Tears of Frustration/Figure it Out

Just when things were going soooooooo well with Indiana, she got a massive UTI, and now we've done some backsliding.  It's really disappointing, and also scary.  Can she bounce back again?  She's done it before.

There are two main problems right now: one, her back legs are weak again, making it difficult for her to get up sometimes.  Before I leave the house, I have to make sure she is in a "safe" place (i.e. somewhere with rugs) and just hope that she doesn't get up and move somewhere "unsafe."  We've been trying to get her out daily for walks, but she typically gets out the door, turns right back around again, and goes back in the house.  I'm not going to force her to walk; she knows her body better than I do.  I just don't understand her aversion to walking right now, especially because I know it's the best thing for her.

The other problem is that she's rejecting food again.  Ugh.  This morning, I spent a good 25 minutes trying to get her to eat her breakfast (and this was canned food that she normally inhales).  I sprinkled freeze-dried duck on it.  I sprinkled appetite shaker on it.  I sprinkled a different appetite shaker on it.  I spread canned cat food on it.  The canned cat food finally sort of did the trick, but she left a good quarter of the food untouched.  That's not the end of the world, but it means she didn't get the entire dose of Poly-MVA (and at around $7 a dose, I hate to waste any). 

She's also been spitting out her pills, though I can usually get her to take all of them eventually.  Wrap the pills in the tiniest amount of liver sausage, and smoosh a liberally amount of canned cat food onto the wrapped pills.  She still sometimes "mouths" them, eating the meaty bits off and spitting out clean pills, but I can generally get her to eat them if I try again. 

This is all really frustrating to me.  I may have said "Damn it, Indiana" twice today.  I may have gotten cross with her.  I hate that.  I know she's not doing these things to frustrate me.  She has a reason.  I just don't know what it is yet.  Is she still recovering from the antibiotics?  Is her BUN too high?  Is this just another random appetite change?  She's sending me a clear message--that she doesn't like what I'm doing--but unfortunately, she's not telling me how to fix it.  That's for me to figure out. 

So I'll stop at the pet food store today and buy new canned food.  I'll allow plenty of time to feed her, and I'll take a deep breath before losing my temper.  I'll remember what this dog has been through the last almost five years, how few complaints there have been, how many times she's trusted me to do the right thing for her.  And I'll do the right thing again.  I'll respect her and guide her, nurse her through this rough patch, jump through hoops to make it all better.  Hopefully I will be successful.  I'm halfway to losing my mind over this whole thing, not because it's so much work, but because I am sick with worry for her, and I want to make things better now.  But I am focused on her best interests, and as long as she's happy and healthy, that's all that matters.

Four Weeks In

We just finished up four weeks of Poly-MVA with Indiana.  The company recommends two months of treatments before evaluating the effects, though my vet loves it so much as a supplement, that she says we can keep Indiana on it forever. 

I can't say that I've seen much of a change in the tumor thus far, though it hasn't grown.  Indiana definitely has more energy and is getting around fairly well for an almost-13-year old.  She's also (thankfully) eating really well--and a raw diet at that.  Actually, five of my six animals are now eating raw as part (or all) of their diet.  Yay!  Our one holdout is Mr. Squiggles, who has never, ever liked raw. 

We've not made any decisions yet on what we'll do when our two months is up.  We're only halfway in.  But I have a feeling that as long as we can afford it, we'll continue the Poly. 

Everything is OK

We're into week three of Indiana's Poly-MVA treatments, and all is well.  She is handling the supplement well (we expected a period of detox but didn't really see anything), and also importantly, she is actually taking  the supplement.  It can be a struggle to get to her eat sometimes, so we're really happy that she's been cooperating where the Poly is concerned.  She gets it three times a day, and a day's worth of medicine costs about $20, so we certainly don't want to waste even a precious drop of this stuff!  Luckily, it looks, smells (and kind of tastes, according to our vet) like soy sauce--i.e. super salty, and apparently Indy likes that.  Good times.

I haven't noticed a difference in her tumor yet; it seems to be the same size as before.  The consultant for Poly-MVA told me it takes up to two months to see an improvement (and sometimes there just isn't one), so we're still early into this whole thing.  I have, however, noticed an improvement in her movement, which is, in my opinion, even more important.  Indy doesn't know she has cancer, but she does know that she has arthritis. 

Another good thing--she has started eating raw again!  Yay!  She stopped eating raw about a year ago (her choice--trust me, she definitely calls the shots around here) but we were curious to offer it again and see if she'd change her mind.  The thing is, dogs with kidney disease get aversions to certain foods--usually because they have felt ill while eating it at some point, and so now they associate the ill feeling with the food--and once they're off a food, they're off for good.  Indy has eaten just about every raw food out there, but we found one company--Oma's Pride--that Indiana had never tried before.  The owners, whom we met at the dog show, were kind enough to give us several free samples, which we fed--successfully!--to Indiana.  As much as we'd like to give it to her for every meal every day, we know that Indiana gets tired of foods pretty quickly, so we have to pace ourselves and remember to give her a variety. 

