Multiple Symptoms

[Guest Bob]

Friends:

 

My beloved 13 year-old retired racing Greyhound is having a tough couple of weeks -- and so am I. He may have

Lumbosacral stenosis. (Which may be caused by or related to arthritis or some type of infection or a degenerative disc. In any case he limps.) He probably has an absessed tooth, or teeth. He's seen his vet a couple times in the past month and she doesn't have any easy answers except removing his teeth (not a viable option for me) and giving him Rimadyl and an antibiotic (both of which he's taking).

 

He has a sore that he licks near his butt and it looks a little like ringworm today but didn't look quite as bad at the vet's last week. He leaked a few drops from his anus yesterday and today and he's been throwing up bile. He has always eaten grass and I do let him have a little but not a lot. Wants grass in a big way today. Hasn't had much appetite for weeks. Refuses to eat his prescription (W-D) food. His stomach was gurgling the day before he saw the vet so I don't think his meds are the cause of today's stomach sounds and diarrhea, but who knows. His vision is going. Fell down the stairs today and also slid and fell on a slippery icy sidewalk. Always struggles up and down stairs. He leaked urine in his sleep several times a few weeks ago but to my knowledge has not leaked urine lately. He takes soloxine for hypothyroidism. I'm sure I am leaving out a health issue or two.

 

Maybe the bile is about an empty and/or upset stomach. Maybe the diarrhea is, as usual, related to an altered diet (not enough W-D). Maybe this is all normal for an elder dog. Or maybe it's something serious.

 

Thoughts anyone? I sure would appreciate the input.

 

Bob

[tbhounds]

Wow, poor fello. First I have to wonder why you would prefer to leave rotting teeth in his mouth--they do SO much better after those nasties are pulled. Is it a financial decision or are you hesitant to go forward because of your fear of anesthesia?

Also, I have to wonder if he needs his anal glands expressed. If they are full or impacted that could explain why he would be "leaking" and why he would be trying to lick "back there" creating a sore.

The bile your seeing is mostly likely from an empty tummy. If he needs to continue with the W/D maybe you could mix some boiled chicken with it. At 13 yrs of age--I would spoil him a bit!

[turbotaina]

To add to tbhounds, LS can also cause incontinence and it's likely the reason he's struggling with stairs. Lack of appetite may well be due to his dental condition.

 

What I would do: the dental and all necessary extractions (unless, as TBhounds noted there's some sort of anesthesia issue he's had before; note that most hounds, even at that age, do fine); depo-medrol shots for the LS; anal gland expression. Give him two metamucil wafers (the kind made for humans) to help with the diarrhea, fast him for a day, then put him on chicken and rice (bland diet), gradually working back in his regular food. You can also try some pepcid for his stomach. Tell your vet about the diarrhea - it may be as a result of either the rimadyl or the antibiotics he's taking.

 

Listen, dental health is SO important and poor dental health can become a systemic problem, be hard on the kidneys and the heart. If at all possible, try and get those teeth out.

 

Good luck, Bob. Hope you can get him feeling better.

 

Also, if it's a financial issue, see if your vet will work with you with a payment plan or something. There's also something called Care Credit which might be able to help you in a pinch. Good luck.

 

Sorry - one last thing - have you had a tick borne disease panel run?

[Guest Bob]

Thanks so much turbotaina and tbhounds!

 

Teeth extractions are a complicated matter for us. Financial for sure. Could be a couple thousand dollars. But other factors as well. Our vet made it sound like she'd pull almost all his teeth, and yet he still chews kibble (Trader Joes) and occasionally chomps on a bone. Anesthesia is dangerous for an old Greyhound, though I know this is some what over-stated. I just don't know what to believe. I've been misdirected a few times in the past. I'm not even 100% sure the soloxine is necessary, nor am I sure he actually has hypothyroid. One vet had him on five times as much soloxine as the next vet, and then yet another vet lowered it even more. Isn't a T-4 a T-4?

