Update on Gata - Still Collapsing

Oy, there's always so much to write about Gata. I am looking forward to the day when there is nothing of any health issues to note for her, or Tor, or any of my dogs in the future. They do seem to keep me on my toes.

Gata is collapsing again but her latest collapse may have provided a hint. It happened one day about 3 weeks ago when it was very cold during the early morning hours, only 28-degrees F when I took her to the park. Coincidentally, that day the water bottle that I have been taking with everyday, containing sugar water, broke. I decided that since it was so cool, she would probably be fine. She collapsed quite early on, even earlier than I would expect during warm weather.

So, maybe it has something to do with glucose supply for her. I've talked with Dr. Gillette about it. And I have to say getting him on the phone to discuss something like this is exactly like being in the room with him down at Auburn, only without the white board. What an incredibly, unpredictable, mind-bending conversation. All about metabolism and Gata's lab values from the trip to Auburn. I should just mention - metabolism and the energy generating pathways in the mammalian body have never been my favorite topic. I much prefer cellular communication processes (and I don't mean cellular phones!). So I guess I am on now on a collision with the TCA (Krebs) cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, gluconeogenesis, glycolysis, etc.

We will likely pursue something along those lines. First, however, we want to rule out the possibility of Myasthenia Gravis. We don't really think that it is MG, but it is more common than some of the other things that we are thinking about and it would be foolish to head over to him again (now in the Chicago area) without ruling that out first, especially since visiting him at his new practice will be much more expensive than it was to visit him at Auburn. But I have to say, every time I talk to him I feel hopeful again. He has the kind of mind that really thrills at physiological puzzles and his enthusiasm is contagious. And, like me, his focus is on Gata.

Now that he has met Gata he understands how important it is to be able to come up with a solution for her. He knows that giving her a mental job would never be enough, that she requires a physical release of her energies. He also gets that I would never make it easier on myself by giving her to someone else that could provide a "quieter life" for her. It wouldn't change who she is or in any way change my responsibility to her. 

So, we'll wait for the results of the MG test. In the meantime, I'll try to start brushing up on metabolism and all the processes involved in the movement of glucose between cells, cellular compartments, storage, etc. It really was much easier to think about it as a potential nutrition issue, meaning that I was doing something wrong with the raw. Oh well ...