Use a hammer

I did try to get the needle end off those syringes...no go, they are solely for injection. There's no removable tip. All I did was bend the end of it and almost skewer myself. :(
Vet gave me 3 ml syringes and plenty extra, which I need because this medicine gums up the plastic and rubber parts so quickly and after a few uses you can't plunge them anymore. It's very annoying.

Hi Karen! (waves) Haven't heard from you in a long time, good to see you! How are you and the boys? :)

Jenna has cleared up much quicker on the higher dose of pentoxifylline, however you can tell it doesn't agree with her as well as the lower dose. She is more agitated, restless at times, itchy and her tummy gurgles more. She had a few gagging episodes again but that has subsided a bit. She seems a bit bloated tonight but she's also been eating/drinking and eliminating very well and whereas I don't think she's gained weight (she went down a pound pretty quick through all this) she's definitely keeping her tummy full. Doctor says only a 1/2 cup of these kibbles per day. She is at that limit and wanting more. Her energy has been much better with exception of today where she's just seemed very distracted and almost whiny. However I've been trying to take advantage of her feeling better to get a few things done around here that have been put off during her illness and she is not happy about me not being available as her constant napping place/attention giver. If it continues or she seems to worsen though I'll put a call in. I haven't heard from the hospital almost the whole week and usually they call to see how a patient is doing, so I probably wore out my welcome.

Not looking forward to having to take a day to see my tax accountant before the 4-15 deadline as that means leaving her for several hours and she can't seem to manage more than 5 minutes without having to seek me out. Needless to say there is no privacy in the bathroom again, but hey, I'm not complaining! :D

I hope everyone is having a good week. Thanks for asking about my baby and keeping her in your thoughts. :)

Thanks for the update on Jenna! So happy that things are progressing...hopefully soon it will all just be a bit of a bad memory.

Checking on Jenna....hope things are still going well. :)

Yes ma'am, she is doing brilliantly! :)
The only difficulty is how the medication makes the syringes sticky. About a week's worth of use in and I have to pull a new one because I cannot even get the plunger into the syringe at all. The pentoxifylline is in an almond oil base, needless to say not one of Jenna's favorite flavors. But I think she prefers it to the benadryl which is quite bitter and she spits and foams until we're finished with it. Oddly enough, she doesn't seem to mind the sucralfate. I suppose it just tastes like chalk...or dirt...lol.

She's been such a patient girl through all of this. She still has those moments when she wakes up and you can tell she's looking around thinking she's still in hospital, but it doesn't last long. I hope eventually she'll forget it altogether.

Doctor would like to see her sometime after the 20th of this month for a recheck. We've spoken on the phone about how she's doing and he seems pleased. I did ask him about her skin going very white on her belly, he doesn't think it's an issue. Probably just the pentox doing it's job, all her redness is pretty much gone, she still has some scabs on her ears and they can color up a bit at the base from time to time, but she is a different dog from just a week ago. To think that at the beginning of last month I was afraid she wasn't going to make it. We sure got that miracle!

She's eating and eliminating beautifully too and rolling over for belly rubs at a glance. ;) This is the Jenna I know and love. As soon as the snow melts we will hopefully be going outdoors more and enjoying the sunshine of a spring that is currently struggling to arrive.
Until then, her favorite thing to do is sleeping in my lap or playing with her toy chicky. :D
(Below is an older picture, but one of my favorites)


Thank you so much for thinking of her and keeping her in your prayers. :)

Oh, YAY! I am SO happy to read this update! :)

Take the syringes apart after each use and wash them....I have had to do that with sticky meds.

She is precious...love the pic!

Jenna
 

Thank you for the fantastic update. Is this the same dog we were talking of only a few days ago?? You must be overjoyed with the progress and how she is today! The pento drug sure seems to do the job. All the worries of past weeks are behind you and very soon you will have 100 percent of your lovely dog back, she is almost there. You have given her so much love and caring and she has rewarded you now by getting better.
I am so happy for you and Jenna and pray that all goes well from now on. Hoping the snow melts soon and you can enjoy playing outside with your now healthy baby.

