AngelWhispers

Thanks everyone...love you guys! Warlock is stable now. The tech says he's looking perkier, he's well hydrated, has had no more vomiting and he stands and wags his tail anytime someone comes near his crate. Last night he was so weak he couldn't stand on his own, and couldn't raise his head when I left the room. He was in toxic shock syndrome and the vet didn't think he'd make it thru the night. The vets say it's definitely pancreatitis but not sure what caused the attack...cancer or diabetes are suspected. His pancreas was looked at by ultrasound 2 weeks ago and was clear. We don't know why this happened, and there was no warning at all. He didn't have any other symptoms of pancreatitis..he just started vomiting and couldn't even keep water down. He'll stay in ER until tomorrow morning and then I'll transfer him to my local vet. I'm not sure if I'll visit him today because he's my velcro boy and I'm afraid I'll upset him by visiting. He has his blankie that I had the sense to throw in my van last night, so that should make him feel comfortable. I'm praying this is just pancreatitis or diabetes...we can deal with that. Keep the prayers coming, we all know how the power of GT works. Thank you!

Warlock has taken a turn for the worse and is in ER. Initial diagnosis is pancreatitis, but the ER vet suspects pancreatic cancer because he's been ill for so long. He's weak, dehydrated from vomiting and the constant peeing, but now he drinks and vomits, so there's no peeing. The vet said his kidneys are functioning, and his bloodwork looks fairly good, but his amylase is off the charts. ER will call if there's any change, otherwise I'm suppose to call before 6am to talk to the vet who's caring for him tonight. Warlock is my heart and soul, and I would take his place if I could.

Well darn, that little cowdoggie isn't having a very good month. He's in our prayers and I'm sending hugs to you. As for the e-vet, maybe he needs to go back to Chicago.

Healing thoughts and prayers going out to your girl.

Brooke was an unusual one, and had osteo in both hind legs.

Sugar received a lifetime of love in 2 weeks...how wonderful for her! She also has her forever home. Run with the Angels, Sugar!

I so know that..."I don't know what to do questions." You're a good mom and you'll know in your heart what to do, sometimes that's all we can do and then pray it's the right decision. Hugs, lots of us have been right where you are and somehow we muddle through. If our dogs only knew how much muddling we do.

Update: Warlock has a heavy load of e. coli and he's on cipro until the lab gives us the strain. We'll change his antibiotic if cipro isn't the correct one for the strain. Dr. M didn't want to wait until Mon. to start Warlock on antibiotics. He doesn't believe this is the cause of Warlock losing protein, but a secondary thing because of his compromised immune system right now. Yes, Warlock is raw fed with kibble and I stopped the raw on Thurs just in case. Now I'm glad I did.

Some of Warlock's tests are back and he does have bacteria in his urine. It's being cultured to determine what it is and the results could be back today, but most likely on Mon. He'll be started on antibiotics as soon as the results are back. Our major concern right now is; he's losing lots of protein into his urine and he's wasting away before my eyes. There's some sort of protein losing nephropathy going on but we don't know the cause. We can't do the UPC test (urine protein:creatinine ration) until the bacteria problem is resolved. Once we do that test there's a very good chance he will do well on an ace inhibitor like enalapril. This is hard, so very hard, but Warlock's spirit is good, he still has a very good appetite and he still has the energy to do yard patrol and give a woof at the forest fairies...they are the things Warlock sees that nobody else sees. I'm trying to stay positive that we're finally moving in the right direction, but it's hard waiting for tests and more tests. Please keep my kind, gentle boy in your thoughts and prayers.

You have quite a day ahead of you. Remember, by the end of the day you will have done good things.

