Saturday, February 05, 2011

Kobe has Glaucoma - When it Rains it Pours

I haven't felt like doing anything. Anything. The flu took my health, my energy, my motivation and inspiration. Also my appetite. I haven't wanted to look at recipes, blogs, haven't wanted to write. Nothing. But we had the comfort of the shibas cuddling close as we slowly recovered.

First the flu and now we have a dog down. What did I do, karmically speaking, to deserve such heartache?



As our shibas, Kobe and Aja, are 6 and almost 8 years of age, we decided to have their eyes tested for glaucoma just three weeks ago. (Sadly Shiba Inus are a breed prone to glaucoma) So glad we had the testing done because we MAY have saved Kobe's eyesight.

Does this look like a happy camper? No. No, it doesn't.



Normal readings for eye pressure are around 15 ( I think) and while Aja tested within a good range, it was our younger shiba Kobe who had readings of 23 and 24. That was in January.

This morning Kobe gets up and has one eye just about glued closed. We go to the vet imediately and his pressure is up in the left eye to 58. Our vet Dr Austin was wanting to start an IV and give Kobe mannitol but they were out. Since it's Saturday many of the vet offices are closing up at noon. Many did not have the drug ( one did but had just received a head trauma case so, they too were out.)


Off to the Emergency Pet place off Centerville Road. The attending vet there did not want to start an IV and do the more invasive procedure and intead administered latanoprost (medicated eye drops). Kobe's pressure went down in the bad eye and after a few more repeat doses, we came home. We have the prescripion filled from CVS and these drops are a bitey $108 that we'll now need every month.

A stressful morning for us all, particularly Kobe. He's not out of the woods yet and will need another eye pressure test this Monday.

Bottom line - get your dog's eye pressure checked (if prone to eye issues) - it was roughly $32 bucks per dog plus office visit. Having this done earlier we knew what the pressure reads were before this hit Kobe.

Now it's a rough weekend of watching him sitting around with one eye closed, he's out of sorts, the female shiba is standing near him watching him........they are family. Anyone with pets who feels the same knows the boat we're in. Please keep this boat from sinking.

The flu is slooooooow to leave the body, by the way, even after fever has abated and you are on the mend. It's a slow mend, I'll tell you that.

Here is Kobe with both beautiful eyes clear. Lets hope we get to see this again. I'm worried sick.


Aja and a bear, she's the reason we had them tested since she's almost eight years old.


Please let this medicine work and if I've saved your animals' eyesight by telling you about canine glaucoma, I am very glad.

13 comments:

  1. Poor baby! I hope the eye drops help very soon and he gets back to normal. What a scary thing to be going through while you guys are still recovering from the flu. Sending healing thoughts your way!!

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  2. I wrote a whole comment and lost it...

    and I'm sick and it's hard to write right now...

    our doggy went totally blind a couple of days before Christmas with SARDS...it was awful and has been quite a challenge to adjust to it...she continues to have weird issues as well as it's a systemic illness that among other things causes the permanent blindness overnight...so incredibly painful and sad...

    love to you and Kobe that he may heal and be clear sighted and happy...

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  3. Awwww! It certainly does seem to pour all at once, doesn't it? I know you've had a rough couple months and I do hope this is the end of the storm for you. I'll be thinking of you and hoping that Kobe makes a full recovery.

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  4. Thank you Janel. It's been tough, and I'd do anything to have Kobe well and not afflicted with this problem. Thank you.

    Monica Jane- I am so sorry to hear about your dog. And you are sick right now too - sending you healing thoughts! Thank you for sharing such a personal thing about your pup and SARDS; that must incredibaly hard to deal with emotionally. We will give Kobe meds the rest of his life and I am hoping that other eye will be OK. Thank you Monica.

    Kim - Thank you so much, I had lost interest in so much when I had the flu and damn - it seems like I just got over a cold a month or so ago. But the thing with Kobe is heart breaking as he's our little boy. He's just listless, sitting around and not eating. I will be glad to get to the vet again on Monday.

    Thank you so much for your nice comments, all of you!

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  5. Oh no! Poor thing - hope he's doing better after a re-visit! I too had the flu ... 2 weeks later, still not 100% - it sure is hard to shake off!

    Mrs L

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  6. How horrible and expensive. Getting their eyes tested was such a smart thing to do. I can't believe it's $108 a month! Thank goodness we dog insurance in case we ever have an issue like that.

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  7. Mrs L, I am happy you are making your recovery. It's a slow climb out of that, isn't it? Thank you for your well wishes for Kob. It's tearing us up :-(

    Rhonda - I am going to check out the insurance but I don't know if pre existing conditions will keep us out of being covered. He sure is scared of us getting near hos eyes right now but who can blame him, he's been poked there so much in the last 24 hours.

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  8. Tina, I'm so sorry about Kobe!! We have an almost 13-year-old Boston Terrier, Muggins, who is our "child." I know exactly how you feel. They're part of the family. I'm sending good thoughts and hugs your way! Please keep us posted.

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  9. Brenda, you totally get us, Kobe is our little child. Thank you so much for the good wishes, it means more than you know.,

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  10. oh Tina, I am sadden by Kobe's glaucoma and more so that the poor baby is having to go through it as well as you two... they are so much more than pets aren't they, so dependent on us and so giving..I don't know what I would do without my little Max... I pray for Kobe's recovery as well as for your health too

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  11. Hey Tina,

    Ack! I read about your flu on FB and I'm sorry it hit you as hard as it did...

    Whenever I hear about a friend's pet health issues, I really feel for the friend and the pet. I'm glad you got Kobe to the vet and that he's getting some treatment, but as you know since my Juno incident a while back, pet stresses for me are extreme, so I really feel your pain.

    Take care of yourself as you recover from the flu, and lots of pet hugs to Kobe from me!

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  12. Oh, the poor baby. I hope Kobe is feeling better soon. I know all to well what it is like to feel helpless with an ailing pooch.
    Lots of love,
    Natashya

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  13. I wrote a comment yesterday and it disappeared! Thank you all VERY much for your kindness, your support and compassion mean more to me than you'll ever know. Kobe is family and we were having a hard time with it. But today we had a bit more positive news from the canine optahmologist. More later!
    xxx

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It's been a good run...........