October 27th 2023 Medical Mutterings

Now that I’m home, so have access to my laptop – which makes writing blog posts a lot easier – I’ll update you on my most recent medical adventures.

 

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On September 27^th I went to A&E complaining of abdominal pain, with my stomach feeling more bloated than usual.  I spent the entire day there, only to be barely examined and told I needed to drink more liquid (ironic considering I’d spent the whole day there with nothing much to drink) and told I needed to lose some weight, and then sent home.  My comment about having lost another kilo (just over 2lbs) since July, despite having not done anything to try and lose any, was dismissed as not being good enough.

 

Then, late on the night of September 30^th, we called the number for non-life-threatening urgent medical care, because my pain and the bloating were worse, and I was starting to have trouble keeping food down.  The out of hours doctor came to see me in the early hours of the morning of October 1^st, and then arranged for an ambulance ride for me to the hospital, because she thought I might have some kind of abdominal issue and should at least be scanned.

 

Long story short, I’ve been in and out of hospital ever since (mostly in) and it turns out what I have is liver problems.

 

I’m now on medication to try and help with that.

 

I've also got some new rules for eating, a special meal replacement shake to have as one of my meals each day to ensure my body gets what it needs each day even if I don't manage to eat much, along with some medication to help me actually keep food down, which is something I'm still struggling with.

 

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In other medical news:

 

I’m still waiting to find out about the sleep study thing.

 

And, as for my back, I had my MRI, and it turns out I have a syrinx (air bubble) on my lower spine, which is the cause of the problems I’ve been having with my back.  Apparently usually air bubbles form and burst as you go through life, but sometimes they don’t burst, and put pressure on the spine, causing pain and other issues, which is what’s happened with me.  So, I was right that it wasn’t weight related.  But it wasn’t nerve-damage either, which is why the physio exercises weren’t helping.

 

Lilie On The #Dogs June 2023's Vet Trip (Finally)

Hi everyone.  This is Lilie the Westie.

 

I’m finally going to tell you how our vet trip went last month.

 

We had to stand outside for ages and ages, because the person with the car came a bit late.  Luckily Mummy always allows for late pick-ups, so we still made it to the vet (though Mummy called them on the way there, in case we did get there a bit late, so they knew we were still coming).

 

I didn’t know the person driving.  And it was a strange car to me too.  But it wasn’t a taxi.  I know it wasn’t a taxi, because the taxi drivers go away and we have a different one to go home, but this person waited for us like Nana does.  But it wasn’t Nana either.  It was strange.  But Mummy and Daddy told us to get in the car, and they got in too, so it must have been alright.  And we did end up at the vet, and then home again, so there you go.

 

Anyway, me and Logan got weighed at the vet.  I now weigh 9.2 kilos, and Logan weighs 16.2 kilos.  That means I lost about a kilo, and Logan lost about two.  The vet was pleased.  It didn’t matter so much for me, because I was already in my safe weight range (even if only just).  But Logan had been a little over his, so the vet was glad he’s now in his safe weight range again with his weight.

 

Also, other than the issues we knew about with my itchies and my legs – which are staying under control right now – Logan and I are perfectly healthy.  Everyone was happy about that too, of course.

 

So, all in all, it was a pretty successful vet trip.

 

And I love that Daddy came with us.  I love my Daddy!

 

Lots of licks,

Lilie

Lilie The #Westie & Logan The #Cavapoo Go To The Vet - July 2022

 

Hi everyone.  This is Lilie the Westie.

 

Mummy’s been very busy.  But I’ll let her tell you about that herself.  I want to tell you about mine and Logan’s vet trip yesterday.

 

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Logan got scared because there was a dog that barked at him.  It was only a tiny dog – smaller than me, so definitely smaller than Logan – but he was scared of it and hid behind Mummy until it went away.  I wasn’t scared, but I did think it was very boring waiting to see the vet, and not fair that when the vet called my name another dog went in to see them instead.

 

*Note from Mummy: someone else had a dog called Lily, and Lilie wasn’t happy about it not being her turn to see the vet when she thought her name had been called.  It probably didn't help that this was the first time the vet has started allowing us to wait inside since before the pandemic, so she's not used to that routine at this vet.

 

We met a thing Mummy says is called a cat.  We’ve met lots of different kinds of animals before, but never met a cat.  Until now anyhow.  It wasn’t doing anything interesting though, so we got bored of it and ignored it after a few seconds.

 

Then we heard the voice of the vet we see most times and got so excited we started trying to take Mummy in to his room even before we knew if we were seeing him or one of the other vets.  People thought it was funny for some reason.

 

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Anyway, we were both good when we had our shots.

 

We didn’t even cry when the vet stuck the sharp thing in us or anything.  I mean, we both agree we would have preferred he didn’t do that, but we didn’t make a fuss about it.

 

We let him poke and pull us about to check us over without complaint too.

 

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We both got weighed while we were there.

 

I’ve lost a little bit (I now weigh 10.4 kilos, which is about 23lbs) and the vet is very happy about that.

