Well, we still don't have an answer as to what EXACTLY is going on with him medically, other than the fact that his adrenal glands are producing too much cortisol.
He drinks too much, pees too much, is losing his muscle mass, is lethargic/depressed, no desire to play, weak/can't exercise.
This is a hard departure from my Flying Squirrel Monkey Man/The Turd who I love so much.
As the last test turned up negative, Brosa was started on a course of drugs called Lysodren, commonly used to treat Cushings Disease. It is hoped that this will lower Cortisol production and stabilize him, before testing for Atypical Cushings.
Lysodren is treated very much like chemotherapy as it's so toxic. Gloves are required to handle the pills and Brosa gets 1/2 a 500 mg tablet each 12 hours. I wrap each half in a Pill Pocket and give to him with his meals. The first pill was provided at supper on Wednesday August 22nd, and I stayed home the remainder of the week to monitor him, particularly through the weekend, to ensure he wasn't suffering any adverse reactions to this drug.
He also gets Denosyl (a liver support supplement) once a day, Tumil-K (potassium, added yesterday, to help boost his levels which are too low and may also improve his PU/PD) twice a day, Vitamin E once a day, and an antibiotic call Clindamycin twice a day (as it was suspected he had a possible cleft palate infection that was compromising his breathing).
On Friday, August 24th, while we were out on our deck, I showed Brosa his frisbee which was on the table. He took it from my hands and trotted off down the steps into the yard with it. The first time in almost 2 months he has shown any interest/possession in a toy. It really did my heart good!
We also went back to the lake for a quick cool off. Given how weak Brosa is, he wore a life jacket in the water. He did have tremors afterwards, so that was just a little too much exertion for him and therefore he won't be made to do that again in the near future, until that time comes (hopefully!) that he's feeling stronger.
The following day, I purchased two new squeak toys for Brosa and Delta. Delta, as always, immediately detected the smell of them in the bag, so I didn't waste any time given the toys to them. Although Brosa broke his squeak in the first minute, the other still works as I type this, and either toy has barely left Brosa's mouth in the days to follow. This is such a good sight to see!
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| DELTA DROPPED HER SQUEAK IN MY LAP TO PLAY ;) |
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| BROSA WAITS PATIENTLY FOR THE RETURN OF HIS SQUEAK |
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| CONSTANTLY KEEPING HIS SQUEAK WITH HIM |
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| ASLEEP - WITH SQUEAK IN HIS MOUTH |
Brosa is slowly showing interest in other toys I have recovered from storage (they were put away after the last foster dog, Walker, began to rip every toy to pieces, lol!).
His condition is "guardedly optimistic", but just seeing his interest in the toys seems positive.
Yesterday, blood was drawn to test his cortisol levels after 5 days on the drug. It hasn't really gone down much more than a minuscule amount, and therefore the current dosage continues. He will be retested again on Saturday morning.
Kayzee wasn't forgotten when I shopped for the new squeak toys. In in effort to find fun things for her that wouldn't be eaten by the dogs, I decided to buy a cat grass kit. While waiting for that to sprout, I also bought a bottle of catnip spray, which I sprayed on the old Cat Spa we have but hasn't been used in quite some time. After giving it a thorough washing, the spa was placed on the floor in the sunny spot, and Kayzee proceeded to be in orgasmic heaven!
Stay tuned for future updates on Brosa's condition.
