Another Finn Update

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worriedparents
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Re: Another Finn Update

Post by worriedparents » 18 Oct 2018, 09:44

Another night of sleeping soundly. We put more drops in his ears but otherwise haven't given him another dose of Reactine or tried the Apoquel. Really, it's just fear holding us back. Our vet is not in the office today.

He's acting normally again, except maybe a little more quiet/tired. Only shaking his head after the drops. We think his ears and skin are a little more pink instead of red, so that's good. He ate turkey again this morning instead of chicken and was really hungry.

He got a walk at 5 am and was sniffing the leaves in the gutter. He loves to bury his nose in leaf piles. So far, it that didn't seem to affect him. It would be nice if this subsides without more oral meds, and with just the Benadryl leaving his system.
Adopted Finn 4 years ago. He's 7 maybe 8 years old? Reoccurring diarrhea, picky eater and loss of appetite from day 1. Low B12 causing hind-end weakness in July 2017. B12 injections didn't help his appetite, diarrhea or energy like we thought they should have. I found this wonderful forum and learned about EPI, which he doesn’t have, and SIBO/SID which he does have. On Tylosin and B12 pills with intrinsic factor long-term. Blood clot in his left femoral artery in July 2018, which Clopidogrel and Xareltro helped clear up, also long-term. Latest problems since fall 2018 are food sensitivities and (misdiagnosed) UTI causing incontinence.

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Kodis Mom
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Re: Another Finn Update

Post by Kodis Mom » 18 Oct 2018, 10:38

Glad to hear Finn had a better night. I have been following this post. My girl has environmental allergies and its a constant challenge. I totally understand your frustration. After many episodes,her routine now is Apoquel when needed, Zymox in ears, for 3-5 days when the head shakes start . We rinse her paws alot as seed grassses is one of her worst! She also is allergic to chicken. Hopefully you are on the right path...it causes us lack of sleep for sure ! You are doing a great job working through this.....just know you are not alone.
Kodi
B. 8/19/2010 Diagnosed at 11 months.
Kodi is now on Natures Logic turkey and/or pork kibble, 2 cups with 2 teaspoons of enzymes, 1/8 teaspoon of ground coriander, 1/16 teaspoon of cinnamon and ground fennel seed (for tummy upsets) twice a day, plus one one B12 capsule from Wonderlabs. She has been very stable and on occasion needs a dose ofTylan.
She is our second GSD with EPI. It was not so scary this time ! And thank goodness for epi4dogs.com ! 💝 Kodi passed on August 25, 2023 just after her 13th birthday.💝 Forever grateful to Olesia and epi4dogs. She live a long and adventurous life with EPI.

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worriedparents
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Re: Another Finn Update

Post by worriedparents » 18 Oct 2018, 12:49

Thanks everyone. The allergy info is helpful. So I don't confuse anyone further I realized Zrytec and Reactine are the same thing, both Cetirizine. It's called Reactine in Canada. His new ear drops are ProOticHC, with hydrocortisone. We regularly clean his ears with ProOtic ear solution minus the HC (ethanol, lactic acid, benzoic acid and salicylic acid) because he does get gunky ears and when we adopted him he had an ear infection. Since cleaning them regularly, he's not had any infections. Increased allergies may change that.

I keep checking out the redness of his skin/ears and it maybe getting a little more pronounced so I think I'll give him a couple more Zrytec today.

He dribbled a bit of urine on himself when laying down today and he did that a few weeks ago too. Checking out his kidneys or for UTI are also on the to-do list. Finn is our first dog, so we jumped into a deep end of the pool with everything he's dealt with and we've had to learn about. Thanks for everyone's help and encouragement.

