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Andy, the Wonder Wiener

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  • Andy, the Wonder Wiener

    Andy is a 19 lb doxie almost 7 years old, dx with diabetes in Dec 07.
    He started out on Vetsulin and after about 2 months we switched him to NPH.

    Andy has never been regulated due to allergies and what I now understand is a lack of duration from his insulin. I read Chris's story with interest as he had the same issue. I do not have a schedule that would allow three shots a day so for now we plug along this way.

    He might have better duration if we could ever get his allergies under control. Prior to diabetes his allergies were controlled with prednisone which probably led to the diabetes.

    Currently I home cook for him, chicken breasts, veggies, barley and boiled eggs. He is currently taking 7U of N BID. This varies depending on the current state of his allergies. He has been as high as 8U and as low as 5U.

    Recently his internist recommended a lung flush after x-rays of his lungs showed inflammation. The dx was bronchitis. To date we have not done this as the cost is prohibitive. I will do it as a last resort.

    We just had his teeth cleaned and four teeth extracted. One was infected up through his sinuses. I had no idea his teeth were that bad. The guilt is overwhelming!

    Now to my concern. Andy was sneezing and reverse sneezing so badly before he had his teeth cleaned that I honestly thought I would lose him. The Vet insisted that the teeth cleaning may make a difference, especially if there was infection. There was! For a week or two after the cleaning all seemed well and the sneezing and reverse sneezing all but stopped.

    Now it has started again. Not with the same severity but still causing him to suffer. At times he seems like he is snorting trying to clear his stopped up nose. When sneezing he has a lot of mucous.

    He is currently taking both an anti-fungal and an antibiotic.

    I have a call into his Vet to see what the next step is. I just wonder if any of you have any information about this.

    I home test his BG with an AlphaTrak.
    Last edited by forloveofandy; 06-08-2009, 12:28 PM. Reason: Topic

  • #2
    Re: Andy

    Maybe a silly question but have you ever been able to pin point the cause of Andy's allergies. I know allergies can be hard to track as it could be seasonal, food, pollens or even cleaning products etc.
    Has Andy ever taken anti histamines for the allergies?
    I am a great help aren't I, just more questions sorry.
    Jenny

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    • #3
      Re: Andy

      Hi Anne,

      I'm sorry to hear that the teeth cleaning has not prevented the sneezing from coming back.

      They've cultured the infection to be sure the antibiotic is effective?

      Do they believe there is infection in the lungs or only in the sinuses?

      I often wonder with these persistent infections whether the infection is actually the root cause of the problem. Cushings/diabetes dogs often seem to have miserable incurable skin problems and I suspect in those cases that the infections are actually strictly secondary and some other condition is creating the conditions that allow the bacteria, yeast, etc. to thrive.

      Is he on anti-histamines?

      The other thing is that Chris had a very bad case of old dog lung - essentially noninfective bronchitis. He would sometimes cough a fair amount and a little lasix would clear up the fluid enough to stop the coughing.

      Maybe the sneezing is Andy's version of coughing from chronic, noninfectious bronchitis.

      If that's the case, you might find ways to alleviate it but it could be a chronic condition - not fun but you wouldn't be worried that it was from an infection.

      Does he get any cough suppressant meds or have they ever been tried?

      I guess the upshot of all my meanderings is that I wonder whether the sneezing might be related to bronchitis and/or recurring infections that come from some other cause, like fluid in the lungs from bronchitis and that the way to improve the situation would be, if possible, to improve the other problems, like the bronchitis.

      That's kind of all over the map, but that's what came to mind with Andy.

      Might be a matter of trial and error with meds like theophylline (I think that's the one) and/or something like Lasix. We discovered basically by accident that Lasix helped Chris' cough. It wasn't supposed to but it definitely did. And we needed only a tiny little dose.

      Natalie

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      • #4
        Re: Andy

        Those are great questions. Andy was taking an antihistamine from the Vet but I found that good old benadryl works better. I have been giving him benadryl for the last couple days.

        They did a culture of his nose mucous and identified the bacteria so he should be on the right antibiotic for it. The Vet is probably going to do a followup culture this week to see if the anitbiotic worked. Apparently not???

        They also suspected "Valley Fever" as his symptoms are classic. He has been tested twice for it, both negative.

        I think his allergies are dust and pollen since it is always worse this time of year. It has been windly lately so the dust is kicking up and so are his allergies.

        He does have food allergies also which is why I cook for him. With food allergies his skin will break out. That has not reoccured since his encounter intially with WD. YUK

        He was coughing alot before the teeth cleaning. Now he rarely coughs. It does sound like the primary issue is still there doesn't it? Maybe the teeth issue was making it worse and maybe the allergies are worse because of it but still .....something is underneath it all?

