The Light at the End of the Tunnel

We are 5 days away from the next dose of Percorten and I can't believe that only 28 days will have passed. What a month it has been! I am beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel! My mind is still on overdrive and I am hypersensitive to every little movement and behavior Atlas exhibits. For example, Monday morning, I get home from work and I was SOOO ready to climb in my bed and go to sleep. I gave Atlas his meds, let the boys out to do their business, and we all climbed into bed. Atlas jumped into bed and laid beside me with his back curled towards me. I was petting him and noticed him trembling between his shoulder blades. I kept watching and it kept getting worse. I got his attention to see if he was just dreaming or truly shivering or tremoring. He moved a bit and then started this really heavy breathing and started grunting. I called the vet and they said to come on in. To the amusement of my neighbors, we piled into the Celica and after a hysterical, overtired cryfest to Jaime, we were at the vet 20 minutes later. The doctor came in and Atlas was excited for a moment and then when she went to listen to him, he climbed onto the seat where I usually sit and curled up there while she examined him. It was actually quite entertaining. One full physical exam, complete with rectal later, he was diagnosed with being a s%$#. Well, that was my diagnosis for him. The doctor did agree with that diagnosis as a secondary and said his primary diagnosis could be that he needed more Hydro. and to do 10 mg twice daily (we chose that dose b/c of how well he did one day on 17.5mg). Also, due to his refusal to eat his kibble, we all agreed I had to get tough and no longer put goodies in the bowls. We are now in process of finding a kibble that they both enjoy. Yes, I said kibble! Can you believe it? Well, just so ya know, the vet's office manager is as picky about diet as I am and has her dog on Cowboy Cookout. It's also a holistic diet and very clean. Her dog loves it and several techs have switched their dogs to it and their dogs can't wait to eat! They are going to get me a sample to try. I had a nice, long, much needed, and very therapeutic talk with the doctor. I told her that I believed that even though I meant well, in my ambition to help support Atlas with holistics, conventionals, and diet, too much changed at once and perhaps that is why this month has been so rough. Perhaps this little episode was just a way of his body saying, ENOUGH ALREADY! We were sent home with the orders to toughen up on food, give only the
conventional meds, and come on back April 4th! Since that day, I have been giving 10mg of Hydrocortisone twice daily, continued the Pepcid 20mg twice daily, and feeding him his kibble and walking away. He AND Cole have been eating, very energetic, and very interested in EVERYTHING. It's like having two toddlers discovering the world. I guess in a way Atlas is. He felt bad for who knows how long and is starting to feel better and wants to play play all the time!