I'm thrilled that Jenna is feeling better! What a relief!

Yay!!!

You go Jenna! Such a happy update and glad things are going so well. :D

Just another brief update: called Jenna's vet today because she's been clear for the last few weeks and she's beginning to really resist the meds. He agreed it was time to start dialing her down so tonight we begin with .4 mls pentoxifylline twice a day for the next 5 days and we're cutting out the benadryl since it seems to be ineffective.
If we could ask for prayers that she does not relapse. If so we will have to go back up to the .8 mls again until the vet returns after a hiatus beginning next Saturday. Thank you.

Hope everyone is having a relaxing weekend. :)

Few weeks? I think it has only been two?? I hope you are not pushing this too quickly. Would hate to see it backfire.
I am happy that she has improved...just be absolutely certain about taking her off the meds.....I know for Dixie, she was on them for a month. Of course, if you are tapering, Jenna is still on them..
I don't know.
Will keep positive thoughts! :)

Yeah, I had to ask the vet too, was he sure about dropping her down? He said it would be okay, but gave the caveat that if she showed any sign of the rash coming on again I was to bump her back up to the .8 mls. It's just been two doses so far and she seems okay. I'll be watching her like a hawk, the minute I see anything questionable, back up she goes.
We're actually just about out of this med too, so if she relapses we're going to need more.
Is it possible she will have to be on this the rest of her life? Would it harm her in ay way if so?
She's been a bit irritable in the last few days because I've been very busy with our other dog. She's done some trembling and reverse sneezing, plus her itching and chewing on herself is increased. These are all nervous behaviors for her to be sure, but I want to be vigilant for any other changes since at the beginning of her illness last month the first thing I noticed was she could not sit still at night and would be up and down off the bed instead of sleeping.

Sometimes I wish she could just talk to me and tell me what's bothering her!

It was just my understanding that it is important that they be treated for four weeks at least.
I would not test it myself, but that's just me. No, I don't think she will need it for the rest of her life. I just think it is very important that she be treated for the right length of time now so that it does not flare again. I cannot advise you on the length of time...only what I was told.

Well that's worrisome. :(
I have seen you be right too many times not to take notice of this. I will call them back tomorrow and discuss these concerns.
Do you think it will affect her overall recovery to have been on half the dose for these last two days?
She began the treatment on the 28th of March and only went two days on the .4 mls twice a day at the start. So she should be on the .8 mls all the way through the 28th of this month?

Keep in mind that my foster was on prednisone as was my son's pup....could be that it is different with the pentoxifylline...just ask the vet to be certain. What I do know is that with my son's pup she was diagnosed incorrectly by the first vet and was luckily put on prednisone which helped BUT she was tapered off too soon and it came back quickly and was awful. She was then seen by my vet and put on the prednisone for another month. She is fine to this day.

Here is a link I just found about pentoxifylline that may be helpful:

What's new in dermatologic therapy? - Veterinary Medicine

Well that's more than enough for me. I'll see about re-upping her dose tomorrow. Considering how few options we have from this point, I'm not about to risk a relapse.
Thank you for the info ladyjane. :)

hoping all the best for Jenna...

Checking in on Jenna. Hope no news is good news. :)

Sorry to be slow to update. :) Yes, she is doing well, barring a reduced appetite.
She looked like she was pinking up again on her belly and possibly the ears by the second day of the lowered dose of pentoxifylline, so I took her back up to the .8 mls and will keep her at that dose until we finish the bottle or until the 30th, whichever comes first. That way she's been on the proper dose for a month.
She's also back on her benadryl, which we had stopped due to how bitter it is and the fight she puts up over it, but she is still itchy so we've begun that again.
She is also still taking the sucralfate twice a day to ensure that her tummy doesn't feel bad.
Notified her vet but haven't heard back. He goes on hiatus this weekend for 5 days.
Thanks for asking about her. :)

Well Jenna finished her meds today. She seems well in herself although she is back to scratching herself more and reverse sneezing. We are very dry up here right now with the snow melting off and then more falling...the weather is really weird. We're all chapped and uncomfortable as a result.
So now we have to look forward to her vet returning at the end of the month and finding out what is going on in her mouth. She's needed a dental and there may be a tooth reabsorbing. This is probably also the main reason why she's scratching at her throat and flapping her ears.
We have to soak her kibble for her to eat it, but now that we are her appetite has taken off again. So all in all she's doing okay.
Just hoping now her vasculitis doesn't return.

