Osteo Thread

[greysmom]

That's awesome Kyle! Charlie is so lucky!

 

Dude will get some of those - now he's doing salmon oil and glucosamine/chondro, and a yucca infusion for inflammation. Do you do butric acid with the artemesinin?

 

The massuese for Dude is coming to our house! Dude will be in heaven! This will start a week from Weds due to scheduling. Plus she said after she evaluates him, she will teach me some easy things to do for him myself. We're going to hold off on the swimming until after we start the metronomic protocol and see how he does.

[Charlies_Dad]

That's awesome Kyle! Charlie is so lucky!

 

Dude will get some of those - now he's doing salmon oil and glucosamine/chondro, and a yucca infusion for inflammation. Do you do butric acid with the artemesinin?

 

The massuese for Dude is coming to our house! Dude will be in heaven! This will start a week from Weds due to scheduling. Plus she said after she evaluates him, she will teach me some easy things to do for him myself. We're going to hold off on the swimming until after we start the metronomic protocol and see how he does.

 

Chris, no we do not give butric acid with the artemisinin. We give it with his cottage cheese, flax oil and flax seed. I know there are a few combinations you can do with it though.

 

Dude's getting a massueue! What else could a boy want!!!

[krissn333]

That's awesome that someone will come to the house for Dude! He is going to LOVE that!

[greysmom]

Dude passed his blood test for WBC!

 

It was back to nearly normal after being low last week! His at-home chemo will be sent to us sometime next week and we'll start the metronomic protocol.

 

I hope no news is good news, since this thread had slipped back a page or two.

 

Hugs to all!

[Charlies_Dad]

Way to go Dude!!! Charlie says to keep on rockin or whatever you pirates do!

 

All is well here. Charlie is just finishing up his Tramadol and has been on leash walks around the backyard only....in the rain every day. We finally had sun yesterday afternoon after another week of rain and it was great to see as this spring has been awful. Today we go in for Shelby's exam about her possible LP. We may try meds initially to treat her prior to moving forward with surgery as it's always dicey on an older pup and she has been under twice in the last year for dental issues. We don't want to push our luck however we also know she loves to run in the backyard and don't wish to deprive her of that either.

[EllenEveBaz]

Way to go, Dude!

 

And best wishes for all the other pups, including Shelby.

[Guest Shermanator]

Dear Osteo,

I hate you. Its almost been only 10 months since you took both my babies Sherman and Patton. You suck, they were only 8 &9 years old. They were too young, I wanted to bask in the glory of my sweet senior boys. But no, you took them. I miss them every day.

I met a darling 9 year old little girlie greyhound today. She was black like Sherman, and had the same soft, fuzzy, snuggly coat you had. I almost cried, I miss that snuggly coat. Osteo, I hate you for taking all these darling babies from us. Sherman and Patton were too young, they were in the prime of their lives. Osteo can suck it.

[Zoolady]

Dear Osteo,

I hate you. Its almost been only 10 months since you took both my babies Sherman and Patton. You suck, they were only 8 &9 years old. They were too young, I wanted to bask in the glory of my sweet senior boys. But no, you took them. I miss them every day.

I met a darling 9 year old little girlie greyhound today. She was black like Sherman, and had the same soft, fuzzy, snuggly coat you had. I almost cried, I miss that snuggly coat. Osteo, I hate you for taking all these darling babies from us. Sherman and Patton were too young, they were in the prime of their lives. Osteo can suck it.

 

 

Amen. You said it all. It's always too soon. Thank you.

[Guest juliagulia630]

[Guest juliagulia630]

Wanted to share a photo from today's spoiling. Took James' running/swimming and I can't get over how well he is still able to run. He has no idea there is anything missing!

Edited May 22, 2011 by juliagulia630

[greysmom]

Hugs for you and James! Glad he's still enjoying himself immensly!

[Charlies_Dad]

I am glad James is still happy and able to run around! What a cutie.

[NeylasMom]

Dear Osteo,

I hate you. Its almost been only 10 months since you took both my babies Sherman and Patton. You suck, they were only 8 &9 years old. They were too young, I wanted to bask in the glory of my sweet senior boys. But no, you took them. I miss them every day.