        His lungs have not changed. We have taken xrays twice and there has been no change after several months of meds. I have also been told that once they have a situation in the lungs it can leave scar tissue so that x-rays never look normal. So as long as he is sneezing and reverse sneezing I can reasonably assume something is still there?

        I have to tell you, his nose is stopped up. I know he is trying to breathe through his very long nose and can't. When he sneezes....well lets just say I can pull mucous from his nose. He needs to be on a breathing machine!

        I will ask the vet about the meds you mention here. She is calling me back tomorrow.

        Also it is extremely dry here. I am wondering if a humidifier in our room at night might help.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Andy

          We ran a humidifier for Chris for a while. His coughing was rare and I couldn't tell if it helped but it seems like it could be make things feel better and loosen up the mucus if nothing else.

          I could see where the scarring in the lungs might be enough to generate some mild coughing that would then never go away. If it stays mild, that's not such a big deal.

          Chris never had an infection in his lungs but did have pretty substantial inflammation in the lungs and that was enough to make him cough. It would come and go and when it was more frequent we used the Lasix to knock it back some.

          Theophylline is a bronchodilator. http://www.petplace.com/drug-library...dur/page1.aspx

          As I recall, we didn't use it very long... I think it sped up Chris' already high heart rate as it has some cardiac side effects. But there are others too.

          I've never given a dog a decongestant but that might be possible to clear the mucus out of Andy's nose...

          Is the mucus clear or yellow-green?

          That would be a big indicator of whether there's still infection there.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Andy

            The mucus is clear.

            I may try the humidifier. I am also going to move the hepa filter into our bedroom tonight, see if that helps.

            I thought this was an excellent article on dog allergies.

            http://www.allergicpet.com/dog_allergies.html

            Will post what the Vet says tomorrow.

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            • #7
              Re: Andy

              The fact that the mucus is clear is a really good sign that it's not driven by infection.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Andy

                Welcome Andy!!!
                Marianne and canines: Jasmine( diabetic since 4/10) Puma,Harley,Sebastian,Sophie and cats: Yoda,Sabrina and Cleo. Also Baby Boy (my cockatiel) & Angel Pebbles

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                • #9
                  Re: Andy

                  Oh good, I hope not.

                  Andy went straight to bed immediately after dinner.

                  So I went in, hooked up the humidifier, put all fresh linens on the bed and put the air purifier in there that also emits negative ions.

                  Believe it or not he is laying on the bed listening to classical piano music.

                  I should be so lucky!
                  Oh my way out now to get the electrostatic filters for the AC.

                  You know he makes a honking noise like a goose. If I did not know better I would think he had kennel cough. Another thing he was tested for that came back negative.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Andy

                    Just to say Welcome to you and Andy,
                    You have come to the right place plenty of support thought I would just say hallo.
                    Margaret & Angel Lucy July 4 2001- May 6 2011

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                    • #11
                      Re: Andy

                      Dog's coughs sound more like a honk, huh? I suppose they think ours sounds pretty strange...

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                      • #12
                        Re: Andy

                        LOL! I bet. I think Andy mostly hears....blah blah blah....

                        He slept good last night and his BG was down a little this morning 390 which is horrible but not over 400 like it has been. He will drop down today to about 140 then stay there until about two hours before insulin is due and climb back up sharply. Not rebound, but just runs out of insulin. My theory is that he has to fight harder to stay down with all the other attack going on.

                        Thanks Margaret and I agree with you!

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                        • #13
                          Re: Andy

                          Andy's Vet called. She said keep him on the benadryl. She said I could also use Afrin but only occassionally and not on a regular basis. Also I could flush his nose with saline.

                          She said no decongestants at this time. If the mucous should show color then we need to do a new culture.

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                          • #14
                            Re: Andy

                            Trying something new for Andy to see if I can bring his BG down.
                            I read Chris's case again. Nat, Chris was lucky to have you. He must have been very good natured as well. The story inspired me so this is a scenario I am going to try. I know that Andy only gets 10 hours from N so I can do this with my work schedule and who knows, it might work.

                            5:30 pm he gets dinner and R

                            9:30 pm he gets N and snack

                            7:30 am breakfast and N

                            Still working out the exact dosage. Wish me luck.

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                            • #15
                              Re: Andy

                              A 10-10-4 schedule is a good alternative and one that you can make work when you're not home all day - will be anxious to see how it goes!

                              Chris was as good natured as they come - only nail clipping drove him over an edge. Our boy Jack is much more anxious and high strung than Chris ever was. Very sweet and cute in his own way but definitely a very different dog from Chris. I am one hundred percent certain that Jack would not handle losing his sight well, for example.

                              Andy has sure been through a lot... I hope his cough stays manageable. If it's just a once in a while thing it's something you can learn to live with if you have to. I know you have and are turning over every stone to help him.

                              Natalie

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