I was checking the thread to find this out too. Jessica-- any news?

You might try getting him a kong, that will keep him busy for most of the trip.

Since I don't speak Dog-Owner, trying to imagine how this:



Could be kept busy by this for most of a trip.



Which reminds me: Michele, where are Dewey's baby pictures? There have to be some. I know you're a good dog mommy.

We all want to go "awww" when you post them here. I can't be alone in picturing something sleek, squirmy, big-eyed and adorable & wanting to see what he looks like.

saef~actually a Kong is a dog toy in which you stuff treats. It's hard to get the treats out (especially if you pack them in with peanut butter) so the dog spends a lot of time working at it. Here's a photo:Kong

I think poor Dewey would be terrified of King Kong!

Hey guys, I did get to talk to my doctor's office. I also convinced them to fax me my lab results. Even with the help of the internet I couldn't really make heads or tails of them. I think it's because my results are just really weird and not standard for any particular condition. I tested negative for Anti-dsDNA antibodies, positive for Anti-Sm, positive for Anti-Sm/RNP, negative for Anti-RNP, negative for Anti-SSA, positive for Anti-SSB. Apparently Anti-Sm is highly specific for lupus. On the other hand, it is uncommon to test positive for SSB and negative for SSA. So basically the labs were kind of a mixed bag that says maybe I have lupus or maybe not. I don't have 90% of the symptoms of lupus. It's probably enough to say that I have some variety of autoimmune connective tissue disease.

In any case the plan is to put me on a 25 day tapering course of prednisone and see if it helps. If it does that would help confirm an atypical lupus diagnosis, if not then we still don't know what's wrong with me. The nurse said that the course is short enough and at a low enough dose that I should not have any side effects from it, other than possibly being somewhat hyperactive and hungry for the first few days while I'm at the highest dosage. I am going to start on the medication on this coming Monday so I'm at the right point in the course when I see my doc again on the 29th. I'm hopeful that it will help because the 6-day steroid course I did a few months ago seemed to help a lot. If whatever I have can be managed by occasional short courses of steroids that would be okay with me.

You guys crack me up!
Dewey is very familiar with the Kong. He gets it in his crate when we leave. He is a pro at getting the peanut butter out FAST!

I just gave him the tranquilizer (half dose to try). I may have a quiet day!

Pictures-- let's see if I know how to post any..... I don't remember how! It says to post URL. I have them in my iphoto and facebook. Do I need to upload elsewhere and then use the URL?

Michele~I'm no good at photos and 3FC. I can link to them, but not upload them. If you link to FB, and if your privacy is private on FB your 3FC friends that are not FB friends likely won't see them. I have opened up a Photobucket account so I can put photos there and then post links to them on 3FC. I've tried to upload a photo here but the files are usually too big.

Jozi (our Great Dane) with Dewey to see the size differential!



One of Dewey and me:



I don't have anything too recent. I'm realizing that I take most of my photos with my phone these days! I'll have to dig out my camera and take some newer photos.

Thanks Allison! I just uploaded two from photobucket and they are HUGE! I'll play around and see if I can make them smaller.

Well-- they are just huge! I've got to get off the computer and get stuff done. If they're too big-- someone let me know and I'll try later to make them smaller.

Dewey is as adorable as I'd expected he would be. (Look at that face looking up at us .... awwww.) He looks as though he's been painted in layers, like a piece of folk art that's been through many owners & seen a lot of love. Underneath everything is a toast-brown dog. Over that, someone painted him frosty gray. And over that, someone shook an old-fashioned dip pen and caused big inky splotches to appear on his coat. What an extraordinary color he is. "Appaloosa" doesn't begin to describe it, though that was what I'd pictured.

And I wondered what color Jozi is. Has her muzzle grayed, or is she also frosted? I see she's got white on her feet, so it's probably been her color all her life.

Also I like seeing you with Dewey tucked under your arm, like a Judith Leiber handbag. Speaking of arms ... um, I see a definite bicep there. On both arms. Nobody better mess with your baby dog while you're around. You're gonna hurt them if they do.

Jessica, how do you feel about the diagnosis? Relieved that there is something that tests have confirmed? Or frustrated because it's still vague?

I have just a little experience of being on prednisone for a couple weeks. They used it to try to save the hearing in my left ear, when the virus was first discovered. I don't know if it didn't work that well, or if they started me on the course too late and the auditory nerve & balance function was already affected by the swelling. Anyway, I don't remember being any hungrier than usual, though I think I had about a five-pound weight gain. That was gone in about two weeks' time after I'd used up the medication.

Dewey's color is called "dapple".

Jozi is/was black with a little white on her chest and paws, though she is now graying noticeably on her face/muzzle.

And, yes-- my biceps are now very defined-- thanks for noticing! My arms were one of the areas I was very surprised with after my weight loss. I didn't think they would get smaller but they did get much smaller and much more defined. The other "spot" I really like is my upper back-- it has nice musculature surprisingly!

It's here I have been walking the dogs through parks where the grass resembles the african savannah in the dry season so this is a welcome relief. I look forward to not being covered in dust all day too!

DH is doing really well on day 5 of the new diet/exercise program. 5 days and 5 lbs. lost. He realizes this quick loss will not continue but it is a good motivator for him. Basically he is exercising for about 2 hours per day and not eating chips/drinking beer in the evenings.

I bought a good bike rack (trunk mount) for Laffie yesterday so we will continue our biking adventures and now have access to a wider range of trails. We tried the cheapo version but it was too hard to install/take off and didn't adjust with any kind of ease. I now have this

http://www.saris.com/en/bike-racks/v...&category_id=7

and it's great! We wil do a "test" run on Saturday or Sunday.

Good day all!

Dagmar

Saef, it would be better if I had an actual diagnosis. I am relieved that something finally turned up abnormal in my labs. It's frustrating when you feel like you know something is wrong, but all the lab tests come back normal.

I am perfectly okay with getting diagnosed with a chronic disease that is easily treatable and low-risk. The problem is that they can't say that for sure yet. Do I have a mild form of lupus that will be treated with occasional short steroid courses? That would be fine. Do I have an early stage of lupus and it will get more severe as time goes on and require long-term treatment with dangerous drugs? That would not be so good. Or I might have something else entirely and it might not be lupus at all.

In any case I'm at least happy that the rheumatologist ordered these tests and seems to be being proactive about trying to figure out what's wrong with me. The last rheumatologist tested me for a bunch of stuff and then basically said, come back if you have any new symptoms, otherwise we don't know what's wrong with you. When I go see him again I'm sure we will discuss what my official diagnosis is going to be. I am very hopeful that the prednisone will help. I guess I'll find out in a couple weeks.

Michele, Dewey and Jozi are adorable! Can we get a full pic of Jozi?

Dagmar, I hope your DH can stick with it this time! How did you choose your bike rack? I've been thinking about buying one for my Subaru.