Thanks Tanza…it really is hard and sad to think about all this...he is doing so well; in fact the vet said that his kidneys are BETTER than the last time he was tested, which is very strange. He is gaining weight and shine since he was having his seizures. The vet said not to tell him he is sick, and he will never know. We just have to take this one step at a time I guess and see what happens. He is 11 years old, so it's not a huge surprise, although our 13 year old girl is healthy as a horse and thriving off the new "lifestyle" of cooked veggies, rice, fish oil, and wet food with their normal kibble...:rolleyes:

Pongo always finds a way to stand right behind me in the kitchen, so when I turn around, I knock into him, then he SCREAMS like I just did something horrible to him…I think he knows I flip out and hug him and give him treats when he screams...could be a bad lesson for him, but whatever.

@achandl2:

Sorry this is so long and I know it seems daunting! Ecspecially, since your option is not a cure only management. The initial part is time consuming but after that the maintenance is not so bad. You might want to ask if he could have a mild sedative to help his anxiety before the office visit, I'm not sure if that would affect his blood work or not.

Thanks so much for the information! I do understand that his symptoms will get worse if not treated…but the vet thinks its best not to go through the with treatment as well. A mild sedative would not be enough for him...he is beyond nuts when he is taken out of his comfort zone, and we just feel like it is such a strain on him to take him to the vet any more than necessary. The vet told us he would need monthly visits for the treatment...that really doesn't sound like maintenance to me, not for Pongo anyway. I'm feeling torn now; I really don't know what the best choice is for him. Do you think we should get a second opinion from another vet? We really like and trust the one we have now.

Well, our boy was just diagnosed with Cushings Disease (see thread below for his past saga)
http://www.basenjiforum.com/showthread.php?t=837

Mom just called last night to let me know and discuss what the vet recommended. Apparently if we decided to treat the Cushings, it would mean an 8 hour visit to the vet, then 2 hour visits once per month following that. Our vet recommended that we did not take this route, as Pongo is really neurotic and its traumatic for everyone for the vet visit. Last time he went to the vets, she came out with him and described the day as a "rodeo". Oh dear. I agree with the vet, and really think it would be harder on him to go through with the treatment, based on what she described. She recommended that we treat symptoms as they come…he is 11 years old now, so he is getting up there as it is.

Does anyone have any experience with Cushings? What did you do when you found out/how old was your dog? Any info would be great (I'm pretty versed now on the actual disease, I'm really wanting personal experiences).

Thanks everyone!

They think it is in the brain or pituitary gland…he is feeling better right now, sleeping through the night finally!!

As far as I know, diabetes was ruled out, and I know my mom mentioned Fanconi and took our vet that handy dandy printout for vets, and he seems to think it's a tumor. He has had extensive bloodwork done, and his urine was tested at the vet, all coming out normal.

As for the vision, we haven't noticed a thing with it, and the vet said it could very well me the aftermath of the allergic reaction, and he might have been in a fog. I guess he had laid a treat down to the side of him, and it was obvious that he only found it by scent; he literally just didn't see it. So we will have that checked again after a couple days have gone by and he is feeling better.

I will check on the basenji vet idea…I know my mom loves this new vet we have, and she is really really picky about the care our boy is getting. So even though I don't have all the details quite straight (it changes daily!), I trust her judgement. Thanks all for the support!!

Will post more again later, OH is begging me to come watch 24!

Just thought I would give an update on my doggie's condition.

He had a full thyroid panel, which came back negative for anything out of the ordinary. So our vet has put him on phenobarbital to try to prevent the seizures. It totally knocks him out when we give it to him. He hasn't had a seizure yet, so fingers crossed.

Got a call from my dad last night who said that he thought Pongo was having an allergic reaction. He had been given some peanut butter treats and some cashews earlier (he's never been given nuts, why now, I don't know!) so we were thinking it was coming from that. Apparently he looked like he wanted out of his own skin. So they took him to the all night vet, who gave him a steroid injection and prescribed Valium if he didn't calm down. Luckily he calmed down and went right to sleep (although he had an accident in the bed :eek: ) and today our regular vet said he seemed to be over it, but not to give him nuts again!

Our vet did some more tests, and it now appears that he may also be losing some of his vision!

Will this ever end in happiness?!! Poor guy, he is only 10…we have a perfectly healthy female who is 13!! It's so sad to see all this happening to our little guy.

Thanks Ivoss, that's a big help…I'll be sure to email him about all this!!

Also just read that seizures and muscle deterioration can be symptoms of Fanconi as well. Do you think that even if the vet doesn't give a finite diagnosis of Fanconi that we should start treatment for it?

Okay, talked to mom again and she tells me that the vet believes that he has diabetes insipidus, but that this is difficult to diagnose so he isn't positive. Also, his thyroid level was slightly elevated, but nothing out of the normal range apparently.

What we really need to know now is if there is anything we can do to help or stop the seizures from happening…is there anything we can give him that anyone knows of or has experience with? We have put him on a new spread out diet to accomodate for the blood sugar levels. Mom is going to ask this to the vet on Thursday as well, but thought I would check here too to see if anyone's doggie has gone through something similar. She is also going to ask for the bloodwork records so that we can see what they say first hand. Thanks again for reading guys, it really means a lot to me!!