Scruffy's been sick

[Connie]

My little Scruffy has made several trips to the vet for blood work and numerous other tests in the past few months for what the doctor thinks is a liver aliment. She isn't sure what's causing it but the liver enzymes in his blood are way off the charts. For now, Scruffy is on a med called SAM e (S-adenosylmethione) that he's taking by mouth every 24 hours for 30 days. After the 30 days he will get another blood test to look at the liver enzymes again.

The vet told me Scruffy would need xrays, ultrasounds and possibly surgery to pin point the problem. This is more than I can bare financially along with my my husband's diagnosis of an incurable cancer. So, I have entered Scruffy in a photo contest with a picture my daughter took this summer. We would greatly appreciate it if all our members and guests would vote for Scruffy everyday to win so I can pay the vet bills and everything else we are struggling with now.

Thank you for caring

Here's the link to vote for Scruffy

www.cutestdogcompetition.com/vote.cfm?h=B7A288174A8870E78C5B96F6322623FC

[Connie]

Well Scruffy's been on his meds for almost a month now!

He seems to be doing OK, except for a bout of vomiting this morning. Just 6 more days on the med. SAM e and I'll take him to the vets for his 3rd blood test.

Everyone cross your fingers and say a prayer that Scruffy's test shows normal this time with no liver problems.

Please continue to vote for Scruffy each day on the above link

Thanks Everyone ;D

[Connie]

Last Week to Vote for Scruffy! The contest ends @ Midnight ET this Sunday 10/25/2009 So Please Vote for him each day to Win! This would really help to pay the Vet Bills! Weekly winners receive $500.

Please Use this Link to Vote! Scruffy Thanks You!

www.cutestdogcompetition.com/vote.cfm?h=B7A288174A8870E78C5B96F6322623FC

[Connie]

Scruffy went to the vet Wed. evening for his blood test after fasting for 12 hours, eating, then 2 hours later having his blood drawn.

It's Sunday, and I still haven't heard back about the results. Our vet hospital is open 7 days a week from 7 AM to 8 PM closing at 1:00 PM on Sunday.

They are doing a Bile Acid and Chemistry Screen that can take anywhere from 24 to 48 hours for the results.... so I'm confused as to why I haven't heard anything yet? I'm going to call them tomorrow to see what the hold up is. I just pray the news is good for Scruffy!

Please keep Scruffy in your prayers and give him a hug by going to the link below.

www.cutestdogcompetition.com/vote.cfm?h=B7A288174A8870E78C5B96F6322623FC

Thank you for caring about Scruffy

[Connie]

OK... the results from this test finally came back.... but not good news to report. Scruffy was scheduled for an ultrasound which didn't really show anything, so his doctor wanted to do a biopsy that would cost me $500 to $600 dollars to do. OMGosh! What next!

While I was at the vets waiting for his ultrasound to be done, I read an article in one of the dog magazines they had on a table. I came across an article about diseases in older dogs and one of them caught my eye because the symptoms described were Scruffy's! The article I read was about Cushings Disease in dogs (similar to humans). I asked the doctor if they could do the blood tests required to see if this could be what's ailing Scruffy. The doctor agreed but Scruffy had to stay till evening so they could run a series of blood tests called Dexeamethasone Suppresion that would cost me $148.00 versus the $600. for the biopsy which he may still need.

So, here I am....... playing the waiting game again with no answers on this last test. I've called but I need to talk to Scruffy's doctor to get the results..... but.... she's never available. I'm at my wits end, this is getting old quickly. Why can't the doctor just call me with the results?

[Connie]

I finally got the results back from Scruffy's most recent blood tests. The results are not good!

My poor little Scruffy does have Cushings Disease after all. Rather than writing a long explanation of what this disease can do to a dog, I decided to include a link from the Washington State University, College of Veterinary Medicine.

The link talks about causes, etc.

www.vetmed.wsu.edu/ClientEd/cushings.aspx

Here's another link I ran across that describes the disease and treatments. This site mentions the the drugs recommended to treat Cushings.

dogpro.com/cushings-disease-in-dogs.html

So far, no medication has been prescribed for Scruffy for his Cushings. His doctor is going to do research on the effects of Anipryl (the safer drug) versus Lysodren (the more aggressive drug). My vote is for Anipryl but his doctor says that studies show it has No effect at all with Cushings. Read the differences for yourself by going to the link above.