- Joined
- Oct 13, 2023
- Messages
- 129
Good evening! I am a newcomer to your Forum and excited to be here. 
- My pets info is:
- Your pet's name: Bella
- Approximate age: 13 yrs, 7 mos.
- Sex: Female
- Neutering status: Spayed
- Breed: American domestic short-hair (her mom was a rescue off the street)
- Approximate weight: A little under 10 pounds depending on what scale is used. I would say between 9 and 10 pounds,
- What's their BEAM (behavior, energy, appetite, mood): Her BEAM has changed in the last 12 months. Energy has been on a decline. Behavior has been a little more clingy. Appetite is ravenous. Mood is at times anxious or other times loving.
- Diet: Until last year, Bella always ate a raw food diet (either Nature's Variety or Primal). I now prepare her food from recipes created by Dr. Laura Gaylord of Whole Pet Provisions to support her kidneys. I prepare two types, with the protein source being chicken or salmon. In each type I then add prescribed amount of sweet potato puree, duck fat, chicken liver, rice noodles, and homemade plain chicken broth. To that I add BalanceIT Feline K, calcium bicarbonate, omega 3 fish oil, Purina Calming Care, and Joint Works drops for athritis.
- Vaccination history / exposure to toxins, other medication: Bella has only been vaccinated for rabies with Purevax, annually instead of every 3 years. She has also taken gabapentin to relax her before trips to vet. She has had buprenex in the past for pain relief after oral surgeries.
- Primary problem, when it began and if there was anything else happening around that time: At Bella's annual wellness exam in 2022, routine bloodwork showed SDMA levels just slightly above the normal range. I was advised this could indicate kidney disease and that is when I was referred to a vet nutritionist of whom I chose Dr. Gaylord. At that time I didn't "see" anything, and in early 2023, another round of blood work showed a reversal in direction of the SDMA to almost inside the normal range. Unfortunately, on 8/4/23 another round of blood work showed a reversal back in the direction of kidney disease. This year was when a more noticeable change began. Bella has been vomiting regularly (had some digestive issues with loose stools also, earlier this year), less energy as far as her usual LOVE of play (slowing down), losing weight, drinks a lot of water and pees large amounts. I was told the blood test results the last time also showed anemia and elevated calcium. And yes, there was definitely things going on in my life that I felt could have added to her distress. I work for NYS Dept of Health in Adult Care Facility Licensing, and had started that position in 2019, less than 6 mos before pandemic hit. The stress of my line of work learning a new job and the ensuing pandemonium made for work stress, and also about a year into the pandemic my beloved husband suffered a very serious heart attack (his 2nd "widowmaker"), that year he also had a pacemaker/defib inserted. I was always worried about losing my husband after that and I am sure that worry resonated in our home. To make things worse, the next year (2022) started off with me having a constant sinus infection in January which led to me getting COVID for the 1st time in Feb. I was very scared of getting COVID and didn't want to infect my husband which I did anyways. I was very sick with the virus, and did get some long haul symptoms (Bella barely left my side on my bed by the way, at that time nobody knew if pets could get sick too but she could not be kept away from me). Sadly, my only sibling, my old brother Jake, went into the hospital unexpectedly and was always on life support in a coma while in the ICU. The situation was dire, and it was determined he would not pull through and was an organ donor, so for 7 days in March last year I sat by his side and on the 8th day his vent was turned off. After this, I took the reins with helping plan Jake's funeral and clean out his apartment. During this time, I chose to become estranged from our father, for my own peace of mind and wellbeing. I have completed hospice counseling which was very helpful and continue with another counselor to work on life and process what my relationship with my dad will look like if anything. Losing my brother was a HUGE loss. I am proud of the self help and care I have given myself to honor Jake, and myself, and try to be as positive as I can!
- Is the condition better or worse from exercise, heat, cold, time of day, certain foods, emotional upset, being touched, excitement, etc? Though many times her vomit can be a light brown, or just clear looking, a lot of times there is loose fur or the occasional big hair ball. She over grooms and seems agitated at times. She vomits typically in the AM around 5AM or so. Not every day but at least once a week. (Dr had asked me to try feeding her 4 times instead of 2 and this has helped some). Bella has always been sensitive to what she perceives is a loud noise, which as an example could be me or my husband Paul taking a few bowls out of the cupboard.
- Has any diagnostic work been done? Diagnosis if available (you can attach your diagnostic tests to the post if you have them). Yes, full senior blood panel, fecal test, cystocentesis, urine culture, abdominal xray.
- Current and previous treatment: I am on a quest (and your two recent summits on pet anxiety and spirituality have greatly inspired me!) to find a niche that helps Bella feel better while dealing with her current health condition. I have used animal communication, acupuncture (as kittens with her litter mate Maya, still with us and appearing to be doing fine - and once recently), and subcutaneous fluids (recently, she seems to respond well). I have been trying to offer her reiki (I am level 2 certified) and she accepts it. I have started using my assisi loop on Bella. I am still looking on how to treat Bella instead of just gathering info from diagnostic tests which was pretty much what I was doing the past 6 months. I would love to try homeopathy and see where this can take us. My usual vet is not able to take on homeopathic cases. (I have used homeopathy in my home for a few decades now). I have not had Bella's case taken.
- Other health concerns: Bella was diagnosed with osteoarthritis recently, has bad breath, itches at her face or chin sometimes. Licks at her back a lot or legs. The recurring vomiting bothers me as I hate to see her not feeling well. Sometimes I also see involuntary twitches with her head. I 1st noticed this the last time I took Bella to the vet and she was coming out of sedation (she was so upset and it is always difficult to get blood from her delicate veins that we sedated her this time). I didn't know if it was from those drugs but she still does this occasionally now. Dr. Laura had thought this twitch could be related to the elevated calcium. And honestly, she hates gettng blood drawn, her paws will perspire (always has) and she gets very, very worked up. Not aggressive but very worked up.
