Lack of Energy
- Thread starter Kysha
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Thomas Liggin
Boxer Insane
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Happy, Happy New Year!!!!
Way to go Owen!! You've given Mommy quite a scare, but I'm sure she'll forgive you as long as your final blood test is good.
Did the vet ever come up with a theory or reason for his illness? At one point they thought it might have been caused by a toxin.
As long as he is well, that's all that matters.
Tom
Happy, Happy New Year!!!!
Way to go Owen!! You've given Mommy quite a scare, but I'm sure she'll forgive you as long as your final blood test is good.
Did the vet ever come up with a theory or reason for his illness? At one point they thought it might have been caused by a toxin.
As long as he is well, that's all that matters.
Tom
Kysha
Completely Boxer Crazy
We still don't know EXACTLY what has caused this. If his blood tests next week and two weeks after that all come back normal (meaning that Owen is holding his own without medication), then our best guess is a toxin of some sort. This toxin would have weakened his immune system to the point that it was killing red blood cells. For the life of me I can't imagine what he would have gotten into - he is with me practicaly 24-7 (I work from home), but you never know, and I am not willing to rule that out completly.
If Owen's blood tests come back to show that his red blood cell count is dropping because he is off his meds then it's a pretty clear indication that it's an immune system disorder of some type. The vet has mentioned that they can do a spinal tap and bone marrow analysis to hopefully find out WHAT is causing this, but I personally can't put him through that. I am of the mind set that if what we are doing is working, why stress him more.
So basically it all hinges on his blood work over the next month. If he can hold is own then we are pretty much home free! If he drops and can not pull himself out of it, then he may have to be on a low dose of steroids for life (something I hope we don't have to do).
Since he has been off the steroids, I have noticed that he has lost some weight (which he needed to do - he put on almost 10 pounds from the steroids), and his attitude has changed too. He is more playful and energetic! The vet said that it will take quite some time for the residdual steroids to wear off, so another month and he should be 100%. Now I just have to wait for his hair to grow back!
Thanks again everyone - I really could not have done it without you.
Cindy Creel
Boxer Insane
I am so glad to hear this good news.
Cindy
Cindy
Kysha
Completely Boxer Crazy
Things went down for a little while, but they seem to be looking better now!
Since we took him off the steroids since Christmas his red blood cells decreased for four weeks in a row :( They never dropped below the normal range, but they did drop.
DH and I went on vacation in January for a week and when we got back I TOTALLY re-vamped their diet (see below for mor info if you are interested).
Since the end of January his red blood cells are climbing back up! His las count was 37 (normal range 25-50)!!! We will go back into the vets on Monday for another test. If he is the same or better then we can stop testing him unless we see a reason to.
So lets keep our fingers crossed until Monday! I am sure that it will be good news though!
Tegan and Owen have been BARFing since last year, and I was following the Billinghurst ratios. After talking with a few Boxer breeders that BARF, and ones that don't, I learned that Boxers are prone to anemia as a breed and should be fed more red meat/organ meat than many other breeds!!!
What I did to their diet:
- they are now eating 1/3 RMB's, 1/3 red meat/organ, and 1/3 veggie mix (this includes veggies, sardines, eggs, garlic, fuit, salmon)
- to this they get at least 1 teaspoon of spirulina
- they also get 1 B50 complex vitamin
So I upped their red meat/organ (the mostly get beef kidney, heart and liver) to 1/3 of their diet, took out the multi vitamin and replaced it with spirulina. This combination seems to be working for them. I have even noticed a GREAT improvement in Tegan too. Overall their coats are better, they don't have any flaky skin (just a SMALL amount dur to our severly dry winters here), they have more energy, and they like the new diet too!
I will post with more info on his test results next week when I get them in!
Thanks for everyone's support.
Since we took him off the steroids since Christmas his red blood cells decreased for four weeks in a row :( They never dropped below the normal range, but they did drop.
DH and I went on vacation in January for a week and when we got back I TOTALLY re-vamped their diet (see below for mor info if you are interested).
Since the end of January his red blood cells are climbing back up! His las count was 37 (normal range 25-50)!!! We will go back into the vets on Monday for another test. If he is the same or better then we can stop testing him unless we see a reason to.
So lets keep our fingers crossed until Monday! I am sure that it will be good news though!
Tegan and Owen have been BARFing since last year, and I was following the Billinghurst ratios. After talking with a few Boxer breeders that BARF, and ones that don't, I learned that Boxers are prone to anemia as a breed and should be fed more red meat/organ meat than many other breeds!!!
What I did to their diet:
- they are now eating 1/3 RMB's, 1/3 red meat/organ, and 1/3 veggie mix (this includes veggies, sardines, eggs, garlic, fuit, salmon)
- to this they get at least 1 teaspoon of spirulina
- they also get 1 B50 complex vitamin
So I upped their red meat/organ (the mostly get beef kidney, heart and liver) to 1/3 of their diet, took out the multi vitamin and replaced it with spirulina. This combination seems to be working for them. I have even noticed a GREAT improvement in Tegan too. Overall their coats are better, they don't have any flaky skin (just a SMALL amount dur to our severly dry winters here), they have more energy, and they like the new diet too!
I will post with more info on his test results next week when I get them in!
Thanks for everyone's support.
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