Overwhelmed

Just to give everyone a quick update. Iris had three more seizures over the weekend. They were very close together - about 10 min between each seizure. That's unusual for her. She usually goes about 2 hrs between seizures. I am bummed. She was doing so well. I was thinking about it, and Iris did get a few different points during her acupuncture appointment last week. We were planning ongoing two weeks between appointments this time (we've been going weekly). That's why she got the additional points this time. Did that change things? I'm going to call Dr C in the morning to see what he says.

I'm on a canine epilepsy email list and there was a recent discussion about dogs that were retired from agility after starting phenobarb because of the lethargy, ataxia, and weight gain associated with the drug. It made me a bit depressed. The list ranges from being very informative to being very sad. Don't get me wrong, the list members are extremely supportive of one another. It is just difficult to read about dogs deteriorating so quickly. I think in some ways it's not an accurate sampling of the population. The people with dogs that are doing well are not the ones posting on the list.

The overwhelmed part is mostly because of a big project at work. Basically, I'm working for 8 hrs and then going into Boston to shoot restaurant exteriors from 6:00 to 9:30. Very long days and very cold nights! I am exhausted, but Iris thinks this new schedule is VERY cool. The only way I can manage to work the long hrs and still get Iris her meds on time is to bring her to work with me. She's thrilled! And she's getting tons of exercise walking around Boston, which is good because Dr C wants her to lose a few pounds. Just in case I disappear for while, it's because I'll be working late for the rest of the month most likely, not because anything has happened to Iris.

On a much lighter note, the one night I won't be working late is Wednesdays. Iris is starting class again this week and I refuse to miss it! It will be the first time I've had her in a regular class since last summer (probably July?) Much too long. I miss being in a class. This one is a Control Unleashed class, and I'm really looking forward to it! After that, I'm hoping to get her back into agility. Maybe that's why the discussion about retiring agility dogs on phenobarb depressed me. Just because Iris will be 7 years old in May doesn't mean I'm ready to retire her yet.