I dont know if Jennas diet is really restricted totally but I inject benadryl into a small piece of watermelon. it absorbs it right up and the slight sugar in the watermelon masks the taste...

Well, I am glad that the cutaneous vasculitis is cleared up now! As for the other issues, yes it may be her teeth. I imagine she will feel better once her dental is done :)

Thank you kimp5, yes she must only eat her vegan kibble. I suppose we'll explore that as well when her vet returns. I'm eager for him to get a look at her, she's worlds away from what she looked like the last time he saw her.

Ladyjane, yes she is definitely uncomfy in that mouth...and her 'dragon's breath' has never been worse. :( I hate dentals though...any time she has to go under GA I am worried sick. She always comes back so lethargic for the rest of the day and into the night. :( I often wonder if she is sensitive to the anesthesia or if they just dope her up too much.
We'll find out in the next week or so.

Hopefully it won't be so bad this time. :)

Jenna's vet called me to let me know he was back in town and to assess her progress. I was happy to hear from him as I had set myself a memo to call and see about an appointment.
She will go in on Saturday, the same day I have to take my house rabbit in to see about his teeth as well with another vet. He'll take a look at her overall condition and peek at her mouth to see what's going on in there. Not sure if they'll do a dental on the spot or reschedule her. We'll see what happens. We could use some vibes for a good outcome. :)
She will eat hard kibble occasionally (usually right before bed) but won't eat them any other time. I have to soften them for her. Funny bub.
Otherwise she's doing pretty well, exception being that she's working a hot spot on the crook of her upper right leg. She's been very shaky and nervous lately (there's a lot of discord going on between myself and my son at present and she doesn't like it when he gets belligerent...can't say I blame her) and I've also had to look after our other dog quite a bit while my OH is recovering from some brutal dental surgery of his own. Jenna gets anxious and jealous when the other dog is getting my attention. Luckily she doesn't take the other dog on, but she tends to take her agitation out on herself which is almost worse. (Our young pup is a corgi sized dog and would flatten Jenna in a thrice if she dared stand up to her, fortunately there is only a lot of sniffing and tail wagging with some odd ear posturing that tells me they still aren't sure of one another after a year and a half.)
I will be glad when our snow finally melts off (May 1 already...come on!) and I can put bigger doggie outside in her run instead of having her indoors, which is Jenna's territory. Both will be happier, and me too.
Not looking forward to the drive in. Hoping OH will be the chauffeur again as I hate driving. If only the snow would go away it would be one less worry. I think spring got canceled up here! :(

How is Jenna doing?

Thank you for asking, Jenna is still doing very well. :)
She went to her appointment and passed with flying colors. The vet was very happy with how she looked. :)
He is, however, worried about her teeth. He set us up with a May 9 dental, but we had too many conflicting appointments that day. She is now supposed to go in on May 16. He wants her to have an antibiotic injection before she goes under to protect her from any wild bacteria that may come loose. She will have to be intubated, which I don't like due to her reverse sneezing/coughing problem, but the alternative is to have the chemicals they spray in their mouths to dissolve the tartar be aspirated and that can apparently be fatal. :(
I don\'t know yet if she\'s going to lose teeth. Her molars are very badly caked. She still eats some hard kibbles before bed but moist ones the rest of the day.
Considering what she\'s been through for the last few months, I am actually very nervous about this procedure. I hope when the time comes we can get lots of YT vibes and prayers to be sure she comes through okay.