Brilliant news :)
I'm so pleased that Holly is getting better. You must be feeling very happy indeed, after all the worry, to see her massive improvement :)

> first vet that state on the last entry to carry on with rimadyl

Suggesting she carry on with the rimadly is very worring if the vascularitis had any possibility of being a side effect from it.

Well I am over the moon with Holly's improvement already,

Really pleased for you and your Holly, hope the recovery continues and is quick.

Brilliant news, much better outcome than you expected. Keep it up Holly.

So pleased to hear the new medication regime is working, Tramadol is a strong pain med so it must be controlling the pain enough for her to behave normally again. The steroids will soon clear up the inflammation, she may be more hungry because of them, if so mix runner beans in with her food so she feels full for longer without gaining weight and putting more strain on her joints.

To get the wee put a clean foil/paper plate under her as she squats to wee and tip it into the sample bottle., then you don't have to be as precise as you would with a smaller container.

Keep us posted on how she gets on.

Thanks Rhodach x
Managed to get wee sample this morning, at her follow up appointment our vet was very pleased as are we that the swelling on her legs has reduced substantially.
Her wee sample show protein so will be doing a few more wee samples and blood tests next week.
We are to try reducing the tramadol to 2 per day, but if she needs the 3rd one then we go back to 3 daily.
I am so pleased in the improvements holly has made in a short time with my second opinion vet, I could hug him!!

Wonderful news

Seems really good new I can't understand why a vet would let an animal continue in pain when it is not necessary, whatever the problem if there is pain there will be a suitable medication available and in my opinion it should be used.

What excellent news, Gemini - I'm so pleased to read this :)

So glad she is on the mend,brilliant news.

Sheila

The protein in her wee could be due to infection or connected with the excess protein that is causing the swelling in her legs.

So pleased to hear she continues to improve and the vet is happy with her progress.

Go Holly!!! And the new vet!!! :-)

Update
We rushed holly to vets this morning (Saturday) as she was in a lot of pain :(

The last few days she has been improving so well, eating, moving and walking around as she pleases and having 5 mins walk which she has been enjoying being out etc.
We reduced her tramadol as advised by the vet, but he said if we felt she needed it to give it to her. Her protein in her urine had reduced and swelling on legs basically gone.

She has now lost a lot of weight in a short space of time, her spine is pronounced etc.
This morning she could not move without crying in pain so I gave her her usual steroids and put her back on the tramadol and took her to the vets.
U sat in the boot of the car waiting for the vet as I did not want to move holly due to the pain she was in, the vet gave her an injection of steroid and has given us more tramadol and increased dosage of both, if worried we are to call vet straight away and vet would like to see her tomorrow morning.
The vet has warned us that we may need to make the decision that no one ever wishes to make :( and we are preparing ourselves for this as I would never want holly to suffer if the meds are not working, but I just don't understand how she improved and then relapsed?
Since we been home holly has eaten her breakfast and is able to get up and move on her own again, so I am starting to think maybe because we had started to reduce the tramadol that she relapsed?
I am very worried about her weight loss as apart from today she has been eating normally.
Has anyone experienced vascuritis? I don't want to give up hope as holly has improved, but I also hate to see her in so much pain when she relapses ;,(

I've just asked on a Rott group for any help. Can you not now get her referred to a specialist in this field rather than your own vet? There must be something beyond steroids and tramadol she could be having.. I don't know what but that's what I would be asking.. What about the RVCS?

You may have to resign yourself to keeping her on the Tramadol as reducing stopping is making her relapse[I took it for years before having to go onto morphine type meds and it did me no harm].

The loss of fluid may not be just in her legs it may be in other parts of her body therefore making her thin, been trying to think what high fat content foods you could give her and minced lamb was what I use to get weight on my lad before a show as he has been called lean on more than one occassion[my breed still gets weighed at shows] but that is his normal build, food is available 24/7 but he is so active I have to really step it up before a show.

I hope you don't have to make that decision for a long time to come.

Thanks suejaw, I will ask tomorrow but the vet we are under is a specialist in soft tissues and ortherpedics and also knows the breed very well.

