tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22085233924571931112024-02-21T07:30:54.529-06:00Dr. Herndon's Topics in Veterinary Medicine BlogAaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16189501257672632153noreply@blogger.comBlogger89125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208523392457193111.post-35585820917552019932010-03-05T09:56:00.001-06:002010-03-05T09:56:00.701-06:00Inflammatory Bowel Disease Part 3So what do I do if an owner can only do items one, two, and three on my diagnostic list? We treat presumptively. Then we rely on response to therapy to try and dial in on a diagnosis. Maybe we change to a hypoallergenic diet. I'm a fan of the Royal Canin Hypoallergenic, but the novel protein diets like Venison and Potato are great ideas. They also have a product called Intestinal HE which can beAaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16189501257672632153noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208523392457193111.post-25107589709050210162010-03-04T09:54:00.000-06:002010-03-04T09:54:00.231-06:00Inflammatory Bowel Disease part 2Here's how I approach a case of chronic vomiting or diarrhea and what would be required to answer ALL possible answers. Think through this list when you go to your veterinarian (starting at item one - don't skip ahead) and it can help aid in the diagnosis tremendously - ESPECIALLY the historical findings.First things first - a good history. When does the diarrhea and vomiting happen? Is there Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16189501257672632153noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208523392457193111.post-87202845807077980862010-03-03T08:42:00.005-06:002010-03-03T10:06:33.860-06:00Inflammatory Bowel Disease Part 1As I started writing this, I began to wonder why it is I seem to spend so much time talking about poop. I pondered the poop for a while and have determined that I am not, in fact, obsessed with the tailpipe. Vomiting and diarrhea are far and away one of the most common complaints we see. I can't decide if scratching/itching/ears are more common or it it's vomiting/diarrhea. So although I may Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16189501257672632153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208523392457193111.post-8356403821896349812010-02-23T11:00:00.002-06:002010-02-23T11:09:22.035-06:00I'm On The Move!There's lots of big news here in Texas. I found out last week that I have been accepted into an Internal Medicine Residency at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, OK. I will be studying for my PhD and obtaining board certification at the same time. By the end, I will be a boarded "specialist" in internal medicine and have the PhD. This will allow me to stay in academia and teach. My Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16189501257672632153noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208523392457193111.post-68961074330730301252010-02-23T10:59:00.002-06:002010-02-23T10:59:51.961-06:00Pearl PeeDr. Herndon,I have a question for you regarding urinary issues. I have a 4 year old pug, Pearl, with chronic urinary issues.History-wise, our first issue was about 8 months ago when she suddenly could not urinate one morning. We rushed her to the vet, where they surgically removed a blockage caused by struvite stones. She had shown no signs of discomfort and we had no idea she had any stones up Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16189501257672632153noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208523392457193111.post-83386521781821577592010-02-14T10:48:00.000-06:002010-02-14T10:13:10.289-06:00PetuniaI received this question in the mail the other day:Dr. Herndon I own two pugs and one is a rescue I have had for two years. She has tracheal collaspe and is roughly 10 to 12yrs old. She has other health issues such as PK of the eyes, arthritis, fx vertebrae with disc herniation and mildly enlargerd heart. I was wondering what treatments would be considered to help decrease the consistent Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16189501257672632153noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208523392457193111.post-27183619596963826392010-02-13T13:34:00.001-06:002010-02-14T09:08:49.642-06:00The Results are In - 2nd postThere are LOTS of things that can be measured using serum or plasma. What I want to focus on here are the typical things we look for on a "general chemistry" or "blood chem" or "chem 6, 12, 27" or whatever. Serum or plasma is the golden to clear liquid that is left on top after you spin all of the cells down and out of the blood. (Serum has the clotting factors and such spun out, Plasma is Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16189501257672632153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208523392457193111.post-35698294170173342232010-02-13T08:47:00.003-06:002010-02-13T08:52:08.514-06:00Comment setting updatedSorry folks, but I had to change the setting for comments to ONLY allow registered users. If you want to leave something anonymous you'll have to register a fictitious user. I kept getting spammed with comments selling peter-pills, drugs, and asking for money. Although I have nothing against peter pills, the whole getting spammed with crap was getting on my nerves. So I booted it.Keep the Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16189501257672632153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208523392457193111.post-91018225479841102682010-02-10T14:28:00.001-06:002010-02-10T14:28:00.318-06:00Cat AerobicsI promised a post on cats and how to encourage exercise. I'll post a few ideas, but I would LOVE to hear some ideas you guys have for encouraging cats to be active. It's not always easy!Get another cat. This can backfire BIG TIME! Cats are, by their nature, fairly solitary. Some cats are social and like to play. Other cats are enormously stressed by another cat and they will instead hide. Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16189501257672632153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208523392457193111.post-56713149757900737242010-02-07T08:17:00.001-06:002010-02-07T08:17:00.369-06:00Flatulence - aka "Honey, What's that SMELL!" part deuxFlatulence. Children and grown men around the world find it endlessly amusing.Basically flatulence is the passage of gas from the anus. That gas can be something swallowed or something made by the individual. If you swallow enough air, some of that will make its way through the gut. It will pick up certain odors along the way and ultimately pass through the tail pipe.The bacteria in the gut (Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16189501257672632153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208523392457193111.post-74193479529955240322010-02-05T13:36:00.004-06:002010-02-05T14:25:44.347-06:00The Results are In - 1st PostI've had trouble thinking of good ideas to blog about. So I've decided to spend a couple of posts talking about "lab results."How many times have you heard, "We're going to run some tests," or, "the blood work all came back normal." WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?Let's break it down and over the next few posts talk about some of the common tests that are run and what kind of information we can get. I Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16189501257672632153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208523392457193111.post-60771144257023927542010-01-18T10:02:00.001-06:002010-01-18T10:02:00.867-06:00In MemoriamI should probably try to find a picture of Daley when she was perky. She was such a mellow dog.Right after Christmas, Daley lost her battle with cancer. She survived 6 months longer than she was expected to. I diagnosed her with Stage 4b lymphoma on July 4th. That's a tumor of the small white blood cells called lymphocytes. If lymphoma is circulating, it's called leukemia.She responded Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16189501257672632153noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208523392457193111.post-57056035049214910412010-01-17T09:46:00.005-06:002010-01-17T10:07:49.073-06:00Retrievers Behaving Badly - aka My New Year's ResolutionLong time, no see! No excuse, just slow to post.Nearly everyone has a New Year's resolution. Mine include the obligatory trips to the gym, not eating everything in sight, and actually trying to loose my "baby weight" (my girls are now 5yrs old, I guess it's about time to loose the baby weight).It's also time to walk the dog.Here's why I mention this. Kate, my yellow dog (she's supposed to be Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16189501257672632153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208523392457193111.post-61178762409746369702009-11-22T17:54:00.001-06:002009-11-22T18:31:41.430-06:00Be Your Pet's Medical AdvocateI recently went through a spell of severe back pain and finally broke down and visited my physician. They were kind, listened to my concerns, prescribed some different pain management options, and then recommended that I go and have by back radiographed (x-ray).Once I left the office, however, communication totally broke down. The doctor's office called the next day and said, "The X-rays are Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16189501257672632153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208523392457193111.post-35792790968014246912009-11-19T19:58:00.005-06:002009-11-22T10:18:42.545-06:00A Quick Influenza UpdateI received an e-mail not long ago about a cat being diagnosed with H1N1 influenza. You will all remember that H1N1 is the "swine" flu as opposed to the H3N8 dog/horse influenza. I've checked into it and there have been a couple of cases of cats and a couple of ferrets with confirmed H1N1.At risk of sounding redundant: DON'T PANIC!We know that influenza virus can jump species. It's why we have theAaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16189501257672632153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208523392457193111.post-25856627872092346502009-10-26T12:26:00.003-05:002009-10-26T12:58:26.242-05:00The Deadliest Insect on Planet EarthI didn't forget my blog. I left the influenza post up a bit longer because I kept getting questions from folks about it.We've had a TON of rain here lately and thanks to that, we've had a TON of mosquitoes. You may or not be aware, but the mosquito is considered the most deadly insect on Earth. Specifically, the female anopheles mosquito because she carries malaria. But there are many other genusAaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16189501257672632153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208523392457193111.post-31674826137909064162009-10-11T16:25:00.001-05:002009-10-11T16:25:00.884-05:00Canine