Had a marathon vet appointment this morning. Almost two hours, just for Thirteen! Poor dog, by the end she had been poked and prodded in every way possible. A full exam, blood work, ears cleaned, nails trimmed, acupuncture, urine draw, and don't forget the anal probe! If they would have told me in advance I could have gotten samples the easy way.
Thirteen's health seems pretty good overall; my only concern was her weight. I knew she had lost weight because I can feel her ribs and spine now when I pet her. But I was surprised by how much: she weighs 39 pounds today, down from 46 at the end of May. The vet seemed concerned too; that's why they did all the tests.
She was a little bit overweight before, and this puts her at a healthy weight, but it isn't healthy to lose that much for no reason. Her food and activity levels haven't changed at all. Her appetite isn't low; on the contrary she's been really hungry lately, always trying to get into Jane's dish.
We had actually been trying to make her lose weight early this year, and with a reduced diet and exercise had gotten her down from 51 to 44 pounds. That seemed like enough so I eased off the food restriction and she gained back a couple of pounds. Then in the summer her joints seemed better, so we stopped doing acupuncture for awhile. Without the frequent vet trips I didn't notice that she had started losing weight again.
They won't know for sure until the blood work comes back, but the likely culprits seem to be either kidney disease or diabetes. Between the two I'm hoping for diabetes; I did some research and it sounds more manageable with medication. The vet said they were also going to check her thyroid, but that sounds improbable. It could be kidney disease; she does have the early symptoms of lethargy and possibly more frequent drinking (not by much though; not enough to remark on until they asked me about it). But the lethargy, come on! She's 15 years old, of course she's lethargic.
I think diabetes is more likely because of the symptom of losing weight despite an increase appetite. My dog book says diabetes is one of the few diseases that does that. (Dog Fancy magazine decribed it as "a Bluto appetite and a Twiggy figure.") We'll know either way in a few days, but in the meantime we're going to increase her diet and see if she gains a little back, or at least doesn't feel so hungry all the time.
I suppose I ought to be upset, but I'm strangely not. Well okay, if it turns out to be kidney disease I will be upset. I did some research and it sounds like a step in an inevitable decline. But if it's diabetes, that's manageable even at her age. We'll learn how to inject insulin, adjust her food, and go from there.
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i hope that it's nothing, but if it's something i agree that diabetes seems to be more manageable over the long term (based on what i know about cats, which of course is probably only generally similar to dogs).
now that i know how to inject insulin in a cat i can tell you that it will probably be very, very easy to medicate thirteen with insulin.
anyway, poor thirteen, she deserves a reward for enduring all the vet attention! i hope she's ok.
Thirteen is fine now, fast asleep and happy because she got extra food tonight.
She has this wonderful habit I call "fear paralysis": when something bad happens, she freezes. She doesn't even flinch while getting an injection. Last week I accidently cut the quick of one of her nails (which, by the way, made me feel like the worst dog mom in the world) and she never moved or made a sound. That would be like having the tip if your finger cut off and keeping perfectly still and silent! So I think it wouldn't be too hard to inject her with insulin.
All evening I have been thinking up rationalizations for why it absolutely cannot be kidney disease and if there is something seriously wrong, diabetes is the only logical explanation. Cross your fingers :)
In the cold light of morning, just having cleaned up an overnight accident, I'm a bit less optimistic. I thought yesterday that Thirteen hadn't been drinking more, but in truth we are filling the water dish more often than we used to. It was easy to ignore I guess because Jane drinks a lot more than Thirteen or Lina ever did. Maybe Thirteen is getting up and drinking while we're asleep. Anyway, if Thirteen does have kidney disease, that's not good but it can be treated too. I'll know for sure when the tests come back.