woody2shoes

Excellent! I'm so glad I put this thread up. Sounds as though there are a few of us out there who will benefit from it. Thanks to everyone who gave us feedback. It's greatly appreciated. :D I won't hesitate to buy my Florinef through my pharmacy now. I find it a bit sad that our vets don't tell us that they can offer this service. Do they honestly not know or are they simply afraid of losing their dispensing fee? Either way, I think they end up doing themselves a great disservice. IMHO, a little PR would go a long, long way sometimes. My husband and I have spent a small fortune at two vet clinics in our area over a 20 year period and neither has ever offered so much as a free consult in that time. It does make you wonder sometimes. ;) I will be taking Candy to the same vet for regular testing and check ups for her Addisons but I certainly won't be beating down their door to have my other dogs treated unless it's absolutely necessary. I really do feel quite miffed about this issue. Just my $.02 cents' worth... w2s

lol That's great news! It's awesome when thing really fall into place! Well, I just went to see my pharmacist and yes, they said my vet can write a script for me and they will happily fill it for me for the term of Candy's natural life! No questions asked...and the price? $31/100 tablets!! Yaaaaay! Still not exactly PBS prices but it will be a big saving over the next 13 years or so. I then called the vet and the nurse said they will have a script ready later today. I am much happiers now. Thanks for all the advice! w2s

Thanks Ravenau1, I also looked up the list of PBS medicines and there it was! I am sure my vet is still putting a 100% markup on them all the same, going by the dispensed price on the list which is $46.50 for 200 tablets - PBS price to consumer, $33.30 for 200 tablets (so you are getting a very good deal!). I will be pursuing it further in any case. I have nothing to lose. Candy is doing brilliantly thanks. I hope you are! It is interesting that the dosage is so similar for you both! Maybe you weigh 23kg too??????? w2s

In the early stages of trying to manage Gidget's incontinence, I changed my feeding regime - not so much her diet. I can't remove kibble altogether but I now feed her the bulk of her food in the morning and only a very small amount at night when I feed the others (just a token gesture). This means she needs less water prior to being indoors for the night. I also restrict how much water she has access too before bed. If she needs a drink, she can have one. I just don't let her stand there and drink copious amounts. All those things have helped in the long run. I agree - the pelvic floor idea is one I am definitely working on too!

Oh, that's a shame...it did look as though it might be worth a try but I imagine that getting it in from the UK might not be all tha viable. I did try to find a similar product here online but there didn't seem to be anything... I hadn't considered Suprelorin as an alternative till someone suggested it to me very recently. I had hoped to get Gidget to the stage where she could be medication free but that is sounding less and less likely. So, given that she will more than likely have to be on something for the rest of her life, I'd like to make it as easy and affordable as possible. The Propalin is quite expensive and, needs to be given twice daily. If the Suprelorin implant works, it is approximately one fifth the cost and she would only be treated once or at worst, twice a year. It just makes sense from every angle. I have another girl with Addison's disease who is also medicated daily so I now have to factor in regular (and sizeable) vet bills, ones I certainly hadn't anticipated. With 9 dogs at home, I need to make sure they all get the treatment they need to be happy and healthy. Thanks for your input becks. I'm glad the hebal supplement worked for one of your girls. That's one less to worry about. :D w2s

Thanks Ravenau1, You're quite right. They definitely are 0.1mg...I realised that after I had put up my post. That decimal point sure is hard to see! I will speak to my vet and see if I can purchase them some other way. You are paying a quarter of what I am...someone is definitely making a killing off me! Thanks for the advice. Rappie, I will certainly keep up with the testing as it's required. That's a given. Our girl is currently being weaned off Prednisilone and all going well so far. Fingers crossed. :D w2s

One of our 3yo lab girls was recently diagnosed with Addison's Disease and she is on Florinef twice daily for life now as a result. Our vet bill arrived today. The cost of the Florinef is $44 for 100 x 1mg tablets from my vet. That seems fairly expensive and since Candy gets 4 a day, 100 tablets only last 25 days! Given that she's on this medication for life, I'd like to find a more cost effective way to buy them if possible. Does anyone have any suggestions please? Thanks in advance, w2s

I have looked up the product you are using - Hold It - it certainly sounds promising. Can you please tell me how you sourced it? Was it through their website or is there an Australian distributor? Thanks in advance. w2s

Thanks becks. Is only the one girl on the herbal treatment? Have you tried it on any others with success? I like the concept of the 6 monthly boost too. It's good to have other options to fall back on, just in case. I also spoke to my vet today about the possible use of Suprelorin implants. These are all just options. He said he'd read up on it and let me know... Fingers crossed that something positive comes out of all this. Many thanks to everyone...

