Hello all, it's been awhile. Just wanted to update anyone who is still interested in Jenna's progress. Her vet and I agreed recently that it might be time to take Jenna off her prednisone regimen. Her fur was continuing to fall out and her weight and energy levels dropped considerably. She's been weaned off the prednisone over a month or so, since she was taking the minimum dose we just halved that as best we could and then let her go without for a few days after weeks of detox. We've begun giving her metacam again and while it was working well and her energy was increasing, she is still losing fur and looking very patchy now.
She's also wobbling a bit in her back end, most likely due to muscle wastage over the last year. I've put a call in to her vet today to ask if there's anything more we should do. She still eats well and is staying upright for the most part. No sign yet of her ODVD returning. Her case has been reevaluated as probably not a tumor situation any longer, but the vet wants her on metacam for a month before she runs bloodwork again. We have no access to MRI and think that this might be a bridge too far for her emotional and mental well being even if we did have it. Just doing labs or xrays is difficult enough for Jenna.
In the meantime my main concern is Jenna's apparent continuing rear leg weakness (mostly the left rear) and keeping her warm enough until her fur starts growing back in. She now takes me on longer walks and I find I'm giving up and wanting to go back inside earlier than she does. She still sleeps most of the day, as you would expect an 11 year old Yorkie to do. But when she's up she certainly seems brighter and less dopey than she was while taking the steroids. The downside being of course I think they worked on her discomfort a bit better, but the side effects were beginning to pile up.
Many thanks to anyone who's kept her in your thoughts and prayers. We hope you and yours are staying well, safe and happy.
