o_rooly

YEOW. Glad to see she's no longer hole-y!!! and a fun place to wrap, to boot...

I took Aston to a grey-savvy vet and asked about it -- he said that he'd be willing to try it, but that he wanted to try prednisone first to test Aston's reaction to steroids. Well, the pred just trashed him -- high BP, severe infection resulting from suppressed immune system, all muscle tone lost. Do the depo-medrol injections have the same positive/negative systemic effects, or do they stay local? Of course, Aston felt FANTASTIC on the prednisone -- no arthritic pain, anywhere.

Dr. Couto responded within an hour of when I sent the xrays to him this morning: "The radiographs show some soft tissue swelling in the medial left tarsus, and old proliferative changes that are likely due to osteoarthritis. Osteosarcoma typically does not affect joints, and joint tumors (synovial cell tumors) are quite uncommon and cause bone destruction (and he doesn’t have any). Do you know if he has decreased range of motion in that hock? Taking a lateral xray of the right hock (for comparison) would be helpful. Is the swelling fluctuant (i.e.; fills fluid-filled)? Instead of a biopsy, [your vet] can do a needle aspirate, simple and painless, and it gives lots of info." I'm sending his notes to my vet. Aston has no noticeable decrease in ROM in that hock, and the swelling is very "squishy" and feels like there's fluid under the skin.

Merry Christmas, all. I'll post the xrays later today.. currently wrestling with my phone. Edit: X-rays below. I believe the vet was concerned about the bone distal to (not directly deep to) the swelling, though I'm pretty sleep deprived, so my memory's foggy . No hock injuries that I know of; this is just his "corn leg" that's been favored for most of his life.

Was hoping never to set foot in this thread on Aston's behalf, but here's a toe-in. The inner side of his left hock is swollen, and has been so since Sunday. Took him in for xrays, and while that leg on its own looks fine, the bone underneath the swelling is slightly larger than its mirror on the right leg. Vet is currently unsure. Could be osteoarthritis. Could be early osteosarcoma. Could be that his hock has always been that way, as it's never been the target of an xray before (or if it has landed in a pastern/knee xray, we didn't have the right leg done for comparison). She is advising that I watch that joint for the next few days, and let her know if swelling does not subside, or gets worse, or if there's pain. Right now, Aston is not tender or limping -- in fact, he has been TROTTING everywhere -- our walks are now Trots -- ever since his left-hind-foot issues finally resolved post-prednisone. Even if swelling goes down -- re-doing rads in 3 weeks. The swelling is worrisome given that Aston is already on Deramaxx to fight general inflammation. Vet has advised that I add turmeric and spirulina to his food 2x daily to further the fight (now to find a place that sells these that's open... this might have to wait until Dec. 26). She's emailing the rads to me now. In light of recent large non-Aston expenses, still considering firing the rads off to Dr. Couto for his input. "Wait-and-see" doesn't sit well with an anxious mind. for all humans participating in this thread, and to the hounds who are fighting, or have fought, the good fight.

The pee-stream-air-bubbles resolved about a week or so after my last post. No bacteria came up in the urine culture. Urine okay, blood results normal. Aside from the air bubbles, he was peeing in the house almost daily for a few weeks, but it has spontaneously resolved as of this past Monday. The fart noises were definitely coming from his urethra, not butt Only heard them while there was a pee stream, plus the pee stream was erratic. Aston DOES have the greyhound-fart ability, too, especially if he eats a lot of chicken.

