How's Maggie

[dutchman]

Since it appears the updates thread on Maggie was one of those that got deleted with the recent server problems I'll start a new thread. I was wondering how Maggie's checkup went earlier this week? I hope the news was good.

Best Wishes,

Tom and the boys (Frank and Tanner)

[Mrs.F]

Thanks for asking about Maggie!
Our appointment earlier this week was cancelled because the doctor was in emergency surgery and Maggie didn't get in to see Dr. K until today. When they called to cancel Monday's appt. I was instructed to pick up another round of the antibiotic Metronidazole so that she wouldn't be off meds without being checked.

Maggie's weight is up to 10.1. I was so pleased and surprised. She's looking much better, but I didn't expect to see her up more than a pound already. http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/smile.gif Her vital signs and reflexes are all good too.

If need be she can stay on the antibiotics for the rest of her life, but it's better if she can manage without them. Once this prescription is finished we'll try her on the prescription food alone. She'll stay on meds until the first week of February, which means she will have had a full month without symptoms before doing any experimenting.

We also discussed the surgery option. Tufts (Boston) is where we'd need to go, so that was good news. (It's only 3 hours away.) However, the surgery is pretty high risk and doesn't guarantee normal liver function, so we're going to consider the surgery only as a last resort.

All in all, I'm very happy. Maggie likes the Hill's L/D and seems to be doing well on it. We can easily afford to buy that for her (and the meds if need be) for the next 15 or 20 years. Making sure that she eats absolutely NOTHING other than the L/D is tricky, (she's acting like we're torturing her!) but I'm sure it will get easier as time goes by. I was so sure that I was going to lose her - I can live with any inconveniences now! http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/love.gif

[Frzframe]

Glad to hear the good news!! Must be very hard not to give into the L@@k for extra food but keep strong you can do it. http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/biggrin.gif
~Shonda

[dutchman]

Thank you for the update. It's good to know she is doing so well. We will all hop thing will continue so well for you. A little special diet maybe some meds that's manageable. It looks like Maggie is joining the ranks of the special needs kids.

Best wishes,

Tom and the boys (Frank and Tanner)

[Susan'sFreddie98]

That's GREAT news Heidi!http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/smile.gif Way to go Mags!http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/biggrin.gif

Susan

[loving two dachsie's]

We are so glad to hear good news on Maggiehttp://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/wink.gif

Linda

[Oscar's Mom]

I'm so happy to hear Maggie is doing well!

[Mandy]

Great News!

[georgette]

<FONT COLOR="Yellow"><FONT face="Comic Sans MS">Very happy to hear that Maggie is feeling better. Heidi you'll just have to look into her eyes and explain about the diet thing and she will understand. Take care and what a relief for us all. Now Augie must get better too. Whew you kids never give us a moment's rest. Phew. </FONT f></FONT c>

[Mark]

Hi Heidi,

I'm so glad Maggie is doing better.

Continued http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/rayz.gif RAYZ http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/rayz.gif from;

Mark, Char, Top Spin, Duck Butter & Masse

[Roxane]

Heidi, you are so right that meds and a special diet is a small price to pay to keep Maggie and any others we love, with us, for a long time.
So glad to hear,
Roxane and crew

[Augie Dog]

What is Metronidazole?

Did the vet tell you what it targets?

[Mrs.F]

Metronidazole is a heavy duty antibiotic. For Maggie it's targeting the bacteria in her colon and neutralizing it in order to keep her ammonia levels down. It's also used for other things - she was on it once before when we weren't sure what was causing the diarrhea (in November) in hopes that it would knock out any intestinal viruses.

Metronidazole is the generic name I believe. It is also called Flagyl, Some small dogs (toys and very tiny terriers especially) have problems with it, but it's still a drug of choice because of it's effectiveness, so I'm grateful that Maggie can tolerate it.

[Penny's Aunt]

Did the vet suggest that some blood work be done on a regular basis if Maggie has to stay on the Metronidazole for very long? I think they usually do that, esp if small dogs have problems with it; they like to monitor the liver & kidneys to make sure it isn't affecting them adversely.

