Friday, March 16, 2007

Good News & Bad News

Today was turning out to be a banner day.

I had my annual physical on Wednesday. My new friend Perry Men-O-Pause is kicking my ass, so I asked my doctor if I could go on continuous birth control to cut down on the symptoms. If I have to be on the pill (to keep my endometriosis in check), I might as well take advantage of the technology that exists and only have 4 periods per year instead of 12. Contrary to popular belief, it is not medically necessary to have a period every month. Not only did my doctor agree, she faxed in the Rx right away and my insurance is going to cover it at the same co-pay as my other BCPs.

Her office called today to say all my labs came back normal, including thyroid, Pap and cholesterol, which was a little high last year.

This afternoon we got our tax package back from our accountant and we owe a little bit for Federal and are getting a little refund from State. We were worried that we had not paid nearly enough in estimated taxes so this was a huge relief.

To celebrate all this good news I decided to go down to the farm. I just got home. I cried all the way.

Something is wrong with Missy. My trainer and the vet think she has some sort of infection and it is manifesting itself as extreme soreness and swelling in all four legs. Poor thing, she was in so much pain she didn't eat until dinner, and she usually has a very good appetite. She wouldn't walk all day either. My trainer wrapped her legs and gave her antibiotics and pain medication and she finally ate a little bit of dinner. She ate the treats I brought her and ate a little bit of hay, but she definitely is still in pain. After I left her stall she laid down in the soft sawdust. That about broke my heart to leave her laying down like that. My trainer is going to check on her early tomorrow morning and call the vet to make sure we shouldn't be giving her some other kind of medication. This happened to her big sister Somerset last year, just came on all of a sudden and after 3 or 4 days of antibiotics she was OK. I am hopeful this will be the case with Miss as well.

I was hoping I could get through more than a couple of months of horse ownership without a health crisis. Damn, I wasn't expecting to get so upset, when Willow told me what was going on I took it all in and asked appropriate questions, but when I went up and saw her I just lost it. I longed her pretty hard yesterday and I immediately wondered if this was my fault. I'd appreciate any of you horsey types telling me your success story if you've had something like this happen with your horse.

13 comments:

  1. Oh, Donna...I am so sorry about Missy. I'm praying that she'll be back to herself in a couple of days. It's so ard when you're animals aren't feeling well.

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  2. Thinking of you...and hoping Missy perks up soon! It is awfully difficult to see an animal in pain, especially your own! Chin up, little camper!

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  3. I hope it's nothing serious and that she's feeling better soon.

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  4. So sorry about Missy - antibiotics are wonderful - hopefully they will make her feel much, much better quickly. -Kym

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  5. Here's hoping the abx will do the trick... I can imagine how worried you must be. But I really hope she'll be alright. She looks so fine and healthy in those pictures... keeping my fingers crossed for you... and her.

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  6. Poor Missy! I do hope that this illness will go away as quickly as it arrived.
    Glad that your physical is all good. 4 periods a month, huh? I could SO do that.

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  7. I am so sorry to hear about your horse. It sounds like both Missy and you could use a good acupuncture treatment.
    Acupuncture is used for race horses and will help in so many ways.

    After she finishes her round of antibiotics you may consider giving her a round of probiotics such as PB8 which will put the good bacteria back in her body and help her heal.

    For your endo and GYN symptoms I have dedicated a blog and website to treating endo and unterine fibroids with alternative medicine and welcome others to participate.
    http://www.screaminguterus.com/
    http://blog.screaminguterus.com/

    Hope you are both feeling better very soon.

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  8. I'm sorry Missy is not up to snuff. Hard telling what brought on her symptoms, but I wouldn't blame yourself. It could have been anything.

    I agree about the probiotics after the antibiotics. It will help her rebound quicker and not have lingering issues from the antibiotics.

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  9. Donna.. please check your email, urgent, thanks...!

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  10. Sorry Missy isn't doing very well and that you are so upset about it. I hope she is on the mend and that you are doing better too.

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  11. Can horses get Lymes disease? That sounds like the symptoms the vet told me to look for in my dog once her blood test came back positive for Lymes. It is possible that a tick got on her with being outside.
    I hope she gets better soon. A month of antibiotics is what they give for treatment for dogs. Can't hurt to have her tested.

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  12. I too agree about the probiotics after using the antibiotics.

    Hope she's feeling better soon.

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  13. I have confidence that Missy will get better. Sometimes we are tested in our love of our animals, but patience and good care will do the trick. Find people that you trust to help you and if the vet doesn't give you a good answer, keep asking the questions and/or get another vet. I saw three vets before I found one I liked.

    I have been through the ringer with Precious, lamenitis, founder and finally a diagnosis of Cushing's, but just as I did for my Grandmother when she was in nursing care, I did for my horse. I respectfully demanded answers, always being diligent and asking questions, never settling until we found a solution. It took six months but she has now been sound for 2 years.

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