Sophie Update.

Sorry, my day job and my unpaid second job as vet tech are interfering with updating this poor little blog.

So, I believe I left you with Sophie’s dramatic liquid diarrhea returning. We went to the new vet, and after a new round of blood tests and medication ($300) actually got some news.

Sophie’s blood protein is very low. Her platelets are really high, so high that the vet put her on a blood thinner because she feared a clot. The doggie diarrhea med plus antibiotic plus steroid helped her watery diarrhea slow down to a sort of pudding, so hopefully her intestines are absorbing more nutrients.

My options are to take her up to the vet hospital at UF Gainesville, or see a local specialist group that is at least closer but no more affordable.

I like the new vet. She’s thorough and also practical. I asked her if treatment options would change significantly if we went to a specialist, and she said no. They would run tests and maybe give a name to the issue after scopes and maybe a biopsy of her intestine, but the treatment wouldn’t change. She called one to get advice already.

I believe this, because this is eerily like Murphy’s lymphangiectaisia, but he never had a high platelet count. And we managed his whatever it was; he has a biopsy and diagnosis and a prognosis of “poor,” and a prediction of four months, when he was nine. He lasted until he was 15 and a half, which is a decent age for a Yorkie who was declared nearly dead 6 years earlier.

I don’t need to pay thousands to name Sophie’s condition, which is similar but not the same, as long as she responds to treatment. She’s definitely feeling better, her appetite is back and she’s much perkier. She’s also blind, doesn’t seem to hear very well, and is confused. Hoping the medication will make her more herself. Right now she’s content, sleeps well through the night, obviously isn’t in pain, and thanks to the steriods eats like a horse. She’s also looking thinner, and life has become confusing to her. I have to carry her down the stairs because even our solid stairs with a landing are scary for her now, and she’s obviously confused and not herself. We will let the blood tests be our guide this time, and see if she’s responding to treatment. For now, she’s energized. Yay, steriods!