Buffy, 17 yrs old: What does CC feel like in the skin?

[psessoms]

Hi everyone,

I've learned SO much from just browsing and reading this forum over the last few months, I'm so thankful to you all. I have a wonderful 17 year old hound dog mix named Buffy.

He has confirmed Cushings and probably a macro (much more on this in a bit), but my main question is about CC. Buffy has recently developed some skin redness and hair loss, with crusting and flaking, along his back from base of tail to neck. It does not seem itchy. I'm bathing him every few day with Zymox and a povidone iodine rinse, and I think it is overall improving -- much less red and the scaling does not come back quickly. But I am worried it is the start of the dreaded CC. With CC, do the lesions feel full-skin-thickness when you palpate around them, or is just a surface thing? Buffy's skin issues just feel like they are at the surface.

I know you all like the full story on our dogs, and I'll try to keep this as brief as possible.

We've had Buffy since he was a stray pup of about 6 months old. Other than nearly dying from a terrible reaction to a snake bite when he was in his prime (he was in our vet school's ICU for a week), he was extremely healthy until he we started noticing focal seizures (face twitching) and myoclonic jerks in 2010, when he was about 13. He has never had a generalized seizure. We took him to the vet school and had an MRI done by the neurology service, but it looked clean.

Interestingly, when these seizures started, I did a ton of research and had myself convinced he had Cushing's then, because I was trying to explain these weird late-age-onset seizures, in absence of an obvious brain tumor, and it is a minor symptom mentioned from time-to-time. He is a hound mix and has always had a big appetite. At that time, he did not have excessive drinking. He tested negative on ACTH stim and LDDST and finally my wonderful local vet told me very firmly that he did not have Cushings and I needed to stop trying to make it so.

With his seizures, he responded nearly 100% to a combination of zonisamide and levitiracetam and was again astonishingly healthy and vigorous, often going on 5 mile hikes with us, until November of 2013, late in his 16th year.

In November, his appetite began to sloooowwwwwlllyyyyy dwindle down to nothing. He's been on a home prepared raw diet since the seizures started. At first he just ate more slowly. Then, he started standing over the food, and then licking the food a lot, before eating it. Then, he'd leave non-favorite items. By Christmas, I was preparing literally 7 or 8 different things at each meal and begging him to eat something, anything. I was even syringing meat baby food into his mouth. No response to things like Pepcid or nausea meds.

He was also really thirsty by this time and beginning to have serious mobility issues, stumbling, and confusion. And, he started acting generally slow and depressed. At some point he also started that odd shivering thing over his shoulders that I've seen mentioned a few times on this forum in dogs with macro tumors.

There were a series of aggravating vet visits from November to January with lots of delay and failures to call me back because of the holidays and various dropped balls. His alk phos and other bloodwork was classic for Cushing's, and we did an abdominal ultraound which revealed bilaterally enlarged adrenals typical of pituitary Cushings. He was finally diagnosed for sure with Cushings via ACTH stim.

My regular vet and also our neurologist at the vet school were most inclined to think that yes, he has Cushings, but he's also 17 and obviously has a lot of old-age challenges like arthritis. And they figured those were the more likely cause of his mobility problems and lack of appetite. So we are also treating him for pain: tramadol is tolerated well, and assorted supplements. He gets super-sedated on tiny doses of gabapentin so not using that.

We started Trilostane at a very low dose for the Cushings, but I stopped it because he became a dishrag. An ACTH stim confirmed he was nearly Addisonian. It curbed his drinking for sure though, and his thirst has not come back even though he's been off of it for well over a month now.

My main goal with him since November has been to restore his appetite and keep him happy and comfortable for whatever time we can get. He went from about 65 pounds down to 42 over this appetite problem. Out of desperation over Christmas holiday, I gave him a shot of dexamethasone (left over from a really sick ferret) and he was eating within 4 hours. His mobility and overall neurological confusion also greatly improved. The shot kept him eating for about 3 days.

At that point, I was fairly convinced that he has a macro tumor, but at 17, I do not want to do radiation. He hates even getting in the car now because he's sure he's going to the vet. And to be totally honest, an MRI would be a severe financial burden these days, especially when we would not treat a macro if it was found.

