Not too long ago, our senior dog, our spotted girl, Linguini, got terribly sick, by an adverse reaction to
PROIN (also known as phenylpropanolamine, PPA, or Propalin), a drug she took daily to control her incontinence. Weeks after being prescribed a daily pill, Linguini started vomiting violently after every meal. She started losing weight and got weaker every day. Her decline was fast. The dog vet insisted that
PROIN did not have any such adverse reactions and that it was probably the
RIMADYL (
carprofen) that was making her so ill. Through trial and error, we discovered that indeed it was the
PROIN that was making her so
SICK. We removed it from her diet. The vet argued and once again insisted that it was simply a coincidence and to put Linguini back on the drug. One meal later, Linguini was back to retching. It was the last time she took the drug. We got her off it altogether. A few days later she started to leak a bit, then some more, and about a week later she was leaving puddles everywhere. We lived like that for a few months, constantly mopping, cussing, feeling helpless. Linguini was suffering too, as she had to live with constantly wet bedding and fur.
The Walk of Shame
So, we did a bit of research. We found out that
PROIN, an effective treatment for Canine Urinary Incontinence,
should NOT be given concurrently with NSAIDs!!! How about that piece of precious information?
Linguini is currently on DES (diethylstilbestrol), a synthetic, non steroidal form of estrogen, also used for treatment of urinary incontinence in female dogs. The catch: DES is not approved for use in animals by the Food and Drug Administration, but is prescribed legally as an "extra-label" drug (the drug is registered for use in humans only). Because DES has it's own set of side-effects, careful monitoring is a must.
Our thought is that after a certain age (Linguini is 11 years old) a dog should be made as comfortable as possible. Our senior dog, our girl, is no longer ill nor does she need to wear diapers.
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27 comments:
Sweet girl! A lady should be treated as such.
Wiggles,
Calhoun
Awww Glad to hear that she is better and not hav ing to wear the diapers.
Wags and Licks,
Mollie Jo & Bobo
I hope you changed vets. That's unacceptable.
Guess we have to agree with Den of Wolves. Poor Linguini. We hope things go OK for her - really tough to get old. Hugs to her from all of us.
Woos ~ Phantom, Thunder, and Ciara
Yay! Glad she is feeling better - and that she doesn't have to wear diapers. Diapers are certainly better than leaking, but not leaking is best of all!
*kissey face*
-Fiona and Abby the Hippobottomus
We here at Team Beaglebratz think the Walk of Shame award should be awarded to the VET not Linguini. I have also had to deal with a vet like this - I figure I am the one living with my dogs, I see what is happening each and every day. I am proud of you sticking with Linguini - I'd get rid of the vet tho. And your comment about keeping an elderly dog as comfortable as possible - that goes for people too. I totally agree with you.
Mom Beaglebratz
Not dat you really cares but my mum is allergic to PPA also. Small world huh?
Anyways, I concur...I would switch VETs too. I am glad to knows her is betters.
Puddles
My grandma said once you get older, you sneeze and OOPS! Don't feel bad. Sorry you had to wear the embarrassing diapers. Your mom will always be there for extra lovins.
That vet needs a swift kick in da butt. We are all for doing what you know is best.
Kitty and Coco
OMD! INFURIATING! I would love to give the vet a KNUCKLE sandwich for sweet Linguine. I'm so glad you figured it out. ugh. she's so precious. she's lucky to have smart humans!
It's so evident how much you all love your Linguini!
Nubbin wiggles,
Oskar
OMD! That is just terrible for poor Linguine! I'm awfully glad that your mom argued with the V.E.T. to gets her taken off of it. But I can't BELIEVE he didn't know that you shouldn't gives those two medicines together. Poor Linguine. And poor your mom. That musta been so hard on her, too.
I'm glad that your big sis is feeling betters now.
Wiggles & Wags,
Mayzie
Oops...I spelled her name wrong. LINGUINI! Sorry abouts that.
Our mom says that senior doggies are the best! We love you, Linguini!
Love ya lots
Maggie and Mitch
Awww poor Linguini! Im glad to hear she is better, but how annoying about the vet! How did he not know that those 2 drugs were reacting?!
Poor thing, we are so sorry for her!
I'm glad to hear she's doing much better and doesn't have to wear those diapers!
Rudy's Raiser
So glad to hear Linguine is all better. I bet she was NOT amused that a lady of her stature was reduced to such indignities!
Summer
We agree, as long as she is happee
and not in pain you must do what is best. Poor baby
Benny & Lily
Sweet Linguini
How youw family loves you!!!!!
and I do too!!!
I'm so glad you awe now comfowtable and not having to walk in shame.
I think you awe bootiful and hope you live many many mowe yeaws
smoochie kisses
ASTA
Please give our best to Linguini, I felt so bad seeing her hanging her head in shame. Thank God you did your research, sometimes we know better then the vets since we know our dog best. You are both lucky to have each other, she's so sweet and I'm certain that your doing everything possible to enable her to live out her senior years in comfort and peace!
Love,
Nancy & Chip
Poor sweet girl! Glad you figured it out and that you listened to your instinct more than the vet listened to you! Never mind that it seems the vet would have known about this possibility even if it was somewhat rare since those two meds are extremely common. One of my fosters was on Proin (thank fully no trouble!) but she was also on Rimadyl for a few days- she had no trouble but I appreciate hearing about it so I will know in the future. Even if you didn't mind the puddles (they make me cuss too!)it is no fun for a doggie so I am glad the new stuff is working for her.
Glad she is feeling better. We can see she wasn't fond of the diaper thing at all.
P.S. Thanks for letting us know about your tags around your necks. We did have some blog troubles but thought they were fixed. We found out there was a bad blogger address that I created long ago. Since been removed, you may want to make sure you have the correct url for our blog. (http://www.hounddogmom.blogspot.com) The other one was missing a "d". You might want to make sure you are following the correct blog for us. Thanks for the tip and we will keep tabs on it.
Sniffs, The HoundDogs
We are so sad to see Linguini in diapers and our human shed a tear. Poor Linguini. We hope she gets better each day.
We agree with others and hope you changed vets. What that vet did (or not do) is totally unacceptable. I've slowly lost my faith in convetional vets and decided to switch Chewy & Lilibell to a holistic vet. They have their first appointment on 3/19 and I'm so looking forward to it.
Anyways, we are glad to hear that Miss Linguini is doing much better and is out of diapers!
We agree completely. Whatever makes her comfortable is what is best. As for vets with confusion about meds. Hopefully they will admit their mistake and learn from it.
Slobbers,
Mango
Glad you know to keep a careful watch on the DES. Many years ago, mama had a rescue Dane who was on DES for incontinence, even though she was fairly young. She'd been badly abused before rescue and had a lot of health problems. Mama did not know, and her then-vet did not disclose, the need to monitor. Mama's precious girl died of kidney failure. Don't know if it was due to the DES or other health issues, but mama is now a real stickler about regular, frequent blood tests.
We're very happy to see you've found a happy balance for Linguini and your mom. Mama has noticed that older dogs, just like older people, display embarrassment when they break their house training and diapers don't change that shame factor. So YEAH for Linguini!
Jed & Abby
Good for you for figuring that out! It's a continuing lesson to stay actively involved in the healthcare of our friends, family & selves.
... and I meant a lesson to "me".
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