How is she doing behavior-wise these days? Any changes that might indicate that the medical problem was the source of her other problems? Just curious.

[mlam]

I'm so pleased that your brave girl Maggie is feeling so much better - what super news!

[Mrs.F]

Maggie's blood and urine will have to be tested regularly for the rest of her life - in order to be sure that all of her organs continue to work well despite the shunt. Our vet feels that we are really lucky (I prefer to believe blessed) that Maggie's other organs didn't suffer permanent damage due to such high ammonia levels over a relatively long period of time.
As far as behavior goes, I feel like we've got the old Maggie back. She's still pretty fiesty and strong willed, not above snarling to get her own way, but also affectionate again and eager to play and snuggle with Penny. I sort of hoped that ALL of her aggressiveness was due to the liver shunt, but I now believe that Maggie just has a ....er... rather challenging personality. How much of it she was born with, and how much of it is because things just didn't go well with her first family, I'll never know, but we're happy with our Mags just the way she is! http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/love.gif
She's looking so much better now, too, almost up to her proper weight and her eyes and coat are shiny again. You can see the difference in her day by day!

[Tucker's Mom]

So glad to hear the good news! Hope Maggie continues to feel better!

Traci & Tucker

[Shelbie]

brilliant news, so glad Maggie's feeling better!

[Wienergal]

Heidi, I'm so glad Maggie is feeling better and that there was minimal organ damage. What good news, and how relieved you must be! http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/biggrin.gif

[weenie]

I am so glad and relieved to hear that Maggie is on the mend. <IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm30.gif" border=0>

-Kris http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/biggrin.gif

[Susan'sFreddie98]

Heidi, I'm so glad Maggie is going to be fine. I know that if I were going through this I'd be a mess! Congratulations!http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/smile.gif

BTW, I just love the name Maggie - makes me think of Maggie from the 'Simpsons'.http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/biggrin.gif

Susan

[Augie Dog]

FLAGYL <sp> I knew that! I took that a while myself!

[Mrs.F]

Maggie is more than half way through the "experiment" to see if she can manage on just the metronidazole and special diet. This morning she won't let me touch her belly/lower chest area and cried out when I gently lifted her to carry her down the stairs.
I suppose it could be a coincidence, but she never let us touch her belly when she was ill and would often growl when we moved her or shifted her on our laps. I don't believe she could have gotten into any food that she's not supposed to - we watch her like hawks and I don't believe I've ever kept my floors this clean before.
I called the emergency clinic to see about increasing the dose of metron. or picking up another prescription for amoxicillin, but the doctor on duty felt that Maggie will be fine until tomorrow and that it would be much better to have her seen by a vet that knows her history.
Of course she is right, and considering how many months poor Mags went with no meds or treatment, 24 and 1/2 hours won't hurt her I suppose, but I'm dreadfully disappointed right now. Maggie ate her breakfast eagerly and she and Penny were wrestling in a patch of sun on the rug, so I don't believe she feels too badly.
I've already left a message on our vet's answering machine, so if the doctor comes in at all today he'll know what's going on and I suspect he'll give us a call.

<FONT COLOR="#00FFFF" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by Mrs.F on January 28, 2001 at 07:10 AM</font>

[Oscar's Mom]

Sorry to hear Maggie is feeling a little sensitive. But its a good sign if she was playing.
Rays are still heading her way.

[dox_no3]

Hi Mrs. F.

Just want to send best wishes/rayz from Bugsy and me and to give you this little tip I figured out once when our last daxie was sick/in pain. I found that if she didn't want to be touched when we needed to carry her somewhere that I could fill up a laundry basket with folded towels and she could ride on top of them. Now, I can't remember exactly how I got her up there but I suspect I got her to get on top of one towel and then picked it up on to the laudry basket so I could transport her without touching her.

OK, now that I think about it, I may have just been fooling around with her, but I'm sure something similar could work.

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Julie & Bugsy
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