Flush with my anecdotal evidence, I was sure the vet school neurologist would approve steroids to keep the old man comfortable and eating in his old age. Guess what? No. She wanted to wait a week and repeat the ACTH stim. When I protested, she suggested putting in a feeding tube while we looked for a definitive diagnosis. A feeding tube in my 17 year old best friend! I have never actually been angry with a vet before. Eventually she relented and gave us a script for pred. He eats just great now and is able to go on short (like 1/2 mile max) slow walks now.

So now, this skin issue has popped up. I know both Cushings and additional steroids like pred are causes of not just CC but other immune-mediated skin problems. If it is CC, I know the course will be very bad without treating the underlying Cushings. And the pred is as low as I can get it (5 mg twice a day) and keep him happy. So I am curious to hear if it feels like it's through the full skin thickness, or if it can just start up in the surface. I have not yet had the heart to haul him off to the vet for this, since he hates it so much now, and it seems to be improving a lot with just the Zymox baths.

He truly is doing OK for now, eating great, not too thirsty, going on short slow walks, able to get around decently well, and no shivering or seizures, but I haven't been able to find quite the info I'm seeing on CC.

Editing to add a few videos. There are also a couple of pics in Buffy's album in my profile.

The weird shivering thing he developed when his appetite vanished (he doesn't do this when he's on steroids):
http://www.screencast.com/t/pZgzInW8b8

Facial twitching from when his seizures were first seen around 2010:
http://www.screencast.com/t/dqpdKMNkWi10

Typical Buffy seizure from 2010, starts about 30 seconds in (video loops the
seizure multiple times):
http://www.screencast.com/t/NjljZWU0

Very best wishes to all,
Pam

[Trish]

Gosh Pam, Buffy is so lucky to have you and all you have done is a testament to how much you love him. I am not much help with the CC but there are others here dealing with that and I am sure they will be along to add their advice but I wanted to welcome you to the forum and we are glad you found us! :)

[psessoms]

Thank you so much, Trish!

[goldengirl88]

Welcome to the forum. I am curious did the neurologist identify the focal and myoclonic seizures? Could you describe the later for me? My Tipper has been having tremors or seizures for quite some time since starting Vetoryl. It only happens when she sleeps. She does not have a macro according to the neurologist and IMS . The neurologist looked at a video I had taken of this, and could not say with certainty if it was seizures, or tremors. It started in her back leg and moved to her side. She does the eye twitching when this happens. It is getting worse and scaring me. I don't know about CC as Tipper has not had that, but I do know Manuka honey has great healing power and someone on her had good results from it. My dog takes it for acid reflux. I commend you on all you know and have done so far, and on having you baby reach 17. Blessings
Patti

[Harley PoMMom]

Hi Pam,

Welcome to you and Buffy, so glad you finally created a thread for your sweet boy. I have no experience with CC but we do have members here that do and I am sure they will be along to offer their advice.

I agree with Trish in that you have been and are an excellent advocate for Buffy. Getting the vet to allow prednsione to be given was absolutely the right thing to do, the prednisone not only helps with the swelling from the pituitary tumor but can also increase a dog's appetite, Good job!!

Some questions that I have are, could you get copies of Buffy's monitoring and diagnostic tests and post those results here. Could you tell us what dose of Trilostane Buffy was on?

I agree with your decision on not treating the Cushing's because the elevated cortisol may help, especially since Buffy is an elder and may have some arthritis issues.

We are here for you and Buffy and we will help in any way we can, so do not hesitate to ask all the questions you want. Oh, by the way, we love details, and your introduction post was very informative, so thank you for that.

Hugs, Lori

[psessoms]

Welcome to the forum. I am curious did the neurologist identify the focal and myoclonic seizures? Could you describe the later for me?

Oh Patt, yes, very happy to explain about his seizures. I updated my first post to include links to a couple of short videos. Before the levitiracetam, he was having literally hundreds of these episodes a day and had started falling down the stairs often. The levitiracetam turned these episodes off like a light switch, it is a miracle drug for him.

The neurologists never came up with a name for his kind of seizures and were just thrilled he responded so well to the medications and that he didn't have an obvious brain tumor. Besides the MRI he also had a spinal tap and a lot of fancy thyroid and liver panels.

In my research around the web, his jerking episodes most closely resemble a thing called Lafora Disease, which is a genetic disease. While it is found in beagles, Buffy is not a purebreed and that probably makes it almost impossible that he has this. His seizures were easy to trigger through movement in front of his face, or sounds, or even sudden sun light in his eyes.

