We know it's been a couple of months since we posted. As is usually the case, no news is good news.
We have settled into our winter routine and both Addie and Finigan are doing well.
Addie's vestibular issues are likely to remain with her for the rest of her life. The worst part of those symptoms is that she remains unstable in her hindquarters. If she gets excited and tries to move to quickly she will sometimes stumble and fall. Her head tilt comes and goes and seems to be worse when she is tired.
Otherwise, she seems to be getting along as well as we can expect at this stage.
Nothing much more to report at this point. We will post again when the situation merits.
6 comments:
Happy New Year to you all!
Thanks for the update. Addie's story is important to me. Thanks for the updates.
Nice to hear that your lives are gently plodding along.
Best news of all.
Cheers.
Hello,
I enjoyed reading about Addie - what a lovely dog. My yellow lab Dakota went into pericardial fusion 12/28/2010 - we rushed him to the vet only to be diagnosed with visceral hermaniosarcoma - he has a 3cm tumor on his heart. I started a holistic diet right away and just started with the neoplasene a week ago. My vet said to start with 2 ml which is 1/2 tsp 2 x's daily and then got up to 3ml for a week and then 6ml for a week twice a day. I am confused with the metrics and conversion and phoned Dr. Fox who said to read his protocol for oral which I did. I purchased a 1/2 filled bottle, maybe 3/4 cup for almost $363 and recall reading on your blogs your expense was $150/month. I am really confused about the dosing, Dakota weighs 100 lbs. I will be lucky if it lasts a month. From what I gathered with Dr. Fox on the phone is I should be giving him larger dose 10 - 25 mg/kg which I converted to 45.36 kilograms for Dakota's 100lbs or 450 mg. guessing split in 1/2 with each meal.
It is so great that your dog has done so well. Do you have any tips on feeding Dakota - since it is all cooked food how do you manage the meals?
Thank-you so much for your reply!
Best regards,
Lorraine
Lorraine,
Thanks for your post. I am so sorry to hear about Dakota.
Here is my insight into the Neo:
With Addie, she is on 2mL - 2 times a day. This is a "maintenance" mode for her. However, we had a 2nd dog - Shep who also had cancer back in 2009 (look at our posts around July, 2009 regarding). Our vet put him on a much higher dosage (up to 10mL/day - split between 2 meals). Both of our dogs weighed approximately 70#. With Shep, they were trying to be more aggressive as the cancer was very widespread. Unfortunately, we caught it too late and the Neo did not help.
A full bottle of Neo will last us 6 weeks with Addie. But again, she is only on 2mL (same as cc), 2 times per day. So the cost isn't as high.
As to feeding, we are very lucky with Addie. We give her cottage cheese 15 -20 min. prior to her meal which is 1/2 C cooked meat, 1/2 C. cooked veggies, her supplements, and 1/2 C. high quality kibble. We mix the Neo right in and she eats it w/o problem. Shep was a much pickier eater. We had to hide it in meatballs, etc. It was very difficult to get him to take it. Some people do put it in capsules, but you have to be quick as it will dissolve the capsules quickly.
I recommend finding a vet locally who is familiar with the usage of the Neo. We had to find a holistic vet and were lucky to find one with a lot of experience using Neo. If you can't find anyone locally, our vet does do phone consults. His contact info is: Dr. Friedly: 719.494.1156. He is out of Falcon, CO.
It is overwhelming in the beginning with the food prep, and the worry, and the meds. But it does become routine after a while and not so daunting.
There are several google groups on the subject and they can give you some insight as well.
Wishing you the best with Dakota. Please keep us posted.
Denice
Your story is very inspiring to me and my dog Buddy! He is 11 and was just diagnosed with hemangiosarcoma. His post surgery pictures looks very similar to Addie's. His spleen was removed just under two weeks ago. I have started reading about Neoplasene, my vet has not recommended it as a treatment. What sort of foods do you cook for Addie? I am eager to learn more and if you have any advice please email me.
Thank you!
Anne,
So sorry to hear about Buddy. I know this is a horrible time for you.
I don't have your email address as it doesn't show in your comment, but feel free to email me directly: denice@8990ft.com.
We feed Addie a mix of cooked meat (chicken and pork), cooked veggies (mostly broccoli or green beans), and high quality kibble (Orijen). She gets 1/2 C. each - 2 times per day.
Best to you and Buddy and feel free to email me directly.
Denice
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