Stosh's Limping

[dobelvr]

Stosh began limping late yesterday evening. I checked out his legs and determined it was the right front one. I found no open areas,redness or swelling. He was still able to partially bear weight while walking around but I could see he was uncomfortable. This morning at 6AM there was some swelling around the knee joint and it was warm to touch. I had to leash him to get him to come out of his crate to go out to pee. I called the vet office as soon as it opened and scheduled a appointment for 12:30PM. The swelling was pretty significant by then, he was warm to touch and remained non weight bearing. Of course the first thing you always think of is osteo but I was trying very hard not to go there. I've been going to my vet Dr B for 20 years. We don't always see the same vet but I've never been unhappy with the vets she employs. I mention this because this is the third episode of this type that Stosh had experienced over the last 3-4 years and he has been seen by a different vet each time. He was diagnosed with Ehrlichia when he came into foster care as a 2 year old. He was treated for it more than once and continues to test positive with the snap test. My vet now does a cbc instead(I can't explain exactly why because I forget). So today he was seen by Dr B. His temp was 103.5. He was then xrayed and we all held our breath waiting for the results. So no typical osteo sunburst seen on xray. BUT. She did note a small lesion about 2cm on the outer aspect of the ulna. She couldn't say for certain what it was. Possibly a slow growing benign tumor or osteomylitis. He had been treated with doxy for at least one of the previous episodes and I thought I remembered mention of this being related to the ehrlichia or lyme. So we're standing there discussing findings and the best possible course of action when i mention he had something on a previous xray that the vet couldn't identify. So she went and retrieved the other xray and it does indeed have a similar lesion on that xray but it was the left front leg! We tested him for lyme this visit and it was negative but I must say I'm not sure a negative snap test is reliable. Anyway she decided to go with the doxy again. If it doesn't work we'll investigate further. She also gave him a shot of metacam and sent some home. If he leaves it on until tomorrow I'll get a pic of the lime green vet wrapped leg. Its huge and should glow in the dark. She felt so bad for him because he couldn't put any weight on it she wanted to try and give him some relief by supporting the leg. Their office was very busy this afternoon because of emergencies. They stayed open several hours late and didn't charge me for the neon green dressings. Anyway has anyone else experienced anything similar?

[BauersMom]

I would have the x-rays sent to OSU for a second opinion, they should be able to help identify the lesions, or at least offer a course of action to get a diagnosis.

 

https://greyhound.osu.edu/consultationservice/

[greyhead]

That sounds scary and frustrating. I hope Stosh gets relief and you get some answers.

[HopeForHounds]

Some of what you describe is very similar to what we experienced with Jake. Over a period of several years Jake had rotating leg swelling, lameness as sometimes fever. His epeisodes got closer together until both back legs were involved. He had tested neg for TBD, had joint taps, blook work etc and everyone was stumped. In the end in desperation we did a month of doxy, not at the high dose recomended but higher than normal. It made an almost immediate difference. 5 months later he had a relapse, and we did 8 weeks at the recommended dose. Jake has been symptom free for 1 2/2 years.

 

What's the dose of doxy Stosh is getting, and for how long? I would also contact OSU, and have them look at the x-rays.

[dobelvr]

Thanks for your info Foxymom. Stosh is better today. I removed the huge dressing she put on his leg. The swelling is down by at least 50%. Some of that is due to the dressing but it is staying down. Its also not as painful as it was yesterday. He's laying next to me on the sofa with his feet hanging over the edge. Mimi keeps bumping into them walking past and he's not bothered by it at all. The vet put him on 200 mg of the doxy twice daily for two weeks. Of course its too early to know for sure but he seems to be headed towards the same quick recovery as the two prior incidents. I'll have to call me vet tomorrow with an update and see about sending copies of his xrays to OSU. He has been on many different dosages of doxy over the years. Each vet has their own thoughts on the best dosage. A few times was for a month or more.