I wish you all the best with your Tipper!

Pam

[Trish]

Hi
I cannot see the 2nd video it said I need to download silverstream or something like that? The first one does not look too bad and I thought the 3rd one looked like more of a reaction going through that great looking dog door!! I dunno, I am no expert on these either. My dog twitches, but he is a terrier that are quite prone to doing that, I was worried and took this video of Flynn sleeping and being twitchy and showed it to both local vet and IMS who said there was nothing in it that worried them unduly.
http://s1296.photobucket.com/user/Trish_Flynn/media/018_zps5644ee7d.mp4.html

[psessoms]

Hi
I cannot see the 2nd video it said I need to download silverstream or something like that? The first one does not look too bad and I thought the 3rd one looked like more of a reaction going through that great looking dog door!!

Oh, sorry about that 2nd video! I uploaded it again so that it shouldn't need silverlight, I hope:

http://www.screencast.com/t/dqpdKMNkWi10

Yeah, on that 3rd video, if you didn't know he did that particular jerk/flinch-backward thing really often in those days, it would be hard to notice!

Flynn's sleep twitches are cute. :o And hopefully nothing to worry about. :)

[Trish]

Yep can see it now, what a great looking dog Buffy is for 17! Looks like he is having trouble getting up in that one, maybe the arthritis?

He does quite a lot of twitching while he is awake too, but they have all reassured me it is nothing to worry about. He has done it a long time, that night time stuff was worse though and it could have been discomfort as it was not too long after that we had to get a big liver mass removed. But he still does it to some degree.

Like Lori said, it is really good the prednisone has perked Buffy up, you sure have to go with your gut instincts and do what is best for them. But some of the posters here are so good at interpreting the lab results it would be really good like Lori said, if you could note them down. Especially any cush tests like the ACTH, LDDS etc and any others that are abnormal. Just copy them in as they are on the lab results form and include the reference ranges which helps to interpret them. It is amazing what they can pick up from that. :)

[Renee]

Hello and welcome. :) I am one of the (un)lucky pet parents to be dealing with the dreaded CC.

The skin around the lesions, at least for Tobey, does feel thickened and very hard. That said, the very first lesion, as it was coming up, did not feel like that at all. It just developed very quickly like a sore. All the lesions to follow did have thicker skin. They feel kind of like rocks or nuggets under the skin, then they break through. They can be flaky or crusty. I have a documented album on here showing some of the stages of the CC as it emerges. The spots that have come up since treatment are a little different, in that they are not as angry or raw and less likely to bust open.

Tobey's were diagnosed via biopsy. I'm not sure if there is any other way to be 100% certain when its CC. I may be wrong though.

The problem with CC is that it can spread out of control quickly, and even cause quality of life issues. There is no true cure for CC, except lowering the cortisol into therapeutic range. Of course, to discontinue the pred will do the same, so you are in a very tough predicament, if it is indeed CC.

[psessoms]

Hi Lori and all,

Thank you so much! Yes, I've been trying to track down what I can find of his records. I don't have everything, unfortunately.

Here is the ACTH that for-sure diagnosed the Cushings 1/16/2014:

Cortisol Serial 2 (ACTH)
Time 1 Pre
Time 2 Post
Cortisol Sample 1 4.7 1.0-5.0 ug/dL
Cortisol Sample 2 H >50.0 8-17 ug/dL

Unfortunately I do not have the ACTH stim results from the vet school neurologist when he was "nearly Addisonian" in February. But she told me to stop the Trilostane for sure.

He was on 20 mg Trilostane once a day and had been on it for about a month.

Other labs of note, going back in time to the first true hint of Cushings trouble:

4/29/2013: routine neurology checkup spotted elevated liver enzymes:
CBC: unremarkable, WBC 12,010/uL, PCV 49%, Platelets 393,000/uL
Chemistry: elevated liver enzymes ALT 125u/L (12-54), ALP 912u/L (16-140), otherwise unremarkable

Local vet was not too concerned about the liver. We repeated them in July and they were about the same so she still wasn't too concerned. I started Denamarin anyway.

Then the alk phos went higher in November/December, but I don't have those results.

