ZoomDoggy

Back from the vet. He still stands by his position that the tieback surgery is (from his personal observations) far too risky unless Chancy is in a much more serious crisis than she currently is. FWIW, I very much trust this vet's opinions. He's popularly considered the premier grey-vet in the Twin Cities metro. Her liver values are still increasing, slowly but surely. The vet said they were certainly elevated, but not at a point where he'd go for aggressive diagnostics yet. He did say he thought Chancy looked in great shape for her age. I just wish her breathing were easier. The vet did say that if I decide to go forward with the surgery, he'd help me find the best possible surgeon to perform it at his office, so he could oversee the anesthesia. This was a great comfort to me, especially since I've lost some faith in the U of M vets... I'm an active volunteer with my group, but I don't know of anyone who's gone through this.

I've been giving her Milk Thistle for a few months now. I don't have the blood values in front of me-- will get back to that later. Gotta go to the vet now. In the storms.

A couple months ago I was looking to have a surgeon at the U of M do the procedure, but it seems that there's no way I can "interview" them beforehand. What I don't like about the U is that the last time I had Chancy there, the vet we saw had no idea that greys have different blood values than other dogs. And they use greyhound blood donors all the time! I lost a bit of confidence at that point... The other problem is that the U vets wanted to figure out what was going on with her liver before considering the tieback (abdominal ultrasound, biopsies, etc). I can't help but feel that the breathing is a more immediate concern. Not to downplay liver problems by any means, as I know that a compromised liver can badly affect anesthesia recovery. It's just that I feel she might suffocate from laryngeal collapse before her liver can kill her. And really, I can only afford to address one thing at a time... Did I mention I'm in a quandary?

So those of you who've already done the tieback, can you please tell me how long the recovery was? We have a roadtrip planned for late July (Grapehounds), and I REALLY want to bring Chancy along, but not if it's dangerous for her...

Butt-spray. :

You think it might be the climate change? She's maybe in AC more now, drying her skin out?

I wonder if the gulping might indicate something other than LP... I s'pose it's dumb to try and guess... I just didn't want to do the endoscopy until/unless I was fully prepared to do a tieback. I don't want her to go under anesthesia twice if we can help it. By the way, I did join that LP Yahoo group. Thanks for the link.

If you're going forward with the ultrasound, see if they can get a need aspirate of the tumor. They *may* be able to get enough cells to determine if it's malignant, without doing an exploratory surgery. That worked for Sissy. Sadly it turned out that Sissy's tumors had metastasized to her liver and spleen and probably her intestines and elsewhere before we even knew she had cancer. But my point is, maybe they can get an answer without surgery...

My Chancy has probable LP (did xrays and flouroscope, but haven't done the endoscope yet), and I've noticed in the last month or so, her swallowing noise is a definite "Gulp" sound that wasn't there before. The gulping is not connected with any particular breathing crisis, she just gulps loudly every time she swallows. She eats & drinks just fine. I just wondered if anyone else has noticed "gulping" in their LP dogs, or if that might be something else entirely... We're going to the vet today to see what he thinks of her worsening breathing. Last time he saw Chancy, he felt that her LP was too mild to consider surgery. That may not be the case now... I still balk at the idea of surgery due to the risks I've read about, and also because Chancy's liver values are elevated, making anesthesia even more risky. I'm hoping my vet can help me make the best decision for my sweet stripey tigerdog.

Meatballs, aka Fatballs, aka Satin balls... I used to make them for Sissy. I'm sure the recipe is on here in various forms if you do a quick search. If you don't find it, I'll type it up for you later. eta: I type slow.

: I'm so happy to hear Sally's feeling better! I LOVE your photos!

Oh, forgot to add-- if they're in Highland Park, please do invite them to visit me at my Meet & Greet this Saturday at the Highland Petco from 11am to 1pm. We love visitors, and no "group" politics, I promise! I just adore meeting new hounds, and so do Tip & Marla. My M&G is the last Saturday of each month.

I take my pups to Como Park Animal Hospital for most routine vet care and minor emergencies. There are three vets there whom I feel fairly comfortable working with. Their prices are a bit steep, but you do get what you pay for. They have good modern equipment, and don't screw around when you need something done. They even allowed me to help hold Marla when she had some skin growths lasered off. I also have a holistic vet we see for acupuncture & such for my little ol' lady Chancy's bad back, but they're in Mpls. For anything that seems very specific to greys (i.e. if I don't trust Como's grey-savvy-ness) like reading bloodwork or anesthesia, I'll go to either Dr. Barr in Coon Rapids, or to the U of M. Feist is a VCA "chain" hospital, and as such tends to have a rotating staff. I used to take one of my cats there, but got tired of never seeing the same vet twice.

I didn't see this until now... : for Sally. I sincerely hope this is just a "spell" and she'll pull out of it quickly.

Donna... I'm just so so sorry.

You're in my thoughts. It's hard enough to face all this, but to also have little to no support at home is beyond terrible. I'm so sorry. I hope tomorrow is a better day.

Still thinking of you and Bounty... I'm glad you're able to stay home with him again today.

Believe it or not, I had surprising success using a small oral syringe to give Sissy Vanilla Ensure near the end. I filled it up, and poked it into the corner of her mouth and slowly released the vanilla-ey goodness into her mouth. I was leery at first that I'd be "forcing" this stuff into her, but she actually seemed to like it, nibbling at the syringe each time I offered it. I believe it gave her enough strength to enjoy a few more good moments those last days.

Checking in to see how you and Bounty are doing this morning...

Glad it went well. How many did she have to lose?

"Just dentals" make me a nervous wreck too. Major!

Glad he's home again! I hope you have a nice peaceful weekend together. I keep thinking of you both.

It really is hard to keep proper perspective when you read the H&M board here. But if you try to think of the number of all the greys who belong to Greytalk members, then count the ones who are affected by cancer, the percentage is less intimidating. It's also true that some folks will only post when they're faced with health problems, looking for advice or support. That's what H&M is for, and it's a blessing I've taken advantage of more than once. I hate cancer too. It's brutal and hideous and uncompromising.

Oh Donna, I was soooo hoping against hope that this wasn't the case. Still thinking of you & Bounty nonstop...

Been thinking of you and poor Bounty all day...