Living and Working with Fluctuations of Lyme Disease and its Treatment

It has been a while since I did an update, so thought I would take a down day to do just that. Thane and I have had some good days this week. He has a real gusto about his job again- about wanting to Go, Go, Go smile Though there are some really great things taking place- more calmness in harness pull, ability to take in some distance, better focus with each passing day, and great attention to what I am needing at the moment- there are also the tough aspects of living with and working through Lyme. The aspects especially of how the disease has its good and bad times, much like living with MCS does.

There are the appetite issues, the constant reminder of the disease as you dose supplements and meds, the moments when you realize you were right all along about Denosyl causing problems, the bad decisions in terms of work that left your guide overdone and needing to take steps back.

I have to remind myself every once in a while that though I have baptized myself in knowledge about this disease; about how it works- I also have to give myself a break when I make a bad decision. In other words, I need to forgive myself for when I chose a course of action that was not the right one.

Today is a down day after two shopping days. The freezer and cupboards are full enough that anything we need can wait until we both bounce back.

I had tried Denosyl a second time. I did so because I could not be positive that either Tripett or the higher probiotics dose played some role in the GI symptoms. I also could not be positive that the chewing the first time was not done out of boredom or stress or even aspects of the Lyme spirochets. The change in his appetite, I was seriously attributing to the disease itself. The sudden increase in sound reactivity, I was uncertain of the cause initially when I first tried Denosyl as the disease could be at play there.

After some tweaking of supplements for a few days I tried again. After three doses it was pretty clear I had been right to blame the Denosyl.

-Thane's appetite had tapered off a lot, but usually I did manage to get him to consume most his food by days' end.
-Yesterday Thane was back to multiple bowel movements[ one where he was working in harness and before I knew it he was pooping. For those reading this who may not know, a guide is trained to go on command rather than to just choosing to go when they want. At least he pulled into some dirt before going smile
-His heightened sound reactivity made it picture clear that there was a big problem with Denosyl when my smoke detector decided it was time to warn of low battery. Oh so perfect timing NOT! I change them every year before my section 8 inspection, but those did not last a year! While we were out shopping, better batteries designed specifically for smoke detectors were installed, thanks to my Dad. There were other issues with sensitivity while we were out, but overall he worked pretty good as long as we took our time at things.
-Lastly I had noticed that Thane was squatting to pee more often. When he did not raise his leg on his potty station, a place he always raises his leg, I knew something was up. He laid under the desk either chewing at his knee or resting- not wanting to play much and when he did play he did not run for the ball, but walked. It was clear he was hurting- whether from the use of Denosyl, from the disease, or from over-doing I can't be sure, but since he is dramatically improved 24 hrs after pulling the Denosyl, I suspect it was at least partially responsible in this area as well.

The moral to all of this is despite what Nutramax says about Denosyl only having one rare side effect of vomiting, there can be many other side effects dependent on the dog. The only place one finds information on this is through the manufacturer. There are no alternative resources and they were the only ones involved in its testing and marketing. This is not to say that it's a bad supplement. After all for most dogs there may really be no side effects. If you have a sensitive dog though where synthetic drugs and supplements are an issue, there's reason to be cautious with this supplement and start with a lower dose and work up rather than starting with the recommended dosage.

I asked for Denosyl because I wanted to offer Thane the very best in liver healing after the damage that Doxycycline had done to his liver. I just wanted to help him the best I knew to. For now, I will continue with the two doses a day of his Milk Thistle Complex that includes  other liver friendly herbs and ingredients.

If I allow it to, this could be beyond overwhelming for me to have to constantly question whether Thane is up for working in any given situation. A high drive dog is going to act high drive often times when they are not up to the task. It will take great skill in evaluating what we can and can not do- a big learning curve for sure.

Denosyl a third time.

Hopefully when we wake up tomorrow, it will be a good day for both of us- a chance to get out again. If its not the case, we will roll with the punches.

Let the Good Times Roll

Today was another really good day, for those keeping score. smile I was not sure after such a big day yesterday if we should head out today or not. Other than not eating much which isn't uncommon to have a couple days a week of that caliber these days, Thane was really lively this morning.

We took our long walk to the bus since the errand had very little walk requirements once we got off the bus. During the walk, some sound reactivity spiked with a roofing project, but other than wanting to put us into Indy 500 speed (just kidding), we managed to make it through that PHEW! He still has some sound reactivity issues from the Lyme itself so this is to be expected.

It was actually fun to be working. The weather was beautiful and he was much more focused than the previous week. Our trip was longer on the bus than off, but he is just glad to be working again. I am really feeling the pain from not using all these muscles as much as we had been before he got sick. This is not a good thing so I hope it like, gets used to it already pretty soon.

From the medical perspective of things, today Thane's bowels were back to normal in both consistency and how many times he needed to go. He also has chewed so little (if at all), that his coat is without the dried clumps that I was frequently brushing out. His skin is looking really good as well. It's hard to know if it's the antibiotics, the probiotics, the miniscule amount of Pet-Go I added in, or the dying off of some of the invaders- whatever the reason, it is good to see him relatively free of this demon no matter what brought forth the relief (temporary as it might be).

Each good day we have, makes me feel more optimistic about Thane's future and our partnership.