Also prior blood work had shown possible hypothyroid, so we did a Free T4 on Dec 14, 2013:

Free T4 16 8-40 pmol/L

On January 7, still higher liver enzymes (others like total bilirubin were normal):

ALT (SGPT) H 281 12-118 U/L
alk phos H 4440 5-131 U/L
GGTP H 17 1-12 U/L

We did a Bile Acid test which he flunked:

Pre Meal Bile Acids (fasting) H 15.7 <10.0 umol/L

Post Meal Bile Acids H 41.8 <20.0 umol/L

So then on Jan 10 there was the first of two abdominal ultrasounds:

Bilaternal adrenomegaly is consistent with pituitary dependent hyperadrenocorticism. Additional endocrine testing is required for confirmation. Hepatic changes may be due to suspected endocrinopathy (PDH) but infiltrative disease cannot be definitively ruled out without tissues sampling. Bilateral benign renal cysts suspected. Right nephrolith.

(I had to take him to a specialist for that ultrasound and they said my local vet would call. Days went by and no call. Local vet called specialist and got the above report. That's when I found out they let me sit in the waiting room and never asked me OR his regular vet if we wanted aspirates of that liver. sigh.)

He received a second liver ultrasound with aspirates at the vet school in February and it pointed toward changes from Cushings rather than a primary liver disease or neoplasia.

Also in February at the vet school, he had another fasting bile acids test which was NORMAL so thank goodness, something finally improved!

Sorry I don't have all the test results. I always have to ask specifically to get copies of things.

THANKS again!

Pam

[psessoms]

Oh Renee, thank you so much for your reply. Skin feels thickened and hard around the lesions, that is exactly the info I was searching for. I have been going over your photos in detail. I love all of your info on Tobey -- remarkable!

Yes... if Buffy winds up with CC it really will be the end, I'm afraid. I just can't take him off the pred and have him still eat or feel good. Rough spot for sure, but I'm so happy to have gotten these extra months so far. I thought I was going to lose him in December.

I didn't get any great pics of Buffy's skin at its worst, but here is one showing how red it was:

http://www.k9cushings.com/forum/album.php?albumid=871&pictureid=6585

Does that look suspicious to CC to you? I realize it's awfully hard to tell from these internet pics. It's nearly normal color now although still it "ain't right."

[Renee]

Hmm, I wonder why there was spontaneous improvement in the skin, if it really was CC? I guess it could improve on it's own since the cortisol took such a dive in Feb.

But, from that picture, I could not say whether it looks like CC or not.

At what point in the treatment did the lesions come up, and when did they start improving? Any new lesions? Do they bleed, or just red?

[psessoms]

Hi Renee,

Yeah, the timeline is confusing since I thew all Buffy's info out at once! Sorry about that!

The red skin with scaling is new. I probably first noticed it two or three weeks ago, when I felt some crustiness while scratching his back. I was horrified to find that crustiness and super-red skin all the way from the base of his tail up to his shoulders. Then I gently brushed him which caused a bunch of hair to pull out around the base of his tail and that is what is in the pic. No major hair loss elsewhere.

Prior to the 2-3 weeks ago, he's always had perfect skin. So this has happened since the Trilostane crash and being placed on the pred. I think it came on quite suddenly.

It started to improve by being slightly less red about 3 days after the first bath with Zymox and a povidone iodine rinse. I bathe him when new crustiness starts to show, which is usually about 4 days or so.

On that nearly-bald spot, while it's no longer bright red, the skin looks kind of shiny, like a burn. I have only noticed a tiny bit of bleeding once, when I really scrubbed at a scaly patch while he was in the tub.

[psessoms]

I've placed skin pics from today in Buffy's album in my profile. You can see the way the skin on his lower back is less red and angry-looking.

There is also a pic of a newer bright red suspicious-looking area, on a patch of shaved skin on the back of his neck/shoulders (mass removal last year, hair never really grew back well). This looks really bad, but it feels like just the surface layer of the skin rather than the full thickness. It so red since it had a lot of scales/crusting and I probably scrubbed it too hard to loosen those up in the bath yesterday. I put some Vitamin E oil on it later and I think that was also a mistake.

[My sweet Ginger]

Hi Pam,

I'd like to welcome you and Buffy to this wonderful forum and I hope the rashes Buffy is having right now turn out to be something other than the dreaded CC. I must say that you must be one of the most Cushings knowledgeable 'new' member here. Buffy was very smart to have picked you as his mom.

