feemandvm
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Posts posted by feemandvm
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The problem is that if you give it every 40 days... if you are late by a week now you may be in trouble... plus dosing every 40 days makes it harder to remember vs. giving it the 1st of every month (or 15th or whatever day you do).
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Does it look like this?
If so, it could be a cutaneous hemangioma. Sunny and Sophie both had one. They kept going away and returning so I had them removed and one was a cutaneous hemangioma and one was an angiokeratoma (a variation of cutaneous hemangioma). They are benign tumours but the pathology report said they can sometimes progress to the malignant form, cutaneous hemangiosarcoma, so in my view it's best to have them removed.
This was my thought as well.
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Make sure she is on pain medication. Acepromazine is not a pain reliever... it is a sedative. Diazepam is not a pain reliever... it is a muscle relaxer.
Certainly between teh Diazepam (valium) and Ace it is not surprising that she was a bit doped up... just be sure that she is on something for pain if you can.
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Definitely get the dog on some anti-nausea medications!!! It could be the abx or the chemo causing the anorexia.
Famotidine (pepcid) is a reasonable starter and OTC.
Carafate can help some dogs
Cerenia is a potent once daily anti-nausea drug
Metoclopramide or Prochlorperazine would be 2 other anti-nausea drugs
Ginger supplementation can help some dogs
Pepto-bismol
Talk to the vet about soem of these options.
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Why are you using Drontal Plus for hookworms? Although ti works... you are paying for medicine that you don't need.
Droncit = Praziquantel which is a medication used to treat TAPEworms (dogs get tapeworms by eating fleas or small rodents)
Drontal = Droncit + Strongid (Pyrantel); pyrantel is used to treat hookworms and round worms
Drontal Plus = Drontal + Febantel; Febantel is used to treat hookworms, roundworms and whipworms.
The Droncit base in all 3 of these products is not needed to treat hookworms and is pretty $$$. Pyrantel is dirt cheap and Panacur (Fenbendazole) would be just as effective for hooksowrms. Either drug should be a LOT less expensive as well.
I'd also wonder about allergies as an underlying cause of the skin issues.
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I like the Aquadent personally... but know people that have been happy with Oxyfresh, Breathalyzer +, etc.
The amount of Xylitol is tiny and not significant. You'd have to give a dog a whole bottle of Aquadent to reach concerning levels.
If you took an entire bottle of calcium instead of the 1 or 2 tablets recommended... that wouldn't be good either... doesn't mean the calcium in teh product is bad... it just isn't good when massively overdosed.
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I will go to the health food store this aft. How much should I give her. She is 52 pounds. I know where to get the gel. Do I just apply to the teeth or over all that is red. Do I do this after each meal, as well as brushing?
Thanks
Please get a proper diagnosis. You already have one vet saying possible cancer. That is not something I would mess around with.
She might need a biopsy, she might need antibiotics, she might need mouth wash. The problem is that we cannot tell how bad it is and my concern is that by delaying a diagnosis, you could be wasting valuable time.
Well said... I couldn't agree more.
Please get a 2nd opinion (is a referral to a veterinary teaching hospital an option... or to a dental specialist?)!!! Just trying different things to "see if they work" may turn a treatable problem into a non-treatable problem by delaying appropriate treatment!!!
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The platelets are up 9000 or they are up to 9000? A platelet count of 9000 is awful. It may be better but a patient is considered urgent and at risk for spontaneous bleeding until you get the count over at least 25,000!!
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How low? I also agree that a TBD panel would be a good idea. May be worth starting some Doxycycline while the tests are pending.
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I've posted my $0.02 on this procedure in multiple other threads. DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY. If you want your dog to have a cosmetic procedure... by all means go for it. If you want your dog to get the medical benefits of a true dental cleaning... go to your vet or to a veterinary dentist.
Veterinary dentists believed in this strongly enough to even publish a position statement on anesthetic free cleanings on their website!
So... when you decide to trust your dog's dental health... who are you going to listen to:
1. A person recommending anesthetic free teeth cleanings with no veterinary training
or
2. A board certified veterinary dental specialist.
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Interesting levels. If there is no evidence fo disease... I'd be hard pressed to medicate just yet. I'd probably do a thyroid panel through MSU in a couple of months. I'd comment on the lab sheet that the dog has no clinical signs and ask for a "interpretation by the endocrinologist". If it is borderline, you can have your vet speak directly to teh specialist and discuss the case.
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Can you list the lab's normal ranges for the various tests next to his levels? The normal values of different labs can vary.
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It is really a great product... especially in cats. Believe it or not... $89 is actually a pretty good deal for what the drug actually costs!!!
As someone else mentioned... using it for UTIs is "extra label" but it has been used that way in Europe and Pfizer even has data on its use for UTIs if you ask them. If I had a bad pill taker... I'd use it in a heartbeat. It is actually effective for many oral pathogens as well. : )
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A big part of the cost of chemo is not just the cost of the drug... but EVERYTHING else. IV catheters. Very careful use of the drug and monitoring of the patient. Additional fluid therapy if needed. Bloodwork or ultrasounds of the heart if warranted based on the drugs. Etc.
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Greyhounds often have lower total protein levels but it is due to a lower globulin level than other breeds... albumins should be within the reference range for all dogs. IF they are low... check a urine sample and if any protein is detected... have a urine protein:creatinine ratio performed.