Healthy Paws has been amazing for Aston. I didn't buy the policy until this January (a few days before Aston turned 10), and he was diagnosed with lumbosacral stenosis in April, the signs for which had been slowly showing over several months. Fairly high bills were initially incurred, + lots of ensuing bills for related pain medication and treatments, and we've always gotten prompt payment. Give Henry, Truman and Meezer squishy hugs for us

The concept of "chewing" has not yet landed at this house. Actually, I hadn't noted the instructions for Heartgard ... pretty sure that Aston's Heartgard chews have gone down whole, along with his kibble, medication and anything else that's ever graced his mouf. I wonder if the chew needs to be broken down by the enzymes that kick in as a result of chewing, or if it just needs to be in smaller pieces to get completely absorbed? Perhaps we should pre-chew and regurg into hound mouths a la mama birds. <----- see, like that but open mouf on the other end

One day at a time. Your sweet, silly boy will still be sweet and silly on three legs. GOOD RIDDANCE to osteo!!!

Pics??

EXCELLENT news!!! Scritches for Comfort, scratchies for Poodle, and hugs for YOU!!

I've noticed this with my vet. With all of Aston's medical issues over the past two months, I have basically left treatment up to her (and Dr. Couto, when he was involved); now, I text her with his progress/new issues, and when she takes Aston to the back area of the clinic out of my sight, she runs whichever tests she feels are warranted, and I get the bill. A lot of his numbers have been out of whack thanks to prednisone, so we've had ~4 full blood workups and urinalyses over this time period, plus BP checks, biopsies, xrays, ultrasounds. She also expects that I'll whip out an insurance claim form for her to fill out with each bill I receive. That's not to say that she runs up bills just because, though -- she has been cutting me quite a few breaks (and I'm very grateful!!). As I've spent a lot of time waiting in either the waiting room or exam rooms at the clinic, I've overheard her interactions with other clients (not trying to eavesdrop, but I can only sit and stare at the cute fluffy animal photos for so long!). The conversations really do range widely, depending on the situation and how receptive the client is to running tests and other diagnostics, and how hands-on they are about their pets.

Yeah, I think they're the same class (of course, the Internet is always right! )... here's another page: http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pet-health-information/article/animal-health/fibrosarcoma-and-spindle-cell-tumors-in-dogs/268 Our biopsies came back with 2 separate cancer diagnoses -- one for each lump -- and Dr. Couto had our vet call the pathologist to request that he/she take a second look at Aston's slides. He ended up second-guessing one of the cancer diagnoses (the spindle-cell sarcoma, actually -- a lump on Aston's foot). Can happen! Macy needs a shower of cookies!!! aaaaand... adult beverages for everyone else.

Highly recommend looping Dr. Couto in on the situation. His contact information is in this thread: http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/301799-dr-couto-is-available-for-consults/ The consult was $120 when I contacted him a month ago (and it wasn't just one email, but a lot of back-and-forth over 5 days, with test results gathered before he could offer his opinion). http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/302178-aston-update-1017-its-cancer-2x-over-couto-or-osu/ In page 3 of this thread, JJNg mentions that her whippet's spindle-cell sarcoma was treated successfully with 5FU injections -- Dr. Couto consulted with her oncologist directly to provide the details of the protocol. I believe this is an unpublished/off-label use of this chemo, so other oncologists may not be aware of it. My understanding is that these soft-tissue sarcomas are usually slow-growing and don't metastasize, but can be very invasive locally (basically, just growing into joints to make it harder to use them, etc.). Dr. Couto confirmed that Aston's shoulder mass was indeed a nerve sheath tumor (same class of sarcomas); however, he said that IF we want to have another surgery to get cleaner margins on the removal (since it basically fell out during the biopsy, but the pathology showed the margins weren't clean), we could do so, but it wouldn't have to be anytime soon. In the meantime, we are working on getting Aston's weight back up and stabilizing him in general after his recent ordeal(s). BEST to Ms. Macy May, and worried Mom. Been there, and it SUCKS, literally. Draining. How is Macy feeling, in spite of things? Best not to worry (ha) until there is something to worry about. If cancer's confirmed, there are treatments. Onward and upward! :grouphug

