This photo was taken exactly 5 years ago today, while Ink and I were in Slab City for 2 months. I believe it was during this time that he contracted his Valley Fever. Keep reading below the photo...
Slab City, CA, USA
January 2015. Slab City. I'm almost certain this is when Ink contracted Valley Fever...
He has been battling it for 5 years. I wish I would of found out about valley fever sooner..
I'm someone who avoids the doctor / vet / prescription medication..
I sometimes feel like I should of took him to the vet more.. but with valley fever.. the symptoms subside and I thought he was good.. but I was wrong. I doubt a vet would have been able to diagnose him because we left the SW and vets aren't aware of VF on the east coast. It took Ink having seizures and me doing my own research to finally come up with a guess that he might have valley fever.
4/9/2017 was the day he had his first minor seizure. I took him to the vet, and inquired about valley fever.. the test was expensive and being someone who is normally against perscription meds, I declined both the test and possible meds and instead, I started treating him naturally with things like oregano oil, grapefruit seed extract, and pau'd'arco bark. He wasn't having many seizures at that point.. his next seizure was almost exactly a year later, but they would later become more frequent.
4/3/2018 - he started clusters seizures.. having two within a couple of hours.
4/4/2018 - Sedona Oak creek vet visit. Took x-ray, didn't show valley fever in lungs, did blood test for valley fever which came back positive with a very high titer. Started Fluconazole. 100Mg every 12 hrs
He was on the fluconazole for about 2 weeks and then he started vomiting, diarrhea, couldn't walk, heavy pants, couldn't hold down food or water. I thought he was going to die. We stopped the fluconazole and gave him liver support.
After this reaction to the meds, I was even more weary of perscriptions meds. ..although I'm still not sure whether or not it was the med that he was reacting bad to, or the mass die off of the fungus from the medication being effective.
3 days after stopping the fluconazole he was the best I've seen him in years.. running around and happy...
we started on a lower dose of the fluconazole.. and he would go on to have cluster seizures every two or three months.
6/2018 - Started feeding him raw food
7/15/2018 – Started Itraconazole
11/12/2018 - Ink started having seizures during the night and couldn't stop having seizures. He had about 7 between 9:30pm and 12:30am. They lasted a few minutes, but he was pacing around running into stuff the whole time in between seizures, so really they never stopped. Got a ride to emergency vet. They gave him phenobarbital and diazapam intravenously which stopped the seizures. The bill was a bit over $800.
11/13/2008 - went to vet, reluctantly started Ink on small dose of phenobarbital. Eventually got the vet to prescribe diazapam in case I needed to stop his seizures and avoid going to emergency vet.
The side effects of the phenobarbital were hard to watch. He didn't seem like the same dog at all.
He went on to have the cluster seizures every 2-3 months.
The seizures were terrible to watch. I finally started giving him a higher dosage of phenobarbital daily... and more of the pheno and add in some diazapam when he would have a seizure.
After being on the higher dose of pheno.. and giving him more pheno and some diazapam after he has his first seizure, I have eventually gotten it down to where he has 1 seizure every 4 months or so. His liver is still in bad shape from all these meds tho.
He has been on the itraconazole for a while now and his titer is down to 1:32 as of 1/10/20. He was 1:256 4/2018 and he was 1:128 on 5/31/19. His 1:32 titer still indicates disseminated VF and is still serious, but he is improving. The side effects from the daily pheno are less, but still there a bit.
Hopefully we can get him completely clear of VF, but I worry the itra that he is on does not cross the blood brain barrier..so at some point, if I can get his liver better, I may try the fluconazole again, which does cross the BBB.
Shout out to Ink for being much stronger than I have through all of this. He has never seemed down about being sick, he has always been making the best of things and moving forward. Such a strong dog. I look up to him so much.
See more photos of Ink: http://www.bear8photo.com/ink
Map of our RV Journey: http://www.bear8photo.com/maps
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My dog and I are full time in an old RV - since 2012. Striving for more freedom, nature, and meaning. Please follow along and enjoy the photos. Prints available on my website.
website: http://www.bear8photo.com (steem payments)
