CIMDA

I am so glad you have been in touch with Jo. Things sound a lot more positive and hopefully your puppy will soon be feeling better.

Thank you Catherine for your help, i have spoken to Jo , what a lovely lady , and so very helpful and patient listening to my puppies problems, she has sent me lots of links and will be having a chat with the vet tomorrow to maybe try a dexamethasone injection. thank you so much for replying and helping , i will let you know the outcome in a day or so , sarah x

I can not get in touch with Jo at the moment but I have left a message for her that there is a puppy needing her help so hopefully she will soon be in touch.

I am not sure I would be wanting to give a young puppy Gabapentin - is it for the pain and how long has she been having it?

Is her temperature very high or just a bit elevated?

Did you check out about the IMPA and SRMA? Does your vet think it could be these, Lyme disease or what does your vet think it could be?

Have you considered Addison's? See here:  http://cimda.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,575.0.html  Did the blood tests include a biochemistry one for kidney, liver etc. enzymes? Sorry to bombard you with all these questions but it is difficult to know what to suggest when I only have a little information.

Has your puppy only become unwell today or has this been going on for a while?

I understand your reluctance for spamming , I promise I am not doing that , just been to the emergency vet as my puppy has suddenly gone lame I am beside myself with worry , but antibiotics and gabapentin later will see how she is overnight . I will send a message to jo s email now thank you any help is appreciated , in answer to your question yes she does have a temperature , she has had a blood test and it showed raised white cell count and not much else .

We have had a lot of spam on here recently so i am reluctant to give out Jo's phone number. Her e-mail is: cimda@aslog.co.uk  If you mark that urgent she should see it as soon as she is able.

Can you tell us more of your Beardie's symptoms please? Has she got a temperature?  Could it be IMPA See here:    http://cimda.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,15.0.html Or could it be SRMA? See here: http://cimda.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,25.0.html

Were her electrolytes tested?

Hi I am a newbie to this site, advised from the lovely friendly beardie club on facebook to contact you , i have a poorly poorly puppy 19 weeks old , has had several problems , but its coming to close to having to put her to sleep and i am heart broken, she is currently in quite some discomfort and her back legs seems to be very weak , she is on antibiotics as vet says bloods show an infection , but i think something more is going on inside , I was advised to speak to jo tucker but have no idea how i can contact her. any advice or tips would be very welcomed , thanks from a very worried beardie owner

Hello  Patricia

This sounds very positive - great news for Sophie, and you!

The area you describe could be a pigment change as a result of some damage done last year.   Very often if there is some alteration or insult  to the skin the pigment cells will react and they become darker. This will also happen when a dog is on steroids.  Hyperpigmentation occurs with Cushing's and hormone imbalance.   If this darker area isn't bothering Sophie or there isn't anything obvious to worry about then it is likely to be a result of the drugs or whatever the episode was last year, so I wouldn't worry about having it checked out now.

Jo

Hello Jo

We are well on the way to reducing the Prednisone, and Sophie is now on 2.5 mg every other day.  In herself she is doing really well, exercising her almost daily (not for too long) and she is pretty much back to her old self (organising me very efficiently!).  However, some time ago - I think late last year or early this year (she relapsed on 28 December last year) she developed a reasonably large area on her lower stomach which was a bit like a mild bruise.  I took her to the vet who checked her over and said she wasn't sure what caused it, but couldn't find anything specifically wrong.  This area has within the last week developed to be much darker (not like a really dark bruise, but darker than a fading bruise) and covering a larger area.  I will try to attach a photo - not sure if my skills are quite good enough!  Is this something that can happen when the Prednisone is reduced, and what causes it.  Her recent bloods were perfect - all within normal limits - done on 2 November although not a full biochem - just TP< ALB< GLO< AGR< BILI< ALP<and ALT.  Is it something she needs checking now, or ok to wait until 23 November when she has her next bloods.  Thanks for your help Jo.  (Sorry, the attachment was too large and I'm not sure how to reduce size.)

Thanks Jo. It was a pretty scary time in the initial few months but my gum checking is still a regular occurrence! Just in case

Hi

"My concern is that if the dose is increased too soon, Buffy could turn hyper."

This is very unlikely because the initial dose is usually low and this is gradually increased, based on blood results, until the optimum dose is reached and clinical signs have resolved.

Buffy may have megaosoephagus or an ulcerated throat etc.

In addition to the thyroid panel perhaps you should have a full biochemistry and a complete blood count to put your mind at rest. 

Jo