15 Month Old Greyhound Is Very Sick`~update Post #99

[Guest 2Brindles]

The new tick panel results aren't back yet.

 

The urinalysis, liver panel, and heartworm filter tests all came back negative. Her CK (creatinine kinase) level was normal.

 

The bad news: The Angell vets looked at her x-rays again after we left, when they had more time. The x-ray of her wrist is a little over-exposed, but they think there is mild erosion there.

 

Becky's diagnosis now is erosive polyarthritis. Her prognosis depends on whether or not she responds to prednisone, which is being started today.

 

Please keep Becky in your thoughts.

 

 

 

 

~Lindsay~

And if she doesn't respond to prednisone....?

 

What is the prognosis for erosive polyarthritis?

[Guest LindsaySF]

And if she doesn't respond to prednisone....?

I believe they would try another immuno-suppressive drug, maybe Imuran. She is on doxycycline and clindamycin along with the pred right now, in case something infectious was missed. If she gets worse they have some blood saved in the lab that they are going to test for Leishmaniasis and Hepatozoonosis.

 

 

What is the prognosis for erosive polyarthritis?

I'm not sure how it differs from non-erosive IMPA. I hope the pred would stop the progression of the disease, and stop the erosion? But I'm not sure.

 

 

Today's update from Becky's foster mom: She had her first prednisone pill this morning and she is already responding! She got up on her own a few times today, and she rarely does that. She is drinking more water and had an accident in her ex-pen, but she is moving around a little better than she has been. Her appetite is still so-so, and the abcess on her rear seems to be filling up again. But her mobility has improved a bit.

 

 

 

 

~Lindsay~

[Guest BillF]

Bad news from the Annabel front.

 

She lost her fight early this morning. She was slow to eat Sunday, but did eat a little. She wouldn't eat Monday morning. I left her food out for her but she hadn't touched it when I got home from work. I called the vet - they said to try and entice her to eat and to bring her in in the morning for blood work.

 

Normally when she would get worse the joint swelling and fever would return. They didn't this time so it didn't feel like an emergency.

 

I got her to eat some cheap canned dog food with beef broth Monday night. Tuesday morning I found that she had thrown up her dinner sometime in the night. She was able to walk out in the backyard and squat to urinate. I was getting myself something to eat before getting ready to take her in and I heard her fall in the den. She was partially down, sitting oddly on one leg. I stood her up and she had trouble keeping her balance and couldn't walk. I put her in the car and took her to the emergency vet. She was able to walk a little after resting in the car, but then started to veer to the right while we were walking in, so I had to carry her into the clinic. Temp was still normal, still no swelling.

 

They did blood work that morning. It showed abnormal levels in the chemistry controlled by the liver. She also had jaundice (sp?), and the blood was slow to clot after they drew the blood. None of these things were on the previous blood work.

 

They did an ultrasound and found that her liver and spleen were enlarged, but didn't detect any mass or tumor. They drew fluid from the two organs and were going to start testing today. They expected to have results by mid-afternoon. Their internal med specialist said he suspected an auto-immune illness or cancer. He thought if it was auto-immune there was a good chance of treatment, but he was leaning toward the cancer diagnosis.

 

The vet called me at 4am this morning. The staff called him and reported she was having seizures and vomiting. He wanted to know if I wanted to try any heroic measures. I told him no. He was going in to check on her and then he was going to call other vets in the practice to consult. I got dressed and went in. My girlfriend came in also.

 

We got to spend about an hour with her. Dr Milton stayed in there with us and we talked about a lot of things. Her heart rate was around 200, and she was panting. He said they had medicated her and started another round of blood work. At this point I was thinking this was the end. But we agreed that after all we had been through we could give her a few more hours to see what the test results said. The blood work came back and just showed more things out of the normal range, mostly indicating liver issues. The inside of her mouth and eyes were yellow.

 

We agreed to wait through the day to see of we got anything from the organ fluids. Lisa and I left around 6am. Dr Milton called around 6:45 and said she had peacefully passed away.

 

We went back up there tonight and took the staff some cookies and thanked them for everything they did. We got to talk to Dr Milton for a few minutes. He said he had never seen a case like this before. He and the internal med vet were going to go back through everything and get the test results from the organ fluids. We could tell he was upset he couldn't help her.

 

It's been a long day and a tough morning. Lisa and I went out to eat tonight, dropped by the clinic, then spent the rest of the evening on the couch with her three labs.