I hope she's back on the way up now... Come on Holly you've got years left yet :-)

Thanks rhodach, I am cooking her rice and lamb as I type, I think the tramadol has helped her relax since this morning so I am praying we can get back to our improvement stage.
I just feel making that decision is too early, I don't want her to suffer in any way but because she has improved and it seems to me she may have relapsed due to reducing tramadol, I feel that now we on tramadol again she is able to progress.

Glad she has settled again, hope she likes the lamb, give her any juices from the lamb as that is where the fat tends to go to, I feed mine raw so he gets it all at once.

If you google "satin balls" you will get recipes for making meat balls that put weight on really quickly and taste good too, you may have to adapt some of the ingredients used in other countries, I keep enough out for that day and freeze the rest getting a daily amount out each night and put in the fridge to defrost over night.

Keep us posted

How are things ? Hope she is still showing signs of improvement x

Hi holly is doing fine, very settled still on meds eating very well and fairly active :)
We have vets on Friday for another blood test, fingers crossed she carrys on with no more relapses, the tramadol is certainly doing a good job with her pain relief xx

Thanks  for the update, glad she is feeling better.

Oh my gosh Gemini, you've been on an emotional roller coaster with Holly lately :(

Glad to read that she is settled again. I have all my fingers & toes crossed that she gets well soon.

Holly still doing fine x
Question, as you know because of mix up with meds and I was not happy with Holly's treatment etc at first vet I went for second opinion,
I wrote to the head vet at first vet to complain about our experience etc, had a response back basically saying no harm done on wrong dosage of meds as it was dealt with quickly, we yes that's because I noticed the error and queried it! Plus our word against vet about whether an alternative pain relief could be offered instead of rimadyl, we was not offered an alternative. So not sure whether to respond to this as I am again fuming!
Plus because the original claim form has got lost in the post on its way to my insurance company I have had to ask first vet to fill it out again eek! Which the senior vet has done as the vet who holly was under, no longer works for the surgery anymore?????
I strongly believe holly would ever be still unable to walk and in so much pain or even PTS by now if we had not got a second opinion.
I know holly is unwell and may not be with me for long, and with this in my mind I don't know whether to presume this matter with the vets anymore, I mean why does this vet sudden not work for them anymore? And do you think if I pursued this complaint, would it be worth it? I do feel strongly about the lack of knowledge pain relif etc but can anything be done now the vet in question no longer works there?

Is there a Vets governing body you could threaten to contact if you don't get a satisfactory reply?

I would certainly keep at them as Holly was left to suffer because of an incompetent vet who strangely doesn't work there any more, wonder what other complaints there has been and did he jump ship or was he pushed.

Yes, you should continue with it and put all those points across in another letter!

V suspicious that this vet no longer works there...

Update
We off to the vets again today ;(
Holly has been improving and her resent bloods showed her protein levels back to normal, however her liver enzymes are high so on Monday we was prescribed another tablet to help.
Well yesterday I noticed Holly's gait hard and bloated, and today she again is struggling to get to her feet :( I am helping her again to get her hind quarters up so she can walk, and this afternoon she is lame on her hind leg ;(
Our usual vet is on holiday as from this morning but managed to talk to him and he has. Booked her in to see another vet that has seen holly a couple of times.
It is so frustrating as holly again improved then this. Her character is still there, just she is struggling getting up.
I can't remember the whole name of what holly has been diagnosed but it was immune  vascurlitiris or something like that.
She has lost alot of muscle around her head, spine and hips, this is due to the steroids ;((

Oh dear poor girl.

I hope they can get her sorted x

Oh dear poor Holly and you. My old lady Pepsi struggles to get her bum up and if she has managed to get on the tiles in the conservatory she cannot get up. We have rugs everywhere as I have wood floors in the hall and dining room and tile in kitchen and conservatory so she needs some grip. Hope she pick up again soon.
Aileen

Thanks everyone
Well as I thought the steroids are causing the stomach to bloat, so we are reducing the steroids.
My poor girl, we have rugs down, and we hope that reducing the steroids now her legs are no longer swollen will help her lose the tummy and make it easier for her to get her back end up into a stand.

Ive had fantastic advice and support from www.cimda.co.uk with 2 of my dogs with immune probs. 
Maybe of some help to you, apologies if I'm not supposed to post links