My Fibro Saved My Dog's Life

Monday April 9th, 2012 started out as a normal morning. My husband got up before me and went to work. I woke up and went to the bathroom like usual. I noticed my dog, Xena, didn't whine at me to let her out like she usually does. I got dressed and let her out of her kennel. She didn't run to the door like she usually does to go potty. Instead she got up slowly, walked to the couch, jumped up and laid down. I figured she was just tired, we played a lot the day before, and that my husband walked her when he got up. I poured her some food, but she wasn't interested and just laid on the couch. I figured my husband must have fed her as well. I ate my breakfast and tried to play with her before I left. She just wanted to lay on the couch. It was time for me to go so I put her back in her kennel, and went to round up my stuff for the day. I found everything but my keys. I could not find them anywhere and I turned the whole house upside down looking. I called my husband to see if I left them in his car. He didn't see them, so I asked if he could bring me my spare car key. Well, he wasn't able to leave work, so it looked like I was stuck at home. At least I had some company.

Talking to my husband on the phone, he said Xena didn't go potty or eat when he got up that morning either, but he just thought she was tired. I tried not to worry, but the more the day went on, the more I could tell something was wrong. She is usually super playful (she is only 6 months old) and she gets mad if I don't give her more than 150% of my attention. I finally got her to outside to go potty and she had the worst diarrhea. Something was definitely wrong. Matt finally got off work at 4:15pm and he called. I told him she was still acting weird, and he told me to call the vet and see if we could get her in at 5:00pm. That would give him enough time to get home, get us, and head out to the vet. Luckily they were able to get her in.

We got to the vet, and they weighed her and checked her temp. It was less than a degree above normal. They took a swab of her fecal matter, and left the room. The vet came back, Xena had parvovirus. If you don't know, canine parvovirus can be deadly. If left untreated, it's mortality rate is 91%, and with treatment, there still isn't a guaranteed chance of them making it, but the mortality rate goes down to about 20%. The vet gave her a med to help her body flush out the virus, and told us to call if she gets any worse. We got home and I searched my husband's car for my keys. I found them right away under the front passenger seat. I remember that when we had been leaving my uncle's house the day before for Easter, they fell between my legs and I didn't bother to pick them up. With my fibro fog, I had dropped them and forgotten where. But I believe it happened for a reason. If we had noticed Xena acting weird any later, she might not have made it. I can't even think about that possibility without tearing up. I'm just glad it all worked out.

Xena is now completely healthy and back to her old self. She has even gained 12 pounds since she was sick (even though she wouldn't eat much for a few days.) I took her this morning to get re-vaccinated for parvo, and to get her first rabies vaccination, now that she is old enough. Have to take her back in 3 weeks to get a second shot for parvo and she will be good up to a year. I'm so happy she was tough and made it through. She is a part of our family now. She is like my baby (although a very large one, haha.) My little American Bulldog is my world and I wouldn't trade anything for her. She snuggled with me when my pain was too much for me to handle. She makes me play with her which lets me get my exercise in. I love my Xena, the Warrior Princess Puppy. Even when she won't slow down for a picture. :)

Pain

Last week I was finally diagnosed with fibromyalgia after 9 years of suffering. This is both a blessing and a curse. I had been going to my family doctor ever since I was born. She could not find any reason for my pain and all the tests said I was perfectly healthy. She decided she would rather believe it was all in my head instead of digging deeper for the cause of my pain. Earlier this year, I finally got the courage to find a new doctor. After just one visit, she sent me to a rheumatologist because of the pain and because my rheumatoid factor was extremely high. At the end of my visit with the rheumatologist, he told me that it was pretty clear I had fibromyalgia. He was astonished at how long I had been living with this without an answer. He did do some blood work as well as fibro would not explain my high RF. Luckily, my results came back negative. But he does want me to come in every 6 months to a year to check for rheumatoid arthritis. He found no evidence of it, but he just wants to check on it so that if it does pop up, he can catch it early and try to slow it down. For my fibro, we are starting out small. He upped the dosage on my anti-depressant and I need to exercise every day. The exercise is going to be difficult for me. The past two weeks I've been more fatigued than usual. Here is a list of what I have been dealing with the past 9 years:

• Chronic pain
• IBS
• Depression
• Migraines
• Anxiety
• Cysts in my ovaries that occur every month (I might have endometriosis or PCOS)
• Rash that doctors couldn't explain, now receded to my arms and no longer itches
• All over muscle/joint/bone pain
• Excessive sweating
• Extreme fatigue
• Nausea
• Stomach and bowel pain
• Hip pain
• Chest pain
• Redness on my face and chest like rosacea
• Feeling unwell and run down
• Weight gain (I'm almost double the weight I was 4 years ago. Yikes!)
• Dry eyes (thought this was due to my birth control, but have been off it since November and still the same)
• Difficulty falling asleep (restless leg syndrome)
• Increased irritability
• Mood swings
• Sensitivity to cold, light, and some smells
• Sensitive teeth
• Tingling in my arms and legs
• Fibro fog
• Easily bruised, but not anemic
• Swelling in my hands and feet
• Joints not only in pain, but pop when I use them (but no sign of arthritis)
• Unable to concentrate

It is really difficult to do things every day. Even on my good days I was not pain free, the pain was just more manageable. I think the thing that hurts the worst is that others cannot see our pain. We look fine on the outside. I wish you all the best.