Good questions, and I've asked myself if there was anything that could have been a trigger. My house is pretty boring, calm and quiet until meal times. Warlock is what I call a bomb proof dog...nothing stresses him, ever. He's the calmest, most gentle boy I've ever met and his brother is exactly like him...it's genetic. I call the boys my "Zen" dogs. I do foster a lot, but 1 has been here since Feb except for a short time in another foster home and the other 2 have been here since Mar. or Apr. they're practically family, but Warlock doesn't have much interaction with them. They're turned out separate from my dogs, fed in a separate room and sleep at opposite sides of the house at night in crates. Shoot he's calm...I'm stressed! His appetite is actually ravenous, and bless his heart he still stands on his hind legs while I'm putting his bowl down, even with the LS. Has never had diarrhea and he still hangs with his best buds. He's always been my healthy boy except for grain allergies that make him itchy. We avoid them and he does good.

That is just so frustrating. I am so sorry you & Warlock are going through this. The not knowing & not being able to treat him is awful. Does the Proin seem to still be working? As for the bloodwork changes that suggest Cushing's, there are some and if you have a few sets of previous bloodwork you may even be able to charge the changes. I could with Angel's. Her's were primarily in the WBC's and Alk Phos. There were a couple others that it fit the pattern as well but I cannot remember those. Here is a link with a little info on it: WSU Vetmed site And a quote from same, "Laboratory tests that are most commonly altered by Cushing’s disease are an increase in white blood cell count, increase in the liver enzyme ALP (also called SAP or serum alkaline phosphatase), increased blood sugar (although not as high as the blood sugar levels of diabetic patients), increased cholesterol and dilute urine. See What Do Those Lab Tests Mean? for additional information about laboratory tests." Hang in there. I know it's tough. WBC is perfect and I would at least expect them to be off if he had a UTI..not so. It was ALP that the endo dr said should be off...your post jogged my memory. Warlock's liver enzymes are perfect. Cholesterol is ever so slightly elevated...kind of a high normal. Dr. Martin is consulting with Dr. Nichols who is suppose to be a world renown endocrinologist and internal medicine specialist. The proin is helping. He didn't leak again last night, but as soon as he stood up this morning he had to go bad. He's also not downing a large bowl of water every night. He's drinking a lot during the day, but not as much as a couple days ago...at least I'm not having to fill it as often. I'm seeing a slight improvement and last night he did go on a short yard patrol...he hasn't done that in about 10 days.

What????????? Exactly what I said, plus a whole lot more. I believe Dr. Macherey has 5 greys at her practice that she's treating for Cushings.

Definitely call the greyhound wellness program. Dr. Couto has a greyt staff that can help you now instead of waiting.

Ditto. (Cody has DI). The current recommendation is to skip the water deprivation test and do an ADH trial. Your pup's symptoms don't sound like DI though. His symptoms and bloodwork do sound like Cushings. Weird that the ACTH test was negative. Is it possible for both tests to give false negatives? Dr. Martin spoke to the endocrinologist again yesterday and he said that it is possible to get false negatives, but with a false negative there's something in the bloodwork that would have been elevated and it wasn't. The endocrinologist also said he'd never heard of a greyhound getting Cushings and I think OSU has said the same thing. Sorry, I can't remember what it was they were looking for in the bloodwork that should have been off. To look at Warlock's bloodwork and ultrasounds, he should be a healthy vibrant dog.

Tonya, sending little Moose lots of get well prayers. My little bridge boy, Soju all 5lbs of him had something similar only he started vomitting blood and he was put on carafate, zantac and an antibiotic. He got better, so can little Moose. Hugs to you, DD and Moose. Gosh he's cute and reminds me of Soju.

Well, his kidneys are good, but who knows for how long. I haven't talked to OSU yet, but if we don't find out what's going on in the next week, I'll definitely take him up there.

Every single organ in his body, and I mean everything was looked at by ultrasound and everything looks good. His T4 is 1.3 and I consider that good. Don't worry about scarring me, I'm way past that.

