1. Your pet's name: Betty
2. Approximate age: 14
3. Sex: Female
4. Neutering status: Spayed (later in life; she was a rescue)
5. Breed: Chihuahua mix
6. Approximate weight: 12.5 lbs.
7. What's their BEAM (behavior, energy, appetite, mood): Low, around a 2.5
8. Diet: Anything she will eat, which isn't much these days
9. Vaccination history / exposure to toxins, other medication: She has had rabies and presumably other vaccines in her lifetime before coming to me; no vaccines in the last several years. She is currently taking Vetmedin for heart disease and levothyroxine for thyroid.
10. Primary problem, when it began and if there was anything else happening around that time: She has multiple problems, the most pressing being her lack of appetite (she's lost two pounds over the last couple of weeks). She has a large, ulcerating mammary tumor we have been working to keep at bay. She sleeps unless we wake her and bring her somewhere to walk. She also has Cushing's disease, which she is not on medication for. This began around September of last year and at that time the only symptom Betty really had was pickiness around food. I can't pinpoint anything that would have spurred this at that time.
11. Is the condition better or worse from exercise, heat, cold, time of day, certain foods, emotional upset, being touched, excitement, etc.? She still has enough energy to walk the neighborhood, and she has been waking during the night and walking around the house. She gets upset when we try to give her medicine/treat her mammary ulcer.
12. Has any diagnostic work been done? Diagnosis if available (you can attach your diagnostic tests to the post if you have them.) Yes, lots! Last visit she was diagnosed with the low thyroid. That was about 6 weeks ago. She is due soon for a recheck on that.
13. Current and previous treatment. Treatment mostly with the heart and thyroid meds. I have been giving her a few liquid supplements for liver and stomach support (stomach soother) and some liquid (Trixsyn) for joint support. We are treating the wound with pau d'arco and it seems to be helping, though she is clearly in pain/uncomfortable when we touch it. I think the tumor is also causing her generalized pain in her rear area; she is unstable in her back legs and her lack of appetite has me thinking perhaps she is in pain.
14. Other health concerns. My primary concern is getting her to eat. I fear she'll keep losing weight rapidly at this point. And I believe that is detracting from her energy and stamina. She has also been having some brain fog. She'll walk aimlessly and walk to corners of the house and just stand there. We are working with Dr. Jeff with homeopathy and other modalities. Thank you!
As mentioned in the header above, Betty has multiple issues and her BEAM is quite low. She sleeps unless I wake her to go outside, go for rides, walk around the house, etc., which I do as often as possible. Betty is not interested in much else, especially her food, which is troubling as she is losing weight fairly rapidly. I would like to try something to rule out pain, which I think she may have from her ulcerating mammary tumor. I have gabapentin, but I'm not sure of the dose for Betty or if it's safe to give along with her other medications. Could someone please advise me on that?
We're always here for her, give her lots of love, always tending to her. Just looking to gather ideas for how to get her to eat and increase her BEAM. It is hard when she is not interested in anything (snuffling, etc.) and her brain fog doesn't help her engage. It is sad to see her stare at her food like she wants it and then not be able to eat it. I think if she is in pain and generally feeling awful she may not want to eat.
Thank you all!
Joanne
2. Approximate age: 14
3. Sex: Female
4. Neutering status: Spayed (later in life; she was a rescue)
5. Breed: Chihuahua mix
6. Approximate weight: 12.5 lbs.
7. What's their BEAM (behavior, energy, appetite, mood): Low, around a 2.5
8. Diet: Anything she will eat, which isn't much these days
9. Vaccination history / exposure to toxins, other medication: She has had rabies and presumably other vaccines in her lifetime before coming to me; no vaccines in the last several years. She is currently taking Vetmedin for heart disease and levothyroxine for thyroid.
10. Primary problem, when it began and if there was anything else happening around that time: She has multiple problems, the most pressing being her lack of appetite (she's lost two pounds over the last couple of weeks). She has a large, ulcerating mammary tumor we have been working to keep at bay. She sleeps unless we wake her and bring her somewhere to walk. She also has Cushing's disease, which she is not on medication for. This began around September of last year and at that time the only symptom Betty really had was pickiness around food. I can't pinpoint anything that would have spurred this at that time.
11. Is the condition better or worse from exercise, heat, cold, time of day, certain foods, emotional upset, being touched, excitement, etc.? She still has enough energy to walk the neighborhood, and she has been waking during the night and walking around the house. She gets upset when we try to give her medicine/treat her mammary ulcer.
12. Has any diagnostic work been done? Diagnosis if available (you can attach your diagnostic tests to the post if you have them.) Yes, lots! Last visit she was diagnosed with the low thyroid. That was about 6 weeks ago. She is due soon for a recheck on that.
13. Current and previous treatment. Treatment mostly with the heart and thyroid meds. I have been giving her a few liquid supplements for liver and stomach support (stomach soother) and some liquid (Trixsyn) for joint support. We are treating the wound with pau d'arco and it seems to be helping, though she is clearly in pain/uncomfortable when we touch it. I think the tumor is also causing her generalized pain in her rear area; she is unstable in her back legs and her lack of appetite has me thinking perhaps she is in pain.
14. Other health concerns. My primary concern is getting her to eat. I fear she'll keep losing weight rapidly at this point. And I believe that is detracting from her energy and stamina. She has also been having some brain fog. She'll walk aimlessly and walk to corners of the house and just stand there. We are working with Dr. Jeff with homeopathy and other modalities. Thank you!
As mentioned in the header above, Betty has multiple issues and her BEAM is quite low. She sleeps unless I wake her to go outside, go for rides, walk around the house, etc., which I do as often as possible. Betty is not interested in much else, especially her food, which is troubling as she is losing weight fairly rapidly. I would like to try something to rule out pain, which I think she may have from her ulcerating mammary tumor. I have gabapentin, but I'm not sure of the dose for Betty or if it's safe to give along with her other medications. Could someone please advise me on that?
We're always here for her, give her lots of love, always tending to her. Just looking to gather ideas for how to get her to eat and increase her BEAM. It is hard when she is not interested in anything (snuffling, etc.) and her brain fog doesn't help her engage. It is sad to see her stare at her food like she wants it and then not be able to eat it. I think if she is in pain and generally feeling awful she may not want to eat.
Thank you all!
Joanne
