Monday, September 8, 2008

Week 8 Update

It is now week 8 of Addie's 6-10 week life expectancy diagnosis.

We decided to go on vacation (planned about 6 months ago) and left both Addie and Shep with Aunt Janet and Uncle Jeff. I did feel pretty guilty for the first few days because this would be the first time we had left Addie overnight since she was diagnosed. Plus, we would be gone for a total of 13 days. It is a lot to ask of someone to take on the supplements, meal plans, and a dog diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma- especially when they have 2 dogs of their own (one being a puppy!).

Everyone did excellent! After a few days, everyone got into a routine and things ran smoothly. Addie did get the nickname Emo (short for Emotional), but she always is that way when we leave her, so nothing new there. Janet came up with some great shortcuts in the feeding method that we plan to steal.

We decided ahead of time to go ahead with the holistic veterinarian's recommendation of stopping the neoplasene for 1 week after 6 weeks on the medicine. So, on day 6 of her stay, Addie was able to come off of the Neoplasene for the following week. Janet told us that she seemed a bit brighter during that time, but still moody and slow due to being away from home.

We returned home this morning and she is happy to be in her comfort zone. We did feel like bad parents as we forgot we didn't have any cottage cheese for her and forgot to have a meal prepared for her... amazing what 13 days away will do to your memory!

Thanks again to Janet and Jeff for letting us relax on vacation and taking awesome care of our two babies!

3 comments:

Jen O said...

Denise and Addie,

Thanks for your words of encouragement. I plan to print out copies of your blog today for reference, especially regarding Addie's diet.

By the way, I'm so happy to hear of Addie's progress.

Anonymous said...

HELP...my 11 year old Rottreiver timebr was diagosed with Hemangiosarcoma in mid August
His spleen was removed and there were a few suspicious areas on the liver.

He is on Milk thistle, Yannan Baiyao and Chloropyl with a homemade diet of shicken turkey some beef mixed with yams and kale.

What is Neoplesene and please share your diet.

We are desperate. He has been OK but this weekend he is weaker. His gums have been pale but pink up nicley.

Denice said...

Anonymous -

Sorry, I did not see your post until today. For some reason I was not alerted.

I hope Timebr is still ok..

Neoplasene is a holistic medicine derived from bloodroot. You can see more information about it at:

http://www.buckmountainbotanicals.net/index.html

You do have to have it ordered from a vet. Our regular vet had not used it prior, but did order our first batch. We then switched to a holistic vet who was more familiar with its usage.

We have played with Addie's diet, but this is what we currently give her 2 times per day:

2 C. cooked meat/veggies
1 scoop Fractured Pectin
1 capsule Hepagen-C
2 cc Neoplasene
2 capsules Krill Oil
1 CoQ10 (only 1 x per day)
1 capsule glucosamine (on 1 x day)

We only use the Yannan when she needs it - cold paws, pale gums, etc. It has only happened 1 time since her diagnosis.

Our thoughts are with you. Please provide an update on Timebr's status when you can.

Denice and Addie