I did the urine protein:creatine ratio on one of the Greys. Unfortunately she went into season less than 24 hours after I collected the urine so I do not think we got a true reading. It was barely abnorml. All the Greys I have tested have been within the range of normal given by Antech, but on the low side. My vet wants them to be in the absolute middle which is where my problem lies. Is a low normal ok? If anyone out there has done a sr. profile or blood chem on their dogs and could find out what the albumin was and let me know it would be helpful. And also what the lab considers normal range.
Thanks.
If it is normal... it is probably nothing to worry about.
Ask your vet to call Antech and have them consult with one of their specialists and ask them if they believe that your pet's albumin is truly concerning. My bet is that the lab will say no and the "concern" is probably unnecessary. Of course I haven't done an exam and I haven't seen the labs... just going off of what I've read here.
There is no charge for a vet to call Antech... it just takes a couple minutes of his/her time.
If they say the lab states it is a problem even though it is normal... then I'd take a copy of your labs and get a 2nd opinion. If they both say it si a problem... then I''d be concerned.
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Greyhounds often have lower total protein levels but it is due to a lower globulin level than other breeds... albumins should be within the reference range for all dogs. IF they are low... check a urine sample and if any protein is detected... have a urine protein:creatinine ratio performed.
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She really should have another surgery. It may not be an easy one though as the tissue could be quite small. You may want to ask about a referral.
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I'd make sure that during the original injury no small piece of claw or anything was left behind. You can probably just ask your vet to verify that they looked for anything like that. If not... the Cipro eye drops are pretty strong especially when combined with the TAB ointment. I don't use a lot of Amoxi as a stand alone antibiotic so I might use something like Clindamycin or Simplicef or Clavamox to see if that controlled things. Since there is improvement I might stay the course for now. You also may want to consider an anti-inflammatory as others have mentioned. You could do an oral one or you could ask your vet if a triple antibiotic with Dexamethasone could be tried if there is no corneal ulceration. I have also seen a few dogs develop conjunctivitis (not infection... just irritation) secondary to various eye medications.
Not sure if any of that helps... just some thoughts.
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Well Dr. Bill...you really put things into perspective! Thank you SO much for all your help regarding our Flashman!
Thanks to everyone! In Flashman's case... his "response to treatment" was in fact b/c he was hypothyroid as you posted. But a lot of Greys are put on meds w/o a high TSH level and the justification to keep them on meds is "they improved". I don't think anyone really knows what the true effect of chronic unecessary thyroid supplementation is... only lots of theories.
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One of the rare true hypothyroid Greyhounds. This pattern is what you should see in the majority of cases of hypothyroidism... a low free T4 and total T4 paried with a high TSH!!!!
Thank you Dr. Bill for all your help these past few weeks. We also heard from Dr. Couto this morning and he told us that he has only seen 2 other Hypothyroid Greyhounds. I am just happy that he can start on his Soloxine and hopefully start feeling better soon.
I see a lot of Greyhounds but Dr. Couto sees more than I do and does more consults than I do too. So if he has only seen 2 other Greys with hypothyroidism... that is telling you something!
I bet if you surveyed every Greyhound on Soloxine and had owners pull their medical records less than 50% would have both a low free T4 by dialysis AND a high TSH! Remember that "response to treatment" doesn't confirm a diagnosis b/c soloxine will help coat quality, hair growth and energy levels in normal dogs.
To put it another way... saying a dog is hypothyroid because they improved on treatment only (not having the supporting labwork) is like saying that Barry Bonds was "steroid deficient" because he got bigger and stronger when he started taking anabolic steroids (allegedly).
Obviously in your case your dog does in fact have low free T4 and a high TSH which confirms the diagnosis as we discussed previously. : )
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One of the rare true hypothyroid Greyhounds. This pattern is what you should see in the majority of cases of hypothyroidism... a low free T4 and total T4 paried with a high TSH!!!!
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Why rimadyl? Deramaxx or Metacam are much easier on the system, and less side-effects than rimadyl
Common urban legend. No research to show that the newer NSAIDs are safer or more effective than Rimadyl. When Deramaxx first came out it was said to be "safer and stronger than Rimadyl" but has since been found to be about teh same. Previcox, Zubrin, Metacam, etc. all show similar rates of reaction and efficacy.
Any one individual may have different experiences with different drugs but on a large scale study none of the NSAIDs have proven more effective or safer.
I would say of all the NSAIDs commonly used in dogs... aspirin is the least effective with highest incidence fo side effects so I would definitely avoid that unless cost requires it. The only good thing about aspirin is that it is cheap.
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Greyhounds in my experience are more sensitive to PPA than other breeds and require MUCH lower dosing... I usually use 12.5-25mg. For another breed of similar size they would get 50-75mg. It starts at twice daily and then can be reduced in many dogs.
The only way to rule out a UTI is by a urine culture which I assume wasn't done. Ask for one if it wasn't. No guessing about abx... just get the culture and you'll know if it is an infection and waht abx to use!
You could also try Bladder strength by Vetriscience.
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I agree with others. Stop the Rimadyl. Maybe it did or maybe it didn't cause the ulcer before... but he is showing signs of GI upset so why take teh chance. Famotidine or carafate will not prevent an NSAID induced ulcer. Use Tramadol for pain in the future and have his chart marked "NO RIMADYL" so no-one tries to give it to him in the future.
Reactions to NSAIDs are uncommon but can happen. Our clinic just had a liver reaction to Rimadyl over the weekend. I think it was maybe our 3rd one in the 6 years I have been at the practice.
Thanks to everyone!
Comfortis
in Health and Medical discussion
Posted
We don't carry it but I know a lot of vets seem to be happy with it so far.