 

But Logan has ended up putting some weight on (he weighs 19 kilos, which is about 41lbs).  Mummy says it’s because he’s so lazy.  She tries to make him run around like I do, but Logan is just a low energy dog.  The vet says she has to try harder.  Wish her luck with that.  I know my brother, and Mummy's going to need luck with getting him moving more, especially since she can't use snacks to bribe him, since it would defeat the purpose.

 

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Logan doesn't have any issues other than his weight.  He's lucky.

 

My itchies in my ears are bad right now, and my ears are red from it, so I have to have my Recicort ear drops every day for a while until the redness calms down, and then I can go back to every other day.  I also still need to have my Apoquel pill every day.  Plus, now that my back legs bother me lots - even though you wouldn't know it a lot of the time with how I still try to run around and play - I have to have Mettacam every day to help me deal with that.  Mummy says it's a good thing I'm a good girl about taking my medication.  I wish I didn't have to have it though, even if it does help.

 

Other than that, the vet said Logan and I are both looking good.

 

~

 

Lots of licks,

Lilie

 

Lilie The #Westie And Logan The #Cavapoo Go To 2 Parks And A Vet

Hi everyone.  This is Lilie the Westie.

This week was super exciting for me and Logan.

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On Sunday afternoon it was a nice day - sunny, but not too hot - so Nana, and her Cavatsu, Izabel, came to get us in Nana's car, and we went to a new park me and Logan hadn't ever seen before.  Mummy says she used to go there lots with another Westie she used to have called Kero though.  It's kind of near where our new house is, but we'd be too tired from the walk by the time we got there to walk in the park, which is why we had a car ride to get there.  Not that we mind, because car rides are fun too.

Uncle Wayne lives somewhere Mummy says is close enough to the park to walk to it, so he met us there with his Wippet x Staffie, Maya, and we all got to go walkies together, which was great fun.

 

Since Nana can't do big walkies without her special sticks or wheels these days - and, unlike Mummy, she needs two paws for her sticks (Mummy says they're called crutches) so doesn't always have a free paw like Mummy does with her special seeing stick - Nana got to be in charge of the camera while Mummy and Uncle Wayne held our leads.  We were on trace leads, because it gave us some freedom to run, but meant Mummy and Uncle Wayne could keep better track of us.  They seemed to think we might take advantage of there being four of us to keep track of and run off otherwise, and didn't believe us when we said we were cute innocent little puppies who would never do a thing like that.  Can't think why.

Anyway, here are the photos Nana got.

This is me, Lilie the West Highland White Terrier:

Here's Logan the Cavapoo (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel x Toy Poodle):

This is Izabel the CavaTsu (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel x Shitzu):

And here's Maya the Wippet x Staffordshire Terrier:

Now, here's one of me with Maya:

Here's one of Logan with Izabel and Maya:

And here's one of all four of us:

It was a great walkies! Hope we get to do it again some time.

 

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The other exciting thing, which happened on Monday, meant another car ride to get to where we were going.  And this time we had a little walk in a different park.  This second park is in town, and is where we went to a couple of months ago when Nana took us to see the vet we now go to for the first time.

 

After a short walk in that park, me and Logan went to the vet for our yearly checkups and shots.  We didn't mind at all though, because we actually love going to the vet... We get loads of attention there, so what's not to love? As usual, we went in the vet happily, wagging our tails the whole way.  It always surprises Nana how happy we are about going to the vet.  The only way it would have been better is if they hadn't made Mummy and Nana wait outside.  But when we came back out Mummy and Nana were right where we left them, so it was fine.

Anyway, the vet trip went well.  We were good dogs for the vet, and are both happy and healthy, other than the issue I have with my itchies, which we knew about already, and is still under control with those tablets I'm taking, even if one of my ears is a bit sore right now (because I keep rubbing it on things, getting it dirty, and irritating it).  Also, we still weigh what we did when we got checked last time, which is 10.7 kilos for me, and 17.7 kilos for Logan.  That is a tiny bit more than we really should weigh, but not by enough to have the vet worried, and since we aren't gaining more the vet said it's OK.

~

 

Lots of licks,

Lilie

#PetKid Posts: Lilie The #Westie's February 2021 Checkin And Vet Trip Report

 Hi everyone.  This is Lilie the Westie.

Mummy keeps stealing our posting slots, so I haven't been here myself lately, as you've likely noticed.  But this week I thought I'd stop by and say, "Hi," in the fur - so to speak.

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Me and Logan love this new house.  The garden is great fun - especially when the white stuff falls from the sky - and running up and down the stairs is loads of fun too.  We love having all the extra space to play!

