charbess
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Posts posted by charbess
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We have a large male greyhound, Ajax. He just turned 11. This all started about two weeks ago. Several times a day he gets short but very painful episodes that happen only when he is lying down and adjusting his position or when he is getting up from a lying position. Most of the time he can lie down and get up without any problem. However, when he puts pressure on whatever is bothering him, he would cry out and jump up and hold his right front foot extended or lift it up and stay frozen for some time in an awkward pose. After the pain goes away, he would be reluctant to lie down for 5-10 minutes or longer. At his worst, he wouldn't stay in his bed for longer than a few minutes at a time and just pace around the room in pain and exhausted from the lack of sleep. Has anyone seen symptoms like this?
We were able to manage the pain only by significantly increasing his pain meds. The vets increased his dose of gabapentin to 500 mg 3x a day and added amantadine which helped quite a bit. He is somewhat restless but sleeps through the night on 100mg of trazadone.
We have seen several different vets and no one has been able to explain the pain. His regular vet, the ER vet and a local board certified surgeon examined him and he wasn't hurting anywhere except his neck. The surgeon was the only one who was able to get him to vocalize pain by turning his head all the way to the right. We ended up taking him to the neurology department of a top research type vet hospital in NYC. We had a MRI and a CT scan done and a full neurological exam (they didn't do a spinal fluid tap test) and they couldn't find anything to explain his symptoms. His blood work is fine. He was not hurting anywhere when they examined him although he was vocalizing some pain on the way to the hospital. His reflexes are fine. They don't think there is anything wrong with his neck or spine. Four different radiologists looked at the MRI and CT scans and provided reports. They found other issues but nothing that would explain the pain. He has a bulging disc but everybody seems to agree it's not bad enough to be a problem. No spinal problems. He has mild arthritis in both shoulders and some muscle mineralization and tendon calcification in his left shoulder. They found an encapsulated thyroid tumor but it shouldn't cause any pain (Ajax had surgery to remove it yesterday). They also saw a spec on his first rib on the right but 3 out of 4 radiologists thought it looked benign and we should keep an eye on it. The fourth one felt it needed to be imaged further but we haven't done the additional imaging yet as we decided to focus on dealing with the tumor before everything else.
Ajax has corns so he has been limping on and off for years depending on how bad his corns are. We had noticed that his limp on his right front leg got worse over the past several months but he also had a new corn on that foot so we didn't think much of it. We have also noticed that he would step funny on that foot by not bringing it straight forward but more from the side. The plan is to continue to see specialists once he recovers from his surgery.
We have also been in touch with dr. Couto to get his input about the tumor.
Kudos to you for the excellent care you are giving your pup...seems you are leaving no stone unturned to get to the root cause of his discomfort.
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I think of it as my last gift to them. I willingly take the pain on myself so they don't have to bear it anymore. Taking the responsibility strengthens me a bit...gives a bit of loving control to the decision.
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It's not at all impossible but it would be somewhat unusual for a dog that young to have osteosarcoma. But because it is something we greyhound owners all fear, it's never a bad idea to get x-rays done for a limp that doesn't resolve within a few days or with anti-inflammatories. I will tell you we went through the same thing with Sweep at the same age, and her problem turned out to be an old, undocumented injury that gradually started bothering her as she aged, especially after zoomie sessions. It took several months of tests, x-rays, treatments, and a fair bit of panic and money to arrive at that diagnosis, but she's doing great 3 years later despite having some arthritis at the site. Hopefully your girl's issue is a simple soft tissue injury that will respond well to meds and a couple of weeks of restricted activity. Try not to worry too much (and don't get too far into the weeds researching osteo here!), and please keep us posted.
if the injury was "undocumented" how did you find out about it?