Indiana has a lot of rules when it comes to eating, but for now, we're following her rules, and she isn't changing them.  As long as we are respectful of her wants and needs, she will cooperate.  And I love her enough to do that.

I Could Not Live Without This Product

(My best friend)

Meet my best friend, Stella and Chewy's freeze dried dinners.  My life has been greatly simplified by these tiny patties.  Right now it's the only thing Indiana will consistently eat.  Her new cancer supplement, Poly-MVA, comes as a liquid, so I tear up the dried patties and pour the Poly-MVA over it, let it soak in for a few minutes, and then feed the bits to Indiana.  Whatever is left on the plate, Indiana will lick that up.  So it works REALLY well for us.  Plus, as I mentioned, Indiana won't eat her turkey right now, or even always her canned food.  But she never refuses the Stella and Chewy's freeze-dried patties.  (Why isn't S & C's paying me to write this???) 

Not only is Indiana ga-ga for these patties, but it makes my cats lose their sh*t.  Seriously.  Three of my four are picky eaters (especially Mr. Squiggles), yet when I open the cabinet and pull out the Stella and Chewy's, I have four cats flying into the kitchen from all ends of the house.  The meowing starts right away, because I cannot feed them this stuff fast enough.  They'll eat and eat it until I stop feeding it to them.  It's crazy, but exciting too.  Yes, I get excited about pet food.

If you view it as a treat, I suppose it's kind of expensive (around $27 a bag), but the bag holds a lot of patties, and the patties are basically solid meat.  We go through a ridiculous number of these bags a month now, but oh my gosh, you cannot put a price on my sanity.  If you have never tried these patties, especially if you have an older pet or picky eater, I encourage you to go out right now and buy a bag.  Your life will never be the same.

You're welcome.

Tidbits

We are on Day 8 of Indiana's Poly-MVA treatment today, her second day on a full dose.  I think she's feeling a little off this morning.  She ate some of her breakfast but rejected part, which she hasn't done in a while.  I think she's having some detox issues (it can make them feel a little sick).  Not only is she acting sick this morning, but she's been super, super itchy the past several days.  This doesn't make any sense, because (a) she doesn't get any grains or any "inflammatory" foods in her diet, (b) it's the middle (end?) of winter, so there aren't a lot of allergens or even any darn fleas.  My gut instinct tells me it's a detox reaction (her body ridding itself of toxins via the skin).  My gut's usually right.

Also, and this sucks, but I think her tumor is a little bigger too.  It lays on the part of her back that she's been itching, so maybe it's inflamed from her chewing.  I also wonder if maybe it has something to do with the Poly "doing it's magic."  Maybe killing off the cancer cells causes inflammation.  I don't know.  But I'm not freaking out about it, and that usually means there is a simple reason for the problem.  There are advantages to being so mentally connected to your pet! (Does that sound crazy?)

All-in-all, we've had worse problems with drug detox.  In fact, one medicine worked so well that we simply couldn't keep her on it.  She felt so sick and I just couldn't bear to see it.  So this one, so far, isn't too bad.  We'll continue with the plan, and if she feels worse, we can always back off on the dose for a while. 

I was really hoping that my vacation a few weeks ago would be a magic fix to the winter blahs I've been having.  It was wonderful to get away, and don't get me wrong, I really needed it, but I feel again like I need a vacation!  I'm super moody some days, and I get really down on myself easily, for the stupidest mistakes.  I forget sometimes that I'm human, that it's ok for me to make mistakes.  And the thing is, I make mistakes all the time.  So I need to let up on myself and just do the best I can. 

One good thing that happened yesterday: I am heading to Boston in May for the Paws 4 A Cure Fourth Annual Walk!  Paws 4 A Cure was founded by one of my pet cancer friends, and it raises money that goes towards cancer treatments for families who can't afford it.  I'm really happy because I'll get to meet a lot of old friends, finally, in person, people who have been with me through my darkest hours (and I theirs).  We're friends for life, and it's so sweet.  I am so happy that I'm getting to go and show my support for Paws 4 A Cure and walk in honor of my own brave cancer fighter! 

Ummm...speaking of which, did you know you can visit Great Good Heart's CafePress store and order t-shirts and other merchandise showing your pride for your cancer survivor/fighter?  We have several different slogans available for purchase, and all of the proceeds go to animal cancer education and awareness!

Dang, I have blog ADD today.  This week is the big International Kennel Club Dog Show.  We do it every year, thanks to our kind supporter,  Karen Baker, our local distributor of Artemis Pet Foods.  She gives Great Good Heart a section of her booth, and in return, we help out by talking about Artemis Foods.  This is our fourth year at the show, and it's always A LOT of work, but a lot of fun too.  I get to talk about nutrition and other wellness issues and help some cancer parents along the way. 

