Update on Makayla

Figured I'd post an update on Makayla. She went on Friday for her second acupuncture session - which she hates by the way. She fusses and fidgets the entire time, knocking her needles out and driving the vet tech crazy!! She also has had one session of Bicom therapy - another one this coming Friday. Today was the third morning in a row that she was able to tell me she had to go poop. That's a big step for her to be able to feel a poop - of course, the first two days I didn't listen to her and ended up cleaning soft poop off my bedroom carpet!! This morning though I listened and she made it outside - even managed to poop without falling backwards into it, which she does a lot lately.

There's no improvement in her back leg strength. If anything, her walking continues to deteriorate. I flipped her foot over this morning so she was standing with the top of her foot on the ground and she has no clue - never attempted to turn it back. She doesn't always have a lot of feeling in her back legs. She slips and falls quite a bit, drags her feet along when she walks. But the important thing is that she's still walking - we're hoping she'll keep doing that for as long as possible. She doesn't take any pain meds - the good thing about DM is it's not painful, so she's never in any pain.

We're going to the vet on Tuesday to have some bloodwork done. She's had an upset tummy off and on for the past three weeks, which is very unusual for her. I could probably count on one hand the number of times she'd thrown up in the last 5 years - up until 3 weeks ago. We've tried fasting her and resting her tummy, but that doesn't seem to help. So the vet wants to run her blood and make sure she doesn't have any residual affects from having been on Derramaxx daily for several months. It's been restless sleeping the past few weeks - she's up a lot during the night with an unsettled tummy. Hopefully, the bloodwork doesn't reveal anything too serious.

I think that's it for now!! It's a day to day thing with her - some days she has that spunk in her, others she's frustrated with her back end and prefers to be calmer and quieter. But she's still happy and that makes us happy.

Don't know what to say Rachel besides I am thinking about all of you. I know that it is probably hard to watch her when she doesn't know her back end is there, but it sounds like some positive results from the acupuncture. You are being a great mom to her and I am sure she appreciates that even if she doesn't like the sessions!

Rachel... I have used Rescue Remedy for Dogs before the acupuncture sessions to calm Clara down. The vet has me give Pugsley a muscle relaxer 1 hour before his. He gets huge knots in the muscles in his neck. He has not been able to tolerate the electrodes. Last time, she had me physically manipulate the needles to simulate the juice he would have received from the electrodes. You could see the muscles react every time I turned one of the needles.

With Pugsley, I bring one of your beds with me and the vet put his needles in while he is on the bed. This worked with Clara, so I have continued it with Pugsley Being on the floor makes him more secure than being on the table.He seems to have depth perception issues and being up high stressed him out. I bring a blanket to sit on and hang out with him on the floor during the treatment. The vet also will put on New Age music and spray lavendar oil spritz on his bed, his fur, around the room to help him calm down. I would also play New Age music in the car before and after the appointment. I have been doing this with Bubba since he was a puppy, and it seems to calm him down before his appointments.

As for the treatments, Clara would tolerate the calming point in the top of her head, Pugsley will not. He is very cautious about his head and neck being touched... probably residual fear from his last owner. She has also done Reikki techniques on him to get him to tolerate the needles. I didn't know if I believed in that until I saw the difference with my own eyes. The vet also gives freeze-dried liver treats during the treatment and the treats are a huge hit with the pugs.


I didn't see any gained mobility in Clara's legs from the treatment, massages, exercises, etc... but I did see pain management. So, in that sense, it was worth it for me to continue it. The holistic vet just put Pugsley on a Chinese herbal supplement called "Body Sore". I believe it is really helping, as I have had three nights in a row now that he has actually slept through the night without waking me up.

With the upset tummy, does your vet have you give Pepcid AC with the pain meds? Our vet has me give a dose of Pepcid AC with the Metacam. I also give Peachy Solid Gold Sea Meal on her food, and that also seems to help. At least she "told" the animal communicator that she is grateful that I put the "green stuff" on her food because it really helps.
Continued thoughts for your little girl.... and thanks for the update.

Rebecca, I've tried bringing different beds and blankets for her sessions, hoping they'd calm her down and help her relax, but so far no luck. I didn't think to try the Rescue Remedy - I'll ask the vet about trying it before our next session.

We stopped the pain meds 3 weeks ago when she started getting an upset tummy for two reasons - 1. I was worried the pain meds were upsetting her tummy and 2. She doesn't seem to need the pain meds as she doesn't seem to be in pain. We never gave her pepcid with her pain meds.

I was wondering how Kayla was doing with her treatments. Hugs to both of you!

Rachel, a big hug to you and Makayla. Would it help if you held her during the needle insertion and kept her in your lap during the time the needles need to be in? That's what I did with Winston when he was getting acupuncture. He also got a treat *after the treatment was over, and he learned fast that he had to have the treatment or he got no treat. As for the upset tummy, would adding in, a little at a time, some pumpkin and no salt french cut green beans, help? Good luck to you.

