9 Month Update

It has been about 9 months since Coby's GME diagnosis & he continues to do well with his treatment. Coby has been Prednisone free for 92 days!! :-) He continues on 25mg Zonisamide (anti-seizure med) twice a day & 10mg Leflunomide once a day. Most recently added was the 20mg Atopica for his allergies. Coby received his 5mg Lomustine on February 26th, despite slighly low platelet counts on 2 different CBCs drawn the 22nd & 24th. Because of the low platelet count, it is possible Coby’s Cytarabine & Lomustine treatments will be stopped early before 12 of each are completed - with 12 being the "goal". The most recent Lomustine was Coby's 7th dose. The Cytarabine injections given February 10th & 11th were the 8th dose. The 9th round of Cytarabine injections are planned for March 10th & 11th - but those are dependant on the results of the CBC drawn March 8th. Coby has a follow up appointment with Dermatology on the 8th & we will also have a CBC & fasting chemistry profile drawn.

Although I have an idea of the expenses I have spent since May - a "running tally" in my mind, I decided to look back at my credit card statements & bank statements. Yikes!! Estimated price of medications, vet fees, hospitalizations, blood work, etc. since May = > $10,000. Having Coby home, healthy & happy = priceless!!! :-)

Coby's "Newer Look"

Trying to make it more comfortable for Coby!!

Coby's "New Look"

Because of Coby's constant licking from his allergies, he's been forced to wear his "cone" for the week! However, he has still found a way to get into the toilet paper!

Allergy Test Results

Coby's blood allergy testing results are finally back! He is allergic to quite a few things! Thankfully, he is not allergic to human or cat dander! We will continue with the Atopica pills to control these allergies & we have a follow up appointment with the Dermatologist next month.

Explanation of Results:
Classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 represent levels of IgE antibody specific for the respective allergen. Consider class 2 level & greater for allergen immunotherapy.

Class 6 – Ultra high level
Class 5 – Ultra high level
Class 4 – Very high level
Class 3 – High level
Class 2 – Low level
Class 1 – Very low level
Class 0 – Absent or undetectable

ALLERGEN & CLASS SCORE

Weeds
Short Ragweed 3
Mugwort 2
Plantain 2
Russian Thistle 2
Rough Pigweed 2
Sage 0
Giant Ragweed 2
Dandelion 0
Lamb’s Quarter 2
Cocklebur 0
Marsh Elder 0
Yellow Dock 2

Trees
Maple 3
Birch 0
Elm 0
Sycamore 1
Cottonwood 0
Alder 0
Oak 0
Walnut 0
Willow 0

Grasses
Sweet Vernal 0
Timothy 2
Red Top 0
Orchard 0
June 0

Epidermals
Cat Dander 0
Human Dander 0
Sheep Wool 0

House Dust Mites
D. pteronyssinus 1
D. farinae 2

Molds
Penicillium 0
Aspergillus 0
Alternaria 2
Cladosporium 0
Mucor 2

Insects
Cockroach 2
Black Ant 0
Flea 0
Housefly 0

Additional Allergens:
Malessezia 1
House Dust 2
Cotton Linters 3

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Happy Birthday

Happy 2nd Birthday Coby!!! We love you! XOXO

Coby has Allergies

Yes, unfortunately we are now dealing with allergies! For the past month or 2, Coby has had an increase in itching & scratching. It is now to the point that he's licked the hair off his body & there are a few small areas that are bald, dry & crusty. The hair loss I assumed was from the chemo, was likely from the allergies. To be certain of what was happening, we went to see a dermatologist per our neurologist's recommendation. Because Coby is no longer on prednisone (which masked these suspected allergies), it is no longer controlling the symptoms which is why the allergies have appeared & are progressively getting worse. Because GME is an allergy itself (it's an allergy to your own body), many dogs with GME are allergic to many things. After an hour long consult with the dermatologist, she suspected Coby has environmental allergies (human dander, cats, dust, etc) - most of which are unavoidable. Treatment options were presented: medications or allergy injections, costs were reviewed, risks, etc. In addition, not controlling the allergy causes an ongoing chance of a relapse due to constant immune system stimulation according to Dr Sisson.

Coby is now on 20mg cyclosporine daily - this is the safest thing since it suppresses the immune system and is often used as a therapy for GME as well. Hopefully Coby responds to this treatment and we will just continue the meds for life. Unfortunately these meds are expensive - more expensive than his chemo meds!

In addition, we were given the option to have blood allergy testing done to determine exactly what Coby is allergic to. This is mainly done with the assumption one will proceed with the allergy injections (to determine the serum one would need). However, there is a risk for Coby & allergy injections as the antigens might cause a GME relapse. We are not going to give any allergy injections at this point, but Dr Sisson did suggest still getting the testing done so we know exactly what Coby is allergic to. For one, to see if he has any "avoidable" allergies or if in the future the cyclosporine doesn't work & we have to opt for the injections we will know what he is allergic to. So, of course I decided to get the test done. We won't have the results back for about 2 weeks, so until then....hopefully the cyclosporine kicks in & Coby stops itching and biting! He now has to occasionally wear his little cone e-collar to prevent him from doing any more damage to his little body.

Pred Free

Coby has been prednisone free for 10 weeks now!!! :-)

Coby's first blizzard!!!

Over a foot of snow fell in Milwaukee last night and there were snow drifts up to 5 feet. We were officially snowed in today. Here's Coby's experience this morning. Although he is a mini-husky, he certainly doesn't act like one - he hates the snow & cold!!!