Another Problem to Add to the List

I didn't post the last couple of days, because things were up and down a lot, and I'm trying to resist whining immediately about it ... I have to get used to the bad days, and not just focus on the good days.

Anyway, Friday we went for another acupuncture appointment. That morning he looked especially good, and he acted in a lot of ways that he hadn't acted in a while. Too many little details that wouldn't make sense to many outsiders, but to me, it was a big surprise and a big step in the right direction.

While he was getting acupuncture I discussed his heart condition with the vet. The night before he had been laying on his side when I noticed that a patch of his fur was pulsating. At first I couldn't really believe it, but then it dawned on me that his heart was beating and it was visible through his fur, about a 3 by 3 patch of fur. When I had received the original diagnosis of his cancer, I was also made aware that he had an enlarged heart. Not just a little, but huge. It takes up all of his upper portion of his chest cavity. The original vet had told me not to worry too much about it, and meds weren't needed, and she wasn't even sure if it was all heart, or whether the tumors were part of the image, or whether it was the heart sac ... Anyway, seeing his fur move rapidly I felt like I was staring at a time bomb. I discussed it with the holistic vet and she put him on Bio Cardio immediately. Bio Cardio consists of Hawthorne Berry, which has been known to improve the contractions of the heart muscle and improve heart health. It can be used for a variety of heart diseases. The holistic vet was also surprised I hadn't mentioned it before, and told me that his weakness could very well be from his heart condition. I felt like an ass. I had double-checked with the other vet the night of the initial diagnosis, just to make sure I didn't have to worry --- but now I felt like a neglectful mother.

After we got home, the same thing happened that had happened last time - he crashed from the acupuncture. This time I was at least prepared. The holistic vet checked in with us later, and she said not to worry, but she was surprised how sensitive of a pooch he was. Well, he'd always been like that. Whatever could go wrong, usually does, and usually to a magnified degree. At least this time it only lasted 18 hours.

I guess I should be grateful, because overall he's doing okay. But I can't. Not today. Little things are creeping up and they all add to the big picture, which is not pretty. There are those good days, when I completely forget about what's going on and what our future is going to look like. And then those bad days hit, and I grieve all over again. I must be in denial. I don't know. But I do know that I can't imagine my life without him. And it hurts like hell when I think about that I'll be left behind...

The First Three Weeks - Recap

Today is Sparky's 3-week anniversary of his cancer diagnosis and the vet's announcement that he has 2 months left to live. We hopefully get to prove them all wrong! I thought I would recap what I have changed in his life so far, and what our treatment looks like at the moment.

CURRENT COURSE OF TREATMENT (for a 70 lb lab mix):

• 6 cups of food per day
• 50% protein, 25 % veggies, 25 % rice
• 1 capsule Colostrum twice a day (for a healthy GI)
• 1 teaspoon of Pet Dophilus a day (healthy GI)
• 3 capsules of Omega 3, 6, and 9 per day (we've currently stopped this, because of some diarrhea issues)
• 1- 1 1/2 cc Astragalus (immune booster) twice per day
• .75 cc Neoplasene twice per day (minimum dosage for a dog his size, but we're dealing with a sensitive stomach - this dosage will be increased)
• massages (by me) to stimulate and exercise his weakened hind legs
• 5 daily short walks to stimulate and exercise those hind legs
• acupuncture - starting this week on a regular basis, probably 1 or 2 times per week for a month

RECOMMENDED FOODS:

• ground beef
• chicken breasts
• salmon
• sardines (water-based is preferred)
• eggs (2 - 4 eggs, approved by holistic vet)
• brown rice
• squash or zucchini
• carrots (try mashed with some butter - big hit with my pooch)
• yogurt (stay away from the sweetened kind)
• cottage cheese
• wieners (as a treat)
• sliced deli meats (as a treat)
• cheese (use the mild stuff)
• broccoli (but don't feed too much of this, could cause some GI upset)

I think this just about covers it. I'm hoping to see more progress when the acupuncture kicks in. So far it's been a bit rocky, going back and forth quite a bit, but overall I have the impression he's getting better. Last night we had a small breakthrough. We took a little walk at around 7 pm, and out of nowhere, Sparky grabbed his toy out of my hand, and sprinted down the street like a maniac. Not only that, but when I caught up to him we played tug for a good 5 minutes. I ended up chasing him around the driveway and down the street, while he was running around, mouth wide open, looking back to me as if he was smiling. We haven't had a moment like this in weeks, maybe even months. And our morning today started off just as well. He got up and greeted me. It's been a long time since this has happened. Total bliss for both of us.

Day One - Not So Good

It's been an emotional day.

I woke up hoping to see a change in mobility, but besides Sparky being awake and happy to see me, nothing else had changed. I felt he was even slower than yesterday. Our first walk was extremely short and when we came back and I presented him with breakfast, he didn't even want to rise for it. That was it. I took out the Previcox and gave him his usual dosage. I know! But I couldn't stand it. He was suffering quietly and I was not going to be able to handle knowing that I held the key to his comfort. I'm hoping to get off the Previcox again tomorrow, or the day after, if he starts feeling a bit stronger.

After breakfast I went to work, and of course did nothing but research Neoplasene and Acupuncture. Like I said, I am not a big believer in holistic care and I feel I'm grasping at any straws, regardless of how small they might be... okay? Honestly, I don't see a difference from the acupuncture. The vet had told me this wonderful story about this dog that couldn't walk anymore, and she administered her treatment, and voila! he was able to walk out of her office. Nice! Just didn't work for Sparky, did it? I know, she said it would probably take some extra treatments ... I will give her that.

