Craptastic

So I mentioned a few weeks ago that Coulee's feet were doing craptastic.

 

I think I screwed up.

The plan was to soak Coulee's feet for 2 weeks in propylene glycol for 10 minutes a night and if that didn't work, start steroids.  So for two weeks we diligently made Coulee stand in 4 little buckets for 10 minutes every night.  She is really awesome about it, but it is still a struggle.  She sulks, she pulls out her feet, she tries to shift her stance and knocks buckets over, etc.  It sucks. For all of us.  But we did it.  And on day 12 they still looked crappy, but as always seems to happen, almost over night they made a HUGE change.  They appeared dry still (i.e. were grey) but there were no more cracks and the feathering at the tips had disappeared.  Yippee!!!  We finally found something that worked.

We emailed the vet in elation and discussed long term treatment.  She said we'd have to play it by ear but it would probably require soaks just once or twice a week.

Even though they weren't perfect yet, we started to slack.  First we missed a night, then we missed another and then we went 3 days without soaking at all.  Next thing I knew, her feet looked like crap again.  Another email to the vet.  She instructs us to soak them again every day until they are completely healed and then for a solid 2 weeks after that.  Ugh.  But OK.

So we started 17 days ago and have been expecting to see improvement quickly. We weren't starting from as bad a condition as the first time, yet we still haven't seen much improvement. I'm starting to think it was just coincidence that they got better in the first place.

IF (and that is still a big if) this is an autoimmune issue, we can expect to see some waxing and waning of her symptoms.  Which means if we are constantly trying new treatments, something is bound to look like it works.  If we hadn't slacked on the soaks, we'd know for sure whether or not they worked or if it was just coincidence.  I'm so annoyed with myself.

The vet thinks they look better than when she saw them last, and they do, but they sure don't look how they did the first time we soaked them for 14 days straight.  And they sure as hell don't look healthy.

I've agreed to try for 2 more straight weeks before throwing in the towel with this treatment.  If it worked in 2 weeks the first time, there is no reason why it wouldn't work in 4 weeks the second time.  Right?

The good news is they are no longer bleeding and she is no longer on any kind of pain meds.  They don't seem to be slowing her down the way they used to and that is a very good thing.