I don't have anything to offer you as I've had a very limited experience with Cushings and my pup doesn't have cc. What I have is a question regarding seizure medications that you've mentioned in your introductory post. Would you mind telling how you came down to a combo of Zonisamide and Levetiracetam? My pup is suspected to have a macro. She was on Levetiracetam for 3 months and then we switched to Zonisamide for about a month now. Neither med alone doesn't seem to keep her focal seizures and leg tremors under control. Both her IMS and neurologist told me that we will not get a 100% control over them but I feel as though we should be able to get a better control than what we've been getting from either meds. We talked about combining the two meds if we don't get a satisfactory result from Zonisamide and I am not satisfied so far. It took about two full weeks for her body to adjust to Zonisamide but she still gets tremors and head jerkings throughout the day at times as big as before meds and they come in waves. I'm very interested in how you've been doing it on Buffy. It will be very much appreciated.

I apologize that my question became rather long but I wanted to give you a bit of explanation. You can give me a very short answer. Thank you. Song.

[Iraklis]

Hello and a delayed welcome from me too!!!

Wish I had some info on CC ,but...i have a question...

Buffy went Addisonian after 1-2 months of only 20mg of Vetoryl?
How much does he weigh?

[psessoms]

Would you mind telling how you came down to a combo of Zonisamide and Levetiracetam?

Hi Song,

Sure thing! He is currently doing great with the seizures on 100 mg zonisamide twice a day, and 500 mg of levitiracetam three times a day. Truthfully, on super-long days when we just cannot do the levitiracetam three times a day dosing well, I'll do 750 mg twice a day and he seems to do just as well.

When he started those flich/jerk episodes and focal seizures in 2010, the first thing the neurologist tried was just zonisamide by itself. I do not recall the dose, but it was much higher than 100 mg. It helped a little bit, but Buffy became more likely to stumble and fall on the stairs, and the seizures and jerking were still pretty frequent.

So after about two months with the zoni alone, we added the levitiracetam and *bam* that was it. My husband and I looked at each other that night and were like, "is it just me or has he not had any episodes at all today?!" I've never seen anything like it, it was a total miracle.

From there, I reduced the zoni to the lowest I could get and still have the seizure control complete. That fixed the stairs-stumbling until recently when this arthritis and/or macro issue has made him so uncoordinated.

I hope your girl will also find a miracle combination!!

And thanks for your nice note. Truly, this forum is a huge treasure trove and I've been mining it really heavily to try learn, so I can help Buffy.

[psessoms]

Wish I had some info on CC ,but...i have a question...

Buffy went Addisonian after 1-2 months of only 20mg of Vetoryl?
How much does he weigh?

Thank you for the nice welcome! :)

Yeah, the way he konked out on that little bit of trilostane so fast was super duper shocking to me, too. He weighs about 42 pounds. I know the 20 mg dose is about half of what is usually a conservative starting dose, but he tends to be sensitive to meds. Maybe because his liver is not so great, I am not sure. I wanted to start at half the usual low dose and see how it went. You should see what a tiny bit of gapapentin does to him, not pretty!

He wasn't officially Addisonian, but very close, according to the neurologist. Unfortunately, that is one of the test results I don't have.

Since his excessive thirst has not resumed, and the big battle is keeping his appetite up, I haven't dared try the Trilostane again even at 10mg.

Thanks again and all my best!

[Iraklis]

Wow...I would not too either!!!

I wish I had never given it to Husko...pretty sure most his symptoms were iatrogenic cushings and not the actual pituitary tumor...

[My sweet Ginger]

And you have. I hope he gets his strength back and doesn't have cc.

Ginger is a 10 lbs chihuahua and she was on 125mg x3 keppra first which worked pretty good for a while then they seemed to lose effectiveness and also the 11 PM dosing was becoming an ordeal for her. I had to wake her up every night and try to make her take the food wrapped pill who was suffering from poor, poor appetite. So the switch happened, 50mg x2 Zonisamide. She was very wobbly and falling on the stairs for two weeks and finally that stopped but the tremor and head jerking stayed the same if not worse from when she was on keppra. Was told to try for two more weeks but it is not improving so I am thinking of combining the two but not sure about the amount on each. A couple of weeks ago I gave her 80mg keppra during the day when she seemed worse but she was falling and wobbly all over again.
I do think combining is a good idea for her. I just need to figure out the right dosage for both. It's really good to know that this may have a good chance. Thank you so much. Take care.

