Bad news and good
Mar. 31st, 2011 08:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
altivoBad news: I still have the cold. Skipped work today, got little done other than trying to sleep (fail) and trying to breathe (obviously I'm still here, but it wasn't pretty.)
Good news: We took Simon to the vet this afternoon. Gary was all doleful about it and sure she would say he couldn't be helped, but I had better expectations and I was right. She checked him over and agreed with my assessment that arthritis is what's giving him the most discomfort right now. That can be treated to some extent, with one of several prescription drugs. So we came home with a two week supply of Rimadyl, and some of another painkiller to use as a temporary bridge, because he has to be off regular aspirin for a week before he can start the Rimadyl. We used Rimadyl with an elderly golden retriever a few years ago and it really did help her for a while. The drug is fairly expensive, about $3 a day, I think, but I can cover it for now and if it works for him I think we can get a paper prescription and use that to order it from a mail order vet supply for a lower price.
Oh, and Simon is getting around quite well today. Still slow and with a limp, but getting up on his own and moving about. I think the cold snap last week probably aggravated his arthritis. I'm afraid he probably won't be with us by the time winter rolls around again, but I want to make him comfortable while I can. He's still waggy and eager for attention, and very eager to eat his food, so I don't think his quality of life is that bad yet.
Good news: We took Simon to the vet this afternoon. Gary was all doleful about it and sure she would say he couldn't be helped, but I had better expectations and I was right. She checked him over and agreed with my assessment that arthritis is what's giving him the most discomfort right now. That can be treated to some extent, with one of several prescription drugs. So we came home with a two week supply of Rimadyl, and some of another painkiller to use as a temporary bridge, because he has to be off regular aspirin for a week before he can start the Rimadyl. We used Rimadyl with an elderly golden retriever a few years ago and it really did help her for a while. The drug is fairly expensive, about $3 a day, I think, but I can cover it for now and if it works for him I think we can get a paper prescription and use that to order it from a mail order vet supply for a lower price.
Oh, and Simon is getting around quite well today. Still slow and with a limp, but getting up on his own and moving about. I think the cold snap last week probably aggravated his arthritis. I'm afraid he probably won't be with us by the time winter rolls around again, but I want to make him comfortable while I can. He's still waggy and eager for attention, and very eager to eat his food, so I don't think his quality of life is that bad yet.