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You should consider other causes besides osteo...I know it is scary but consider this: our 9 year old girl, Cooper, just had an exam with blood tests and she has had a slight and periodic but not constant limp for a couple of weeks. Coop is a digger and a runner in the yard so I was not too concerned, even having had 2 other greys who we lost to osteo. I am determined to be optimistic. Coming out of left field though, was the lyme antigen reading..Last blood work was in 2017 and nothing disturbing popped up. We are in NJ which the vet told us is part of the "lyme trifecta.". We are starting doxycycline, 100mg, 1.5 tabs 2 x daily with instructions to use for a month (90 tabs total,) Will also be starting Rimadyl .I am not sure if this labwork means she has lyme or is in danger of developing it. Can someone clarify, please.
This, after faithful use of the Seresto collar for the last 3 years. Does it not prevent lyme???
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My greyhound adoption group gets their heartworm meds from Australia at significant savings. I continued to order from their source when I adopted Cooper who I had first fostered for a few months. She did well on whatever she had been getting, so I figured why change. Last time I needed heartworm meds, I also ordered a Seresto collar since that was also much less expensive and i was getting the HW anyway so the shipping was the same. Now, however, I will stick with US suppliers. I spoke with Bayer, the manufacturer, and was told each country had their own rules for regulating pesticides.
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Got my answer...this per the Australian vendor...their collars have a different formulation for tick prevention from the ones sold here, apparently they have nastier and more deadly tick borne diseases. Now what I don't understand is why would the same collar offer 8 months flea protection and only 4 months tick? What do you do, make a choice between what to protect against and change it accordingly?
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The ones sold here (and produced) are 8 month tick prevention.
Thanks for the response. I am more mystified than ever as to why the Australian one is for less tick protection but I have a message out to the company.
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Have used the Seresto collars for a couple of years with no problems (knock on wood) but am getting concerned about the warnings of a bad tick season here in NJ. I saved the container of the collar I put on in January and it says right on the front "8 months flea protection" but only "4 months tick protection." I hadn't realized the difference in effectiveness time. This came from Australia...I will have to check on the ones sold here.
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A suggestion was made to line the collar with sheepskin but I don't know how it would be secured to the collar. Anyone have any ideas?
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Is there an updated list of grey savvy vets in NJ?
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I emailed Dr. Guillermo Couto with this question and he very graciously answered me:"Thanks Jean; that creatinine is normal, and most Greyhounds have ALTs that can go up to high 140s to low 150s. However, we do not know if that is normal for Cooper. I would consider repeating it in 6-8 weeks. I am attaching a brochure with services in case you are interested in additional info."
Sure feel better knowing Dr. Couto is available if needed and that he actually reads his emails!
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Creatinine is a kidney marker. In some greyhounds it can tend to be slightly elevated. I am unsure about exact numbers to help you because I am unfamiliar with the American units.
ALT is a liver enzyme that elevates when there is increased liver cell death. It is unrelated to creatinine and is not appreciably different between sighthounds and non-sighthounds. Again, I can't tell how elevated that is because I don't know the American units. With Canadian units we typically become concerned around the point of 2x elevation or higher, but I don't know how that translates to American.
I would do the recheck bloodwork in a month as recommended, because of the ALT elevation.
I will do that, thanks very much for your insight, Krissy.
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The AST can run higher in ghs but, no mention of the ALT running higher. The creatinine can also run higher than 1.6--my own dog runs 2.0-2.2 normally (but, with a normal bun). One thing you can do is check your dogs specific gravity on a first a.m. urine sample. The urine should be the most concentrated at that time of day-if the kidneys are functioning well the USG should be at, around or above 1.030.
I would just recheck bloods in a few months to recheck the ALT.
Do you have this already???
http://www.greyhoundadoptionofoh.org/Library/2010-greyhound-medical-packet.pdf
I did not have this in its' entirety. I am running a copy right now for my file and one for the vet. Thanks so much for this.
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I don't know much about ALT levels, just that they can indicate liver issues and I think there's some sort of connection with both it and elevated creatinine. Someone better versed will have to respond to that. That being said, the creatinine isn't markedly elevated. My greyhounds have always run a 1.6-2.0 there. Turbo's normal was 1.8-2.0 with no kidney issues, so I wouldn't be overly concerned. Do you have earlier numbers? Maybe worth giving milk thistle and rechecking? I just don't know what normal ALT levels are.
