Guest LokisMom Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 (edited) Our Tally is 6 years old. She will be 7 in July. She hasn't been herself for awhile and the vet thinks she has arthritis. I guess I am reluctant to begin medicating her for arthritis at her age and then have her be stuck on meds for the rest of her life which hopefully will be another 7-8 years. I don't know much about the meds but it seems like it's not good to be on most medications for that long. So what would you do? Start her on steroids and/or pain meds? Only give them to her when it seems like it is particularly bad? Get a second opinion? We trust our vet, I guess I just wondered if anyone has any experience with this in a relatively young dog. Our 10 year old doesn't even have arthritis so bad it requires medication Edited: I tried to fix the title to say "in" not "is." That makes the question mean a whole different thing eh? Edited January 17, 2009 by LokisMom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burpdog Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 I'd do a TBD panel first. Quote Diane & The Senior Gang Burpdog Biscuits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LokisMom Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 I'd do a TBD panel first. Is that more specific than just blood work? I know according to dbf they are doing "blood" testing to make sure it is not something else but he doesn't know any more than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4greyhounds Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 I agree with Burpdog! TBD PANEL! Quote Darlene Mom to: Aladdin, Sophie ,Pongo, Jasmine, Relic Forever in our Hearts Champ at the Rainbow Bridge. Let a greyhound race into your heart Adopt Bay Area Greyhound Adoptions INC. Naples/ Fort Myers Chapter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShantisMom Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Shanti was diagnosed with it at age 2. Then we found out she has Babesia and Valley Fever. Since it took us a while to find it all, the damage on her joint is probably permanent. If you have not done a TBD panel I would. It could be arthritis, but it is awful to miss something that keeps damaging rapidly. Quote The Girls Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winnie Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Our grey girl Darcy was arthritic at 6 y/o. She raced until she was 5 y/o, so it didn't surprise us. Our vet recommended Synovi G3 Soft Chews. They've done wonders for Darcy. We now give them to all 3 of our grey girls. Quote Laura with Celeste (ICU Celeste) and Galgos Beatrix and Encarna The Horse - Gracie (MD Grace E) Bridge Angels Faye Oops (Santa Fe Oops), Bonny (Bonny Drive), Darcy (D's Zipperfoot) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahicks51 Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 Shanti was diagnosed with it at age 2. Then we found out she has Babesia and Valley Fever. Good point. If the hound spent any time in the southwest, valley fever (coccidiomycosis) may be something a vet in Indiana is not familiar with. Quote Coco (Maze Cocodrillo) Minerva (Kid's Snipper) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest boondog Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 I believe Lyme (another TBD) presents as arthritis, as well. Good luck to you and your girl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreyTzu Posted January 17, 2009 Share Posted January 17, 2009 TBD panal and then consider adding Springtime Inc. supplements like Fresh Factors and Joint Health. Quote Wendy and The Whole Wherd. American by birth, Southern by choice. "Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!" ****OxyFresh Vendor ID is 180672239.**** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batmom Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 If she has specific signs like limping, arthritis would show up on an x-ray. If she doesn't have specific signs like limping, it probably isn't arthritis. You'd want to do a complete blood panel and complete physical exam first, evaluate the results, and then go on to other things (TBD test, etc.) as indicated. Quote Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in IllinoisWe miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhndz Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Could you give us more details about Tally's symptoms? Does she have lameness or signs of pain in just one extremity, or does it seem to migrate? How about: fever, lethargy, weight loss, decreased appetite, vomiting/diarrhea, swelling in a joint (s). Does an xray confirm a diagnosis of arthritis? Does Tally have a known history of an injury or fracture? Everyone is right-on about a complete tick panel being up at the top of the list. Be sure it's sent to a lab familiar with running these on greyhounds, such as Protatek or NC State Univ Tickborne Disease Lab. She should have had a CBC and profile, checking her blood counts, liver function, kidney function, etc. A urinalysis would be in order as well. Valley fever and testing for any other infectious diseases to which she'd been exposed in her lifetime would also be important, as would an autoimmune panel (ESR, ANA and canine rheumatoid factor). If there is fluid in a joint, this can be aspirated and sent for analysis and culture (not every vet is comfortable doing this, so a specialist such as an orthopaedist or internal medicine vet might be consulted). I wouldn't even think about steroids until infection of any kind, and tickborne disease, had been definitively ruled out, and certainly not until a diagnosis had been established. There are far better (and safer) treatment options available. Do you live in an area within driving distance of a veterinary teaching hospital? That might be a good place to bring Tally for another opinion if your vet isn't coming up with answers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LokisMom Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Ok Tally's symptoms are that she seems depressed. That's pretty much it, she just lays around. She won't go outside, she doesn't come over for love. She just lays there. She will get up to eat then right back to the bed. She is pottying in the house because she refuses to go outside. Sometimes she chatters her teeth so hard her whole body shakes. Tally had Xrays not long ago due to an injury and there was no sign of arthritis at that time. Tally had blood work done yesterday. Everything was normal except her white blood count was low. It was low last time she had blood drawn also so they think that is just her baseline. Her T4 was low normal but in a greyhound that's not unusual. Her lipase (a pancreatic enzyme) was high. It was 2300 this time versus 900 last time. The vet wasn't overly concerned about this because her other pancreatic enzyme was the same as last time. She did opt not to put her on pain killers until it comes back down but prescribed Previcox. They gave her an anti-nausea shot. Which I don't quite understand as she has not vomited and her poo is normal, just in the house. They also put her on a bland diet. That's it, she has a full range of motion, no limp, she is hydrated, no fever, basically nothing but extreme lethargy. She has had an issue with one leg that has been ongoing for over a year. She pulled a muscle last January, had X-rays etc at that time. Ever since she will occasionally yelp when she is running. However, she hasn't done that since fall and she is not limping. We can poke at that area with no reaction so I don't really think that is bothering her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batmom Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Has she had any meds recently? Lost/gained any weight? What is the bland diet? How low is the white count? (Greyhounds do run a bit low there.) I would certainly pursue testing -- tick panel; if that doesn't show anything, perhaps fungal disease testing, perhaps a full thyroid panel. Quote Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in IllinoisWe miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LokisMom Posted January 18, 2009 Share Posted January 18, 2009 Has she had any meds recently? Lost/gained any weight? What is the bland diet? How low is the white count? (Greyhounds do run a bit low there.) I would certainly pursue testing -- tick panel; if that doesn't show anything, perhaps fungal disease testing, perhaps a full thyroid panel. No meds other than what the vet gave her yesterday. She has not lost or gained weight. The bland diet is Science Diet ID. Dbf cannot remember what her white count was but he said it was just a tiny bit below normal. DBf is going to call the vet Tuesday and discuss a tick panel with them. (Tax season at my job so he is stuck on vet duty). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.