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Friday, March 18, 2011
Luna had an eye checkup yesterday and received a very good report. Her eyes are holding steady, which for Luna is great news. The tear production in her bad eye was even up a bit from her last visit.
Not only did she get a great report, but she was a really good girl at her appointment. She got to meet a few dogs and she was a very good girl while having her eyes examined.
After the long car ride there, the excitement of the visit and then the long car ride back home, as soon as we got home, Luna plopped down in her puff pillow and sawed logs for the rest of the afternoon.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Last Friday, Luna went to the eye vet for a checkup. I am very happy to report it was the best checkup she has had in some time. The tear production in both her eyes was great and there have been no major changes since the last visit. Which means all the drops stay the same and we don't have to go back for another checkup for 6 more months. Go Looney!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
I know I talk a lot about Luna's eye drops and how I need a spreadsheet to keep track of them all, but I don't think I have shared a recent rundown of all the eye medicines she takes. But before I list all of her medicines, I think it would be helpful to list what ails her.
Diagnoses Right Eye
Diagnoses Left Eye
And to combat the above issues Luna is on the following drops:
- Tacrolimis 0.03%: 1 drop in the left eye, 2 times a day
- Cyclosporine 1%: 1 drop in both eyes, 2 times a day
- Pilocarpine 0.2%: 1 drop in the right eye, 2 times a day
- KCS Solution/NPD: 1 drop in the left eye every other day, 1 drop in the right eye 2 times a day
- Genteal Gel: As needed
Once I learn the routine, keeping track of the number of times each day she gets a drop is not a problem. I mainly get confused in determing if it is an "every" or an "other" day. I used to make a spreadsheet but that got too tedious. Then I tried marking things on a calendar, but frequently I forgot to mark down the days so that plan didn't work too well. So, I came up with something that has been working well for about 4 months now.
I took a regular piece of paper, folded it in half and created three boxes by drawing lines. The first, and largest box, is labeled "NEEDS". The second box is labeled "ONCE" and the third box is labeled "FINISHED". Inside the finished box, I have an area labeled "NOT TOMORROW".
At the beginning of each day, I move all the appropriate drops to the "NEEDS" section. Then as I give her a drop during the day, I either move it to the "ONCE" section or the "FINISHED" section depending on if she gets the drop once or twice a day. If it is an "every other" medicine and it is done for the day, I move it to the "NOT TOMORROW" section. That way I know not to put that eye drop in the "NEEDS" section the next day. Instead, the next morning, I move it to the "FINISHED" section so I will give it to her the next day. It is hard system to explain, but it has worked very well for us so far.
I have also color coded all the drops so I can figure out if they go in the left eye, the right eye or both.
A few people have asked me why Luna is on Tacrolimus & Cyclosporine in her left eye. To be perfectly honest with you I don't know. I asked the eye vet and she gave me a perfectly reasonable answer, however, I can't recall what it is.
On paper, it seems like I am sticking a drop in Luna's eye every hour of the day, and I probably come close to it, but Luna is an absolute trooper about taking her drops. She sees me coming with a bottle of drops and she just sits down and waits for me to plop it in her eye. I think she doesn't mind the drops because ultimately they make her more comfortable. A chronically dry eye is irritating and can become very painful. But the drops keep her eyes moist and make her more comfortable. And if you miss a few drops a day it is amazing how dry her eyes can get. Luna sees the drops as a good thing, not as a bad thing.
Cost wise, the drop regime adds up quickly. The KCS Solution and Tacrolimus are each $48.00 a bottle. The Cyclosporine is $42.00. The cheapest is the Pilocarpine at $22.00 a bottle. Luckily we can get the Genteal over the counter for about $9.00.
But seeing the difference they make in little Luna's eyes makes the cost and the crazy systems all worth it.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Getting the pathology results on Friday helped us enjoy the holiday weekend. Benny started feeling better and was almost back to himself and after just one day of Luna's new eye drop, we started to see an improvement in her eye. Both of those things were very relieving and helped make for a relaxing weekend.
Good news, good friends, family and fun. Those were the ingredients of our much needed and much enjoyed holiday weekend.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Things went fairly well at the eye vet yesterday with Luna. Luna was a trooper as always.
The eye vet agreed that Luna's right eye is extremely dry. However, she noted that it is not because Luna is not producing tears (Luna tested at an 8 in her left eye on the Schirmer Tear Test this visit). It is because of all of the built up scar tissue on the eye.
So, we have added one more drop to our arsenal and have been instructed to give Luna the Genteal drops as often and as frequently as needed. The Genteal drops will help keep her eye moist.
