Valley Fever

先日の血液検査の結果がやっと返ってきて、ユキ、やっぱりバレーフィーバーだって。
いや、具合が悪い原因がはっきりわかってよかったわよ。

日曜に獣医さんに行って、夜から薬のみ初めて、月曜の夜にはびっくりするぐらい具合回復してたので感染してるんだとは思ったし。
感染症といっても、伝染はしないし、砂漠地帯では4匹に1匹はかかるっていわれるぐらい良くある感染症なのであまり心配はしてないんだけど、まだ足腰が弱ってるのがちょっと気になるわ。
ライチのときは6ヶ月ぐらい薬のみ続けたけど、ユキは症状もちょっと重いし、足腰にもきてるから、長くなるかなぁ。

So it has been confirmed by blood test that our hyena dog has Valley Fever.
We went to the vet on Sunday and started on medication that night and by Monday night, she was MUCH better, so we knew it must have been Valley Fever. We are kind of glad that now we know why she has been sick.

Valley Fever in this desert region is pretty common in dogs; it is said that 1 in 4 dogs here get valley fever. Our other dog was on medication for 6 months when she had it and she's been doing good since so hopefully this one can shake off the disease soon, too.

One concern, though, is the price hike on medication. Fluconazole (Diflucan) is the most common anti-fungal medication and its price has hiked up as much as 10 times in the last few years. One-month's supply of Fluconazole can easily be $150.

I called 5 different pharmacies and researched what's available online. Walgreens was the most expensive: whopping $12.89 per tablet. Just 1 tablet! (and she will need 2 tablets a day). We may have to get compounded version, which is much cheaper.

At least she is reacting pretty well on the medication and she's not pathetically sick like she was last week so I'm grateful for that.