[sadiesamie]

Well took Samie to the Internal Med Specialist today…His recommendation was to stop everything. The Flovent inhaler, Soloxine, Potassium Citrate granules, and the Denamarin liver supplement. We will go see him in 6 wks for a new baseline blood and urinalysis. He also indicated that based on the x-rays Samie does not have CT but- may have something called Laryngeal Paralysis. This would explain why Samie would occasionally turn blue. It has to do with the breathing inward and it can stop air flow and be very serious. Samie did well at the vet. At first she was very excited but she calmed down after we were there.

He also recommended that we send over my other dogs labs for him to review and also recommended that we stop the Soloxine with her. Apparently my girls may not be hypothyroid. 2 of their readings showed other low thyroid values, but the TSH in general was within range.
Overall he was not convinced that there is a thyroid problem.

He was concerned with Samie’s ph being at 8.0 and her urine being now on the alkaline side. So he said no more Potassium citrate. They do a urinalysis to check for crystals “in house” so the urine is tested immediately. The urine taken at the reg vet gets sent out to the lab and by the time they get to testing it, crystals can form in the urine causing inaccurate results.

Her liver size was slightly larger than normal, but he didn’t think anything looked abnormal about it. He specifically said that she does not have a liver shunt. In 6 wks Samie will have a BAT and she will stay at the clinic. They said they are going to feed her regular food and also add a higher fat food to challenge her liver. They will do a full blood panel and urinalysis also. He did say that the Flovent could be contributing to this easily and there was only one way to find out.

It appears to be that my girls have been over medicated making it impossible to determine “what” is wrong- if anything.

So- with that, for the next 6 wks, I am going to relax and feel more at ease.
He said if we notice anything unusual to call him immediately.

I am still reeling this all in, as I was sure that we were going to get bad news today. I was so overwhelmed I could not help but just start crying when we left the place. If you all knew the whole story as to how we were treated at the regular vet! From being rushed into tests, never getting a detailed explanation on results, the money we have spent this past 6 months on a lot of unnecessary tests… AND an incident that took place a few months ago when the office manager called me to tell me how all calls will go through her since we take up valuable time with the vet. And that because of the fact that i talked to her on the phone for 15 minutes and kept her from seeing very sick patients that I will now be charged 25.00 for phone calls if I didn’t handle everything with her. I have a write up saved that i did one night on this experience but have not had the time to read through it all first. Just something I wanted to share with you all. I haven't decided it I am going to post it just yet.
WOW it was such a learning experience they put us through.

So anyway- AFTER today's visit with the specialist... I am so overwhelmed.

You can be sure that we will not be going back to the regular vet any longer.

I will continue to check back and continue to update. I won't go 6 wks without checking in with you all who have been here to support me and help me through this.

It has been 6 mos of sheer madness for me.