Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Luna

Luna just started a dose of steroids and she is suffering from a severe case of roid induced hunger pangs. I don't think I have discussed Luna's recent health issues much on the blog - mainly because denial sometimes is wonderful place.

A few months ago, Luna was "unofficially" diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension. I say unofficially because we have not gone through the full battery of tests needed to make the diagnosis official. Essentially, Luna is suffering from many of the symptoms and we have ruled out pretty much all the other possibilities, so we are going to treat her accordingly and see if she improves.

Luna's main symptoms are a nasty cough and labored breathing. We have experienced quite a few different coughs around here with Sol and Benny, but Luna's cough is very different. It's like a cough mixed with a sneeze and a wheeze. Not the same goose type honk that Solsey suffered from.

To treat her condition, Luna went on a pill to help her breathing and a diuretic. That combo of meds worked very well for her the last few months. The frequency of her cough was severely reduced. Her breathing was still labored, but not quite as labored as before. All that changed last week, when Luna's pesky cough came back nastier than ever.

We took Luna in to the vet and had a chest x-ray done in the hopes that it was some sort of upper respiratory infection (not great, but certainly better than the alternative). The chest x-rays showed that Luna's lungs looked clear, so the respiratory infection was ruled out. We started Luna on a round of steroids in hopes that it would clear up her cough. If it does, chances are she will need to remain on the steroids long term. This is not ideal. However, as the vet described things to us, this really is the lesser of two evils.

In addition, Luna has also started on a special prescription food that is meant to be very kidney friendly. Luna's last two blood tests have revealed that her BUN is on the high side and is on the rise. Hopefully, the special diet with help lower her BUN levels to a normal level.

Through all this, Luna has proven time and time again that she is tougher than nails. We have to keep a close eye on her because she never really lets her discomfort show. Our vet explained to us the pulmonary hypertension can be very uncomfortable. It seems like no matter what is stacked against her, little Luna just keeps on trucking.