 

My feelings are all over the place. Mainly I'm glad she isn't hurting anymore. We got her in March, she got sick in June, and stayed sick until the end. She did have some good days in there when the antibiotics and pain meds were just right. I wish she had had a longer retirement. But I think she enjoyed the one she had. She certainly enjoyed supervising the retrievers.

 

I'm sure I'll adopt again. It may be a month or two. But right now it's late and I'm going to bed.

 

I hope Becky is doing well.

 

Bill

[Charlies_Dad]

Bill,

 

I am very sorry to hear about Annabel. She was far too young and even though she had a strong spirit, her body was not co-operating.

 

Run free sweet Annabel, run free...

 

My thoughts are with Becky now, I hope she continues to improve. Please let us keep one...they are both too young.

Edited September 18, 2008 by Charlies_Dad

[robinw]

Bill, I'm so very sorry

Edited September 18, 2008 by robinw

[Guest LindsaySF]

I'm so sorry Bill. RIP sweet Annabel.

[seeh2o]

I've been following your thread, I didn't expect to read this today. I am so sorry. She was loved and she knew it, that matters most of all.

[greypuppyluv]

I'm so sorry about Annabel. I really hoped she would get better and didn't expect to read this.

[Guest BillF]

I got a call last night from one of Annabel's vets. They worked her final tests because they wanted to understand what happened. He spoke to the pathologists at Auburn. They said the slides from Annabel's spleen and liver were "very busy". Lots of different cell types. They did not suggest lymphoma. His best diagnosis from that, and from reviewing previous tests, was that this was some type of pre-leukemia or other cancer, possibly involving bone marrow. This is consistent with her final weeks - in that they are sick for a while, then crash in a few hours.

 

He said in these cases there isn't a chance for success, and that I shouldn't feel that if I did something differently she would still be here. That helped a lot.

 

We are doing fine. I'm glad her suffering is over. The only thing I can't shake is that she really got screwed on the retirement deal. She was just getting used to the couch life when she got sick.

 

I live in Birmingham. We have a dog track and adoption kennel here in town. I'm sure I'll be out there in a couple of weeks. But I just need to decompress right now. It's really been draining - wondering what would happen with this each day. Lisa and I are just dog people and we've developed a fondness for Greyhounds. It'll be nice to have another around.

 

Thanks for all the kind words.

Bill

[Guest SoulsMom]

Oh no. I've been following this, I'm so saddened to here this outcome. Godspeed sweet girl

[patricia]

I am so sorry. Godspeed sweet baby Angel.

[Guest trevdog]

Oh, I'm so sorry to read this......you did all you could for her and she knows it.....

 

Sending you some hugs...

Edited September 19, 2008 by trevdog

[Guest vahoundlover]

I've been following but haven't been posting. My heart goes out to you, you did everything you could.

 

 

Godspeed Sweetheart

 

[Guest crazy4greys]

In reading some of the sympathy posts, it seems to me like some of you are thinking that Becky passed away or am I reading them wrong?

 

Annabel unfortunately passed away , not Becky, the 15 month old greyhound.

 

Bill was posting here too about his greyhound, Annabel being sick.

Edited September 20, 2008 by crazy4greys

[Guest argolola]

In reading the sympathy posts, it seems to me like some of you are thinking that Becky passed away or am I reading them wrong?

 

Annabel unfortunately passed away , not Becky, the 15 month old greyhound.

 

Bill was posting here too about his greyhound, Annabel being sick.

How is sweet Becky today? I keep thinking of her.

[Guest crazy4greys]

She is doing better. She is responding well to the Prednisone. Her foster mom tried keeping her in the x-pen as it is easier to help her out if needed, but Becky whined and cried until she got her crate back

 

We are trying to get her to put on weight. I talked to her foster mom about trying raw to see if that helps. Right now she is on a combination of Precise Plus (all natural, no wheat, gluten, soy) kibble and wet canned food, with hot tap water and EVERYTHING is sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, her favorite! The canned food is good quality, Merrick, Evo & Wellness for puppy (higher calorie). She seems to like the Merrick Turducken & the Thanksgiving flavors. For Evo, she likes the flavors of chicken & turkey, the rabbit, and the duck. She also likes shredded chicken.'

 

She will not be attending our groups picnic tomorrow. It will be too much for her.

 

Thanks for the continuing thoughts and prayers.