Absolutely Tenille! FCP does not mean you wont be able to do things with Chester...you might not be able to do ALL the things you planned to but he should have an active life once he recovers. Friends of mine have a now 7yo very active Search and Rescue dog who had bilateral surgery at 8mo. Try to stay positive... w2s

http://www.vetinfo.com/spay-incontinence-in-dogs.html Thanks for all that info noisymina! Good stuff...the tail wagging exercise is actually very logical. I noticed that Gidget's incontinence worsened considerably over this winter when her swimming exercise regime came to a grinding halt (our irrigation channel was drained) and I suspected that it might have impacted on the strength of her pelvic floor muscles. I have now been able to resume her swimming and was curious to see if that might help her incontinence...I can easily get her to do vigorous tail wagging for that matter! I only have to look at her! The natural remedies certainly hold some merit and I plan to look into them. Thank you so much for your feedback. I really do appreciate it. w2s

Noisymina, thanks for the advice...I have no issue going down the naturopathic path as long as it is reliable. The Propalin will be a hard act to follow I suspect. vetrg, my vet seemed to think it was unlikely that the incontinence was related to my bitch being desexed. It was the first thing I suggested. He said that she was far too young for that - 7yo was typical. He also said that using hormones would be worse for her than giving her the Propalin (I guess he meant because it is essentially HRT? not sure....) In any case, I can only ask him again. I am certainly very happy with the Propalin except I find that she is a little bit jumpy on it and more hyper than normal. Other than that, no problem. I'd be keen to reduce the cost too so perhaps Incurin used as you suggest might be a viable alternative over the long term, even if it isn't as reliable. The Propalin costs over $80/100ml and that lasts me less than 2 months. As long as I don't jeopordise her health, I'd be prepared to put up with the odd accident. w2s

Hi all, One of my 3yo lab bitches (desexed) became progressively incontinent this winter. My vet was able to diagnose her issue as bladder sphincter weakness so she was subsequently started on Propalin and has since been incident free. I should just be grateful I guess but I am not keen to have her on any sort of meds for the rest of her life if I can avoid it. In theory, she could live to be 16yo! Does anyone have advice as to how to wean her off it? I have heard reports of people being able to take their dogs off incontinence meds in time with success but not sure if they went cold turkey. Any advice would be appreciated. BTW. my vet seems reluctant to go down that path (no real reason - he just is) so I don't want to force the issue at this point unless I have to. I figure if I try it and it is unsuccessful, I am no worse off. Cheers! w2s

Congratulations on doing so well with your lovely young boy! He's a credit to you and his breeder! ;)

Hi Tenille, I'm sorry to hear the news about Chester but truly, it's not all doom and gloom. I crated Gidget for nearly 2 months before her elbows were finally diagnosed and then following surgery, she was confined to the house for another two (I opted for open arthrotomy because I didn't feel confident in the other surgeon - if you decide on the arthroscopic procedure, Chester's recovery will be much faster). I realise Gidget's not a BC but she certainly was a very active and athletic lab pup bred to work so it was not an easy task to keep her confined for so long. First things first, you need to find things to occupy Chester. Kongs filled with carrot and peanut butter, bones, anything he can chew on and keep himself amused safely. Just watch the bones as they will wear his teeth down if he gets too many. I posted on DOL many, many times looking for advice on how to keep Gidget amused...and DOL'ers were great at sharing their ideas. Also, try not to think too far ahead. You can despair very easily if you do. One day at a time is a good way to approach it I found. Oh, I suspect that they will do the arthroscopy to investigate and if they find anything, they'll go ahead and do the procedure right there and then. That's certainly what I was told would happen at my first appointment. It's not easy to stay positive but Gidget's FCP was quite severe and she is fit as a fiddle now. She is never lame, there is no swelling, she doesn't pull up sore and she literally throws herself into everything 100%. She's not on any meds and except for daily Joint Supplement and Fish Oil Capsules, and a pre-winter course of Cartrophen injections, she leads a normal happy life. I wouldn't have done things any differently in hindsight. Good luck! :D w2s

I know them personally and have also dealt with them professionally and can only say that all their products and services have been great. w2s

I hope your news is good and that's the end of that little saga! It is a worrying wait - I remember it all too well. Fingers (and everything else) crossed for you. I'll be checking in to see how things pan out for you. w2s

There you go!