Hi, Carl!! I hope things have cleared up and you've gotten reimbursement for his Big Adventure.. The urine culture came back today, no bacterial growth. I'm stumped. No indoor accidents over the weekend, but either I or my husband was home at all times to let Aston out / walk frequently, under the assumption that we were dealing with frequent urges due to a UTI. Came home to a puddle on Monday, and two puddles tonight, both still wet (so I'm assuming they're both recent). Aston was peeing air bubbles over the weekend (sounded like a garden hose does when it's blowing air out while running), but I didn't hear any bubbles yesterday... we'll see about tonight's walk. All of the indoor pees have been on pee pads, if they're out -- we had them out when Aston was started on prednisone, since the loading dose was pretty high and resulted in lots of extra drinking. However, we hadn't had any indoor pees since he was tapered off from the higher dose in early October; then, three indoor pee-cidents last week, and two this week (after the first pee accident last week, we put the pads back down on the floor). The oddball peeing kicked off with Aston emptying himself out completely on his bed just before we picked him up from his boarding facility on Nov. 7th. Still don't know if he did that while lying down, or just before lying down, because there wasn't anywhere else to go inside his kennel (he had just come back in from a ~1-hour turnout). Perhaps he's figuring out that the peepads are just an indoor restroom -- convenient!! ? I'm just confused because we have been leaving him for a max of 7 hours straight on weekdays -- whereas he willingly refuses going outside on weekends for 10+ hours, and usually, I come home in the evening to a dog who will pick his marking spots in a very leisurely fashion when I hurry to let him out back (even if there haven't been pees indoors). Recent variables are the lowering of Aston's prednisone dose, on the way to weaning off -- he's currently on 5mg every other day -- and the addition of benazepril to treat a rise in BP, but this was added after the first pee incident at the boarding facility. I would wonder if age is a factor, but this is rather sudden onset for not being able to hold it as long as before, no? For the record -- I used to make a habit of coming home at lunch to let Aston out (making his time alone 4.5 hrs max) -- but he would see me come in the door, run and drink a bunch of water, and refuse to go outside because he'd rather nap (and the weather is hottest during the lunch hour, if it's warm out). Seemed to make things much worse in that regard... otherwise, he waits to drink until I come home, so he gets water in his food in the morning, drinks a bit afterward, and typically doesn't drink again until I get home, plus he gets more in his dinner. His water consumption was up last week -- I had to refill the bowl an extra time on three separate days, but this week, intake is normal. Blood values from the sample taken on Friday night are normal (kidney values fine), except for low thyroid compared to other recent tests (the vet thinks that this is euthyroid sick syndrome due to recent illness, and should resolve on its own). Anyways. I always give myself something to worry about. Just wondering whether I should try to train Aston off of the pads again, or if this won't present a problem? will he have an issue being boarded if a pee pad isn't nearby?

Ah! I knew there was a medical term for it that I couldn't think of... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/438043 Still waiting on culture/blood results from samples taken Friday night. I sent a text to the vet as a heads-up, she replied saying that it's odd, and that she'll let me know as soon as results are back.

Over the past two days, I've noticed an "air in the hose" noise while Aston is peeing (sounds just like air bubbles coming out of a coiled garden hose, only quieter) -- normally, I would only hear the sound of urine hitting the grass or whatever it's landing on. Today on our morning walk, it sounded more like fart noises, pretty loud, and only during the stream. No sounds or other indicators of pain from Aston (he keeps peeing through the noise, and output volume/frequency is normal -- doesn't seem like he's trying to avoid peeing). I did check his sheath, and as far as I can see, no crusted discharge that might partially block output, and no redness/inflammation. Does this ring a bell with anyone?

I would love to see a photo of Willie and the ocean. What a rollercoaster. My thoughts and virtual to you and your kids.