[goldengirl88]

Happy Easter to you and Buffy. I hope your Easter is blessed with a miracle for Buffy.
Patti

[molly muffin]

Wow, you're a great mum to Buffy. :)
Welcome to the forum and the crazy world we all live in trying to fix our furkidlets.
It is possible that the pred is causing the skin irritations. If it continues you could have a skin scrapping done to see if it is or not. The other thing though is that it could be a skin infection of some sort, yeast even, and an antibiotic might help if that is the case.

That last video right before he tried to go through the doggie door, looks exactly like other examples of myoclonic seizures, often when they come face to face with something, it will trigger them from what I've seen in other videos. One terrier would get them every time a ball came close to his face while playing.

Sharlene and molly muffin

[psessoms]

Hi Sharlene, thank you for the nice welcome! Yes, good thoughts on the skin possibilities. I was also thinking it could even be demodex since he's immunosuppressed from the pred and Cushings. If the current trend of general improvement slows down or stops, what I might do is have a house call vet do the skin scrape. Poor Buffy gets really stressed out by car rides and vet trips now, so anything to avoid upsetting the old man is good. That would also let us meet a house call vet that could possibly help out with the sad final appointment when the time comes.

So interesting know that you've seen other videos showing myoclonic seizures and they are the same!! I've seen some of dogs with Lafora Disease but that is it. If you happen to remember where you saw those, I'd absolutely love to take a peek. Were these in other Cushings dogs? I've no idea if the seizures and Cushings are related in Buffy. Would be so interesting to learn more.

The vet school neurology records say, "Idiopathic Focal Facial Seizures (History of twitching episodes/suspected seizure activity)." The focal facial seizures often include the myoclonic jerking, too, even though it can be really subtle. In the other seizure video that starts with him getting up from laying down, you can see the seizure briefly flicker and shiver over his face and ears and then he sort of sits halfway backwards for a second prior to walking away. Other times the jerk would be so strong he'd fall completely backwards.

Patti, happy Easter to you and yours as well!

Pam

[molly muffin]

Hi Pam

This is the jack russell vid of the myoclonic seizure
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaX-14QZ7ec

I was actually looking it up just yesterday I think it was for Patti, to compare to Tippers vids. That seems to be a traite with the myoclonic seizure that they sort of jerk and sit down almost. At least in Buffy and in this jack russell.

A house vet sounds like a good idea on many levels. Especially with Buffy being 16 and not liking the car rides now. Hard for them to get up and down at that age too. (I have days I can relate) :)

Sharlene and molly muffin

[goldengirl88]

No Tipper does not jerk and sit down. The one thing I read on them though is the perfect time for them is when the dog just falls asleep and Tipper does do that. They will never stop once they start it will always happen I read. That could explain why when I stopped Tipper's Vetoryl it continued?? Just don't know. I know they do not have to jerk and it can be more subtle. Just don't know what to think!!

[goldengirl88]

Tipper's are more like the video of Flynn, but when they are really bad like I said it contorts her stomach, and rocks her body. Definitely the facial ones Flynn did are similar to Tippers, and the ones of his side moving. I will try to get the bad ones on video so someone may know what is going on.

[My sweet Ginger]

Hi Pam,

Has Buffy ever experienced colitis from combining Zoni and Levetiracetam?
I started the new combination on Ginger on the 19th. Yesterday afternoon ( on day 3) a little bit of bright red blood was discharged :eek::eek::eek: and also today again both times right after her businesses. She was just started on metronidazole 50mg tab x2 daily for 10 days. I hardly remember she's ever had colitis before so I was and am still thinking the combination of the two drugs might be the culprit here but both her IMS and neurologist don't think it's related to the drugs and told me to continue on the meds as scheduled.
Today she is not doing as well as last couple of days, a little off and sleeping a lot but doesn't seem to be suffering or in any pain.
I'm just wondering if this has happened to Buffy and if it did how you treated him. Thank you and I hope Buffy is doing well.:)

[psessoms]

Has Buffy ever experienced colitis from combining Zoni and Levetiracetam?

Hi Song,

Buffy has never had tummy issues with the Zoni and levitiracetam. I'm sooooo sorry to hear that Ginger is having trouble with it! Definitely scary! :eek:

I'll keep an eye out and am hoping that clears right up.

