Second Week of Treatment (Radiation Only This Week)

We were back at MSU bright and early Monday morning (8/12) for Max's 2nd radiation treatment!

There weren't too many dogs in oncology this morning but we did run into a dog mom, Darlene, from the Irish part of Indiana that we've seen a few times now and have gotten to know over the past few weeks. She is a sweetheart and drives 2.5 hours every Monday for her dog to get chemotherapy. There are so many great parents out there that love their fur babies as much as we love ours. Although I am sad she has to be there and I pray her fur baby to do well with treatment, it is comforting to see a familiar face in the waiting room and to have someone that understands and that we can talk with while we wait.

This morning, they had us give Max Trazadone, which is medication to treat anxiety for dogs (it also sedates them and calms them down). Max has a lot of energy and evidently the last time he was there for treatment, he was overly excited and it took them more time to get him ready for his treatment bc of this. So they wanted us to give him 2 Trazadone an hour before we left for his treatment. So, we gave him 2 pills before we left the house and then we headed to MSU for his treatment.

Well.... we won't do that again.

Max ended up getting car sick bc of the Trazadone and the motion of the car moving. He puked all over the back seat, and ended up throwing up his pills. We felt sooooo bad for him! The pills had been in his system for about an hour before this happened though so he was definitely feeling the affect of the pills.

When we got there, they took him back and ran a blood panel to check his white blood cell count and then gave him anesthesia for his radiation treatment. The entire process took just under 2 hours and from start to finish (from front door to front door) it took 4 hours, which we were super thankful for because the previous week we were gone for the entire day!

When they brought Max out to us and we got him in the car, he was pretty out of it. Very sedated. We expected this bc he was under general anesthesia for his radiation treatment and usually he comes out of anesthesia within a few hours and hasn't had any issues in the past.

This time was different.

Max was REALLY out of it. When we brought him home Colin stood him in the grass and he pee'd a little bit. This was at noon. He didn't go to the bathroom again until 11pm. (insert panic here).

He was responsive if I said his name and stuck my face in his face. He would open his eyes wide or try to lift his head to see me but he was totally out of it. This went on for hours. Around 4pm, he was still super out of it so I called MSU and spoke with his oncologist and we all agreed that it was the combination of the Trazadone along with the anesthesia and we needed to adjust this form of sedation for next week.

I continued to watch him (and by watch I mean I literally just sat next to him making sure he kept breathing and rubbing him). I was pretty freaked out bc I had never seen him like this before. With his surgery earlier in January from a tumor on his back to everything we've been going through since May and all the sedation he's had, he has never had this hard of a time coming out of anesthesia.

I was worried since he hadn't pee'd in so long so Colin and I would carry him outside but he'd just stand there. His eyes were all glazed over and he couldn't walk. We did this probably 4 times throughout the evening. I was also worried bc he wasn't drinking anything so I would bring him "special water" (it's really just water with sugar mixed in that is in a food bowl that he thinks is special) and I would dip my finger in it and rib it on his lips. I was trying anything to get him to drink but he wouldn't.

At around 10pm we carried him back outside and we got him to take a few steps but he wouldn't go potty. He would walk 4-5 steps to get to me and then go in between my legs for butt rubbies. We carried him back in and laid him back down in his favorite chair. When I asked him for a kissy he lifted his head and gave me a nose bump before putting his head back down. It was something for which I was grateful.

Around 11pm we carried him back outside for one last ditch effort before bed to see if he would go potty. He stood out in the grass and just stared at us. I asked him if he was ready for bed and his ears perked up with excitement (he's always loved bed time bc he gets treats). I told him to go potty so we could go to bed and BOOM! He pee'd! Colin and I were so so happy! Of course, I started crying and praised him.

He walked back in the house on his own.... very slowly. He walked over to his water bowl and drank!!! Another achievement!

I was so happy!

He was finally started to come out of sedation!

He walked into the bedroom and we picked him up and put him up on the bed and he slept all through the night until this morning.

He woke up and was ready for a meal bc he hadn't eaten at all yesterday so he ate well and he drank well and went potty and poopy.

To say I am happy this morning is an understatement. It was scary yesterday.

I emailed his doctor this morning and told them Trazadone was off the table and that we needed to adjust his sedation treatment going forward.


Symptoms the week of Radiation treatment (no chemo this week):

Day 1: Had a rough time coming out of anesthesia due to too much sedation with Trazadone. Did not eat at all this day. Got car sick from the Trazadone on our way to MSU. Was sedated from 9:30am until 11pm.

Day 2: Anesthesia had finally wore off. Max woke up well and ate well today. He pee'd pretty well - not full hard streams though. He is straining to poop a lot today. This could be bc of the radiation and the fact he didn't eat at all yesterday. I added pumpkin to his meal today bc the little bit he is pooping is soft serve drops. He acted fine today though and was very excited to eat at all of his meals and was barking and bouncing around. Butt up in the air, lunging at Sammy to play, and over all excited.

Day 3: Max felt great today with hardly any side effects! He is straining less to poop today and has had decent poops all day. He seems to be straining more to urinate today. He has a decent first steam, with spurting, but then walks around the yard to mark. He is not peeing blood. I am guessing the treatment has inflamed or irritated his urethra so maybe he "feels" like he has to pee. Other than that, he is acting totally normal. Very excited to eat and does well outside.

Day 4: Max is straining to poop today. When he goes, it's long and ribbon-like. He pees well for the first pee and then marks around the yard. Other than that, he is doing well. No nausea at all this week. He is eating well and is alert.

Day 5: Max is doing well today. Still straining to poop but he's pooping! He is eating great still but having to go out to he bathroom a lot and walks around marking. Poop is flat and ribbon-like still.

Day 6: Max seems to be having issues with straining and pooping. His poop is very ribbon-like still and he continues to walk around the yard to mark/pee. His first pee is still ok. Not as strong of a stream but it's a full bladder's worth. He then walks the yard and pees, sometimes nothing coming out but sometimes spurts or drips. When he poops, sometimes it is only a little bit and sometimes it's a full poop, but very long and stretched out. This is either bc the tumor is growing or his prostate is irritated and inflamed from the treatment.

Day 7: Max is still straining to poop and pee. He is still going which is good but concerned about the straining that seems to be getting worse. :( Other than that, he is acting totally fine. Eating well and giving plenty of kisses. :)

Cost ot Treatment:
$320