All his bloodwork OK, nothing weird at all (such as low sodium/potassium)? One possibility my vet mentioned was an atypical or intermittent diabetes insipidus. Or an atypical/intermittent heart problem. ETA: Have you tried giving him something like Pepcid (regular strength 2-3 times a day) to see if that has any effect on his drinking etc.? Jey, Warlock's bloodwork was perfect. Sodium was normal, potassium was on the high end of normal. White blood cell count normal, glucose perfect. What tests would Warlock need for diabetes? Would diabetes or a heart problem cause extreme hair loss? or the look of an over-weight dog, but actually underweight. Panting, lethargy, muscle wasting, high blood pressure, sensitivity to temperature changes, increased appetite and of course the obsessive drinking. He had a superchem that covered everything and it couldn't be any better, even for a young dog. Every single organ in his body has been looked at by ultrasound and those are are normal. The only good thing out of all these tests...he doesn't have cancer or tumors anywhere in his body, so that's a relief. The proin is helping and he didn't seem to need to pee as often today, so we had a good day. I'm up for any suggestions and I'll certainly ask the Drs. about diabetes. Thanks, if you think of anything else, let me know. oops had to come back and answer your other question. No, I haven't given him any antacids. His tummy seems fine, and the ultrasound of his intestines showed no problems, poops bounce because of his diet, and no tummy grumbles. At this point I'm a little leery of giving him anything. Flippy gets a prilosec every morning to help keep the mast cell from causing ulcers, so I guess I could try giving it to Warlock for a few days. I know it can't hurt.

The in-house urinalalysis have come back negative. No bacteria, specific gravity is low but that's because it's diluted from so much water, and there was no sedimentation. The culture won't be back until Fri. or Sat. so we wait, but the vet thinks that will come back negative also. Anyone have any ideas? I'm really at a loss.

The ACTH was negative. I just dropped off a urine sample and should have some results this afternoon. Warlock was started on proin on Fri. to help with leaking and he finally had a dry night and was able to get some sleep. He hasn't been able to sleep for over a week now, and we know how our greys like to sleep. The lack of sleep was really starting to take its toll on him, and me too. So Warlock still has the "mystery illness". If the UA comes back negative then I'll ask for a tick panel next. We really need to find the cause soon, because he can't keep going like this much longer.

Thank you!!! When you mentioned the melatonin it reminded me of what a vet told me several years ago when I was going thru severe anxiety with my angel girl Brooke. She also told me about the affects it has on the brain tissue and had me give her 5mg twice a day...it helped her immensely! And Warlock is also on immune support...the same support I'm giving Flippy who just finished chemo. Thank you so much!

Thinking of you and Timber today.

I haven't had much time to be supportive to anyone lately, but I saw the title and popped in. Follow your heart with regards to Timber, you know her better than any vet or specialist. She'll let you know and if you feel in your heart it's time...then it's time. Hugs to you, dh and Timber.

We're back from having the ultra-sounds done and the good news...no tumors or masses found anywhere and his liver, spleen, kidneys, and intestines look good. His adrenal glands are slightly enlarged but they are equally enlarged on both sides. Dr. C and Dr. N said that is also typical for a Cushings dog. Warlock's heart chambers are slightly narrow and he is slightly hypertensive, also another Cushings symptom. Between the 3 vets who have now seen him...they all still think it's Cushings and Dr. Carol ran an ACTH stimulation test. They all suspect it's probably a pituitary tumor, that thankfully isn't spreading anywhere else right now. Dr. Carol also confirmed my suspicion of LS. She checked and he dropped in the hind-end. We can't do a depo shot just in case we do need to start meds for Cushings. He'll get meloxicam and tramadol to keep him comfortable in the meantime. My sweet boy was slightly dehydrated by the time everything was done. He peed in the van on the way to the vet, peed as soon as we got there and then peed as soon as the ultrasound was done. So three lakes in about 3 hours. I feel so bad for him. I'm going to start giving him pedialyte and gatorade to help keep his electrolytes up even though the blood-work is showing all the levels are still good, but for how long if we don't give his kidneys a rest. So, no real answers, but at least I know there's no cancer hiding anywhere and that's a big relief. Thanks everyone for all the good thoughts and prayers. Warlock still needs them while we wait for test results.