Rickiesmom

Hope there are more visits over the weekend - they will bring comfort and peace to both of you.

Continued good thoughts and prayers for Robin and for you.

Drops are no problem at all. Just anxious for the lab results!

Just seeing this, and adding my prayers and good thoughts to others for your Robin.

We saw a veterinary opthamologist today. While he felt there was nothing obviously sinister going on, he agreed that the uveitis is not resolved. He said in some dogs it becomes chronic, and they need drops forever, just not Tobradex which has a steroid, but something anti-inflamatory only. Because Jeff eats anything and everything on the ground unless on a leash walk (bark, sticks, peat moss, bunny poop, you name it) I agreed to have a fairly wide-ranging test panel done that includes a number of parasites and fungal diseases. I will post when those results are back. We have a recheck with the opthamologist in about 3 weeks. Meanwhile supposed to continue the Tobradex daily.

Just seeing this. Hope Spencer improved overnight. Will be watching for an update. Holding you all in my thoughts.

Sure, we know how that goes, smarty

So Jan, where are your photos of this "skinny jeans" boy??

Jeff was diagnosed with uveitis toward the end of March. He was initially on atropine and tobradex, then only tobradex daily, and finally this last week, tobradex every other day. He had a couple of rechecks early in April and each time the vet thought he was improving and that the uveitis was resolving. Jeff had a recheck on Wednesday of this week with a different vet than the one who had been treating him (original vet out of town). She thought the eye didn't look right, but hadn't seen its before state so wasn't sure what to make of what she was seeing. She took a photo and sent it to other vets for an opinion. Today she received a response saying "The lesion you describe may be a fibrin strand or possibly some pigment shed from the iris. It is hard to tell for sure from the photo but it could mean the uveitis has not really resolved. A slit lamp exam would be very helpful in this case." I have an appointment booked with an opthamologist this coming Wednesday, and am to return to daily Tobradex in the meantime. A quick google search on "fibrin strand" yielded material that was mostly over my head, but none of it sounded at all good. We did do a tick panel when all this started, and the only thing it came back positive for was babesia, which is not linked with uveitis from what I was told. Did a PCR and the consensus is that Jeff was probably exposed at some point, but is not infected. Certainly he shows no sign of any illness, other than with his eye. I am very anxious for this appointment on May 1 afternoon, and in the meantime wanted to reach out to folks here for experiences / thoughts about how this is unfolding. Thank you!

I can still get it here (Canada), but only in the size which is appropriate for my whippet. For the greyhounds I need to give them two of those to achieve their dosage requirement. The single size option makes me wonder if this will be the last year Interceptor will available here as well. Really too bad.

Someone needs to change the title on this thread from Please Pray to Please Celebrate!

I remember that time with great sadness. Alan was one of those iconic greys on GT that belonged forever. And still does, now in angel spirit.

Back in 2004 my whippet had partial carpal fusion surgery and a plate was installed. He never stopped limping and continued to need a splint for months. The surgeon eventually decided maybe the tendons were being irritated by the plate and wanted to remove it, which I agreed to. During the surgery they found one of the plate screws was loose Took the plate out, and once recovery from that was over (pretty straightforward) Rickie regained full use of the leg. I ended up doing underwater treadmill rehab with him for awhile because he had lost a lot of muscle due to such a long period of inactivity. For him, removing the plate was the absolutely right thing to do.

Tick panel results are back. Of all things, Jeff tested positive for Babesia, which is apparently not one of the TBDs that can cause uveitis. He is completely asymptomatic, so I am hoping this just reflects an exposure at some stage. Vet will discuss the result with the lab tomorrow. In the meantime his eye is looking good - he's still getting Tobradex drops, but on a diminishing schedule, currently one drop per day for 2 weeks. Bloodwork all good. Continuing to hold off on the vaccinations for now.

Lucy what a truly beautiful, love-filled tribute to a little hound who was a big presence on this board. I especially love the third-last photo, with those wonderful eyes. Thank you for sharing him with us. I am so sorry he's gone.

Happy Bridge Birthday Ruben. Julia the model is sweet and beautiful.

Poor Leah. I hope she heals quickly and without complication. Also hope there are consequences for your neighbours.

I don't understand your vet's choice of treatment but am glad your girl is OK. FWIW since Metacam is in the same drug class as Rimadyl and Previcox, I would avoid it and all NSAIDs going forward. There are other pain management options such as Tramadol that can be tried, and while they don't have the anti-infammatory properties, they might be safer for her - I say this as someone who nearly lost a dog to acute kidney failure following a post-surgical loading dose of Metacam administered by the vet.

My vet now has Interceptor in stock. Not in the size I need for the greyhounds, so one of the techs was going to check with their sister clinics to see if they had it. I got the impression there was an issue with ordering more and I will look into that when we are back this afternoon. I don't know if that has to do with limited supplies or with their ordering process. Certainly in the past they've been able to just order what I needed.

That looks really interesting, not to mention a good deal, thank you!

Thank you JJNg and all - quick follow-on question. Is the snap test from the lab that does routine bloodwork (Antech) reliable enough for this purpose, or should the sample go to Protatek or North Carolina State? Also, is there anything in particular my vet should request when sending the sample? TBDs are very uncommon here so this won't be routine for this clinic.

Totally agree - we don't make it up nearly as often as I'd like to!

Jeff has been diagnosed with Uveitis. It started with a tiny amount of greenish discharge on Friday evening. I wasn't too worried at that, but watchful. Next morning, no discharge, flushed his eye with saline just to be on the safe side. Mid-afternoon went to do the same thing, but his eye looked cloudy. Called the vet who agreed to see him right away. Put him on Tobradex 3x / day and Atropine 1 or 2x per day, depending on how dilated the lens looked. Metacam for pain. There was no ulceration and no scratches. We had a recheck this afternoon and his eye is definitely looking better. We are to start weaning down the drops, going to 2x per day for the Tobradex and 1x per day for the Atropine. We see the vet again on Thursday. Jeff already had the appointment today because it was meant to be his annual checkup, and he is due to be vaccinated for DHPP and lepto. I never allow more than one vaccine at a time, so my questions are: - is this Thursday too soon if the eye is continuing to improve (my vet didn't want to do it Saturday or today and I completely agreed) - is one generally easier on a dog than another (Jeff hasn't been vaccinated for lepto before, so this isn't just a booster) Regarding the uveitis, I have read that it's often idiopathic, but that there can be an underlying cause. Jeff is outwardly extremely healthy and he's only 4 years old. Given that the uveitis is clearing up, is it worth doing anything special to search for a cause? He will be having routine blood, urine, and fecal tests as part of his annual.

All NSAIDs come with potential issues. Metacam is much more prescribed here, at least in my experience, than Rimidyl, because it is generally regarded as safer. Yet my Jaynie was one of the "susceptible" dogs who went into acute kidney failure following a loading dose administered by injection following her spay (a practice my clinic has now discontinued). In "susceptible" dogs, Metacam accelerates the depressive effect of anaesthetics on vital organs including the kidneys. On the other hand, my whippet tolerates Metacam well, but did not tolerate Rimidyl. Moral of the story based on my experience: - discuss pain management before any surgery and disallow administration of any NSAID until the dog is completely recovered from anaesthesia and - follow instructions, particularly about administering with food, and, if there are intolerance symptoms, stop whatever you are giving - remember there is a washout period before switching from one NSAID to another - you can give tramadol or another non-NSAID pain management drug recommended by your vet in the meantime; won't have anti-inflammatory benefits, but will help with pain management.

Welcome from Toronto!