Now We Know What's Wrong W/ Jackson

[grey14me]

I think Dr. Couto would consult on anything...it's certainly worth a try. How very bizarre and scary for you I am really, really hoping Jackson is okay :hope

[HopeForHounds]

Dr Couto is away, but use the link in my siggy and contact the Greyhound Health and Wellness Team. They will consult, probably want you to have the x-rays etc sent up. Definitly worth it IMO

[Guest greytkidsmom]

Dr Couto is away, but use the link in my siggy and contact the Greyhound Health and Wellness Team. They will consult, probably want you to have the x-rays etc sent up. Definitly worth it IMO

 

What she said. Time to get the "Dr. House" of greyhounds on the case. Fingers crossed that Jackson stays stable while they sort him out.

 

[JerseyGirlInOz]

back from the vet. if there's improvement, it's very slight. the vet reviewed yesterday's films with the head vet at the clinic, and he thinks it's a pneumothorax (collapsed lung). the biig question still remains -- why? it's something they'd expect to see if he had sustained major trauma, like being HBC. I asked for a barium contrast on the xrays - didn't show any leaks. so we've ruled that out. we're going to do panacur, just in case he had some strange parasite (the only way to test for them is invasive and requires going into the lungs, which i'm not interested in doing). I'll keep him on the tramadol as needed, keep him quiet, and take him back for a recheck in 2 weeks, assuming he's not getting any worse. if he does get worse, then we'll have to talk about aspirating some of the air w/ a syringe, which can have bad outcomes.

 

Mokkah suffered a spontaneous pneumothorax when he was about 18 months old and training to race. He was monitored to see of the hole would close up by itself, but it didn't---he did end up having emergency surgery to repair it.

 

They biopsied the lung and came up with nothing---they still don't know why or how it happened, or if it would happen again---but if it's any comfort to you, he's now over 4 years old and in perfect health.

 

If you want to get advice from vets who have experience in treating this condition, I'd be happy to give you the names and phone numbers of the vets here who treated him.

 

[Guest KyGrey]

Sending more prayers to my buddy Jackson.

[Guest greytful4]

Sending best wishes and lots of prayers for your boy !

[krissn333]

Just saw this now - how scary! I hope you can find some answers or at the very least that Jackson will be feeling better. I'm sure you'd love to have some answers but will settle for a mystery occurrence as long as he gets better.

 

[seeh2o]

do you think this is something that Dr Couto would consult on? is it worth giving him a call?

 

In desperation over Carl's eye condition I emailed OSU's greyhound Health & Wellness Program. I had a response within hours from Dr. Vilar, they were very happy to consult with the me and the ophthalmologist. There was never any concern that his eye problem had anything to do with cancer. If I were you I would absolutely contact them - ASAP. You just never know what they've seen and treated over the years....things that aren't related to cancer. Here's the email: couto.1@osu.edu

 

I hope you can get to the bottom of this soon and get your boy back up to speed. Gentle hugs from SoCal.

Edited April 18, 2009 by ckruzan

[ahicks51]

Spontaneous pneumothorax is surprisingly common in young adults. The typical patient is tall, lanky, and skinny- and the event is frequently associated with exertion, with the precise moment known to them ("I felt this pop in my chest..."). Decompression in the field (McSwain dart or similar) is straightforward, but until something plugs up the breech in the lung, it's a temporary fix.

 

Hopefully Jackson's is small and will resolve on its own!

[marion]

Many good vibs coming Jackson's way from Spain...still hoping it's nothing serious.

[Bevd]

Best wishes being sent from across the pond

[Guest IrskasMom]

 

 

Sending more Hugs and more Prayers for Jackson

[Burpdog]

do you think this is something that Dr Couto would consult on? is it worth giving him a call? i'm going to check w/ our regular vet tomorrow morning, just to see if he has any ideas. the vet who saw him last night and tonight is stumped....but appreciates my willingness to test and try different things. (as though i have a choice, really?)

 

He is in Spain but his staff is there.

 

Any chance it could be lung flukes? Where did he race and come from?

[RaineysMom]

oh no :( :(

 

sending many prayers for Jackson!!!! :hope :hope

[Guest TexasGreytMom]

Hugs to Jackson from Dora and Shelby!