I met a darling 9 year old little girlie greyhound today. She was black like Sherman, and had the same soft, fuzzy, snuggly coat you had. I almost cried, I miss that snuggly coat. Osteo, I hate you for taking all these darling babies from us. Sherman and Patton were too young, they were in the prime of their lives. Osteo can suck it.

 

You said it!

 

 

Julia, love the James photo.

[RedFawnMom]

I've been meaning to stop in and post our recent good news (Lucy's 3-month post-op chest X-ray was on Friday and it was CLEAR!!!!!), but unfortunately I'm popping in because I'm worried and wondering if anyone has any insight.

 

Lucy wasn't able to get her fifth chemo (Carboplatin) on Friday because her WBC was too low (700), so we were sent home with AB's and my husband took her back today. Her count had gone up to 2,000 so the oncologist was comfortable treating, but wanted to cut the dose down even further (her initial dose at chemo #1 was 300 mg, today it was 230mg). The rest of her bloodwork was ok. Platelets were a bit low, but not dangerously so.

 

I got home from work about an hour after my husband and Lucy got home and as soon as I walked in the door I knew something was off. She was just acting weird - moving very slowly, seemed sort of dazed, almost staggering. I walked in the door, gave her a pet and then walked into the other room - she would usually follow me, but today she just stood there. My husband said he didn't notice anything earlier. I sat with her a few minutes and noticed that she was trembling and a muscle in her abdomen was sort of spasming and she seemed weak.

 

So I call the oncologist, and she can't think of any reason why this would be, especially because Lucy hasn't had any side effects the other four times she's had chemo. The only thing she could think is that maybe she was stressed out (which would be unusual for Lucy, she usually loves going to the vet, but my husband did say she seemed stressed today...figures, the ONLY visit I've ever not gone ). She said to give the Cerenia and take her to the ER if she gets weaker or vomits or has diarrhea. The only thing she could think of is that maybe there was a blood clot causing stroke-like symptoms, but she didn't think that was likely.

 

So it's been about 2 hours. She did vomit once, but it was immediately after she'd had a bunch of water, and my husband lifted her up under her belly because she wouldn't jump back onto the deck, so I'm not sure that counts, though there was grass in the vomit. She's still trembling a little but has been sleeping for the past 45 mins so it's hard to tell. She'll take treats if you offer them, though she eats them much more slowly than she usually would.

 

Has anyone else ever seen something similar from their pup so soon after chemo? I guess it's possible that this is all just nausea from the chemo, but I'm skeptical because this is the smallest dose she's ever had and the only time she's shown signs of nausea, and I'm not sure that the staggering/trembling is just nausea. Also, the symptoms started only 4 hours after getting the chemo. I'm really worried, but I don't want to load her back into the car and off to another vet if she was already stressed, if this will pass.

[Batmom]

Is she still on antibiotics? Could she have a seriously upset tummy from those?

 

Sending lots of gentle scritchies and prayers.

[RedFawnMom]

Is she still on antibiotics? Could she have a seriously upset tummy from those?

 

Sending lots of gentle scritchies and prayers.

Yes, still on the Amoxicillin. But she's been on it several times before and has never had any tummy upset from it.

[greysmom]

Has she/will she eat her regular food at all? How about drinking? Is she going to the bathroom? What does the IV site look like?

 

It might be realated to the chemo but maybe not. This hasn't happened to us, but with chemo you can't tell how it will hit them all the time. I hope she feels better soon, poor baby.

 

Please let us know how she does! Hugs

[Charlies_Dad]

Jess,

 

We did not see those exact symptoms but Charlie did after the 4th & 5th chemo get very tired and his stomach would be upset. Perhaps Lucy was stressed more at yesterday's vet visit because you were not there? As for the vomit, it sounds like the pressure on her tummy from lifting her likely caused that. I hope she is doing better today, please keep us updated. Greyt news about the clear x-rays!!!

[robinw]

I'm sorry to say that it looks like Phene and I have just joined this club

[robinw]

OK, so what do I do now? Does a needle aspirate hurt? Does it give a definitive diagnosis? How much do I protect Phene? Should I still let him out with Treasure? I'm sorry; I'm still kind of in shock.