Pam

[goldengirl88]

What a beautiful avatar of your precious Buffy. I hope she is doing well. Blessings
Patti

[My sweet Ginger]

Thank you, Pam.
Ginger did pretty good on each drug on their own but her stools were turning into diarrhea on liquid form Levetiracetam (she was on liquid for a few days when we ran out of tabs ) so I had to get tablets urgently and soon it went away.
The blood just freaked me out a lot as I've never seen bright red blood coming out of her before yesterday. Although her neurologist said I can still give her 125mg Levetiracetam I've cut it down to about 40mg as of this afternoon in the hopes of getting rid of colitis but not to lose the effectiveness of Zoni and Keppra together which seems to be working beautifully. At first about 80mg yesterday and 40mg today and she's doing as good so far tho I still hear noises coming from her tummy.:o
I hope it goes away soon as she deserves some good days after everything she's been through. :( take care. Song.

[My sweet Ginger]

Oh Pam, I just saw Buffy's pics and poor baby, they look so awful!
I hope they are not as painful as they look. Are they getting better with the treatment? I really hope his skin problem turns the corner soon. All these make me feel so sad today for how much our babies have to go through for being the sweetest creatures around us.

[psessoms]

Song, oh yes, bright red blood would scare me half to death too, I think trying to find the min dose is a great idea. Wonder if any GI meds would help too...

Yes. Buffy's skin pics look awful. It does not seem painful or itchy. He'll need another bath tomorrow, though. The area on his neck is looking lots better, and no newly inflamed areas have popped up.

[My sweet Ginger]

Oh, that's good. I hope Buffy keeps getting better.

I'm to watch her for a couple of days on this med. If blood continues her IMS will try something else. One good thing is so far she's eating good. With all kinds of meds she is taking through out the day I'm thankful she eats better these days.
I just gave her another 40mg and the 3:30 one carried through really well:) and only if the colitis'd go away.

[goldengirl88]

Do you have a cold laser therapist anywhere near you? The laser is supposed to be very effective at healing CC, maybe that would be an option? Hope Buffy I am feeling better. Blessings
Patti

[psessoms]

Do you have a cold laser therapist anywhere near you?

Hi Patti, thanks so much for the idea! Amazing that cold laser can help with CC, I did not know that! I think our local vet did mention that they had a way to have cold laser therapy done, back when we were discussing Buffy's arthritis and various neurological problems. (She did point out that it might be hard to pick spots to target since they couldn't really do the whole dog, which is kind of what we'd need to do with Buffles.)

At this point I'm pretty sure we're not looking at CC here. (phew). Fingers crossed, anyway. The red areas continue to get lighter pink, with the first area, the bare spot on his lower back, about normal skin color now. And it all still feels like it's just surface stuff, not deep in the skin. He still gets the crufty stuff, it is like dry seborrhea, a few days after a bath in some spots. For now I'm thinking to continue with the baths as long as things are generally improving.

I've had to bump his pred back up since his appetite was starting to wane on the 5mg twice a day dose. sigh. Otherwise he is doing well. We just got back from a short but fun walk. :)

[goldengirl88]

I take my Tipper to laser therapy because she tore her ACL and it fixed her right up. She had gone before that though as this disease hurts the cartilage around the abdomen etc. and puts stress on their back. So she gets her legs, back, shoulders, and neck done. It has kept her going really well, and for the money, it was definitely the best thing I spent it on for her. I am glad that is one thing Tipper did not have was CC. That seems like one of the worst things to manage.I hope Buffy continues to do well as I would be elated if my Tipper makes it to 17.Blessings
Patti

[molly muffin]

Oh I do hope you are right and it's not CC. That is such a bugger to try and get cleared up.

Glad to hear Buffy is enjoying his walks. Those appetites can be difficult to get triggered sometimes.

Sharlene and molly muffin

[molly muffin]

We used laser therapy on Mollys back when she was having problems and it seemed to help.

Sharlene and molly muffin

[goldengirl88]

Any type of skin issues the cold laser can benefit. It rejuvenates the cells and they start working and healing. My Tipper has benefited tremendously from this laser. I will never stop taking her as long as she is with me that is how much I believe in it. Of course a good laser therapist makes a difference too.

[psessoms]

Thanks so much, good to know! If Buffy ever gets over his terrible dread of the car we'll probably go for it. Getting in the car turns him into a complete mess, still. Skin is looking very good today and just back from 1/2 mile slow walk. :)

[goldengirl88]

Amazing Buffy that's all I have to say. 17 and still going a half mile God Bless Him.