That is the question I need to find an answer to...the vet just called me and thanked me for all the info I dropped off but he doesn't have the answers on ALT either. I appreciate the fact he admitted to not knowing something but I hope he educates himself on greys. He still wants to see her in a month to see if these values are anomalies. I have the uneasy feeling that this is the blind leading the blind but that may be my cynical evil twin voicing her reluctance to educate the vet.
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After 20 years with the same vet he pulled up stakes and opened his own practice far and away from us. The new vet we saw Monday is not experienced with greys and alerted me to some iffy numbers on Cooper's Wellness Workup. Doing my due diligence here so can someone please give their opinion?
Coop will be 7 in January 2017 and the two readings that came back "high" according to Antech Diagnostics are ALT (SGPT) 147 and Creatinine 1.8.
The vet recommended a recheck in a month but if these are within the normal range for greys I may skip it.
I have printed out some info from www.greyhoundhealthinitiative.org and a couple of articles by Dr. Suzanne Stack and delivered them to his office with a request he confirm his suggestion for a recheck.
Any opinions appreciated, thanks.
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Is it "routine" to charge for a bandage change? A friend's GH broke her nail back to the joint (little toe on front paw) and the vet insisted it needed surgery. She took her back for a bandage change per instructions and was charged $140 with instructions to come back next week for another one. This is after the $749 for the surgery. Some of my dogs have had surgery for various boo-boos but I was not charged for the bandage changes...my vet at one time alluded to the fact he was doing me a favor by not charging me. Luckily, I bit my tongue before the response escaped from my mouth.
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it's not that far to the Animal Medical Center in Manhattan. Also there are a couple of excellent VCA speciality hospitals in Westchester County, Katonah Bedford and the Animal Speciality Center, Yonkers. It's what 1.5 hrs to orange county?
Thanks for the suggestions!
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I have a colleague who took her Yorkie to NYC for a trachea operation. Would you like the doctor's contact info?
No, thanks...different part of the anatomy, probably wouldn't be helpful.
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Can anyone recommend a gastric specialist in Orange County, NY?
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The fireworks may have a lot to do with it...our Coop refuses to get off her bed sometimes, we have to lift it and shake it (with her still on it, what fun!) to get her to move. Fly may be so comfortable with you now that she knows she can outwait you and doesn't give a hoot about your schedule. If you change your routine to walk immediately after she eats her food won't be digested enough to result in output. Do you let her out first thing, before you feed her at 5:30?
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Not near TR but thanks for responding.
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A friend with a newly adopted female GH, soon to be 3 years old needs a daycare solution for one day every 3 weeks. She lives in the Atlantic City, NJ area and travels to the Marlton, NJ area for an all day appointment. She could drop off and pick up to and from Marlton if that works. Dog is cat friendly and GH friendly as well...I fostered her for a couple of months before she found her home. She wouldn't do well crated all day and would enjoy the company of people anyway. Commercial doggie daycare not really desirable, preference is for a GH friendly home. Any suggestions welcomed. Thanks.
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Not sure giving an antibiotic is the answer. She may be itching from allergies. I would give your a ring and discuss the symptoms with them.
Ok, I will call them. Thanks very much.
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Cooper has been licking the underside of her tail and there is a red spot, probably from irritation. This has happened before with no obvious cause. At that time, anal glands were expressed with negilible output and that was not thought to be the cause of the licking. I have some Cefpodoxime Proxetil (200mg) from the last episode which was 15 months ago, 6 pills did the trick at that time. I know some of these drugs have a long shelf life...can I give her the 4 remaining pills now in hopes they will clear things up?
Antigen Vs. Antibodies
in Health and Medical discussion
Posted
My 9 yr. old grey, Cooper, tested positive for the antigen for lyme on her routine bloodwork. Last bloodwork was in 2017, no issues then. The vet has her on doxycline, 3 mg. daily for 30 days, saying this is protocol. As I understand it, antigens indicate exposure to lyme, but not infection? Vet did not say he wants to see her back when the doxy is complete but maybe it would not iindicate anything useful, anyway? Any info appreciated. TIA.