Her RBC was okay. I'm skeptical of the Pred getting her back up to normal but will try it. So she's back up from 5 mg a day to 40! (Since it didn't work before I don't see it working now.)

Good news!

Not about her blood, but I sent Janine's DNA in to OFA to do the DM test and she came back Carrier- so she will NOT get DM. It's so good to know that none of them (except Merlin) will have to go through this horrible disease.

Now we just have to fix whatever is wrong with Janine so she can live a long, healthy life!

Still anemic

I took Janine in for bloodwork this morning because she was looking pale (gums, top of nose) and she was down just a little bit in RBC and HCT. Platelets were normal, though, hooray! So going on with the lower dose of Azathioprine and she has an appointment for Tuesday the 31st (when I'm off.)