Ellie has had a lot of ups and downs these last few days, but I am starting to think she might actually pull out of this. Basically, Cushing's is a lot like having a constant level of high dose steroids going into your body. When we started her treatment it got that under control, but unfortunately without those steroids her body was just too weak to care about ANYTHING. No eating, no drinking, no moving. Saturday we started the fluids and did some basic force feeding through a syringe and she tolerated it okay. That night she ate three small bites of chicken, and that felt like a huge win.
Sunday she seemed a little stronger and ate several boneless chicken thighs. She was only eating or drinking when prompted, but seemed to be doing better. Then late that night she started having diarrhea... oh sorry. Should I have warned you I was going to talk about my dog's bowel movements in this post? You aren't eating, right? Anyway, having those issues triggered a new round of no eating or drinking stretched through most of Monday. We were back to laying on the kitchen floor with her, feeding her through a syringe. She was pitiful, but not AS pitiful as she had been Saturday so we still had a little hope that we might turn a corner. She was able to stand up and was walking to the back door to go out, plus her eyes just looked a little brighter.
Yesterday I was able to work from home so I could be there and help take care of her. We continued with the fluids through the IV bag (technically subcutaneous fluids) and feeding with the syringe. The vet suggested we add some pumpkin to her diet, which helped a little. While she was not eating or drinking on her own, she did continue to seem more like herself, barking when Nick came in and getting up to ask to go out. That night she ended up eating some chicken and drinking some water on her own, so things were looking up!
Last night she got me up in the night to let her out then really wanted me to give her water through the syringe. She seems to have decided she likes me laying in the floor making her a constant water fountain. That is much more like the Ellie we know and love. She ate more chicken and pumpkin this morning and at lunch and is continuing to get stronger. The diarrhea (sorry) is still a major issue but the vet wants to hold off on giving her yet another medication and see if it works itself out since she has the IV fluids and isn't showing signs of dehydration.
Wow. That turned into a much longer and detailed update than I planned to give. But that's where we are. The thing with all of this is that there is a potential light at the end of the tunnel. We are fighting something that is treatable, and while the road ahead may be long and difficult for all of us, we are hoping in the end to have a happy healthy dog again. If she can't recover, then we will accept that, but we are all fighting like hell for a chance. She is doing her part, and there is just not a question that we will do ours.
Praying for you and Ellie.
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