FDIC 2011

Yep, we made it.

A brief re-cap in words, and then some pics:

Water Rescue ended up going on Friday, so Jason & I hit the road early Saturday morning and went on Saturday. We (nearly) closed out the convention, then walked over to Circle Centre Mall and people-watched until our matinee movie started. Ended the evening with dinner at Rock Bottom, and then spent the night in the Hyatt. Slept in Sunday morning, stopped for a leisurely brunch outside of Indianapolis, then headed to my parents' house to pick up Jena, who spent the weekend there.

All in all, a great weekend.

Now for some pics:

Update on My Fat Butt

Well, with the whole IUD-expelling-itself-scare, I had to stop two of my meds cold turkey because of the risk of pregnancy. So at my last checkup, I had been three weeks off the meds.

And I'd gained two pounds.

I was pretty upset.

Then my endocrinologist said that wasn't bad at all. He said considering I had to stop them cold turkey, and they are pretty strong medications, it's natural that my body would have some backlash. And considering it was only two pounds, he's fairly confident that it was most likely just caused by water retention.

So... he was actually pretty happy, even though I wasn't. But I did leave there feeling some better.

And once I was able to finally confirm that I definitely was not pregnant, and get back on birth control, I started all of my medication back up.

Also at that appointment, I got the results of my three month bloodwork, which was taken right before I went off my meds. Everything was great! My blood sugar was normal, my vitamin D was still low, but on the very low end of normal, and my vitamin B12 was with normal levels. Thyroid within normal levels. Pulse and blood pressure remain excellent.

This is all very good news! And a very good sign that the intensive drug therapy we've been doing is working, and working well. My doctor is estimating that we should be done with the aggressive treatment by around June timing, and then will drop the stronger meds and just continue with the routine meds that I will most likely need to remain on forever to maintain my insulin levels at a normal level.

Thanks for checking in!

Tootsie has Heartworms

We took Tootsie for her yearly vet visit a couple of weeks ago.

Despite being 10 years old, she got a clean bill of health. The vet said she would have never guessed her as being as old as she was if she didn't have the vet record to prove it.

Except for one thing: Tootsie's eyes. She has a cataract in her left eye, and "significant signs of aging" in her right eye.

Her appointment was on a Saturday, and we left feeling pretty good. Until 8:15am Monday morning, when my cell phone rang. Her bloodwork came back positive for heartworms.

See, we've never had any of the dogs on heartworm preventative.

I knew it was fatal, but we also knew it was treatable.

So, when Jason told me that he never put them on preventatives (remember, they were all his dogs to begin with), but just planned to treat them if they ever tested as positive, it seemed logical.

And... now I feel like an idiot.

Neither of us realized how extensive the traditional treatment is. It's extremely hard on the animal, the treatment itself can actually kill the dog, and it's very expensive. Tootsie's cost is a bit higher than most because of her size (95 lbs), so rang in at right about $1,000.

We discussed it. At length. I had the doctor explain the treatment, and its effects on Tootsie, in detail. Then I got on the internet & looked up what I could find for myself. Then I called back and had them go over it again. All the while discussing it with Jason.

In the end, we decided to forego the traditional treatment.

Considering how invasive it is, how extreme, and how hard it is on the dog herself, we can't imagine putting her thru that for maybe two more years of life, probably three tops.

I liken it to the 85-year-old in otherwise good health who was just diagnosed with mid-stage cancer, who's deciding whether or not to go thru chemo. Sure, you get more life, but what is your quality of life? It's a tough decision, and a personal one.

Instead of the traditional treatment, we are opting for an aggressive drug therapy that can be done at home. It won't cure her like the traditional treatment, but it should greatly limit the damage the worms can do to her heart & lungs, and give her a longer lifespan than  no treatment at all, with little to no risk or side effects to her.

The vet explained that she was likely infected within the past six months, as she is not currently showing any outward symptoms. So we've studied up on the typical symptoms, what they look like at onset, how they progress, etc. Still need to learn more, but we're in the process of educating ourselves. In the event that her outward symptoms appear, and develop to where she is suffering, we will have her euthanized.

Buddy and Fopsy have since tested negative.

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Since finding out her diagnosis, I have talked to just about every dog owner I know of in real life, asking them to please make sure their dogs are on heartworm preventative.

Initially, I was prepared to be flamed for not putting our dogs on it, and in some cases got the side eye.

But, in talking with other dog owners, I've found the story to be the same.

They begin by saying something like "Of course I have my dog on (insert brand name of preventative here)! I have since we got him/her!"

But the more you talk to them, almost every one ends up saying at some point, something like "but I'm not that good at remembering to give it to him/her. Geez, I don't remember the last time they got their pill"
Really? Well, not to be calloused, but that's just throwing money down the drain at that point. I'd rather do what we did and save money, than pay for the pills then not give them to the dog.
Anyway, my main point in posting all of this, and risking being flamed for our previous choice (a mistake we won't make again, by the way), is to hopefully be a lesson to my readers.

If your dog is not currently on a heartworm preventative, please get them on one NOW.  And give it to them regularly, as prescribed.

As for us? Once Tootsie finishes her drug therapy, she will be on heartworm preventative from here on out.

If me posting this saves just one pet & owner from going thru this heartwrenching decision, then it was well worth it.

Thanks for checking in.