(no subject)

And the vet just called--the Mickster is A-OK.

Over the past weeks, I had noticed Mickey drinking what I thought was more water than usual. I also thought he was peeing more frequently than he had in the past. In an older dog, these two symptoms can point to diabetes. Add the fact that he had lost a few pounds--weight loss can be another warning sign--and that he suffers a chronic liver issue that can predispose him to that condition, and what you had was a worried dogmom.

But. Glucose levels normal. Not only that, but his tricksy liver enzymes are now within the normal range. High normal, but still. He's been on a special lower protein diet for the last year or so, but it's the SAMe, a liver supplement, that appears to have really helped him turn the corner. The weight loss hasn't hurt, and looking back, his more controlled diet is probably the reason why he has slowly lost poundage. At his highest, when he was scarfing down every delicacy Mom fed him, he tipped the scales at 94 pounds--he was 79 pounds when he joined the household. Now he's 81.5, and looking much as he did when I first brought him home. It's funny, because he looks like a slight, almost delicate dog at first. One vet tech who saw him about that time thought he weighed about 60 pounds...until she tried to pick him up. He's deceptively dense.

So. We continue as we have been doing, because the longer we can control this issue with diet and nutritional supplements, the better for Mickey.

(no subject)

And the vet just called--the Mickster is A-OK.

Over the past weeks, I had noticed Mickey drinking what I thought was more water than usual. I also thought he was peeing more frequently than he had in the past. In an older dog, these two symptoms can point to diabetes. Add the fact that he had lost a few pounds--weight loss can be another warning sign--and that he suffers a chronic liver issue that can predispose him to that condition, and what you had was a worried dogmom.

But. Glucose levels normal. Not only that, but his tricksy liver enzymes are now within the normal range. High normal, but still. He's been on a special lower protein diet for the last year or so, but it's the SAMe, a liver supplement, that appears to have really helped him turn the corner. The weight loss hasn't hurt, and looking back, his more controlled diet is probably the reason why he has slowly lost poundage. At his highest, when he was scarfing down every delicacy Mom fed him, he tipped the scales at 94 pounds--he was 79 pounds when he joined the household. Now he's 81.5, and looking much as he did when I first brought him home. It's funny, because he looks like a slight, almost delicate dog at first. One vet tech who saw him about that time thought he weighed about 60 pounds...until she tried to pick him up. He's deceptively dense.

So. We continue as we have been doing, because the longer we can control this issue with diet and nutritional supplements, the better for Mickey.