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Gatorade

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About Gatorade

  • Birthday March 9

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    Emily

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    West Virginia

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Still wet behind the ears

Still wet behind the ears (3/9)

  1. My dog Gator had an amputation two days ago for OS. He has been able to walk on his own to go pee outside. He also had a mostly normal bowel movement outside today (the end of it was a little loose). Then two separate time after that today, he was laying down and had starting to poop while laying on his bed. We take him outside and he doesn’t go. Is this normal post amputation to have bowel incontinence? His pain meds he’s taking now are the same ones he took before surgery. Can it be from the ones used during surgery?
  2. Thanks all! After talking it over, we are going to amputate. We think he will physically and mentally handle it well, and quite honestly be happier without the pain. We will try chemo treatments and see if he tolerates it. I appreciate everyone’s well wishes. I’ll let you know how he does!
  3. Thanks everyone. The radiologist consult also confirmed osteo. What an awful whirlwind. We had them take chest x-rays (even though we had them not long ago with the accident). Those don’t show anything concerning, though I realize it’s likely already spread. I was reading the various osteo threads looking for direction, but I still keep asking myself the same question. How do you choose? How do you choose which route is best? I’m guessing he had cancer at least since September, which was 4 months ago, when his limp started although we couldn’t see it on X-rays. I was reading the other threads and he also had similar signs of what people noticed that I never gave much thought to... not using a leg going down stairs, sometimes falling downstairs, slow to get up and down, etc. Gator has been pretty adaptable to different living situations. We got him around 2 years old, and he will be 7 in March. We had to teach him the usuals (like using stairs lol), but I feel like he’s defied a lot. A sweet silly boy who lets his 3 yr old and 1.5 yr old human sisters snuggle and jump on him all the time. I feel like he’s (relatively) young and otherwise in good health. I wish dogs could talk. I want to do what’s right for him. We can afford amputation and chemo and can dedicate time for his recovery and ongoing care. Is that the best choice? feeling so confused.
  4. So our images were sent to a specialist and it was confirmed that all indications point to cancer. It’s a sad day over here. So now the big question, how to proceed? He now likely has had cancer for 4 months (since he started limping). I figured we could get chest x-rays. Has anyone amputated and not done chemo? Weighing options here.
  5. So we’ve had quite the up and downs. Not long after we had 2/3 vets saying no cancer, Gator was hit by a car after escaping from the fenced back yard. Miraculously, he ended up with some cuts, scraps and bruises and got a couple dozen stitches and some rest had him feeling better. somehow getting his by a car made his limp go away! This was gone for a few weeks. It returned about a week and a half ago. we took him to the vet again, more x-rays, now the original vet thinks cancer again. They feel the top of the bone now looks Moth eaten. so more consults and more follow up.
  6. Hi all! Thanks for the support. We had our appointment today with the surgery consult (my first vet set up this referral). They ended up retaking some New xrays. Long story short, they don’t think Gator has any signs of a tumor! So I think with 2 out of 3 vets thinking it’s not cancer, that’s what I’m going with! The agree that he has some mineralization/calcification and believe his bicep tendon could be chronically inflamed (though not sure why?!). The one thing they thought was off was that he showed more signs of discomfort when extending his leg as opposed to flexing it (which I guess is opposite of what they would have assumed). They thought perhaps he may have been overcompensated and hurt his tricep? Either way, we have some nsaids to use as needed if he is limping or seems in pain. He still seems to be limping when not on meds but I’m hoping that improves. They also talked about if that doesn’t work, or he is needing to use the nsaids too much, then there are injections they can try or as a last resort, do a surgery to release the tendon. Anyways - thank you all. I’m glad I found this forum and I’m sure will be referring to it often!
  7. Thanks everyone! Dr. Couto was able to look at lab work and x-rays. He doesn't think that it is OS which is a huge relief! He thinks the limp could be due to the mineralization of the supraspinatus tendon (the little white crescent moon shape on the x-rays). He also thinks the oval shading in the x-rays could be a deltoid tuberosity (a normal anatomical landmark) - this is what the first vet thought could be cancer. So we have one vet saying cancer, and Dr. Couto saying its not. Given his expertise, I'm guessing its not. I was hoping to get one more person to weigh in and my original vet put in an emergency referral for me. I had a follow up with a specialist scheduled for today, and it got canceled last minute and now I have to wait another week. Gator seems to be much better on the pain meds and anti-inflammatory meds.
  8. All surfaces. He seems a little better today on pain meds and anti-inflammatories.
  9. Thank you very much for the information. Its definitely a lot to take in, especially when we don't 100% know what we are dealing with. Dr. Couto already has been in touch and I sent the files in a format I think he needs. Hopefully we'll know more soon. It seems like an impossible decision. I guess its important to get as much of the facts as possible before we make any decisions. Gator is on both pain reliever and NSAIDs. I asked to have some blood work done to compare to blood work we had about 4 months ago. Even if bone cancer doesn't show up, on the slight chance something else does that gives some answers. The vet mentioned other type of imaging or biopsies are sometimes done, and set me up for a consultation with another vet (and now I'm also working with Dr. Couto). Good idea to try and keep him calm and not allow him to run around much.
  10. Thanks for your response. My vet did mention it. Said she wasn't exactly sure what it was, but could be something, may not. SHe was more concerned with the spot below the shoulder. We checked pads and so did vet. No signs of corns or anything else that would impact it. Dr. Couto already has gotten back to me. Thought there was some supraspinatus tendon mineralization (chronic tendinitis), but couldn't tell from the bones with what i sent him. I ended up sending them in another digitized format, hopefully that will help and we'll get another set of eyes on it from that perspective. Vet is fairly familiar with greys. We are also thinking abotu seeing another person with more experience.
  11. Thanks. I actually found his name before in other posts and already sent him an email! Hopefully he get's back to me soon. I'm sure he gets inundated with emails.
  12. That is so interesting! I'm assuming she seems to enjoy it? I once had a trainer convinced she could teach my grey Gator how to sit. She failed. Good for Skelly!
  13. My 6.5 yr old greyhound, Gator, developed a limp about 5 days ago. Like many, I assumed he had injured himself because he's always been pretty clumsy. As the limp remained, I tried to determine the source. I pushed, squeezed, and pulled on each toe, bone, joint, etc. Gator didn't really give any reaction to help me find where, other than his front left leg. I did all the research, and came up with a lot of things it could be. I took Gator to the vet. They thought his shoulder was swollen and suggested x-rays. Now they think it could be a tumor, but didn't really seem sure (see attached x-rays). They talked about the idea of amputating. They gave him some pain meds. He doesn't seem like he's in a lot off pain. He will still go sprint in the backyard. Just keeps limping. I asked if there were different ways to know for sure? I had them run some bloodwork. We just had some in June, which was all fine, so they can at least compare the numbers. I should have that back tomorrow They talked about getting an MRI as another way to "know for sure". Do you think its worthwhile getting an MRI? Should we amputate the leg if it is OS? Gator is my first greyhound.
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