[VinnieAndRexsMom]

Hugs to you and Jackson.

I know you are worried.

[Guest BoogieDown]

We are sending hugs and good thoughts out to all of you.

[Guest VelvetEars]

Spontaneous pneumothorax is surprisingly common in young adults. The typical patient is tall, lanky, and skinny- and the event is frequently associated with exertion, with the precise moment known to them ("I felt this pop in my chest..."). Decompression in the field (McSwain dart or similar) is straightforward, but until something plugs up the breech in the lung, it's a temporary fix.

 

Hopefully Jackson's is small and will resolve on its own!

 

spontaneous pneumothorax actually runs in my family. brother...mom...uncle.... all tall, lanky, etc., although it has hit even my mom in her 50s. when i mentioned this to the vet (because he *is* tall, lanky, and thin!), she'd never heard of people being genetically predisposed.

 

He does do zoomies around the yard almost every day, and more so now that Jumpy will chase him and egg him on. So it's possible that he did it during one of his laps.

 

I left a msg for our regular vet (diff practice than where he's been seen so far). They're older and have a lot of experience - I'm hoping they may have some ideas. I also wonder how long it can take to resolve.

 

 

Any chance it could be lung flukes? Where did he race and come from?

 

He's my I-went-undercover-at-the-Humane Soc dog....seized from a hoarder....probably an oops puppy, as he has no tats. So we don't even know how old he is, which always adds an interesting element to the conversation. All I can say is he's older than he was when I brought him home.

 

We talked about lung flukes. But they're more common in places like the NW, if he'd been wading in a stream and eating salmon. So unless he's been on vacation w/o telling me.... Will the panacur help w/ lung flukes if that's what it is, though?

Edited April 18, 2009 by VelvetEars

[Burpdog]

I thought I read some time ago about southern dog with flukes but I could be wrong. Wish I could remember.....

 

Paragonimus kellicotti and P westermani usually are found in cysts, primarily in the lungs of dogs, cats, and several other domestic and wild animals. They also have been found rarely in other viscera or the brain. Infection is most common in China, southeast Asia, and North America. P westermani is a parasite of humans and other animals in China and other countries in the Far East.

The adults are fleshy, reddish brown, oval, and ~14 × 7 mm. The eggs are golden brown, oval, distinctly operculated, and ~100 × 60 µm. The eggs pass through the cyst wall, are coughed up, swallowed, and passed in the feces. The life cycle includes several snails as the first intermediate host and crayfish or crabs as the second. Dogs and cats become infected by eating raw crayfish or crabs that contain the encysted cercariae. After penetrating the intestinal wall and wandering in the peritoneal cavity, the young flukes pass through the diaphragm to the lungs where they become established.

 

Infected animals may have a chronic, deep, intermittent cough and eventually become weak and lethargic, although many infections pass unnoticed. Finding the characteristic eggs in feces or sputum is diagnostic. The location in the lungs is ascertained by radiography. Aberrant infections can be identified serologically.

 

Apparently they do show up in a fecal.

 

Since he didn't race, I doubt that is it. An untreated hook worm infestation can do damage to the lungs, and round worms also. Not sure about whip.

[Guest LolasMom]

No knowledge of lung flukes here. But lots and lots of well wishes for and easy fix with Panacur coming your way.

[Guest KyGrey]

Checking in on Jackson...

 

[Guest VelvetEars]

Talked to one of the vets at our regular practice. He said basically do what we're doing for now, although if he's not improving over the next few weeks, or gets worse, that we may want to consider a specialist visit and an ultrasound.

 

So....... I think we need all the prayers and white light you can muster. I've seen the power of GT work before...surely y'all can heal a pesky old pneumothorax, right?

[Guest KyGrey]

Sending lots and lots of prayers. How is he today? Has he found a way to get comfortable?

[Guest VelvetEars]

he seems about the same. he's got to be tired of laying on his stomach. he's tried being on the couch w/ me, but gets up/off right away and goes back to the floor. i offered him more canned food this afternoon, and he walked away. i think the cats ate it. (he ate some this morning, but 2/3 of a can isn't enough to fill him up, i don't think.)

[MandysMom]

Sending prayers that Jackson will feel better soon.