 

No, I Spec has not had a tick borne disease panel, in recent years, anyway.

 

Thanks you two. Really nice of you to chime in.

 

 

[Burpdog]

rimadyl does nothing except maybe handle some pain, and long term can adversely affect arthritic condtions. If he has stomach distress, he should not be taking it at all!

 

Why is he on W/D? Have you given supplements for arthritis/LS? Do you have a certified chiropractor and/or acupuncture vet close? (what city are you in)?

[Cynthia]

Good advice above, just a couple of additional thoughts. Could your vet address just the worst of his dental problems which might give him 6 months or a year of relief from pain? Dental issues can cause so many other problems, it would probably be the best thing you could do for him. And 'limping' may not mean LS. More typical symptoms are knuckling under of the feet, loosing control of the rear end, stumbling and difficulty getting up. If it's just limping, it could be arthritis. You can start him on glucosamine chondroitin (available OTC in any drug store or on-line) and may see some improvement in as little as a month. My older dog was very hesitant on stairs, especially in the morning when I first adopted him. He has been on G/C for almost three years now and rarely has any lameness or pain. He has some medical issues which complicate things so we skipped his dental this year and I just scheduled him for one in January; at this point infections in his mouth could just make things worse for him. I hope you can help your dog to be more comfortable, sounds like he has a very loving owner.

[Guest SillyDog]

While a t-4 is a t-4 it could be that he was started on too high a dose of soloxine. It can take a year or two to find the right dosage.

Vets make an educated guess at first and then use follow up tests to see if adjustments are needed. I personally have hypothyroidism and end up getting my meds tweaked every couple of years.

 

As for the other stuff? Go with what Burbdog says!

[turbotaina]

Yes to Cynthia's and Burpdog's advice. You may get some real results from acupuncture or chiropracty. I've had both done on my dog so I don't hesitate to recommend.

 

[grey14me]

oh, that poor baby!

 

he could have anal gland issues...they may need to be expressed. and him licking there could be making his stomach upset as well.

 

there are a lot of simple things you can do to help him. you could give him a pepcid, regular 10mg (famotidine is the store brand name, which may be cheaper). you really need to prevent him from falling down the stairs...he can seriously hurt himself and that may be part of his back end issues...he may have fallen when you weren't there and you don't even know. anyway, gate off the stairs whenever you're not there and accompany him up or down them when you are. get him some snow boots so he doesn't slip as easily outside. there should be throw rugs on any hardwood floors or slippery tile floors in the rooms that he visits.

 

and to be honest, the thing that will probably help him most is getting those nasty teeth out. the fact that he still eats with them isn't really an indication that they aren't bothering him...I mean, he needs to eat to live. you may do painful things when the choice is life or death. anesthesia is risk at any age, but at his age, infection from rotten teeth can easily be fatal.

 

 

[NeylasMom]

Bob,

 

Where are you located? There's a dental clinic in Philly that does dentals at a lower cost, and they are very experienced with greyhounds and anesthesia. There may be others nearer to you that other members could mention if you let us know where you live.

 

I can't recommend enough what others have suggested, get those teeth taken care of. Dental disease that is that severe can cause systemic problems like Turbotania mentioned. If you want some info on the extent of the problems it can cause, check out Tom Lonsdale's book. It's also likely why your pup is having trouble eating, which could be leading to the stomach upset and bile. On that note, have you tried soaking his kibble in a good amount of water for a half an hour or so before feeding? This will soften the food up and may allow him to eat.

 

A vet visit to have the anal glands checked is also a good idea. I would also take him off the thyroid meds if you really doubt he's hypothyroid, wait the designated amt of time (I think it's 2 weeks or so) and then have a full panel done through MSU. It will run you about $100 plus what your vet charges for the blood draw, but it will allow you to see if he's truly hypothyroid or not.

 

Good luck.