I didn't want to say anything initially for fear of coming across as pessimistic, but now that FCP has been diagnosed, I thought I might share some of my experiences with it. My lab bitch first went lame at 4mo and X-rays at that time showed nothing either. Given the joint issues labs are prone to, I took her straight to a specialist who believed it was most likely to be FCP which, unlike other forms of Elbow Dysplasia such as UAP, often won't show in radiographs in the early stages. CT scans at around 6mo showed exactly what she had and she ultimately had surgery on both elbows - one was much worse than the other. Having said that, she eventually recovered very well and is now a healthy, active 3yo girl who loves to retrieve (she's from working lines). In fact, she competed very successfully at Novice level till I decided on a change of tack. Oh, and btw, the surgeon did try to tell me that Gidget would never be able to run off lead again...we sure proved him wrong! Good luck with your BC Tenille W and try to remain optimistic. It is a long road to recovery if surgery is required but it can be done. Please keep us updated. w2s

Hi GoldenWei, that was a great outcome for your girl too. Congrats on being vigilant. Our vet said we had done well to get Candy in so promptly but I can't imagine leaving her any longer given how 'down' she was a the time. Sadly, Candy's symptoms were really vague initially - just this intermittent lethargy - she never, ever lost her appetite and as far as I'm aware, hadn't lost any obvious weight till she 'crisised' last week. It was as if her levels suddenly went ballistic and her entire system just shut down. I will now know to watch for anything resembling a depressed state I guess and that should alert us to any changes needing to be made to her meds. She goes back in a fortnight for another blood test. Great outcome for Sascha which makes me feel very positive for our Candy too! Thanks for the feedback, w2s

Hi all, I hope I am not repeating another thread... I just wanted to alert other DOLers to a condition our 3yo lab bitch has just been diagnosed with. Our girl Candy became very unwell Tuesday week ago. She suddenly became very depressed, lethargic, weak and had no appetite - she did not have a temperature but was clearly not herself. We ruled out snake bite as she showed no signs consistent with this. By the following morning she had vomited several times. By lunchtime there was still no improvement so my OH took her to our vet. X-rays confirmed that there was no blockage but bloods showed abnormal levels indicating possible kidney issues. She was put straight onto IV fluids including electrolytes, and more bloods were sent off for further testing. The following morning the results came back showing a severe potassium/sodium imbalance and ultimately, after what's known as an ACTH test, she was diagnosed with Addison's disease. Hers is immune mediated - her body's immune system is destroying her adrenal glands causing them to produce insufficient quantities of two particularly vital hormones that maintain normal bodily functions. She spent 4 days in hospital before she was well enough to come home. Candy had what is known as an Addisonian Crisis. Luckily, we caught hers quite early. Apparently it's not uncommon for dogs to be brought in after suddenly going into shock and collapsing and this can then be fatal. In addition, it's quite common for dogs to show minor symptoms on and off for some time but because the symptoms seem inconclusive, it's not till the Crisis occurs that owners realise something's seriously wrong. Candy's condition, in hindsight, has probably been building slowly over the past 12 months or so. There were short periods of mild depression at various times but never anything that really made us think there was something wrong. From what I've read, Addison's disease is not particularly rare and most commonly affects young to middle-aged bitches however, it does occur in dogs as well. Thankfully, there are some excellent drugs available to control this condition. Candy will need testing 2-3 times each year but all in all, the prognosis now that she is over her crisis, is excellent. She is back to her old, very happy self - in fact, she is better than she has been for the last 12 months I think!!! Just thought this one might be one worth putting in people's memory banks for future reference. If it helps just one person make an informed decision when it really counts, it will be worth it. Cheers! w2s

Thanks everyone! To say I was pleasantly surprised on the Saturday would be the understatement of the century (just ask a few people who were witness to it on the day - I think the judge wasn't sure I'd heard her when she pulled us out ol) but then to get Puppy in Show on Sunday as well - that was just AMAZING! I think Lyric is a beautiful whippet and I can't thank my dear friend Ness enough for entrusting her to my care. I hope my handling continues to improve so I can keep up with this divine girl. We had a sensational weekend away and I have to thank Bilbo Baggins Jr for taking some awesome photos of our lot over the weekend. Thanks Clare!!! :D w2s

She did that for a couple of mine too - very refreshing. Normally you have no idea what the judge thinks. Perhaps it's something others could take on board for the future???

Thanks Silvawillow...the schedule lists the Goulburn River CP and the Highlands CP as possible options. I guess I will go with the Goulburn River one anyway. At least that's safe! Thanks for your feedback too Rebanne! It is definitely noted. w2s

Hi, some friends and I have entered Yea Kennel Club show weekend in early September. We plan to book a cabin at one of the suggested Caravan Parks. Can anybody out there recommend one and make our decision as to where to stay easier please? Thanks in advance... w2s