Not being sent home w/some prophylactic antibiotics sounds odd to me, too (for a dog, or a human who's had extractions). Of course, I'm not a vet.. but, after Aston's corn was removed, leaving a deep hole in his toe pad in which his tendon was visible, the vet didn't send us home with any abx, either. I thought it was odd, but didn't ask. I wish I had. The hole closed up, sealing staph and pseudomonas inside despite my wound-care efforts. HOWEVER -- based on the culture/sensitivity test that revealed these, we would have had to put Aston on prophylactic Zeniquin to keep pseudomonas at bay... and I doubt any vet would make that the go-to "just in case" antibiotics after a procedure. $$$$. Perhaps the clavamox stays in the system for awhile. When I was on heavy amoxicillin a few months ago for an unspecified upper-respiratory infection, my glands were still swollen weeks later, and my doctor shrugged it off and said the amox was "still in my system, so." :blah

Fingers crossed for sweet Dunk. You're an awesome mom.

We have a $250 deductible (blew through that quickly, ha), with 90% afterward (not including basic office fees + parasite-preventive treatments). Aston's corn has been the only pre-existing item for us, so its removal and treatment for ensuing infection were not covered. Everything else has been reimbursed at 90% by HP, including ongoing treatment of pain associated with his lumbosacral stenosis, which was diagnosed in April.

Just got back from the vet. Aston didn't mind, since his favorite Crab Cookies also got to ride in the car: Got there too late to make tonight's lab pickup, so the blood/urine samples won't go out until tomorrow. Vet said to let her know if his peeing gets worse in the meantime, in which case she'll get him on a placeholder antibiotic, but she doesn't want to do so unnecessarily given that Aston's currently on 5 Rx medications as it is. Next item on the list: Getting Aston off of some of these medications, if possible -- I have never been convinced that the gabapentin or tramadol have made a difference for him, but I have kept him on all of them in the absence of a steady opinion on how to proceed -- the last clinic we were going to had a revolving door of vets, all with different opinions on Aston's treatment. At least we've only had to deal with one vet for the past 1.5 months.. I figured the pred would have something to do with it. Stupid double-edged sword. Aston was feeling EXCELLENT on it at the 20mg every-other-day dose, too We are currently at 5mg every other day, last step down before we cut it out and focus on switching back to an NSAID. The vet rechecked his BP tonight, and it's at 170 (was at 190mm Hg a week ago, pre-benazepril). So, at least there's improvement.. Healthy Paws is regretting ever insuring Aston, I'm sure. I raised eyebrows in their processing department on my third claim in a week... and that was oh, 6 claims ago It's been quite a bargain considering it's under $50/month for a 10-year-old (I first bought the policy this January). Oddly, my friend got a quote for her ~3-year-old Doberman, and he would run $84/month. I guess that's based on breed predispositions to particular illnesses? Hugs and scritches to Ms. Macy Aston did that last night... Squatted, pooped, started sniffing around while I leaned over to claim the prize... suddenly realized that he REALLY HAD TO SNIFF THAT GRASS RIGHT BETWEEN HIS HIND LEGS and backstepped riiiiight into the poopile. Yay! Best part was that it was near the only UNlit part of our park's walking trail.... it's time to get the headlamp out again. My living and dining rooms are saturated in Nature's Miracle. Puddles turned to pee-prints all over the place during playtime.

