This picture was taken a few days after Jasper's diagnosis. We took him to the vet because his mouth was extremely sore. At first we though he'd been stung by something because it was summer and there were a lot of wasps in the yard. He would cry out when we touched his mouth.
One after we were out on a staycation and he started to really scream in pain when we gave him a small treat. We looked in his mouth but still didnt see anything. Since he was in such pain, we took him to an area vet and had him checked. She said it could be a sting but suspected an autoimmune disorder. She gave him a week's worth of painkillers.
It did help for three days but by his follow up appointment he was in pain again. The vet we saw was sure it was MMM and started him on pednisone, even though she didnt want to because he was only eight months old. So began our journey....
Ten days into his pednisone journey and his energy is dwindling fast. He was tired, not playing with his toys. At this point we didnt know if it was the effects of the pednisone or MMM itself, or the combination. We just know it was hard to watch an eight month old pup have no energy and act like an old dog.
We decided to incorporate McDowells into his treatment.
Three weeks in to taking Pednisone and the McDowells formula he had very low energy levels and had also lost 5 pounds.
This is a month after the diagnosis. His muscles have deterioated body wide, but especially in his head. He has no energy at all.
We decided to add in a muscle builderand the vet dropped the amount of pednisone, as it seems to be ravaging his body.
Three weeks into the program his muscles have come back a lot in his legs and chest and even his head is filling in. His energy is mostly back. He is playing a lot. We are three months into the diagnosis and treatment in this picture.
Almost three months in and it's so nice to see his head filled back in again. His energy is great and he doesn't sleep much. We are so grateful for the good days.
Thank you for sharing Jasper’s story. He is back to playing a lot, full energy, and doing well. He has a couple flares now and then of pain but overall, he’s doing great.
February 2022 - The eye watering seems to have stopped. The coarse, strange hair is gone and his coat is super soft now and filling back in (as it should be!). He is full of energy and he drives his big sis crazy some days. Today we are in a good place. We will take all the good days we can and celebrate them.
Thank you,
Connie and Jasper
