I Think We Are Going Back To The Vet Tomorrow

[Guest KipperGrey]

In an earlier post I asked about Kips leg. He was limping and has quite a bit of swelling in his front right leg. We went to the vet yesterday and he sent us home with prednisolone and said he thought it was a sprain and if it wasn't better by Friday we would do x-rays. Well it is late Thursday night and nothing has really improved. The swelling reduced a little but came right back. The doc gave him a shot yesterday as well. We are seeing the side affects of the pred....increased thirst and peeing more but its not helping the leg much. The swelling is about the same now and the limp is slightly decreased but not much. He stumbles a lot especially right after standing up. When I first noticed the swelling and limping on Tuesday I thought the right rear leg looked swollen but later changed my mind. When at the vet I mentioned it and he said it was a little swollen but it is slight. Today it is also puffy. I guess I am confused by the sprain/strain diagnosis if both legs are swollen and when I asked about it he said he thinks he may have hurt both legs even though he isn't limping on the hind leg. I really got the feeling that I was being rushed out because they were busy. I really like my vet for check ups and shots but I am thinking about switching because in injury/illness visits I feel he is not very accurate. I asked about TBD and he said it wasn't consistant with his symptoms and it probably isn't cancer because it rarely affects more than one bone in the body at once. I suspect that he hurt his "wrist" or longer foot bones because when trying to massage some of the fluid out last night he yelped when I was holding his foot. I hadn't gotten a pain response on any spots up until then. But if that is the case why is his other foot swelling too? I am really confused and thinking if we don't get any answers after x-rays we are going to see another vet. We don't have the money to keep messing around and I don't want Kip to be in any pain longer than necessary.

 

Last year about this time we went through something similar and we thought it resolved itself...I am really wondering if we aren't dealing with the same issue. Again my vet dismissed the idea. Here is my post from last years episode. I am going to ask CindyandThunder about a more grey savvy vet in the area. I am a bit frustrated and disappointed and want to know what is going on! Kip must be miserable and the fact that he is also blind from PRA(progressive retinal atrophy) has got to be very confusing for him. I feel like crying as I post this. Maybe I am just overreacting but I really want to know what is wrong!

Edited May 19, 2007 by KipperGrey

[Remolacha]

If you are not comfortable with this vet, you should definitely get another opinion! Poor Kip sounds very uncomfortable Hoping it is nothing serious

[Guest vahoundlover]

If your gut feeling is your vet isn't giving Kip a thorough exam and is brushing you off, then I'd find another vet. Sending prayers you get to the bottom of this and Kip will be feeling better soon.

[Guest IrskasMom]

 

 

X Rays ....... better safe then SORRY . and

[Guest greytmonty]

Keep us posted, I hope you can figure out what is going on....

[heartdogs]

Hugs & get well wishes for Kip. It is so hard when we worry but the vet doesn't see anything wrong. Hope the new vet can help.

[MP_the4pack]

Is there a specialty hospital near you, or a university vet school? I've decided a long time ago that anything that requires more indepth diagnosis, that I'm going to go to a specialist. They are expensive but have paid off greatly.

 

If you're in NJ, we have Oradell in the North, Red Bank in the east, U of Penn in the southwest, Veterinary Specialist and C.A.R.E.S in the west. Boy am I lucky.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest Tenderhearts]

I don't think you are overreacting at all, and you have a right to be concerned, and find another vet if Kip is not being tended to properly!

 

Sending prayers and white light an answer is found soon and he gets better!

[Burpdog]

Unless you tested for all the TBDs you really don't know if he has one. Also, I've seen many dogs test negative yet respond to doxy.

 

I would email the consult line at Ohio State ASAP and I might have my vet call & try to get ahold of them this morning:

 

 

 

Consult: greyosu@osu.edu

 

 

Last Name First Name Title Department Work Phone eMail Address

 

Couto Guillermo Professor Veterinary Clinical Sciences (614) 292-3551 couto.1@osu.edu

 

[patricia]

Sending my many prayers. I hope that you find out what is wrong soon and that it is nothing serious.

[Guest KipperGrey]

OK..good news first- its not broken or cancer. Bad news- vet still doesn't know what is wrong but is guessing bursitis(sp?). He sent us home with some diuretics to help get some more of the swelling out of his legs. I don't know if I feel comfortable with that diagnosis. Does bursitis generally hit more than one leg at a time?

[Jackandgrey]

I think I would get another opinion. Bilateral bursitis sounds silly.

[Burpdog]

I get bursitis in my hips and I never swelled (oh wait, maybe that is what is wrong with my stomach????all these years? )

 

Are you sure he didn't say vasculitis?

