What's Up, James? II

[Tex]

Extra rays for the handsome James & some calming rays for worried Mama! Hope everything turns out ok.

[jenfer]

for your boy.

[Doxie Dee]

That happened to a Springer Spaniel of mine and it was a hip joint that was slightly dislocated when he tried to get up from bed. Same yelp in pain, but it went back in place on it's own. So James could have a knee joint that slipped out like doxies do sometimes.

[Alex's Mom]

That happened to a Springer Spaniel of mine and it was a hip joint that was slightly dislocated when he tried to get up from bed. Same yelp in pain, but it went back in place on it's own. So James could have a knee joint that slipped out like doxies do sometimes.

That's interesting!! That's exactly what happens with my left (very arthritic) hip, and the pain is no joke!!! He's still not right, but we have an appt with Laura at 11:30 and I'll update when we get home. I am SO not ready to deal with more chronic illness *sigh*.

[Rae]

Ok James here is your chance to be the hero: be ok or easily treatable, please. No drama, no trauma, no Wonderdoggie-ness....
You can do it!!! Don't hide your hurts from Auntie Laura.
Waiting anxiously for a good update.

[Yolanda]

Sorry to be checking in so late. Hope you can get it figured out soon.

[Alex's Mom]

Well, I knew it had to end sometime *sigh*. Before I went in to see Laura this morning, just for the heck of it I googled "obsessive floor licking dog", and the very first site informed me that while it can be a stress/behaviour thing, it can also be from medical causes including liver disease. James has an enlarged liver, but we've been treating it with meds and low protein diet and it's been working. So I went and looked up liver disease in dogs and BINGO! Found this...

Hepatic Encephalopathy

This is a type of brain dysfunction caused by high levels of ammonia and other toxins in the blood. Ammonia is a byproduct of protein metabolism, and is normally removed from the bloodstream by a healthy liver. When the liver is sick, ammonia accumulates to toxic levels and exerts a poisonous effect on the brain.

Dogs with hepatic encephalopathy develop incoordination, sporadic weakness, disorientation, head-pressing, behavioral changes, drooling, stupor, and mental dullness. Symptoms tend to wax and wane. They become more severe after a high-protein meal. Seizures and coma occur when hepatic encephalopathy is advanced.

Hello! This is exactly what's been happening. So when I went in, I asked Laura about it, and yup, that's what's going on. My James is an ammonia brain *sigh*. The only thing we can figure out is that the dental chews I've been giving him every 3 days or so have tipped the balance. So no more of those, which is a shame cuz he loved them. He's on more meds and we'll just keep an eye on him and hopefully things will rebalance. The other bad news is that his heart murmur is now level 5 (out of 6). However, except for exercise intolerance, he's not showing any real symptoms (yes, he's on meds for that too ). His abdomen is really tender, so Laura didn't do the chiro (she checked his hind end and it wasn't too bad).

On the one hand, it's a HUGE relief to know what's going on and if another episode happens again, to not be so worried. On the other, it would appear we're about halfway down that long slippery slope. I know he's 13, and I knew what I was getting into when I adopted them But honest to god, if I lose him this year too....well, there are no words.

[Rae]

thank you for the update... I wish it were terrific news, but confirmation of a diagnosis is pretty good - at least you know what you are dealing with.

[lotsadox]

I"m so sorry, Paula. I wish I had some words of wisdom but I don't have anything except some and

[RustysMom]

Thank you for the update. all Ive got is a bunch of both,