westiemum Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 Thanks - Snook - that means a lot to us both. The Mac Attack has been snuggling on my lap for hours - and yes he does seem to be getting slowly better - he's been outside for a wee and is much steadier on his feet. so all fingers and paws crossed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rappie Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Thanks Perse - yes I do have a lot on at the moment - roll on the new house. While I'm incredibly grateful to be up at Crafers in this lovely home for seven weeks it will be marvellous for us all to be back in our own space - so roll-on the new house. As to the meds... I'll give it some thought but two weeks ago the vet reviewed him and felt his regime was OK. The only med he queried was the Gabapentin from the Emergency Hospital and I feel thats the most useful drug of the lot - so its staying!! Although I have plenty of it, I might talk to the vet about chopping out the Loxicom altogether and see how he goes with just one pain med... hmn... Sorry to hear about his woes but just wanted to add a thought. I find gabapentin a very useful drug for managing chronic pain in older dogs, or neuropathic pain in dogs of any age. It does seem to work better in conjunction with other meds for pain relief, ratehr than as a sole treatment, however it still has effect when it is used alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 (edited) hi Westiemum Any chance the flakey skin could be from a fungal infection? Adelaide hills might be cold but they're also damp and humid this time of year and can promote the growth of fungi - not just mushrooms. In which case some sort of anti fungal ointment eg for tinea (stinky feet) or vet equivalent might be needed? I think if you want to be sure - need to do a skin scraping and send it off to the lab to see what grows. Now theres a thought - thanks Mrs RB - I have some natural animal solutions stuff arriving hopefully next week which Yonjuro suggested - and one has anti-fungal properties I think. I actually bought it for Sarah but it might help the Mac Attack too. Thanks for the suggestion. Edited July 20, 2014 by westiemum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 (edited) Thanks Perse - yes I do have a lot on at the moment - roll on the new house. While I'm incredibly grateful to be up at Crafers in this lovely home for seven weeks it will be marvellous for us all to be back in our own space - so roll-on the new house. As to the meds... I'll give it some thought but two weeks ago the vet reviewed him and felt his regime was OK. The only med he queried was the Gabapentin from the Emergency Hospital and I feel thats the most useful drug of the lot - so its staying!! Although I have plenty of it, I might talk to the vet about chopping out the Loxicom altogether and see how he goes with just one pain med... hmn... Sorry to hear about his woes but just wanted to add a thought. I find gabapentin a very useful drug for managing chronic pain in older dogs, or neuropathic pain in dogs of any age. It does seem to work better in conjunction with other meds for pain relief, ratehr than as a sole treatment, however it still has effect when it is used alone. Thanks Rappie - very helpful - that explains why the Emergency vet was very clear about leaving him on both the Gabapentin and the Loxicom - so I'll leave as is for the moment then. Yes I understand Gabapentin is an oldie but a goodie - apparently JFK was on it in the very early 1960's - and I'm finding it pretty effective with Mac daily with the Loxicom 3 times a week - Monday morning, Wednesday morning and Friday nights. He moves much more freely and generally seems much happier. I suppose I just worry about how many drugs he is taking - particularly as since his foie-back surgery in June 2013 he now has a permanently open airway that I need to be careful of. He's on Vivitonian, Gabapentin, Loxicom, Stilboestrel, Fish Oil and currently Amoxyclav as well - and its quite a business keeping it all straight and getting it right!! I've also found Manuka honey - on a teaspoon and in water - very useful and makes it easy to ensure he stays well hydrated. Quite a business! Edited July 20, 2014 by westiemum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Westiemum - the neuro had Kenz on gabapentin and was happy for it to be combined with whatever anti-inflam she needed to be on. We ended up cutting the gabapentin because it caused an increase in her collapse - bit of a pity as it was the most effective of everything we tried. Not really sure I have anything constructive to add but hope Mac recovers quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 Thanks Ness - what did you mean by an increase in her collapse exactly? Yes when they get to this point it can be hard to know what to do. But I think I'll leave as is for the moment - he seems fine this afternoon although there was a brief period where his breathing was a bit noisy. He's due his last lot of medication for the day shortly so I'll see how he is after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ness Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Oh Kenz has BC collapse on top of her joint issues and that problem got worse the minute we tried her on gabapentin so after cutting the dose by half and her still having issues the neuro suggested she come off it. We then put her onto Loxicom and on that she has remained. Funnily enough on three times a week dosage as well which people thought sounded a little odd but doesn't appear to be totally an odd recommendation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 Ah of course - thanks Ness. Sorry I'd forgotten. With Loxicom it's about trying to minimise the dose while still getting good therapeutic effect. For some dogs it might need four times a week. It can cause kidney damage with long term use but not at that dosage - and as Rappie said above best effect is with the two pain meds - so I'll keep going but keep it under review as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florise Posted July 20, 2014 Share Posted July 20, 2014 Be careful with fish oils as it can work as an anticoagulant. My dog was on Synflex, he underwent surgery and had serious bleeding issues during surgery and needed an extra night in hospital. I stopped the synflex and took him back 6 weeks later for clotting tests which were all normal.. Loxicam has a side effect of gastric irritation and bleeding so please take care when using them together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westiemum Posted July 20, 2014 Author Share Posted July 20, 2014 Thanks Florise - I didn't know that - gastric irritation can be particularly serious for Mac as he has an open airway after tie-back surgery. Will discuss with the vet. Thanks for letting me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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