I read this earlier and was at a loss of words of widsom. I'm have been following the progress to see how things are going. I suck sometimes ( most times) with what to say but I am thinking of you guys.

Donna wrote:I read this earlier and was at a loss of words of widsom. I'm have been following the progress to see how things are going. I suck sometimes ( most times) with what to say but I am thinking of you guys.

I'm the same way, Donna - always want to say the right things, the wise sounding things. But there just aren't always the right, wise things to say. Just knowing others are thinking of her and praying for her is always more than enough.

We stopped at my parents house on Friday after Kayla's session. I forget how hard it is for people who aren't used to seeing her everyday when they see her slip and fall. Kayla tried to stand up with her legs on my mom's legs and she fell down. My mom sat down and scooped her up and loved her and told her how sorry she was. And I told her, "Mother, she's fine. Don't baby her. She knows better than to try to stand up like that - her back legs aren't strong enough to hold her anymore." My poor mother thought I was being mean. But in reality, it's the only way we can deal with the situation. Trust me, a little piece of my heart dies everytime my baby girl falls and slips. It kills me to see that. But this disease is only going to get worse - her body is only going to deteriorate. And if we don't get tough now and get used to this now, it won't get any easier for us. Kayla is a sensitive girl and picks up on our feelings. If I cry everytime she falls, she'll sense that and her spirits will fall. So I toughen up when I'm at home, and I cry when I'm not home, when Kayla can't see me.

Big hugs to you both

You're such a good Pug-mum. Big hugs to you both.

I too don't have any words of wisdom, or sage, thoughtful advice. However, I do want you to know that I think of you and Kayla often. You are such a good mom to her Rachel.

Rach you are the best. I don't know that I could be as strong, but I guess you do it when you have too. I think about sister and you all the time and I know she will have the best and she will continue to be sassy for a long time to come!

Big hugs to you Rachel. I also believe they pick up on our feelings, and the fact that you are strong for her will help her.

Big hugs to you both. There just isn't a hell of alot you do about DM and what you're doing is more than so many people would do.

I think about you often in this.

Pugsy never liked acupuncture when we tried it with her either. She would always fidget & knock out the needles too. Eventually we gave up on it because going there stressed her out so much & we weren't seeing any improvement. I do hope that it helps Kayla. I'll be keeping you both in my prayers!

Sending love of pug hugs both your way!
I've never taken mine to acupuncture but im sure he would do the same thing, lol.... you are brave! hehe and i commend you! hope she gets well soon! :)

Well, I took Makayla in for her bloodwork tonight. Everything came back normal, which is good. Means her organs are all doing well. The vet wants me to put her back on Derramaxx on a daily basis again for the next ten days, along with a med to help soothe her stomach, and see if her throwing up subsides. Since I took her off the Derramaxx when the puking started three weeks ago, the vet is wondering if maybe the throwing up is a result of pain - maybe she's in pain (even though she's not showing signs of pain) and the way her body is reacting is by puking. So we'll try the pain meds again for 10 days and see if throwing up subsides.

I also put a call into the ortho specialist to see if he's heard anything back from his neuro friend in San Diego. I missed the return call, but he left me a brief message that he'll call me tomorrow to touch base, but coincidentally he just heard from the neuro today. The neuro agrees that he doesn't see anything surgical and it most likely is DM. He did mention a couple tests we could do to help further rule in DM if we want. The ortho is headed to e-surgery so won't be able to get back to me til tomorrow, so he'll talk to me more tomorrow. I'm guessing the neuro is going to suggest a spinal tap to peek at her spinal fluid and/or an EMG to test nerve function. Unless there's a compelling reason to do these tests, I've already decided we won't proceed down that route. I won't put her through more poking and prodding just to confirm it could be DM (since there is no definitive way to diagnose DM until a necropsy is performed after death), unless of course there's something else that these tests could confirm that the tests we've done until now haven't been able to confirm.

My vet agreed with me tonight that we're headed in the right path. We're doing what she needs - palliative care and management - and there's not much more we can do, since this isn't something that can be "fixed." He's happy with her current state - she's still mobile, not yet at the stage where she's dragging her feet constantly and causing sores and she's not yet knuckling. So our goal right now is to keep her at this stage as long as possible and re-evaluate as she needs.

I asked my vet about the pepcid ac with the pain meds yesterday. Bubba is on pain meds for a few days from his dental but she didn't mention it. She said she recommends it when the dog needs to be on pain management for long term. So, Bubba doesn't need it, but Peachy and Pugsley do. Peter, my former foster pug with the broken leg, was on deramaxx for a time. Continued thoughts for you and Makayla.

Rachel, you and Makayla are always in my prayers.