Snow

No Shaky Legs!!!

🥳🥳🥳🥳Because it is so heartwarming to see him happy and enjoying life again. Here is an encore. 🥳🥳🥳🥳 🥳🥳🥳And he is 55 days seizure free!!!🥳🥳🥳 Dr. Berk, are you reading this?

Snow is killing it!

Day #28 of #Amoxicillin and #Doxycycline #Therapie: And he is making continuous progress. I am absolutely ecstatic and glad that we have found ways to treat these nasty pathogens the right way. Thank you Olaf for the great present. Snow loved it. Day #25 of #Amoxicillin and #Doxycyclene #Therapy: Snow's #current symptoms are: ( ❗️= still prevalent, ✅ = cleared, 〽️ = off and on again) - Sore throat ✅ (observed, difficulty swallowing, extending neck to swallow) - Nasal Discharge, clear ✅ (observed constant clear drops and constant licking off, if I don't force water him, his nose and mouth gets dry) - Yawning 〽️(observed wide yawning like clearing pressure in his ear canal or general pain) - Sneezing 〽️ (observed off and on forcing air out of nostrils, like a sneeze, like trying to get something out) - Reverse sneezing ✅ (observed, like a child that is trying to catch air after a long period of crying) - Snoring 〽️ - Difficulty breathing through nose 〽️(observed opening mouth to breath constantly, even when sleeping, and breathing through nose is very loud when asleep until he wakes up and starts panting to catch enough air) - Open mouth breathing 〽️ - Stridor ✅ (observed and heard grunting sound made when exhaling) - Teeth chattering ✅(observed mainly when sleeping) - Facial pruritus (itching) 〽️ (observed frequent scratching in the facial region and mouth, several time a day) - Jaw scratching 〽️ (observed about 5-8 times per day) - Head twitches✅(not visible but felt when his head rests on my lap) - Head shaking ✅(observed frequent shaking of head with no apparent otitis externa, ears are cleaned frequently) - Curled up resting position ✅(observed constantly, the tighter the better it seems, with grunting noise when re-positioning and with one of his front legs always under the chest) - Sore paws❗️(observed tenderness when walking, reluctance to walk on rough surfaces, walking on egg shells) - Joint pain ❗️(observed licking and gnawing at joints, elbows, kn

John Snow - Night’s Watch Guard

#Day #18 of #Amoxicillin & #Doxycycline Therapy: Snow is now on a #combination #therapy, the first one that worked without #GI or #seizure #complications. I added Doxycycline on the 15th of March to Amoxicillin and he is doing fantastic (relative to onset of symptoms in May 2018) His gait improved even more on day 4 of this combination treatment. 🎉🎉🎉 In addition we have to continue weekly #Imidocarb injections low dose for 4 weeks. He received his 5th injection on the 20th of March, and will now receive 3 more each Friday. He is also receiving Zylexis to boost his immune system, vitamin B Complex OP, and vitamin B12 injections SC. Unfortunately, blood tests are not possible to get done at the vet office at the moment due to COVID 19. I would only take him there for an emergency, therefore, I am flying blind and have to adjust medication based on demeanor, symptoms, and wellbeing. It would be nice to have the whole picture. Just to recap. I started treating Snow on January 3. 2020, since then Snow has made great improvements. He went from getting ready to leave us, to ... well ... you can watch the video. We had lot of failed treatments and misdiagnosis until I sent in serum to a specialty lab mid December 2019. Since then I have took up on myself the responsibility of treatment therapies regarding the vector borne diseases. Dr. Berk is still our seizure angel and Dr. Anastas is supporting my chosen therapy plan. 😤😤😤It has been a hard road, one full of setbacks, but one that I would always travel again, because now I know how I can make difference in my dog’s life who is still alive regardless of how many vector borne diseases he has. 🥰🥰🥰 #Anaplasma, #Babesia, #Borrelia, #Bartonella, #Rickettsia, #Leishmania

Snow& The Long Road of Recovery

💪Amoxicillin Therapy Day #8:💪 I am as happy as an elephant in a china store. Snow has had his ups and downs. We had treated with various antibiotics, starting with Doxycycline in March 2019, no improvement during nor after 30 days. For some reason, our vet came up with the great idea to try another round of Doxycycline, because the first round worked so well. 🙈 Needles to say, it was an epic failure. The third round I just plainly pretended to give him Doxycycline and did my own thing (this was then in January 2020 with a different vet after the other one gave us Doxy again) 🥺 Snow was back then (before January 2020, i am getting things a bit mixed up chronologically here) getting worse and worse, kept losing weight, couldn’t move, got up with difficulty, was ataxic, seizure frequencies increased, and all other symptoms (too long to list here again, but you can do a search in the posts here) were worsening. Visiting and seeking help from over 30 veterinarians in Germany didn’t get me nor Snow anywhere. It just brought more and more heart aches and frustration, even anger, not to mention the 15000€ I threw in the shredder while seeking answers via veterinarians, yes, even ‘experts’ in the field. I am just glad that I didn’t give up. I kept searching, read research studies, bought and studied veterinary books, joined Lyme disease groups and stayed in close contact with people and professionals who were up for the challenge and willing to support us along this long and winding road of uncertainty. We have learned and grown so much. I have become a expert on vector borne diseases in canines (mainly those pertaining to Snow’s VBDs) and remain in complete shock how little help I received from vets in Germany regarding Lyme disease and coinfections of canines (it doesn’t mean it is any better back home). All the advice I received circled around, 1. Doxycycline is the only therapy, 2. PCR tests are negative so your dog is not infected, 3. You are crazy and imagining th