....for Munchausen by Proxy. For those keeping score at home: Sept. 23: Aston's long-entrenched corn was removed from his left-hind leg by a grey-savvy vet. He was started on prednisone to treat spinal arthritis. Sept. 23-Oct. 4: Bandage changes for corn-hole; lots of panting/drinking/peeing (on Aston's part... and mine, in sympathy) due to loading regimen for prednisone. Ouchy foot not helping. Oct. 5, evening: Corn-hole finally filled in, not oozing, not tender when I squeeze the toe. Bandage off. Cheers! Oct. 6, early morning: That leg is swollen solid from the hock down. E-vet. Did I wrap his foot too tightly in the bandage? No. Am I sure? Yes. Am I really sure, tech asks?? YES. Cellulitis; start clavamox regimen. Adult beverages all around. Oct. 8: Scheduled recheck at e-vet; blood culture sent out when the vet sees that there is no improvement in swelling. Baytril injection; start baytril regimen on top of clavamox. Oct. 12: Culture & sensitivity back. Pseudomonas AND staph partying together in the cornhole. Stop baytril (neither showed sensitivity to it); start zeniquin. Continue clavamox. Swelling has been gradually subsiding. Oct. 14: Foot/leg look normal. Oct. 15: New, somewhat squishy, hot red lump just above the foot on that leg. Vet. Punch of lump sent for biopsy, and vet also found a mass on Aston's opposing shoulder (how did I not FEEL that??); removed and sent for biopsy as well. Oct. 17: Results back -- each mass is a different type of cancer, neither likely to spread, but the footlump could be locally aggressive. Advised to consult with an oncologist; send backstory + records to Dr. Couto. Oct. 23: After studying updated blood & urine values, Dr. Couto advises a second call to the pathologist to make sure that the footlump isn't just really angry repair tissue. Turns out it is. Cheers/tears! Shoulderlump is confirmed as cancer, but slow-growing and may not return anytime soon anyway. Adult beverages. Nov. 7: Return from short trip out of town, pick Aston up from boarding facility (aka Greyhound Fun Land, aka Home, aka Why Do Mom and Dad Have to Come Pick Me Up). Aston's gums and inner ears are pale, and he has JUST peed himself out on his bed in his kennel. Facility owners scratching their heads and apologizing profusely (they are great, and I do believe them when they say he had been fine previously). Otherwise, Aston is fine and actually pretending to be happy to see us, despite our plan to drag him away from Fun Land. Drive home to shove husband out of the car. Drive to vet. Ultrasound to check for masses -- none; blood values fine; urinalysis sent out. Adult beverages. Nov. 8: Text from vet -- blood and protein present in urine. Drive Aston to vet. BP high (vet does not stress him out). Start benazepril. Told to bring him in for BP/blood chem recheck in two weeks. Start tapering prednisone back down -- immunosuppressive effects are worrisome. To start a different NSAID ASAP post-pred, and bring acupuncture into the mix. Tonight: Come home to one small, dried puddle of pee, and one HUGE, sopping puddle of pee. Third time this week, despite more walks and making sure he's peed-out before leaving for work (and we are leaving him for shorter periods than usual). This only happens with UTIs (Aston has had two, both of which flew under the radar -- accidents only stopped with antibiotics). Water intake normal. Texted vet to ask if clinic offers frequent-flyer miles. No adult beverages until my husband comes home with the dog-friendly car, so that I can tote Mr. Playbow-in-my-pee-while-mom-tries-to-lurch-a-sopping-peepad-out-of-my-way back to the vet. Vet has stopped charging me emergency fees when I show up after-hours... Meanwhile, outside of the time when his foot was bloated and painful, making it very hard to get up/down and around, Aston has been oblivious and by and large, more gleeful than I've ever seen him. AND -- thank heavens -- he is still happy-go-lucky every time he gets to hop into the car, despite the fact that every_single_time lately, it's been for a vet ride. Being in the vets office doesn't bother him in the slightest. If you haven't bought health insurance for your hound(s) yet.... I can't recommend it highly enough. Healthy Paws has been great, very responsive and prompt in sending checks (I typically receive checks in the mail ~3 days after being notified that a claim has been processed). So anyway. If you read a note in the paper about a woman getting dragged away from her condo in a straitjacket -- this is my side of the story.

Poor buddy. Maybe try applying arnica gel to the area? I had achilles tendinitis some years ago, which made it nearly impossible to walk -- I was hopping around. I applied the gel to the skin covering the tendon, and in about a half hour, NO pain. Worked like a charm. Of course, then I had to remind myself to rest my leg, even though it felt fine

Glad to hear that he's coming along well. Pinched nerves SUCK.