Never thought I'd be eager for winter to arrive. No wonder Finn loves it so much!
Adopted Finn 4 years ago. He's 7 maybe 8 years old? Reoccurring diarrhea, picky eater and loss of appetite from day 1. Low B12 causing hind-end weakness in July 2017. B12 injections didn't help his appetite, diarrhea or energy like we thought they should have. I found this wonderful forum and learned about EPI, which he doesn’t have, and SIBO/SID which he does have. On Tylosin and B12 pills with intrinsic factor long-term. Blood clot in his left femoral artery in July 2018, which Clopidogrel and Xareltro helped clear up, also long-term. Latest problems since fall 2018 are food sensitivities and (misdiagnosed) UTI causing incontinence.

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worriedparents
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Re: Another Finn Update

Post by worriedparents » 18 Oct 2018, 19:19

Another new problem: Incontinence.

He urinated on his dog bed this afternoon during his nap. Soaked it quite a bit. He was licking himself and that's how I noticed he and the bed were wet. I got him to go outside and saw he peed out there too. I wiped him down with a damp cloth and and dried him off with a hair dryer. Thought he seemed dry and he got up and he's wet again and licking himself.

He's been drinking a lot more water during this allergy flare up, but not as much today because things has settled down again. The increased water consumption is new, because I mostly worried he doesn't drink enough water. And I think he holds it in too long. He's been hesitant to go outside in our backyard most of the summer without a lot of coaxing. We have a neighbor dog who is a snappy growler, who Finn can't see but knows is that and he doesn't like that dog and it's outside most of the time. So, not making frequent trips outside, doesn't really fit with a long standing UTI does it?

He did the same thing a few weeks ago. Dribbled urine on himself and then later peed while sleeping. We were going to get him checked out and then I got sick. He didn't do it again so thought he was ok, until now. Everything is snowballing all at once.
Adopted Finn 4 years ago. He's 7 maybe 8 years old? Reoccurring diarrhea, picky eater and loss of appetite from day 1. Low B12 causing hind-end weakness in July 2017. B12 injections didn't help his appetite, diarrhea or energy like we thought they should have. I found this wonderful forum and learned about EPI, which he doesn’t have, and SIBO/SID which he does have. On Tylosin and B12 pills with intrinsic factor long-term. Blood clot in his left femoral artery in July 2018, which Clopidogrel and Xareltro helped clear up, also long-term. Latest problems since fall 2018 are food sensitivities and (misdiagnosed) UTI causing incontinence.

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Olesia711
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Re: Another Finn Update

Post by Olesia711 » 21 Oct 2018, 11:19

Maybe this is related to too much medicine????
Definitely contact the vet ........................
Olesia, was owned by Izzy, a 35lb Spanish Water Dog (SWD), Diagnosed at 1.5 years old - TLI results 1.. Izzy passed away on February 13, 2020 at 15 years old. She lived with EPI for 13+1/2 years. It was because of Izzy that Epi4Dogs was started... she was the inspiration. May her legacy of helping others with EPI continue for as long as needed.........

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worriedparents
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Re: Another Finn Update

Post by worriedparents » 21 Oct 2018, 14:34

My husband is hoping that is the case.

His allergic reaction is resolved, whatever it was. He got 2 doses of Zyrtec and was greatly improved after only one dose. Only a few tiny wounds remain in his ears and those are healing over.

The incontinence remains unfortunately. Not as much as the one night I wrote about but he is still dribbling urine on himself and on the floor, especially when he naps. I think dribbling on himself has been a problem for a while but unless we felt his legs we didn’t notice, because it’s was a large amount and he fur soaks a lot of it up. Plus he increased his water intake greatly during the allergic reaction, which has subsided again.

We took him in to the emerge clinic that night, because it was quicker and easier to get an appointment than with our regular vet the next day. We are waiting for blood and urinalysis results. If those come back ok, I’ve been doing some reading and wonder if it’s Urethral Sphincter Mechanism Incompetence (USMI), which is more common in females than males but also more common in large/giant breeds and it primarily happens when he’s sleeping. Or a problem with his spine, which the neurologist questioned both times we’ve seen her.

