Rain, Rain Please go away...

For the last two days it has rained. All I can do is look out my window and wish the rain would go away...

Well, my doctor put in a prescription for a new medication to replace the azathioprine that I had to stop taking. It is called Budesonide. It is a fairly expensive drug at $2.00 per day but the good news is that if it works, then we can order a 90 day rx and the price goes down to about $1.30 per pill per day. We are hoping that this new med will eventually replace the prednisone. It is primarily used to treat Crohn's disease in humans, which is similar to IBD in dogs. From my Mommy's research, she has learned that Budesonide is a newer glucocorticoid which has shown significantly reduced side effects. Thank Goodness!

A WALK!?!?

I hope the rain will stay away tomorrow for our daily walk. I am so excited about going, but I really don't like getting all wet on our walks. So we pretty much stay inside the whole day. BOO HOO!

Time for nite nite!

Endoscopy, Diagnosis, and Follow-up

Today Mommy and Daddy took me to see an internal specialist because around March 16, I vomited blood and did not want to eat my food. Occassionally, my tummy would be upset and it would make weird gurgling noises, but it would always go away. My Mommy and Daddy have even taken me to see my regular vet doctor about this and they determined I had some sort of food allergy. But this particular day was different and my Mommy and Daddy did not want to take any chances of this being something more complicated. So our vet recommended a good Internal Specialist and on March 26, 2009 my endoscopy was performed. Mommy was really nervous because they had to leave me at the vet hospital (which is also an emergency vet) all day. The procedure was performed around 10:00 a.m. and by 1:00 p.m. everything was finished. When I woke up, I didn't see my Mommy and Daddy but the lady there said I would be able to go home around 4:00 p.m. So I slept.

Then about 4:00 p.m., Mommy and Daddy came and picked me up! They talked to the Dr. for a little while and he told us that it looks like my intestines were inflamed. He mentioned that we could be dealing with IBD or cancer. The Dr. said however that we wouldn't be for sure what the actual diagnosis was for another couple of days when the biopsy results come back. I could tell Mommy was not feeling so well when the Dr. gave us the news because she looked like she was going to fall down. I guess the Dr. scared her with the news of his findings.

Anyway, on April 1 - the findings had come in and and the Dr. called Mommy. It was confirmed that I have - moderate to severe, eosinophilic, lymphocytic-plasmacytic Inflammatory Bowel Disease. The Dr. prescribed a combination of prednisone and azathioprine as well as venison and potato food.

For several months afterwards I was feeling pretty good. No episodes of vomiting or diarrhea and I even had a healthy appetite. From the beginning of April until now (8/11/09) I had gained around 18lbs. My Dr. said the weight gain was "remarkable" but that we needed to keep our eye on it.

Then around July 4, 2009 I started to feel pretty bad. I didn't want to eat my food. So Mommy brought me back to see the Dr. and they drew blood. The results came back that I had elevated liver enzyme count due to side effects from the azathioprine. They took me off the Azathioprine and prescribed me an antibiotic and antioxidant medication. They also increased my prednisone and wanted to add Vitamin E. So yesterday, 8/10/09, Mommy took me back to see the Dr. for a blood recheck. The results came back today and it looks as though my liver is getting better! I definitely feel better! Dr. said that they are going to try a different medication to replace azathioprine with the hopes of weaning me off prednisone. Yay! Mommy was really happy and took my brother and I for a long walk.

I'll be back later for more information on IBD and my medication...