 

Also, we see Nana and Grandad lots.  They never stay long - which we're a bit sad about - but we think it's great that they come visit.  Me especially, since I love visitors! Mummy says they'll stay longer when we aren't locked down any more, which we still are right now - again.  I hope she's right, and we stop being locked down soon.  Even Logan, who got so used to seeing nobody but Mummy and Daddy because of Avirus, gets excited when Nana and Grandad come, and wishes they'd stay longer.  He's still not sure about other dogs coming near him, but Nana sometimes brings Izabel with her, and he's gotten better about being close to her without getting upset.  Mummy says maybe when we're not locked down any more we'll go see Maya again, or Uncle Wayne will bring her here, and Logan can start getting used to her too.  Hopefully he'll learn that being near other dogs besides me is a good thing.  Although, I love being his favourite, and am glad to hear Mummy saying I always will be.

 

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We've had loads of that white stuff.  More than we ever did in all my life where we were before.

 

We love the white stuff they call snow! Even if it does make things smell all strange.

 

It's another thing we like about living here.  I hope we'll get to see lots more of that stuff... Especially since Mummy is like a puppy with it, so eager to take us outside in it loads and loads, which is fine with us.

 

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Mollie and Artemis love it here too.  At least, I know Mollie definitely does - not surprisingly, since she's got a bigger cage here, and is in a great spot where she can see what's going on in the living room, or hide out of sight, depending on what she feels like doing.  And Artemis isn't having many of what Mummy calls, "Stompy days," so I think she must be happy here too.

 

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 We got a bit worried at one point, because Mummy and Daddy were playing with boxes, and it looked like they were packing, so we thought we were going to have to move again.  We don't want to move again, so weren't happy to see them messing about with boxes we thought they were done with.

 

But they said it was OK, and it turned out it really was OK.  They were just moving things around, and using some of the boxes they hadn't thrown out yet to help move it.  Something about reorganizing some stuff to make room for all the interesting stuff Grandad keeps giving Mummy (which she won't let us play with, even though she says she's going to have fun playing with it... That doesn't seem fair to me, especially since I always share my toys with her).

 

It makes no sense to us, but as long as we aren't moving, that's OK.  Logan's still a bit worried, but he's always worried about something.  Not me.  I'm not the kind of dog to worry about things more than I have to.  There's too much excitement to be found in the world to waste time worrying about things.

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In other news: me and Logan went to meet our new vet yesterday.

Nana took us and Mummy in her car, and brought Izabel too.

 

Nana has a special doggy seat for her car, which I was meant to ride in.  I hated it though, and when I had to ride in it on the way to the vet I kept trying to get out and wouldn't settle.  They'd said for me to go in it because I'm smaller than Logan (Nana has two seats in the car, one that Izabel was in, and the one that was meant to be for me... They're both Izabel's, so not very big) and for Logan to be the one who just had the harness atatched to the seatbelt, but I really hated that plan.  So, on the way home from the vet, Mummy and Nana decided to see if Logan would ride in the car seat better than I did.

 

It turned out he was eager to do so, and loved being in it, even though he only just fit.  Nana even took photos so you could see.  Here they are:

I was much happier with that arrangement too, and settled better just being on the seat with my harness atatched.  Daddy thinks it's because I don't like being confined, where as Logan loves being cosy and cuddled in to things.  Mummy thinks Daddy's probably right.  Nana doesn't care one way or another, as long as we settle in the car properly whenever she has to take us anywhere.

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Because we got to the vet early, and it's right by a park, we went for a bit of a walkies in the park.

 

It was great fun!

There were loads of new smells to investigate, leaves blowing past that Logan kept trying to chase, a couple of other dogs we got to meet, and even a couple of human pups we could watch playing.

 

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We weren't sure about the new vet at first, because his face was all covered up - humans keep doing that lately for some reason.  But then we realized he was friendly, so we decided we liked him.  Even went with him without a fuss when he took us inside the vet place to get weighed (he talked to Mummy and Nana outside, and just took us inside one at a time to do what he couldn't outside).

 

Speaking of which: we've somehow managed to put on a bit of weight, even with all our running around, so the vet says Mummy has to keep an eye on that to make sure it's a seasonal weight gain and not because of some kind of health issue.  He says to keep an eye on our portion sizes, make sure we keep getting good exercise - or get even more than we have been - and see how our weight looks when it's time for our shots in June.  Hopefully it's gone back down where it should be by then.

I've got to go see the vet again next month though (on March 19th at 4:00pm).  Only me, and not Logan this time.  It's because of my itches.  I've had trouble with this before, but every time it starts looking like it's getting better it gets bad again.  The vet gave us some new tablets to try, which will hopefully help.  If they do, I'll have to take them for the rest of my life, or until they stop working.  If they don't - or if they stop helping in the future - I'll have to have a monthly shot instead, which would also be for the rest of my life.  Apparently I've reached the stage most Westies do at some point, where my skin irritation issues are here to stay.

We also got a special sweetie to have instead of the wet stuff to deal with fleas and things.  We've never minded the wet stuff Mummy and Daddy put on us, but we love the idea of a sweetie instead loads more.

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So, that's what's been happening with me.  Now, I need a nap, so if there's anything I forgot to tell you about, I'll either tell you next time I can get Mummy to let me have a turn on here, or Mummy can tel you.

 ~

Lots of licks,

Lilie