This year, it's been hard to get ready for the show.  So much of my energy goes to helping my own dog; how do I have enough left for other people's dogs too?  But I do.  I'll dig deep and find it, and when it's all over, I'll feel good about what I've done. 

Poly-MVA Day 2

Sorry to be absent all of last week as well as yesterday.  Jim and I were on a much-needed vacation last week.  We missed the kids, but they all did great without us.  I'm not even sure we were missed! 

And yesterday, well...I meant to post, but I got lazy.  Then we had a diarrhea issue that required a change of Valentine's Day plans and an impromptu bath in a kiddie pool in the utility room with a garden hose.  Yeah, we do it up classy-style here.

Just to be clear, the diarrhea issue was dog-related, not me or Jim.

We started Indiana on her Poly-MVA yesterday.  This may or may not have caused the diarrhea.  We had been warned to look for signs of detox, but can detox happen in 10 hours?  I don't know.  Indiana seems to be feeling fine, and we haven't had any more explosive diarrhea.  (Plus now her shiny, fluffy hair matches her bright, shiny, happy eyes)

The main "job" of the Poly-MVA is to shrink the tumor on Indy's back, but it has other potential benefits as well.  Most promisingly, it can potentially help her arthritis.  I think I'm more excited about this effect than any other.  Yes, I want the tumor to shrink, but this medicine also can give her more energy and decrease her joint pain.  If it does any of those things, I will consider it a success.  For now, Indiana is feeling good, and that's great.  I will be watching her closely every day, especially as we increase her dosage, and will be hoping for significant improvements over the long-term. 

Beginning the Experiment

(Indy getting electro-acupuncture)

Today Indy went to the vet for her twice-monthly electro-acupuncture treatment, which seems to be really helping her. While we were there, we discussed with our vet the possibility of starting to treat Indiana with the cancer supplement Poly-MVA.

I first heard about Poly-MVA early in Indiana's treatment for her first cancer. As she was doing well and the chemo worked to eradicate the cancer, our vet decided to hold Poly in reserve until we really needed it. In speaking with a vet friend over the weekend, she recommended using Poly on Indiana, for the sarcoma on her back. So while Indiana isn't in a crisis right now, we are looking for ways to slow the cancer without conventional treatment, as well as make her life as comfortable as possible. With the recommendation of our friend, and the okay of our vet, we decided to go ahead with the Poly.

I'll be documenting our experience with Poly-MVA, partly because, well, I have a pet blog, and also because I want other cancer parents to learn from our experience. Maybe it'll help, and maybe it won't, but either way, my posts about it will be honest and true to our lives.

I spoke with a consultant over the phone to order the Poly. Some things I learned: Poly can have a detox effect in the first few weeks. This scares me, because Indiana has done detox before, and it's always frightening to watch. Luckily, the consultant said we could increase her daily dosage of milk thistle (Poly, like most drugs and supplements, is metabolized in the liver--milk thistle has a tremendous ability to lessen the load on the liver) should detox symptoms occur. These symptoms include diarrhea and lethargy. I will no doubt be keeping a close eye out for these symptoms, though we're starting Indiana on a small dose and working our way up.

Also: Poly-MVA energizes the body's cells and therefore can give the dog more energy. Ideally, it is given three times a day, with meals, but the last dose needs to be given a few hours before bedtime so as not to disrupt the dog's sleep pattern. We've been feeding Indy three times a day for the last four and a half years, so that part isn't a problem. But we sometimes feed her right before bed, which isn't probably advisable once we start the Poly. So that'll require a minor adjustment on our parts.

Another thing I learned: Poly is staggeringly expensive. For a dog Indiana's size (70 lbs), one month's supply costs about $600. The company recommends trying the supplement for at least 60 days before discontinuing it (though improvements can be seen in the first month). I imagine she'll be on the max dose for those first several months, and then perhaps go on a lower "maintenance" dose, but I didn't have the heart to ask. If it's working, it doesn't matter. I'll pay any amount.

Some things I learned from our vet: Poly is completely safe. It's essentially lipoic acids (antioxidants) and B-vitamins. Studies have shown it to be more effective against carcinomas rather than sarcomas (which Indiana has). But it has other benefits beyond killing cancer cells. According to her, we have nothing to lose except money. That's good enough for me.

I've started doing a little more reading up on Poly-MVA, something I'll be doing a lot of in the next few weeks or months. It seems like an amazing supplement, and while I don't want to get my hopes up, it has the potential to really help Indiana, not just with the cancer, but with her overall health. I appreciated that the Poly-MVA consultant was careful to make sure I knew that Poly-MVA doesn't work in every case. So they're not trying to sell a "miracle drug," which makes me trust it more.

Our precious bottles are making their way to us as I type this and should (weather-willing) be here by the weekend. We'll start Indy on it ASAP, and I'll update frequently about how she is feeling while on it, and side effects (good and bad), any changes in the tumor, and general impressions about the supplement itself.

As always, I am learning as I go. Count Poly-MVA as just one more thing I've learned from my dog.