He’s having more trouble getting up and down in his hips. Glucosamine upset his stomach, so we were giving him Turmeric and that did seem to help. However we stopped it when he went on the anticoagulants. Most alternatives I’ve looked at, as well as so many other drugs or supplements can interact with the drugs he’s on. We were also giving him CBD oil very sporadically (kept forgetting about it) so not sure if it would help or not. The vet we saw at the Emerge clinic was very set against CBD oil and said with great confidence that was causing his incontinence. I don’t agree, considering he still has the problem and is getting it. He also said he heard a heart murmur when 2 separate vets on 2 previous days, didn’t mention hearing one. So, lets hope not.
Adopted Finn 4 years ago. He's 7 maybe 8 years old? Reoccurring diarrhea, picky eater and loss of appetite from day 1. Low B12 causing hind-end weakness in July 2017. B12 injections didn't help his appetite, diarrhea or energy like we thought they should have. I found this wonderful forum and learned about EPI, which he doesn’t have, and SIBO/SID which he does have. On Tylosin and B12 pills with intrinsic factor long-term. Blood clot in his left femoral artery in July 2018, which Clopidogrel and Xareltro helped clear up, also long-term. Latest problems since fall 2018 are food sensitivities and (misdiagnosed) UTI causing incontinence.

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worriedparents
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Re: Another Finn Update

Post by worriedparents » 21 Oct 2018, 14:53

Meant to say he's still having incontinence without getting cbd.
Adopted Finn 4 years ago. He's 7 maybe 8 years old? Reoccurring diarrhea, picky eater and loss of appetite from day 1. Low B12 causing hind-end weakness in July 2017. B12 injections didn't help his appetite, diarrhea or energy like we thought they should have. I found this wonderful forum and learned about EPI, which he doesn’t have, and SIBO/SID which he does have. On Tylosin and B12 pills with intrinsic factor long-term. Blood clot in his left femoral artery in July 2018, which Clopidogrel and Xareltro helped clear up, also long-term. Latest problems since fall 2018 are food sensitivities and (misdiagnosed) UTI causing incontinence.

Barb
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Re: Another Finn Update

Post by Barb » 22 Oct 2018, 14:50

You and Finn have been hit hard with so many things. Let us know when you get the results of the tests.
Hang in there. You are doing a great job.

Barb

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Madelon
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Re: Another Finn Update

Post by Madelon » 24 Oct 2018, 14:18

Boy you sure did jump into the deep end with Finn. Glad he's got you though - it sounds like he's got some great parents. I can't remember if I mentioned this or not and not sure if it's even available in Canada but when Doc was so plagued with hot spots, pyoderma, fistulas, ear infections I did the NutriScan food sensitivity test and then also did a blood environmental test. I've been able to stay on top of things using Zyrtec, Duoxo Chlorhexadine shampoo, Chlorhexadine spray and Zymox.

Let us know when you get the blood/urine test results back.
Madelon, owned by DOC. DOC dx EPI 5/2015 = TLI < .4, B12 406; Folate >24. DOC taught me so much and together we battled and overcame EPI, food sensitivies, environmental allergies but we lost the cancer battle. DOC was dx with hemangiosarcoma 5/2022 and crossed the rainbow bridge July 24, 2022. He is and always will be the love of my life, my soulmate, my heart dog.

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Jean
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Pet name: Kara, lost 10th May 2019
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Re: Another Finn Update

Post by Jean » 25 Oct 2018, 04:34

you poor love

i have a girl with all kinds of intollerances

and yes, we have the ears issue, and metatarsol fistulas, mostly when her EPI is less than stable

has he been tested for stones in the bladder ?

and the hip thing too

Jeanx
My name is Jean we live in Liverpool in Uk

I am the Forum Director which I am very proud of

My Kara born 21 July 2009 diagnosed with EPI by cTLI test August 2010 TLI = <1...folate 14 Cobalamin 408, shot down to 94, b12 injections every other day

Lowest weight 39 pounds

We used Panzym enzymes, Tylan and Chemeyes b12 capsules

Sadly, on 10th May 2019, we lost her to DM


Jeanx

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