Lola / update

[gschellinger]

Thank you Elisabeth...we are trying to believe it will just take more time for the new diet to help her get better. I hate feeding commercial food though. But Lola seems to love it! Even her poop smells like the "food" which I think is strange.

Happy to read that things have improved for you and your pup
gail.

[gschellinger]

Since Lola has gotten worse and worse again we are going to wean back to chicken and rice. As long as she is going to be congested I am going to feed her real food. I just hate feeding kibble. It isn't helping, so we are back to where we were on Aug. 1.
gail.

[Jo CIMDA]

A roller coaster comes to mind Gail and Lola is not letting you off the ride!  Thank goodness she has you to respond to her clinical signs.  I do hope the change back to chicken and rice will make an improvement very soon.

Thinking of you.

Jo

[gschellinger]

Thanks Jo!  You're right, it is and always has been a roller-coaster ride with Lola. She has enhanced my life in so many ways. I know for certain that I would be a very different person had I not been so lucky to have found Lola, The Lovely One

gail

[Sandy W]

Hi Gail...  Jo is right, yep...  rollercoaster, our special girl really does like to keep you guessing.  How is the latest change in diet working out ?  I can understand you wantinfg to avoid kibble.. yuk !
Yes, definitely looking forward to retirement..... and spending more quality time with my girls  )
Sending hugs to our little sweetheart... I think of you both often, even if I don't get on here to write.
Sandy, Bronte & Blanche xxx
Lola FC, UK

[gschellinger]

Hi Sandy...

She is OK. Still congested, but maybe not quite as bad as yesterday. She loves getting chicken again with her kibble. I'm feeding half kibble portion, top dressed with potatoes, chicken and carrots. She is better than when on just the Z/D, which makes no sense to me at all since it is supposed to be the best allergy diet. But this doesn't really seem food related now. We are just winging it. Off on a willy nilly diet. But as long as half her diet is Z/D I am feeling better about giving her real food and not worrying about nutrients right now. I am adding in calcium and a few other things now and then that I know she will be lacking.

Last night storms rolled in so I "slept" on the floor, with the lights on, and the radio on, with Lola. She is so cute. She settles right in when I sleep with her. The bugger. Too bad I can't trust her in my bed. She would likely fall out though.

Hope you are well...
gail

[Amshura]

 Gail I have beeen reading through your posts having not been on this pc much of late.
I think of dear LOLA so much &  of YOUR  devotion to her care.
Such a lucky dog in many other ways.
Best wishes & a BIG HUG to a very special  CIMDA girlie.
love Sylvia & the Affis. UK.

[Sandy W]

Sounds like a comforting night for both of you Gail...  I love it when my girls cuddle in 
Sandy, Bronte & Blanche
Lola FC, UK

[Shannon]

I'm so sorry that Lola's congestion is worse (I thought I'd replied on Coopers thread and then realised I hadn't, so I'm sorry if I appeared thoughtless). I've been thinking about her problem with all the mucus, and I'm sure you've been down this road before but I was wondering if a mucolytic would help her a little? I'm not sure and its just a shot in the dark but it may help it drain easier. I hope today is a good day for you and your precious girl.

[gschellinger]

Shannon,
Oh, no...you are not appearing thoughtless at all. No one can keep up with everything on the list either! I have not tried that particular product and I have not heard of it before. I have tried one called Mucaplex and one called Mucenix. We saw a marked increase in the progression of her ataxia while using them. More so the Mucenix, not sure why since they both have the same main ingredient. I'm giving her Quercetin now and that seems to at least not affect her neurologically. But to be honest, it is hard to know if it is helping her.

Thank you for the suggestion. I'll look it up and see if it is that same ingredient as the others. With neuro problems it is sometimes surprising what affects it in adverse ways. The worse one we encountered was a year ago when she was given sucralfate, which she has had with no problems in the past.
Best wishes for you and Cooper the Courageous One.
gail.

[Shannon]

Hi Gail,

I was thinking of a mucolytic along the lines of acetylcysteine but that may be the active ingredient in the others you've tried. You're really between a rock and a hard place having to deal with the ataxia too. Hoping your lovely Lola has had a good day. Cooper seems to be feeling a lot better and he says thank you for all the positive thoughts that were sent his way.

[Shannon]

I just checked and both of the other ones you've tried for Lola have guaifenesin as the active ingredient, which if I remember my correctly, is a muscle relaxant that can be used as a premed as well as being mucolytic. That would explain her ataxia getting so much worse on it.

I'm not even sure if acetylcysteine is an effective mucolytic but it might just be worth a try if it doesn't have any effect on her neuro system.

[gschellinger]

Yes, I remember reading about it's other use now. Her ataxia is also why we can't sedate her to get to the bottom of what is causing the congestion. All her vets feel it would be a mistake since she would likely be unable to return to her level of compensation for the ataxia. I'll check on this other ingredient in the product you mention.
gail

[shawkyelisabeth]

Hope lola had a good night and wishing her a lovely day elisabeth and stella

[gschellinger]

Thanks for thinking of Lola, Elisabeth.
I'm cheering for Stella too
gail.