[KF_in_Georgia]

OK, so what do I do now? Does a needle aspirate hurt? Does it give a definitive diagnosis? How much do I protect Phene? Should I still let him out with Treasure? I'm sorry; I'm still kind of in shock.

 

Oh, hell, Robin. I'm so sorry to hear this.

 

I haven't been down this road (I lost Oreo to a broken leg topped w/surgical complications--probably cancer, but we'll never know). From what I remember reading around here, though, a needle aspirate only gives a definitive diagnosis if they aspirate the right cells. Off just a bit, and they might get a false negative. (Apparently, there's no such thing as a false positive.)

 

Contact Dr Couto with whatever info you have? I think the very first post in this thread has contact info. If you have x-rays, OSU might be certain enough that the aspirate would be unnecessary.

 

Did the vet discuss how Phene's bone looked on film?

 

ETA: I'm sure others will be along with more info once the East Coast folks get home from work. Did the vet do chest x-rays on Phene? Knowing how far the cancer has spread will impact the treatment you choose. Again, I'm so sorry to read this.

 

Sorry, I just caught up with the other thread. I'll let folks with more experience pick up here. I'm so sorry you've gotten such bad news.

Edited May 24, 2011 by KF_in_Georgia

[NeylasMom]

Robin, I'm so bummed you're joining us. I really thought Phene was going to escape this nasty disease.

 

Did Dr. Couto respond to you via email or phone? If email, just send him a quick note back and ask how confident he is of the diagnosis. I did that when he emailed me telling Neyla had osteo and he responded that he had a high degree of confidence. If he says he is confident, I would trust his diagnosis personally. There's not too much harm/risk in doing the FNA if Phene doesn't mind the vet, except that you could get a false negative.

 

A lot of really depends on what you might consider doing as well - are you considering amputation? If not, would having a definitive diagnosis change your treatment plan?

 

Also ask Dr. C had far progressed he thinks the cancer is. If it's early, like it was for Neyla, then I think you can continue to let him do his usual stuff. I decided not to let Neyla off lead in fenced areas in case she took off running, but I don't have a yard. I did let her do her zoomies in our condo until she couldn't anymore though because it was one of the things she loved so much.

 

I hope you've caught it early and that you have many many months left together. We're here to answer questions and offer support anytime. Lots of good info and links in the first post of this thread too if you're not too certain about treatment or pain management options. Hang in there.

 

ETA: I also built a couple of sets of steps so that Neyla could continue to get on and off of the furniture without having to jump, one for my bed and one for my couch (a single large step). Since the cancer was in her front shoulder, I was concerned that the impact of jumping down off of something might cause a fracture. Not sure how much of a concern this will be for you - which leg/where is Phene's?

Edited May 24, 2011 by NeylasMom

[Batmom]

OK, so what do I do now? Does a needle aspirate hurt? Does it give a definitive diagnosis? How much do I protect Phene? Should I still let him out with Treasure? I'm sorry; I'm still kind of in shock.

 

As others noted, needle aspirate might give a definitive diagnosis and might not. It's quick and easy for the dog, probably hurts @ like a rabies shot during and not much after. The procedure itself should be quite cheap; the $ part will be the biopsy of the aspirated material.

 

How much you protect him really depends on him, Treasure, and how compromised the bone appears to be at this time.

 

I meant to protect Batman (different cancer of course) and then not long after diagnosis, he went on a mad rabbit chase in the back yard, in pitch dark. When it was over I thought he would have a heart attack but he was so fired up, so "Batman" that I never did have the heart to restrict him. What he wanted to do, I let him do.

[robinw]

I just received an email from my vet saying that he trusts Dr. Couto's findings and that if I don't want to put Phene through the FNA, he'd support my decision. Also, the chiro just dismissed him from treatment as the only area with tightness is that rear right thigh.

 

Jen, I will email Dr. C now with your suggested questions. Thanks.

 

ETA: I would do palliative care.

 

Damn, as much as I like everybody here, this is so not a club that I wanted to belong to

Edited May 24, 2011 by robinw

[greysmom]

Not that we won't and don't welcome you here, Robin, but I really wish you weren't.

 

Some here are still in active treatment, some are doing palliative care, some are just helping the rest with moral support. You can ask whatever you need to and rant whenever you want to. We'll be here for you. Please give a kiss to Phene!