Running Again

Since Snow had to take a break from Clindamycin after 6 weeks of therapy and we can’t start using it again due to gastrointestinal issues, we are kind of out of options for antimicrobials to treat the vector borne infections. Rifampicin can cross react with Phenobarbital, so it’s not an option. Some of the other recommended abx can cause ligament tears, so those are out as well. Doxycycline has been used before and has shown no improvement on any of the symptoms in the long list of symptoms posted a while back, so it’s also not an option. Left with a somewhat safe abx, Amoxicillin, I started treating him Thursday the 5th of March. And here are the results. I am just so glad to have bought the infectious disease textbook by Greene 4th Edition. Look at this progress and improvements he has made. One step at a time. It is a very lonely and hard road, but so rewarding. ❤️ I can’t believe that I had almost given up on you Snowzy Bear. ❤️ More videos in comments.

I have no more words. He can barely stay upright and keep himself on his feet.

Day #10 after 3rd Imidocarb Shot: We have picked up the chemotherapy with Clindamycin after a 2 week break due to minor gastrointestinal issues after a 6 week abx treatment. Starting again with a low dose and will try to add Cotrim in a low dose in a few days. Today is another shot of Zylexis to be repeated for 3 days every 2 days. Another Imidocarb therapeutic dose was due this past Monday, but Snow wasn’t feeling well, so that is scheduled for tomorrow. His clinical picture is looking better. He is less ataxic, has a bit more energy and is showing general but slow improvement. We have an appointment on Monday the 2nd of March to follow up on his heart valve insufficiencies and to rule out endocarditis and an Atrioventricular Block so that we can start with a broader spectrum abx to get some of the blood parasites not covered by Azi/Cotrim. Right now, I would say, that his condition has improved but the prognosis is still uncertain. Keep praying and keep those good vibes coming for Snowzy, it is working. Your support is giving us all strength to continue on. Without all of your assistance our strength to fight the system alone runs out pretty quickly. We are taking it day by day and hoping for the best. Our short walk yesterday showed me that he is doing better and that he has a strong will to live.

We are fighting hard for you, a never-ending uphill battle.

This is what happens when the therapy gets denied to be continued even though it showed improvement while it was being implemented. 😢😢😢 Years of systemic infection will not eradicate pathogens with 2 treatments. I have no choice but to watch him suffer while looking for a vet that is willing to continue the Carbesia therapy. 💔💔💔

Snow has been pretty down since being back from the hospital. But today, he received a present from Jennifer 😘 (human, with the biggest heart ever fighting for her canine infected with VBDs) and Frida😍 (Snow’s virtual canine girlfriend and co-sufferer of vector born diseases). Thank you Jennifer and Frida for lifting Snow’s spirits, even if it is short lived at the moment.

Snowzy is home. An update will be posted as soon as I can compose myself to write coherently. No changes and no news, except that the IV fluids did him some good. 😡

No, it is not panting!!! Snow is struggling to breathe and it’s getting worse by the day. No relief with a lungworm treatment nor with cortisone inhalants. He is not coughing nor are there crackling sounds in the lungs you would expect with a bronchitis. Since this has been going on for a year now, and all the vet visits had been in vain, I strongly believe that it’s a mix of confections that were not properly treated end of August 2019. If you look in the comments section, you will find the results from a tracheal wash and results that came back from the lab. Snow was only treated with Amoxiclav for the bacteria, but he was never treated for the Aureobasidium pullulans land which has probably spread from the nose to the lungs. I know that this is just a hypothesis, but a quite valid one, I would say, considering that his breathing has been getting worse. Maybe some skilled vet can look over this and give me an opinion, because I am out of options with numerous vet visits and no proper treatment plan. And now, I am not putting him under to do a third nasal and chest exploration or to do another tracheal wash.

Snowzy is 16 days GM seizure free. He is having light focal seizure a few times a day while resting, but we are ignoring those at the moment. We had a great visit with Dr. Benny yesterday. Keeping Levetiracetam and Pexion at current dosage until we have a longer seizure control. Phenobarbital has already reached therapeutic levels at 60mg PO q12h. We are still waiting for other bloodwork from the lab 🧪. Snow still has cognitive issue, but it’s getting better. Here, he became afraid of a tree trunk. First he ran away from it and barked at it. After I coached him back to it, the spookiness was over. ❤️❤️❤️