Bladder Issues

[Guest Opie_Boy]

We've had a very long weekend with Opie. I'll start by saying he's a 4 year old male with no prior health issues. Saturday night he seemed to lose all control of his bladder. He peed in the house which he has NEVER done. He did it about three times back to back and we could tell he was straining. He just stood there and strained with just drips coming out for probably 5 minutes. Our vet is closed on Sundays and we could tell he was stressed out so we decided to play it safe and take him to the emergency vet. After an initial exam, the vet could tell that his bladder was fully distended and his temperature was slightly elevated (102.7 I belive). We were told that UTIs are not common in males and that more often than not there is something pushing on the bladder or blocking the urethra. He did a very quick sort of snapshot ultrasound and the prostate appeared normal, but he believes he saw some type of soft tissue "strands" right where the bladder tapers into the urethra. After seeing that, he pretty much ruled out infection and started throwing around the word cancer at which point I became a blubbering mess. He put in a catheter so Opie could release his bladder and get some relief. They said we could take him home but we should make sure he pees every 2-3 hours to make sure that he hasn't become fully blocked and if he doesn't pee in 4 hours to bring him back immediately. He also said to make an appointment with a radiologist ASAP.

 

Sunday we got an appointment with a radiologist at South Paws in Virginia. The radiologist, quite simply, didn't see what the doctor the night before did. He did 3 different ultrasounds (had Opie drink water between each one so the bladder would be clearer). He thought he "maybe" saw something in the third but he didn't think it was a mass and even if it was, it wasn't in a position that would have caused the issues. He consulted with a doctor in the ICU and they came to the conclusion they didn't have enough to warrant a traumatic catheter and reccommended we start him on antibiotics just incase, do a urinalysis, and they also gave us a medication that will hopefully help Opie have a steadier stream of urine. He felt it was premature to jump to the conclusion of cancer and pretty much expressed his displeasure that the doctor the night before didn't run a urinalysis and that he mentioned cancer before we had seen a specialist.

 

We're continuing to let him out every 2 hours and the past 6 hours he has been able to produce a steady stream and has had no straining drips at the end. He has also had no more accidents in the house so he does have the ability to control himself for at least 2 hours. He seems a little tired, but is still eating and drinking normally. I can tell he hates going outside every 2 hours and just wants us to let him sleep. Essentially though, I feel like we're back at square one. If he continues to have a steady stream, how long do we need to continue worrying about a blockage? If the urinalysis comes back clear and the radiologist didn't see anything, was it perhaps simply crystals or stones that he passed? I feel uncomfortable not knowing for sure what caused this issue. Any ideas for other tests? Another factor is this is getting EXPENSIVE. I'm worried I'm going to spend all my money trying to figure out what the issue IS and not have that much left to actually fix it. I appreciate any insight. I know this was long but I'm so so scared. I left one doctor Saturday night a crying mess sure that my dog had a cancer that was near impossible to treat and left another doctor Sunday with no answers but a bit less doom and gloom. Opie is my first dog and I just don't know enough about how to handle these situations or what to ask for.

[Batmom]

First doctor was an idiot. Really sounds like a nasty infection -- less common in males than females, but males sure can get them. Will keep fingers crossed for your sweet boy.

[Feisty49]

After all this, even if he continues to pee good, I'd make an appt with your regular vet for a check-up and make sure all the info and pics taken at other places are forwarded for Opie's records.

 

ETA: What Batmom said about doc #1.

Edited January 16, 2012 by Feisty49

[GeorgeofNE]

That doctor sounds like an ass.

 

It could have been a bladder stone, or crystals, that caused some serious irritation. Why he'd just leap to cancer based on one test is beyond me.

Edited January 17, 2012 by GeorgeofNE

[Guest Opie_Boy]

Thanks for the thoughts. I'm hoping the urinalysis will have some answers. I'm going to continue to watch him closely and give the antibiotics a chance to work. I'm guessing that even if it is an infection, it can't be comfortable for him to try and empty a full bladder so extra pee breaks will continue. Thanks for the suggestion to see our regular vet. I agree it's a good idea to go in, if for nothing else, just to talk it over with him so he's aware, get his opinion & to make sure he has the records from both of the clinics.

[kudzu]

First doctor was an idiot. Really sounds like a nasty infection -- less common in males than females, but males sure can get them. Will keep fingers crossed for your sweet boy.

 

A urinalysis should have been the first thing he did. Had a dog with urinary issues related to a neurological condition. What you describe sounds similar. It also sounds just like a UTI. Symptoms can be very deceiving.

[greyhead]

It can also happen that urinalysis looks okay, but a culture reveals infection.

 

 

[Brooker914]

Do you know if they sent a sample for a culture?

[Guest Opie_Boy]

Yes, the second doctor did send a sample for culture as well.

[sweetdogs]

First .

 

Second, I have an evet place very close to me that does exactly what your evet place did: scares the living crap out of you unnecessarily. I'm fortunate to have a better evet place a little distance away.

