good morning!

75 at my house. 40-50% Chance of rain now until Tuesday. I'm taking Flash to the cardiologist in about an hour. I'll let y'all know how it goes.

Terry

Yesterday's 3/4" of rain cooled us off briefly. 71 this morning with a high of 92 later today. My bean canning was interrupted by the blackout (too darn hot in here with no a/c or fans), but I hope to finish the beans and start on the purplehull peas today.

We got some good news on Flash. We now know what the cause isn’t and what it is. Here is the report from the Vet:

Case Interpretation, Outcome, and Plan
Flash has a condition called chylothorax which is a build-up of fluid from the body's lymph system in the chest around the lungs and heart. This can occur for a number of reasons. Today, we performed diagnostics which excluded heart disease as a cause. We did not see an obvious mass in front of the hear and Flash's FeLV/FIV and heartworm test was negative which excludes cancer or an infectious disease as a cause.
Based on excluding known causes, Flash likely has idiopathic chylothorax which is due to damage or rupture of the lymphatic vessels as they course from the abdomen to the front of the chest where the lymph fluid would normally enter into the blood at the vena cava. The main treatment for idiopathic chylothorax is surgery to try and close off the leaking vessels. The overall success of surgery to stop fluid production is ~70%. I will have the surgery team email you a general estimate for the procedure.
Medical therapy for idiopathic chylothorax can be considered though in my experience it usually has a low success rate. The main medical therapy is using a herbal supplement called Rutin. You can purchase this in many supplement stores. I recommend getting the 500 my tablets and giving 1/4 to 1/2 tablet by mouth every 8 hours. In some cases, feeding a low-fat diet such as Hill's w/d diet may be of benefit in reducing the amount of lymph production. There is an injectable medication called octreotide which may be beneficial in some cases. It can be expensive and is administered three times a day under the skin.
PLAN:
1) Consider starting Rutin as above
2) We will email you an estimate for surgery

Today’s bill was $902

We have another appointment for Pumpkinhead on Monday to discuss treatment for her.

Terry

We got some good news on Flash. We now know what the cause isn’t and what it is. Here is the report from the Vet:

Case Interpretation, Outcome, and Plan
Flash has a condition called chylothorax which is a build-up of fluid from the body's lymph system in the chest around the lungs and heart. This can occur for a number of reasons. Today, we performed diagnostics which excluded heart disease as a cause. We did not see an obvious mass in front of the hear and Flash's FeLV/FIV and heartworm test was negative which excludes cancer or an infectious disease as a cause.
Based on excluding known causes, Flash likely has idiopathic chylothorax which is due to damage or rupture of the lymphatic vessels as they course from the abdomen to the front of the chest where the lymph fluid would normally enter into the blood at the vena cava. The main treatment for idiopathic chylothorax is surgery to try and close off the leaking vessels. The overall success of surgery to stop fluid production is ~70%. I will have the surgery team email you a general estimate for the procedure.
Medical therapy for idiopathic chylothorax can be considered though in my experience it usually has a low success rate. The main medical therapy is using a herbal supplement called Rutin. You can purchase this in many supplement stores. I recommend getting the 500 my tablets and giving 1/4 to 1/2 tablet by mouth every 8 hours. In some cases, feeding a low-fat diet such as Hill's w/d diet may be of benefit in reducing the amount of lymph production. There is an injectable medication called octreotide which may be beneficial in some cases. It can be expensive and is administered three times a day under the skin.
PLAN:
1) Consider starting Rutin as above
2) We will email you an estimate for surgery

Today’s bill was $902

We have another appointment for Pumpkinhead on Monday to discuss treatment for her.

Terry

Good and bad (expensive) news
this is who we use for specialty care & have found them to be excellent but expensive, emergency surgery (removed part of our dog’s intestines) and follow up care ran just under $10k & now we are thinking about taking him bag to see a orthopedic specialist 


https://vcahospitals.com/

Good morning! Nice and cool out at 65, but 95 later will cancel that. Finally finished canning green beans at 40 pints. Starting on the purplehull peas now.

We got some good news on Flash. We now know what the cause isn’t and what it is. Here is the report from the Vet:

Case Interpretation, Outcome, and Plan
Flash has a condition called chylothorax which is a build-up of fluid from the body's lymph system in the chest around the lungs and heart. This can occur for a number of reasons. Today, we performed diagnostics which excluded heart disease as a cause. We did not see an obvious mass in front of the hear and Flash's FeLV/FIV and heartworm test was negative which excludes cancer or an infectious disease as a cause.
Based on excluding known causes, Flash likely has idiopathic chylothorax which is due to damage or rupture of the lymphatic vessels as they course from the abdomen to the front of the chest where the lymph fluid would normally enter into the blood at the vena cava. The main treatment for idiopathic chylothorax is surgery to try and close off the leaking vessels. The overall success of surgery to stop fluid production is ~70%. I will have the surgery team email you a general estimate for the procedure.
Medical therapy for idiopathic chylothorax can be considered though in my experience it usually has a low success rate. The main medical therapy is using a herbal supplement called Rutin. You can purchase this in many supplement stores. I recommend getting the 500 my tablets and giving 1/4 to 1/2 tablet by mouth every 8 hours. In some cases, feeding a low-fat diet such as Hill's w/d diet may be of benefit in reducing the amount of lymph production. There is an injectable medication called octreotide which may be beneficial in some cases. It can be expensive and is administered three times a day under the skin.
PLAN:
1) Consider starting Rutin as above
2) We will email you an estimate for surgery

Today’s bill was $902

We have another appointment for Pumpkinhead on Monday to discuss treatment for her.

Terry

Good and bad (expensive) news
this is who we use for specialty care & have found them to be excellent but expensive, emergency surgery (removed part of our dog’s intestines) and follow up care ran just under $10k & now we are thinking about taking him bag to see a orthopedic specialist 


https://vcahospitals.com/

We're using CVETS. They're 15 minutes from my house, very nice people and they have the equipment and specialists to do anything. Plus they have a 24hr emergency room. They're not cheap but I/m not sure I'd want a cheap doctor operating on me. Besides, the only other place like it is on the opposite side of town and I'm sure they're not any cheaper. At least they give me a veteran discount which helps.

Terry

75 and damp at my house. It rained some last night which was good for my garden because, after dealing with Flash and then my wife's Honda shredded it's serpentine belt on her way home from getting lunch, I forgot to water it. Supposed to rain the next few days.

Terry

Pouring rain- again- this morning. We were going to take the few extra bundles of shingles already on the roof down today and return them. Not likely in this rain.

79 at my house. Rained a little last night. It must have been light and short because I never heard it. Good for my garden though. Heading out to Total Wine to use my coupons before they expire tomorrow. Gonna get a more premium ($60-70) bourbon, scotch and rum to review on the 4th. This 4th is also the 21st anniversary of my kidney transplant. Along with the booze I'll be celebrating with fresh baked red velvet cake!

Terry

Good morning! 76 and muggy, headed for 96 that will feel like 107 this afternoon. Finished canning peas yesterday, so nothing left to can until more comes out of the garden. We got 5.2" of rain in June so far, not very likely to get any more before July sets in.