Farletta is going back to the vet tomorrow to likely have her eye removed. This is a fairly normal look now for her...you can see the cloudy, opaque look to the eye and the constricted pupil. Also note the tension in the muscles above her eye and the slight swelling of the lower lid...you can see the stress and pain.
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It occurred to me that Farletta's eye started rapidly deteriorating shortly after she went to daytime turn out. It seems the previcox is not allowing the normal life I'd hoped for for Farletta. She is quite miserable and her eye is looking quite
I can't believe how rapidly Farletta's eye condition is deteriorating. It looks worse each day and it is clear she is in chronic pain and I believe she has been for a while. Her moods have shifted over the past weeks and even the owners of the new barn have noticed a change in her behavior. I have been playing a bit of phone tag with Farletta's eye doctor and we are discussing eye removal.
. Picture of the uveitis eye showing the blueish tint over the cornea (look at the iris area; the colored portion of the eye -- the pupil often has a blue tint in a normal eye). Farletta pretty much always has this blue tint to her eye. Her pupil is more dilated than usual due to the recent use of atropine. It also appears there is a slight eyelid swelling if you look in the lower, right hand portion of the picture. I also discovered a cloudy spot over what I guessed yesterday was an abrasion on her cornea. I was unable to get a picture of the spot (it is a very dark/cloudy day and it's raining...bad picture weather). The picture below is another angle. In this pic I am lighting her eye with a flashlight just below the eye which I suspect is why the eye looks so bright? I don't know what the white flecks are in the lower portion of her eye. Farletta's cataract is quite visible in the pupil of the eye. It is the white-ish check mark like shape in the dark portion of her eye.
Today Farletta's eye seemed a bit more clear but I noticed what appeared to be damage to her cornea. It's hard to describe but it looks a bit like someone took a tweezers and pinched off a bit of the cornea. I'm guessing this is some kind of corneal abrasion perhaps as a result of some dust or an eyelash in her eye. I discontinued use of the NeoPolyDex as it contains steroids which can cause a severe fungal infection if she does in fact have an abrasion on her eye.
I know we are fighting a losing battle here. I am grateful for the good months we have had but they are a poor trade for the agony she suffers when she has the bad times. I'll call Dr. S tomorrow to discuss the current situation. Farletta's eye seems a bit more clear and the pupil has pretty much returned to normal. I modified her regular Cashel fly mask with 95% UV protectant fabric I harvested from her guardian mask. Seems to be a good option for her. I hope it helps. She can still see a bit out of it but it blocks a lot of the light. I'm continuing with the NeoPolyDex in her right eye two-three times a day. The Atropine suceeded in opening her pupil up again. In her new living situation, Farletta spends more time outside which was supposed to be good because the previcox is supposed to allow for that, however, I can see now she is really not able to return to that normal horse life. She's been turned out with the full cup eye mask to protect her dilated eye from the bright sunlight.
I'm reluctant to give her any more banamine to help control inflammation as I know it upsets her stomach. The eye really isn't changing much; perhaps a bit more clear than before but it's hard to tell if the change is real or is wishful thinking. Farletta's eye doesn't look any better...actually it looks a bit worse today with a more pronounced cloudiness. Her pupil is still constricted and she seems a bit squinty. I gave her neopolydex and atropine in the eye and 1000# dose of banamine. I'm not in a position where I can run out to the farm 4 times a day to give meds. I'll be doing morning and evening and hoping for the best.
Farletta's eye has been looking a bit cloudy the last couple days. Today it had a blue-green cloudiness to it and the pupil was once again constricted. She doesn't seem very painful but she is also not comfortable. It has been 3 months since her last flare-up.
I gave her neopolydex and will see how she is doing tomorrow. Farletta continues to do fairly well and has had no major problems since her significant flare-up earlier this summer. Operating under the educated assumption that the extreme heat combined with intense sun triggered the June 29th flare-up, Farletta went back to spending her days in her stall and her nights outside. Many days I'd go out around 3:00 and put her in a shady paddock with a friend to increase her turn-out time. She did ok for the remainder of this unusually hot summer. It's not the "normal life" I'd promised her but hopefully we can get back to that now that the weather is cooler.
Starting mid September, all horses at the boarding stable will be on daytime turn out. The heat has finally given way to cool fall breezes and Farletta is doing well with all-day turn-out. Due to a new opportunity which has oppened up for me, Farletta will be moving to another stable at the end of September. I am a bit sad to leave Thousand Oaks and their wonderful barn manager, Laura as Farletta has really thrived under the excellent care she received there. I know she will be safe and well cared for at the new facility and I am hoping the transition will be smooth and easy for her. |
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