Influenza - Yet ANOTHER flu bug It is rather exhausting to hear so much about influenza. There is a fine line between caution and panic. The media has make this line difficult to identify. My goal here is to prevent as much fact as possible with an occasional injection of opinion. Influenza is a HOT topic. When words like pandemic and enzootic are used it tends to make people very nervous. The moral of the story: Be cautious,Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16189501257672632153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208523392457193111.post-5934227234344247412009-10-10T12:25:00.001-05:002009-10-10T12:27:13.743-05:00New GuestbookCheck out the new Guestbook. Please sign in so I know where you are visiting from. Comments always welcome (especially if they are positive)!AMHAaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16189501257672632153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208523392457193111.post-36800182176209755232009-10-09T21:01:00.006-05:002009-10-10T07:05:18.794-05:00Baby Heartworms - VideoI had a heartworm positive dog come see me today. We checked for microfilaria (baby heartworms) and in one drop of blood there were dozens of them. I shot a couple of quick videos. The little worms are easy to spot. They literally are little round worms and they wiggle just like an earthworm. All of the red dots around them are red blood cells. Some of the red cells are stuck together, but Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16189501257672632153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208523392457193111.post-46065599263465744522009-10-08T11:24:00.002-05:002009-10-08T11:24:00.217-05:00Honking Dogs - The Kennel Cough ComplexA cough can be caused by different things and can sound different depending on what causes it. For instance, a deep, productive, wet cough may be more typical of pneumonia (in the UK, I saw this referred to as a "chesty" cough). Tracheal irritation will cause a typical "goose honk," non-productive kind of cough. Debris on the larynx (like post-nasal drip or laryngitis) will usually cause of Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16189501257672632153noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208523392457193111.post-58782082969696175352009-10-06T17:21:00.000-05:002009-10-06T17:21:00.205-05:00Pill Poppin' PetsNow that we know more about how and why pain happens and is perceived, we can talk about how to treat pain.Different types of pain come from different places. Remember the pain starts at the receptor somewhere out in the body and is then carried upwards towards the brain with a couple of junctions along the way. Depending on the patient, nature of the pain, and duration of the pain, we may Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16189501257672632153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208523392457193111.post-38598098006491346312009-10-01T08:22:00.002-05:002009-10-05T07:55:54.002-05:00OUCH! That Hurt! Pain Perception and Control In this post we'll talk about what pain is and how it is perceived. Next post I'll talk about some specific pain medications and methods for dealing with pain.We've all felt pain. Pain can be acute (cut finger, broken leg, twisted knee) or can be chronic (spinal pain, compressed disk, arthritis). Different types of pain require different approaches. I thought I'd do an overview of different Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16189501257672632153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208523392457193111.post-23381488471856400342009-09-30T08:57:00.004-05:002009-09-30T11:38:38.581-05:00Puppy HypoglycemiaGlucose is the blood sugar that circulates around the body and it is the principle nutrient that your body’s cells use for energy. The liver stores extra sugar in the form of a starch called glycogen. Your body can then use this glycogen to make extra blood sugar between meals to keep the levels of sugar in the blood stable.<?xml:namespace prefix = o />Livers of toy breed puppies aren’t very goodAaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16189501257672632153noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208523392457193111.post-44778687192993773022009-09-28T09:45:00.002-05:002009-10-07T16:13:12.959-05:00Cat in a CanCanned food - Why is this important? Most cat foods have a fairly high percentage of their calories that come from carbohydrates. I'm talking about excellent, outstanding foods here, not mega-merchant crap. Carbohydrate sources are inexpensive, highly digestible, and shelf stable. They provide good nutrition and we have made good use of them in our foods. Carbohydrate sources include rice, corn, Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16189501257672632153noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2208523392457193111.post-27505180157361628502009-09-26T20:24:00.001-05:002009-09-26T21:50:13.441-05:00Cats and CarbsI recently attended a veterinary conference in Kansas City and was REALLY excited to get to hear one of the clinical professors from Texas A&M talk about feline nutrition, obesity, and diabetes. This is cool stuff. Cats are bad about storing mesenteric fat. This is the belly fat. Fat that gets packed around the intestines, kidneys, and liver. This is where most human men (including ME) Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16189501257672632153noreply@blogger.com0