Canine Vasculitis and Pentoxifylline-need advice

[chachi]

Originally Posted by Jenna AK

I tried, I think I just don't have enough hand strength.
Will give it another shot...(ugh...bad unintentional pun)

Use a hammer

[Jenna AK]

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!

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

[ladyjane]

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.

[ladyjane]

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

[Jenna AK]

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.
(Below is an older picture, but one of my favorites)


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

[ladyjane]

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!

[dottiesyrky]

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.

[TxVicki]

I am so happy to read that Jenna is doing better. I love the picture.

[107barney]

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

[kimp5]

Yay!!!

[Lisa and Pic]

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

[Jenna AK]

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.

[ladyjane]

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!

[Jenna AK]

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!

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by Jenna AK

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.