[Guest Carla]

So glad to hear she is doing better!!!!

 

I hope she gets stronger and feels better each and every second.

 

Edited September 20, 2008 by Carla

[Guest LindsaySF]

Her foster mom tried keeping her in the x-pen as it is easier to help her out if needed, but Becky whined and cried until she got her crate back

That sounds like Becky! Demanding little thing.

 

 

We are trying to get her to put on weight. I talked to her foster mom about trying raw to see if that helps.

I would advise against this. I think Becky is too immunocompromised to handle any raw meat.

 

 

 

 

[2hounds]

She is doing better. She is responding well to the Prednisone. Her foster mom tried keeping her in the x-pen as it is easier to help her out if needed, but Becky whined and cried until she got her crate back

 

We are trying to get her to put on weight. I talked to her foster mom about trying raw to see if that helps. Right now she is on a combination of Precise Plus (all natural, no wheat, gluten, soy) kibble and wet canned food, with hot tap water and EVERYTHING is sprinkled with Parmesan cheese, her favorite! The canned food is good quality, Merrick, Evo & Wellness for puppy (higher calorie). She seems to like the Merrick Turducken & the Thanksgiving flavors. For Evo, she likes the flavors of chicken & turkey, the rabbit, and the duck. She also likes shredded chicken.'

 

She will not be attending our groups picnic tomorrow. It will be too much for her.

 

Thanks for the continuing thoughts and prayers.

 

I am relieved to hear she is responding to the pred! It is still doing a great job of controlling Mia's polyarthritis.

 

And TRUST ME, the pred will take care of putting weight back on her. Mia had lost 10 lbs and weighed 48 at her lowest and then when she started putting the weight back on, she actually gained too much and had to go on a diet, much to her dismay!

[Guest Carla]

Wondering how Becky is doing.

[Guest LindsaySF]

Thank you for asking.

 

Becky started prednisone on Wednesday (9/17). She has been eating better and getting up on her own more often. She still won't do the patio stairs, and she refuses to use the ramp her foster dad lovingly built for her. But she did a little "trot" in the yard.

 

She has been drinking a lot more water, so she's had several accidents, and needs to go outside a couple of times a night. But her mobility has improved!

 

Alisha, it looks like Becky's appetite has improved. Did you experience any muscle wasting with Mia? Becky's foster mom had a Greyhound that lost a lot of muscle mass when she was on prednisone, and we are worried about that because poor Becky has none to spare.

 

 

 

 

~Lindsay~

[Guest argolola]

Keep on eating, sweetheart.

[Guest paulamariez]

I am so sorry about Annabel, it's so very sad and so fast she went. But I'm glad to hear that Becky is responding to her treatment. I will keep her tender heart in my prayers for a complete healing. Sending more love and light to Becky.

[Guest 2Brindles]

Thank you for asking.

 

Becky started prednisone on Wednesday (9/17). She has been eating better and getting up on her own more often. She still won't do the patio stairs, and she refuses to use the ramp her foster dad lovingly built for her. But she did a little "trot" in the yard.

 

She has been drinking a lot more water, so she's had several accidents, and needs to go outside a couple of times a night. But her mobility has improved!

 

Alisha, it looks like Becky's appetite has improved. Did you experience any muscle wasting with Mia? Becky's foster mom had a Greyhound that lost a lot of muscle mass when she was on prednisone, and we are worried about that because poor Becky has none to spare.

 

 

 

 

~Lindsay~

 

How is Becky now?

 

[Guest LindsaySF]

Here is the latest update from Becky's foster mom:

 

All of Becky’s lab work and titers are in, everything is negative. I’m to continue w/Doxycycline & Clindamycin until Dr. Carroll’s return from vacation next Wednesday. She can go on short, slow walks if she’s up to it. Her appetite has been good, and her abscess is gone. Her flexibility and ease of movement have decreased a bit since the taper on Wednesday ~ although it didn’t stop her from trying to chase a squirrel in the back yard yesterday. She happened to spy it while standing at the railing, and she seemed confused that the railing didn’t move when she stuck her head thru the slats! Once I removed her head (thankfully her shoulders wouldn’t fit ~ picture a baby in a crib that isn’t ‘up to code’!) she trotted down the ramp as quick as her little legs would carry her. Naturally the squirrel was gone when she got there. Darn squirrel!

 

I am hoping that Becky will be at training tonight. If she's up to it!

 

 

 

 

~Lindsay~