As to the Neoplasene, I'm a little worried too. It seems to be a pretty heavy-duty stuff, and while it does a lot of good, there's a small percentage of canines who it will not work for, and who actually might get quite ill. At this point, because I'm already mopey, I feel that Sparky might belong to that small percentage, which of course isn't fair for me to say - not so early in the game.

I guess my biggest concern and worry today is that he's so slow and lethargic. But the tail wags are still there, and so is the big appetite. I read on the Neoplasene website about Glucosamine Sulfate, which works like a NSAID, but without interfering with the Neoplasene. I sent my vet an email about that, and maybe that's the ticket for us ... I just can't be the cause for his pain - it would kill me. I hope tomorrow is a better day for us.

The Treatment

I currently have a passed-out pooch next to my bed, snoring happily, and dreaming of dog parks and car rides.

Today we went for our first session with the holistic vet. Very nice lady. Her house was right next to the local off-leash dog park, which was a total treat for Sparky, since we never make it over there anymore and he's just not that agile to actually make it worth the trip. Anyway, we met for an hour and unbeknownst to me, she had intended to give him some acupuncture for his hip dysplasia and arthritis. I 've always been skeptical of this type of treatment. I attribute the skepticism to my German upbringing and also the lawyer in me. But the vet was convinced it would do good, and at this point I'm desperate for results. She had observed him and noticed that he was quite slow, and frankly, I have grown so accustomed to it, that I hadn't noticed; not until I saw the other dogs outside the dog park. It actually made me sad, because he used to be such a happy, bouncy boy who'd partake in impromptu chases and things like that.

Anyway, the visit was good. After about 20 min of needles in his back and legs I could tell he was relaxing and enjoying himself. He was less suspicious and actually let her massage his back. We decided on the Neoplasene treatment, which was no surprise to me, since we had talked about it. She praised me for switching him to such a healthy diet, and said that diet alone was gonna work wonders on his immune system and his ability to put up a fight against the cancer. I was never aware how unhealthy commercial dog food is... I'm ashamed that I never looked more closely into what I was feeding my sweetheart. Anyway at this point he's getting:

• canned salmon
• chicken
• cottage cheese
• cheese
• 2 - 4 eggs per day
• rice
• zucchini or squash
• some tuna
• ground beef
• apple or pear
• plain yogurt

Distribution-wise it should be about 50% protein, and 25% veggies/fruit and 25% rice. In addition he gets Omega 3, 6, and 9 ... tho I must say, it's been giving him a little bit of diarrhea, so I will be giving about 1000 mg per day for a while and see if it changes, instead of the 3000 mg he's been getting. From now on he's also getting 0.75 cc Neoplasene twice a day as liquid in this food, as well as 1-2 cc Astragalus. Both fight the cancer, the Astragalus builds a better immune system.

In order to fight any tummy upset that may develop from the Neoplasene, and to kind of mellow out his already existing, mild diarrhea I am also going to add Pet Probiotic (by Jarrow) and Colostrum (1 capsule 2x per day). She thinks that the current mild diarrhea is the result of him having been fed commercial food for all his life, and his body isn't used to the good stuff he's getting now. Besides, my boy always had a somewhat sensitive stomach, so this new stuff might work great for him.

Furthermore, we will continue with the acupuncture on a weekly basis, until we see some results, and then we will probably go down to twice, or maybe just once, per month. Also, the Previcox he's been taking, I am going to try and stop right now. She said to only give him the Previcox if absolutely needed, but it's counteracting the Neoplasene, so the less he gets the better. We may try Arnica later, once he's off the Previcox. Though she feels he might get to a point with the acupuncture, when no Previcox and no Arnica will be needed. That would be awesome.

I feel good. I feel a little relieved. I'm happy that I've been doing a lot of things right already. She was very happy to hear that he's got such a big appetite, and she can tell that there is a very happy, playful pup lurking inside him. I hope all this stuff will work out just fine. She said I should see some changes in mobility tomorrow or the day after. Today, she said, he's most likely going to be wiped-out ... and yup, she sure is right.

I love his feet...

... I'm sure I'm not the first person who is obsessed with their dog and realized that the feet are one of the extremely cute attributes of their beloved housemate. I love them. I'm sure this statement makes me even weirder to the regular people on the street. It clearly can only be appreciated by another dog person :)

Tomorrow is the big day. I'm off and looking forward to meeting the holistic vet. Appointment is at 1 PM. I have made a whole list of questions I need to ask. I'm still confused about the food, and the amount of it, as well as most of the ingredients. I need someone to assure me that I do everything right. Also, I noticed that I will have to stop Sparky's Previcox (for the Arthritis) because apparently NSAIDs and Neoplasene either don't get along, or they negate each other's effect. Not too excited about it, because Sparky's been doing great on the NSAIDs, but at this point it's all about survival, and if Tramadol will do the trick instead, then okay!

Have I mentioned he's eating me out of house and home? LOL. Seriously, he's developed an appetite that is out of this world. Thus I need to talk to her about the food. He's constantly standing by the fridge wanting more chicken, wieners, cottage cheese, eggs, tuna, regular cheese ... whatever, just MORE FOOD. Of course I'm happy to see him this way. It would be much worse if he stopped eating. I'm a little bit worried that the Neoplasene may upset his stomach. He's always had a sensitive stomach, and the Neoplasene may lead to nausea... I would hate to do that to him, especially since he's such a foodie, MY FOODIE.