The good news is her right eye is doing great. There have been no changes since our last visit, which is extremely good news.
I hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday weekend! Perhaps some lucky puggies out there will get to crash a few barbecues. 
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Luna goes to the eye vet this morning for her usual checkup. I know the news is not going to be good. Her left eye has very low tear production and despite our best efforts we have not been able to get it to improve. We have been tweaking her drops, trying new medicines but nothing seems to work. There is just too much scar tissue on the eye for anything to be effective. So, we have been giving her lots of Genteal Severe Dry Eye Relief drops to help keep some moisture in her eye.
I'm anxious to hear what the eye vet suggests as our next steps because the drops no longer seem to be working in her left eye. They worked well for a few years, but starting late last year they have gradually started becoming less and less effective.
The good news is that her right eye seems to be staying the same. She appears to have good tear production in that eye and the current treatment appears to be working well. That is very good news because that is her "good eye", the one that pretty much gives her all of her vision.
I'll let you know how everything goes.
Friday, July 6, 2007
So, it has been about a year and a half now that Luna has been with us. While she did come to us with some issues, the biggest one has been her chronic eye problems. She has dry eye. She also has another issue where water congregates near her cornea. (If they ever gave this condition a name, well, I wasn’t paying attention and/or probably couldn’t pronounce it anyway.) So, Luna has a very diligent schedule for eye medications. The medications have been changed a few times and the schedule numerous amounts of times. It seems like as soon as we remember the routine, it changes again. Usually after a trip to the eye specialist, we will have to create a new spreadsheet to keep track of her medication schedule. We will have to go back in 2 weeks for a recheck, but currently, her medication schedule is as follows:
- Muro ointment first thing in the morning every day (left eye only)
- Cyclosporin at lunch time and dinner time every day (left eye only)
- Neopolydex at lunch time every day 5 minutes after the Cyclosporin (both eyes)
- Tacrolimus mid afternoon every other day (left eye only)
- Muro ointment again at dinner time every day (left eye only)
- Cylcosporin again at bedtime (left eye only)
See why the need for a spreadsheet? It can be a little daunting when the routine changes but there’s still always a routine. The last time we went to the vet she asked if Luna gets a treat for taking her meds. I told her heck no because on a schedule like that she’d weigh 500 pounds! Fortunately, the vet was supportive and told us that if Luna was good about taking her meds, then no treat was necessary anyway. We are very thankful because Luna does do a super job when she gets her meds. There are no problems when she gets drops, but on a rare occasion, she will get a little wiggly when it comes time for the ointment. We can’t really blame her, though, she puts up with an awful lot. She is a really good girl. It’s almost like she knows how much they help her. It’s a real shame, though because no matter what we do, her vision still deteriorates slowly. She does better in the daytime but nighttime is another story. She doesn’t seem any worse for the wear, though. She’s our little trooper.
Thursday, October 5, 2006
Great news, everyone! The results of Luna’s biopsy came back today and the bump on Luna’s eye is not cancerous!
Earlier in the week, the ophthalmologist called to let us know that the culture results were in and that the test showed that there were no “infectious agents” present. My heart sank as soon as I heard this because I naturally assumed if it wasn’t an infection causing the bump that it must be cancer. However, the ophthalmologist reassured me that this wasn’t necessarily the case and that the extra drops we had been giving Luna could have cleared up her fungal infection.
And it turns out that this is the case. Since the bump is not cancer, it is presumed that the bump was caused by a fungal infection and that it required a strong course of drops to cure it. Initial tests showed that Luna had a fungal infection in her eye, but the ophthalmologist recommended a biopsy after being on medicine to treat the fungal infection showed no signs of improvement in Luna’s eye. The week leading up to Luna’s surgery for the biopsy, we increased the one set of drops and added another new drop to the routine. This one, two punch is what finally cleared the fungal infection.
So, the fungal infection is now cleared! We went to the ophthalmologist this morning and they said that Luna’s eye is healing very well. We just have to keep a close watch to make sure things continue to progress. If another one of these infections occur, which the ophthalmologist warned us about since Luna’s eye has an odd shape and is very bulgy, they may recommend that we permanently seal the corner of Luna’s eye. This would help protect her eye. However, this procedure may not even be necessary.
The white bump on Luna’s eye is what is left of the bump. When Luna’s eye was at its worse, this bump was about three times the size and a very bloody, red color. We are so glad that little Luna is on the mend. Thanks to everyone for their prayers and positive thoughts! We couldn’t have done this without you!
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