 

Email Ohio State asap.

[NeylasMom]

Get the TBD panel. Swelling in multiple legs, including swelling/limping that comes and goes IS a symptom of TBDs. You can start treatment with doxy in the meantime, but if it's Babesia you'll need to treat with Imidocarb. It might not be, but why not rule it out?

 

I second (or third or fourth...) finding a vet you're more comfortable with, particularly one who knows the symptoms of TBDs (or recognizes that TBDs are common in greys and don't always present as you might expect).

[Guest KipperGrey]

Are you sure he didn't say vasculitis?

 

Email Ohio State asap.

 

I'm sure he said bursitis. Does Ohio state charge for a consult and what would they need? I am waiting to hear about a more grey savvy vet in our area but we aslo have the University of Wisconsin a little over an hour away. Poor Kip is so stoic I really can't tell to what extent his discomfort is. He will pant a bit then rest but today I noticed that he was shaking and grunting in his sleep. I don't know if he had a bad dream or what. I am begining to wonder if his eye issues area at all related to everything else. I also don't know if it is a coincidence that the last time we had this issue was almost exactly at the same time last year. We are beside ourselves right now because we are also having an issue with our new kitten and have to take him to the eye specialist as well so we are a bit stressed right now.

[Guest trevdog]

I know OSU doesn't charge for email consults. Can your Dr fax the info to them?

[Batmom]

UW Madison would be a good place to take him. They are surprisingly affordable. When I needed to go, I was able to get an appointment same week (could've gotten one next day if I'd wanted!).

 

Hugs and luck with your baby.

[Guest KipperGrey]

I gave the diuretic about 2 hours ago and we just had an accident in the house. When I went to check on Kip he is litterally dripping urine Is this normal or something that is a bad side affect.

[Guest greytexplorer]

Nope that's the diuretic at work, doing what it's supposed to do.

Since he is urinating that much, can you tell if the swelling is going down in the leg/paw?

[Guest KipperGrey]

swelling is still there but his hind leg looks a little bit better. Should I increase his water or leave it the same....they won't dehydrate him will they?

 

[Guest meandmygreys]

I get bursitis in my hips and I never swelled (oh wait, maybe that is what is wrong with my stomach????all these years? )

 

Are you sure he didn't say vasculitis?

 

Email Ohio State asap.

 

I knew there was a reason my hips and stomach got bigger !!

 

He will drink like a fiend....pee like a race horse....it's supposed to make him do that...that's why people on Lasix live in the bathroom..Call you vet about amounts of water intake just to be safe.

 

[Guest Vinnie]

We are so sorry that Kip and your family have to go through all of this. It is so frustrating that you know something is wrong yet can't figure it out so that he can be healthy and happy again.

 

From our experience, run, do not walk, to a vet that you are comfortable with. When our angel Vinnie first hurt his paw, we had a vet that we loved at a clinic, but another at the same clinic that we ended up stuck with. After the one and only visit with her (misdiagnosed and left Vinnie in so much pain), I sat down and started calling new vets in our local phone book.

 

If the person answering the phone could actually answer my questions I put them on a list to call back. I actually hit the jackpot about 5 calls in when the doctor actually came to the phone and talked with me. Needless to say, he is now our permanent vet and I know that Vinnie was well looked after in his final days with us. He even did the amputation and so much more over and above what was expected. We now bring Vinnie's sister to him whenever needed. And he never hesitates to come to the phone if I need to talk with him, and as a bonus there are two other doc's (one is his wife and the other had just lost a grey of her own) just as wonderful and he has a knowledgable and helpful staff as well.

 

One of the first questions I found to ask was if they have other grey patients. They are a unique breed and if you are not familiar with them, you can miss breed specific symptoms. We hope you find just the right vet. And most of all, we hope that Kip gets better very soon. Hugs and healing thoughts to you all.

[Burpdog]

Let him have as much water as he wants! He has to drink. I'd call the University of WI and see if you can get an appointment for Monday or Tuesday and have them consult with Dr. Couto.

[Cheryl2]

I can recommend another vet to see or consult with. Dr. Sally Prickett at Iowa State in Ames. She the new Director of the veterinary teaching hospital and she's been hands on with greyhounds for almost 20 years as a track vet so she's seen a whole lot of odd stuff with these guys. Here is her webpage with contact info.

 

sally

 

They have a pretty state of the art facility there and she did tell me that she was looking forward to greyhound people becoming a large part of their clientele (although she was talking mostly about racing greys and their injuries) but I know she'd welcome retired ones too.