I think last week I may have made the Thirteen situation sound worse than it is. Her appetite has been good lately; she eats her whole portion with little coaxing most of the time, and she's steadily gaining weight. Which is a huge relief. They told me to keep her weight on the low side because of her arthritis, but I'm inclined to let her gain a bit. That way if she stops eating again, she'll have a little something to fall back on before the situation gets dire.
In other good news, starting in December I'll be working at home most of the time. Because one of my jobs rented my office out to somebody else. So, I have no place to work there, and I have to work at home. Oh darn! It will be so good to be home with Thirteen. It's been weighing on me these past few months, leaving her alone every day.
The latest crisis has been her selegeline, aka the crazy pills. We call them that because they make Thirteen not be crazy. Last week when we went to refill her prescription, the vet said they were out. In fact they said it's out everywhere; selegeline is on backorder. And they had no idea when it would be back in stock.
I don't understand how a drug can just go on backorder like that. It's not like a store running out of peanut butter. And humans take this drug too! It's used to treat Alzheimer's disease. And I was a little annoyed that the vet didn't suggest any options or alternatives. They just said "we're out, backorder, sorry!"
We ran out of selegeline on Monday. At first Thirteen seemed totally normal, and I wondered if maybe she didn't even need it. By late in the week, though, we definitely started to notice a difference in her behavior. I guess it took a few days for the drug to make its way out of her system. She wasn't that bad, just restless and agitated. Still, it was just the way the craziness got started before. I remember what she was like, when it was really bad, before we put her on the selegeline. She would pace all day -- 10, 15 hours straight literally without stopping -- pass out for a few hours, then get up and start pacing again. It was horrible. All she did was pace and drool. She'd be so tired she could barely put one foot in front of the other, and she'd still keep pacing.
I'm not going to let Thirteen get like that again. With her health the way it is now, it would kill her. I called the vet's office on Saturday, and they tried to give me the same "backorder" runaround, but I said I wanted the dr. to call me back to discuss alternative medications until selegeline is available again. The office (not the dr.) called back about 3 hours later to tell me they had found a pharmacy in Durham which could get 2 bottles of selegeline for me. I was kind of like, "what -- huh? Wha? Oh ... thanks!"
Georg picked up the selegeline today and we got Thirteen back on it. We're starting her at the minimum dose, at which rate the two bottles will last for 2 months. I hope it's back in stock by then!
was the pharmacy in question Central Compounding? that's where i got moses' hyperthyroid medication when i demanded that we try the kind that you rub on the ear (which apparently my vet never uses).
if not, i bet *they* would know what's happening with selegeline. i get the impression they're the clearing house for a lot of medications dispensed in the triangle.
I'm very glad Thirteen is better. Good for her, and give her plenty of nom nom nom!
I'm glad you could find some more of the anti-crazy pills!
I agree, it's nuts they could just 'run out' like that.
Love your new rain hat btw!
I have a rain hat too (which tends to get blown off by the wind, unfortunately), pinkish red with black dots.
When I wear it, I always think: 'huh, people look really cheerful, in spite of this nasty weater' and then realize it's the sight of my hat that makes them smile.
Clovepod: Yes indeed, it was Central Compounding! They told Georg when he picked up the selegeline that it was expected to be ack in stock on 11/26. We have enough now to get through the end of the year, so we should be fine.
Nellorat: Thanks! Is nom nom food or love? We've been giving her an abundance of both :)
Bummble: Glad you liked the hat! Yours sounds really cute. I love the thought of you and your hat cheering people up wherever you go. You should walk around the city on dreary days just to spread a little happiness !
"nom nom nom" is lolspeak for "much eating".
E.g.,
http://icanhascheezburger.com/2007/05/02/nom-nom-nom/
and
http://icanhascheezburger.com/2007/07/31/nom-nom-nom-x-3/
When Tupelo was in her long decline, she would dive on her food with a nearly audible "nom nom nom".