Energy levels up, gait stable, ...
Only a quick update since things have been pretty hectic with med school, work, and life.
Snow is doing much better since he is being treated for hypoadrenocortisism and hypothyroidism. Of course, the seizures are still there, but he is back on his feet.
He wasn’t able to walk, was weak, mentally absent, ataxic, dehydrated, hypovolemic, and the list goes on.
His energy level and mental acuity is up 80%. The rest will take a little longer.
‼️ Just a warning to those out there who also have a dog with vector borne diseases. Do not believe that months and years of antibiotics are going to cure or rid the symptoms your dog is having, as the majority of the symptoms are secondary to the chronic infections and require early supplemention. You need to pay attention to the adrenal glands, thyroid, pancreas, gallbladder, liver, kidneys, heart, and the vascular system. Your main focus should be on the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axes as everything is impacted by the hormones produced there. You should start hormone replacement early, don’t wait for bloodwork to confirm it, especially if you have symptoms, start L-Thyroxine empirically if necessary. The second most effected gland are the adrenals, and generally hypoadrenocortisism. Don’t wait for and Addisonian crisis, it’s a killer, quite literally. Again, I wish I would have tried earlier to supplement glucocorticoids for the low cortisol (never showed up too low on the tests) since he had clear symptoms- missed by all who tried to help until Snow crashed. ‼️
Another warning‼️ You have a dog on phenobarbital, pay extra attention to my warning above. We are unfortunately bound to give Snow phenobarbital because it is the best fir his seizure control, but it also accelerates certain endocrine malfunctions, especially in combination with chronic infection. Physiological replacement of cortisol, aldosterone, and levothyroxine could be the gamechanger, even if the labs don’t support it, an impr
No antibiotics and he is having seizures again more frequently. 😭We almost broke the 160 day milestone seizure free, then he had 2 seizures in a 24 hour period and today one again. Followed up with Diazapam, phenobarbital and Levetiracetam which was due in 2 hours anyway. Now we are hoping that nothing follows. 💪
#Day #10 of #Clindamycin #Therapie:
We took a little longer #break #from #abx therapy and didn’t want to start again before #symptoms were #visible. And so they came back on the 12th of April. Because of the particular symptoms, we #switched #back to #Clindamycin and will most likely #rotate between this single therapy and #amoxicillin and #doxycycline combination therapy #every #two #weeks or when symptoms appear again.
He is still receiving #imidocarb therapies once a week. He received his last one on the 13th of April which was #8. After each imidocarb treatment his health seems to be improving.
We had a great visit with Dr. Berk on the 15th of April. He did some blood work, and as soon as I have them I will post them. I think it’s about time that the chemistry picture also improves.
And here is the newest video. I just love watching him regain his love for life. 😍😍😍
Taking a 2 day break from abx therapy. 😍🥳
Day #32 #Amoxicillin and #Doxycycline #Therapy:
We had reached a standstill with lower dosages. Amoxicillin was increased today, not yet at max dosage. Just 12 hours of increased dosage today, and he is doing better. Doxycycline will remain at its previous dosage. I am trying to avoid triggering seizures. If we have no seizures on the next three days, Doxycycline will be increased as well. Cross you fingers for Snowzy.
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
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. Yo
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.
Update from 2. March until 5. March:
Snow had been getting progressively worse in regards to his #gait and #stance #steadiness. His feet are #slipping away from under him and he can at time #barely #get #up. It almost looks as if the anti epileptic drugs may be causing this, but I would rule this theory out because it has been ever so slightly visible for the past 7-8 months. It has progressed faster to this point since December 2019.
His right hind #foot is also #swollen and has gotten worse in the past 3 weeks. It doesn’t radiate heat nor is it painful. I would venture to guess that it’s an #oedema.
More videos in the comments section.