an intro

this is being started as a diary of living with a dog with dcm. rah is my second doberman with DCM, and my third dog with heart disease. the diagnosis came as a complete surprise - he was screened clear last year (last february) at 3.5 years old, and this february i screened him at GSVS in tinton falls with dr. goodwin where on his echo, we saw that he had some dilation but worse, he was throwing frequent premature ventricular contractions.

we did a holter on him that day, and the results showed that he had almost 5000 VPC's in a 24 hour period - he was started on sotalol and benazepril immediately. a recheck holter showed a decrease to just about 1000 VPC's, but dr. goodwin feels we can do better so he's added in mexiletine (aka the hardest drug on earth to get - we're having it compounded).

in an effort to help rah (and yes, i will do anything to help this dog), rah has been enrolled in a study at university of florida that will implant stem cells into his left ventricle in an effort to reverse the dilated cardiomyopathy. it's been shown to help in other versions of the disease, and in other species. his date of treatment is tuesday, may 4th.

rah doesn't know he's sick - he didn't ever really act it, though since starting medication he is certainly more active (and more annoying) than ever (so maybe he was).

this blog will be a journey - the ups and downs (hopefully more ups) as i mirror his training blog. ill go through the background of the disease, the emotions i went through immediately past his diagnosis, and for those following the journey you will get to see what happens with stem cells as well.

this is living with dcm.