Sunday, May 27, 2012

Lily Saga Continues

This poor dog, if it is not one thing it is another.

 Late last month she developed a bladder infection and appeared to be stumbling a bit as she galloped along on 3 legs. Vet thought she was stumbling from the pain of the bladder infection and antibiotics were prescribed.   Unfortunately they prescribed the one she can not have, Baytril, which is the most common treatment for this.  Fortunately, we caught it, and they switched her to Clavamox for a week.  She seemed fine after treatment but still a bit unsure on her feet, especially in the right leg.

Mid-May she continued to stumble along, so back to the vet she went.  Another test of the bladder showed the infection still raged on.  It took another 4-5 days to get the culture back and a course of antibiotics set.  May 18th they upped the Clavamox dosage and lengthened it to 2 weeks.

By the evening of May 23rd she could not use her back legs.  The Husband was out of town on business so I got a neighbor to help me get her in the Jeep.  Several x-rays later the Vet can find nothing but a moderate case of arthritis in her spine and limbs.  After an injection of Adequan and an extra shot for today, off we went, waiting for the course of antibiotics to finish (this coming Friday) and waiting to hear from the Orthopedic specialist.  She will also have 3 weeks of twice weekly injections of the Adequan.

She has almost no use of her back right leg and her left back is a fraction better, but no load bearing on either.  No walking without significant help from Mom and Dad ( and she is still a 90lb load, Mom's back may give out before Lily!).  I have started some massage and physical therapy, and we are trying to get her to move around more.

She is happy, eating and doing her "business" as best she can outside.

We just don't know what is wrong.

And on top of it all the A/C went out last night!  Today it is suppose to be 90 today, with a real feel of 103.  Luckily we were able to get someone out early this morning and after 2 hours it is finally up and running.  We need a new system, but can't afford it at the moment, so hopefully this one will limp along through the summer.

The coolest spot this morning was the backyard.  I tried to keep Lily in the shade and used wet towels to keep her cool.




I can't say that she really appreciated my efforts!

If anyone has had a similar experience as we are going through I would love to know your thoughts of what might be going on.  This being a holiday weekend here in the States we don't expect to hear from the specialist until Tuesday at the earliest.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and take time to remember those that gave everything in the line of duty.



19 comments:

  1. Oh no! Lily! I am so sorry to hear that you are struggling. Please get better soon.

    Slobbers,
    Mango

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  2. I am so sorry I can't help as I too have no idea why this is happening. Paws crossed you get things sorted. Our thoughts are with you. If you get an idea what it could be and need me to do some research from across the pond , just ask. Take care!
    Best wishes Molly

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  3. Oh poor Lily, sorry but we can't offer you anything except extra hugs and smoochies. We hope you are feeling better real soon!! We haven't had any bladder infection problems before so don't know anything about them. Take care sweetie. No worries, and love, Stella and Rory

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  4. Poor Lily and poor you:( I think you've both gone through enough and it's about time things went right permanently for Lily. Wish I could help but I can't with either the bladder or legs. I hope you find out what is wrong so you can get it fixed. At least Lily isn't too down about things, I know I would be!

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  5. Poor Lily. Mango and Dexter sent us over. We're sending you our most powerful healing vibes, girl. Hope you are on the mend soon. Keep cool!

    XXXOOO Daisy, Bella & Roxy

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  6. :( Just hopping over from Mango and Dexter... I wish I had some advice or experience that I could throw your way but we're sending lots of our good luck your way instead. It looks as though she's in good hands, and towels!

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  7. I wish I had some helpful advice - we will be keeping Lily in our prayers and thoughts.

    Sam

    (Visiting from Mango and Dexter)

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  8. Mango sent us... my dearly departed JRT had similar symptoms, and it turned out he was having spinal cord strokes. If we can be of any assistance, you can find me - the human - at http://chanknits.wordpress.com

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  9. I couldn't tell from your post where you are located, but I had such wonderful success and experiences with http://landauvet.com/ he does make house calls and he uses chinese herbs and acupunture. He is the one who helped Delilah when she was having issues.

    I hope you find something that helps your Lily.

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  10. We just came from Mango's blog. We're sending you lots of AireZen, Miss Lily. You sure didn't need this latest problem.

    Love ya lots,
    Mitch and Molly

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  11. We are stopping over from Mango's blog to offer some drool for Miss Lily. We have not experienced exactly what you have been going through. But we did do chiropractor adjustments our our basset hound for a few months before Cancer took her life way to early. I could see something like this helping Lily since she is balancing so much weight around on 3 legs. You might see if their is a canine chiroproacter near you that might help out. We also did the chinese herbs as well and they helped our basset hound. Keeping you in our thoughts and prayers and wishing you the best in finding Lily some relief. Sniffs, The Hounddogs and Mom

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  12. All we can do is offer prayers for your healing, Miss Lily. You are a beautiful rottie and we hope that things start improving quickly for you.

    Jo, Stella and Zkhat

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  13. Hi Lily - we are also stopping by from Mango's blog and do agree with chiropractic care. This might help because the stress of only having three legs could be giving her spine ouchies. Having some regular adjustments could alleviate this issue untill you grow stronger.

    My buddy Apollo had spine issues (wobblers) and during bad times we had steroids that helped the back ouchies and gave his control of his rear end again. If we had a bad episode we would have a shot and pills but them weaned off as he got better.

    Wags,

    Maxine

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  14. Hi Lily!

    Mango sent us. Nice to meet another southern pup! We're sorry to hear about your bladder infections and your back issues. Droopy had something similar with the back issue but it only lasted a day or two. We discovered bone spurs in Droopy's back. We are sending you healing basset drool!!

    Slobbers,
    The CheeseHounds

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  15. We just came by from Mango's blog. Sorry we can't give you any advice but our very best wishes for a speedy recovery.

    take care
    Clive & Murray

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  16. Oh Lily!! We sent mom out of town last weekend, and we return to this!! We sort of agree with the bassetts, though. It makes sense that you could have a pinched nerve or something from doing the tri-pod walk. As you know, I, Bart, am a big proponent of acupuncture. It helped my pinched nerve in my neck a lot. I like acupuncture. Last time mom pulled up to the vet, I pulled her inside!! Keep us posted on how you're doing.

    -Bart and Ruby

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  17. Oh Lily! Have you asked for advice at the Tripawds forums? I've found them to be incredibly helpful.

    For the sake of your mom's back, she should think about getting this kind of harness for you: http://helpemup.com/

    My vet highly recommends it, and wants me to get one in case my K gets any complications like yours.

    All paws are crossed for you here. I hope that you feel better soon.

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  18. We just visited Mango's Page. We wanted to visit you and tell you we are thinking about you and hoping you get better soon. We will be sending lots of well wishes to you everyday. Feel better soon. ~Weinerful Gang~

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  19. Our prayers are with you and Lily. Four sets of four paws are crossed!

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