 

Third, good that the radiologist was able to ease your mind a bit & get Opie on some helpful meds. Get copies of all of his tests results & regroup with your vet.

 

Fourth, sometimes cultures won't show infection either, but if he's feeling better that's a good sign.

 

for Opie & for you.

[tbhounds]

I'm sorry you were giving such a scare. I believe what the Dr feared was TCC (transitional cell carcinoma)--bladder cancer. It's a cancer that grows in the trigone (part were the urine empties--neck)of the bladder. When the tumor grows large enough your hound will become blocked and unable to urinate. I have seen GH's with this type of cancer. That being said I feel that Dr jumped a few steps. It would be highly unlikely for your hound not to be symptomatic prior to this weekend if he was harboring TCC.

If you boy's bladder was distended and he was unable to pass urine he was essentially blocked--I'm assumming from muscus strands.

The u/a results will give you an answer--if it's anything other than an UTI the lab should be able to identify any cancer cells if they are present.

Keep up with the antibotics and keep us posted.

[Charlies_Dad]

Sounds like what our Charlie had, an infection. He never ever peed in the house and then one day last summer he just let go. Then he kept trying to pee over and over with little coming out. We got him to our vet, ran some tests (urine analysis) and on antibiotics and in short order he was good again. Hope that is all Opie has.

[Guest twoskinnydogs]

My Toby had a similar issue, actually still has spells from time to time. If all other tests come back like Toby's did saying nothing was wrong with him here is an article I had stashed away:

 

Male Greyhounds can suffer from a condition known as Dysuria or “tying up.” This

condition is more common in active racers but can occasionally carry over into pethood.

The clinical signs seen with this condition are normally associated with some stressful

event (hospitalization, anesthesia, a long haul, over-exercise) and consist of urethral

spasms which prevent the dog from urinating normally. Greyhounds suffering from

dysuria will strain to urinate with only drops coming out. Some of these dogs may also

continue to leak urine slowly over an extended period. Some veterinarians not familiar

with the condition may mistakenly recommend urethral scoping or a bladder biopsy.

Treatment consists of catheterization three times daily as needed and drug therapy

(typically some form of a muscle relaxer). The condition often takes 2-5 days to resolve.

 

My vet did some research and found that this is common and started treating Toby for Dysuria, within 3 days he was peeing normal again.....Hopefully it is something easy to fix.

[Guest BrianRke]

First doctor was an idiot. Really sounds like a nasty infection -- less common in males than females, but males sure can get them. Will keep fingers crossed for your sweet boy.

Totally agree!!!

[Guest Opie_Boy]

Thanks guys. This is all really helpful information that I will discuss with my vet. I especially will be sure to mention dysuria if no infection is found. I know that hadn't been mentioned yet. We did take a long trip to Indiana over the holidays which could have been a little stressful on him, although I'm not sure how it compares to a long haul to the tracks, etc. I should hear about the results from the culture and urinalysis tomorrow. Fingers crossed. He's still able to have a steady stream so it seems that the prazosin is helping some.

[Guest Opie_Boy]

Alright, so Opie's urinalysis came back clear. The culture will take another day or two. He's continuing with his antibiotics and medication because he seems to be doing better and we can't know for sure if it's because of the medications or if he's actually better. We're just left a bit confused at this point. Logically, I know I should put more trust in the ultrasounds done by a radiologist. But I'm still left wondering what the heck the first doctor saw. I know that it wasn't a thorough ultrasound examination (they didn't even charge us because they said they just did a quick check) but he obviously saw something, right? The second doctor advised us to finish up the antibiotics and take him into our regular vet. He said that if Opie gets worse & can't empty is bladder again, the next step would be to do an abdominal xray to see if that reveals anything. But he doesn't think that's necessary unless he starts having symptoms again.

I find myself almost hoping that the culture comes back positive for SOMETHING just so we have an answer. In the meantime, yesterday Opie seemed to get back to his regular energy level. Perhaps even a little more excited than usual like he's finally feeling better. Of course, this could also be a result of me spoiling him rotten the past few days. I can't help myself. I have to give him a treat every time I pass his cabinet

[sweetdogs]

The first doc was the evet, right? And the second was the radiologist? Reading the unreadable (to me anyway ) is what the radiologist does for a living. If he isn't concerned at this point, I'd take that as a good sign.

 

And the culture may not show anything. Doesn't mean Opie doesn't have an infection that the abx are hitting. Also a very good sign that he's feeling better.

[JJNg]

My Toby had a similar issue, actually still has spells from time to time. If all other tests come back like Toby's did saying nothing was wrong with him here is an article I had stashed away:

 

Male Greyhounds can suffer from a condition known as Dysuria or “tying up.”

I was thinking the same thing...glad you posted this article. Vets who aren't familiar with greyhounds probably won't even consider this possibility. Hopefully all the tests come back normal for Opie, and this is all it is!