Need Your Thoughts, Opinions, And Prayers Please

Today I broke down and bought Chester a diaper. It's solid black, so it doesn't really stick out, like I thought it would.

Point being: Chester is on medication for his epilepsy. 2 different kinds, but his seizures are still coming kind of frequently, as in 2 weeks to 1 month.

One of the medications affects his liver and the other affects his kidneys. Not a good thing, considering he is on high dosages of both. The next step is to visit the neurologist, which of course means $$$.

But the medication also constantly makes him pee. And this is not good because we are in a rented house, and there is no backyard. So I can't just let him outside to roam and be free, and where he does go to the bathroom is downstairs, when we spend a great deal of time upstairs.

I wouldn't mind this so much, but the last couple of days, he has wet the floor 4 times. Fortunately, I get it up before any damage, except to my temper and his pride. But the worst part of it all is that this happens only 1 hour after his last trip outside to do his business.

He used to be able to hold for the majority of the day. When I worked, he went outside maybe 5 times in a day, and then when I started staying at home, maybe 6 or 7. Now he pushes to go that much in just the morning...and there is still the whole afternoon, evening, and night to go through!

I try to time it to send him out no earlier than 2 1/2 hours after the last break, but 15 minutes later into starting the timer again, he is scratching at me to go. Or if I go downstairs for anything, such as change the laundry out, he thinks it's a sign to go again. And if I don't let him out? 15 minutes later there may be a puddle on the floor.

This diaper doesn't seem to be the best so far. It's a band that has elastic that wraps around his lower waist, but with the elastic, it also just bunches up. So is it really doing any good? Don't know...but when I took it off to let him go potty this evening (2 hours after his last break), he started peeing...and barely made it outside to finish off.

Ugh. I now know how mom feels when she had to deal with this in the past...all of those animals, too! (not all had issues, but if they did, lucky her got to deal with it...)

But this is Chester; Chestmutt; the big-eared dog that made us laugh so hard just a couple of years ago! I love this dog, but right now, I don't know where to go. I can't have Brylee sitting on the floor in a place that may or may not be clean from me accidentally missing it.

I also cannot help but look into his big brown eyes and cry because I got mad at him; this really isn't his fault. He didn't ask to have uncontrolled seizures. He didn't ask to not have a backyard so he could drive his owner mad wanting to be outside and enjoy the pretty weather...or to pee.

I really just needed to vent. I think our next move is to bite the big one and go see a neurologist, who maybe can help us get this problem solved, once and for all. And maybe it will be better for all of us...especially him...