Jack--Blood Work Issues, Something Is Wrong

[rascalsmom]

I had Jack to the vet yesterday for his annual checkup. First thing that seemed odd was he'd lost weight--four pounds. Since we got him nearly three years ago, he's never been under 80 pounds, and yesterday he was 77.

 

I told the vet about his very soft stool, and a little diarrhea he's had lately. Took a stool sample in, and it turns out he's got hooks. Before we knew about the hooks, she suggested a probiotic, since he's always had digestive issues, and has been on low-residue food for over a year.

 

I also pointed out his extreme flakiness of his skin--she thinks that's due to the low fat food, but doesn't want to mess with the food for the sake of some flakes.

 

He could stand to have a dental, so we did blood work and urinalysis to check that out before a dental.

 

She called me today and said his protein is "drifting down", which could be due to chronic intestinal disease....or lymphoma. She suggested a first step of an ultrasound, and depending on what shows up there, an endoscopy.

 

They set up the ultrasound for Monday. She seemed serious that we needed to investigate further, before he was in a 'critical' state....

 

She also said if they see a 'giant liver' on ultrasound, it's probably lymphoma; if they see a 'big puffy bowel', it's probably IBD.

 

At any rate, this really stinks. Jack is seven years old today. What a terrible birthday present for him--at least he doesn't 'know' about the potentially bad news....

[JAJ2010]

(((HUGS))) I hope it's somehow just the hooks

[maryz]

Oh no. I will be praying for and thinking of you and Jack on Monday.

[robinw]

Hoping that it's nothing too serious...

[Guest SparrowLake]

Hopefully the ultrasound will not show anything serious and he will feel better soon.

[Remolacha]

I hope it is just the hooks, but even if it is IBD, that can be dealt with. Fletcher has had IBD since I got him a 2, and he is now 10 1/2, and has no idea he has anything wrong An ultrasound is a good idea for your peace of mind.

[RaineysMom]

sending many prayers! :hope

[3DogNite]

I'd do full blood work up and urinalysis with UPC as the first step BEFORE the ultrasound.

 

It could be many other things ---

ultra sound seems a bit much for the first step

 

good luck!! I hope whatever it is,, it's something easily workable and fixable!

 

etd - i just re-read that you are having the blood work and urinalysis done now.. that's good and will give you a

place to start your investigation.

what was the Albumin, BUN and Creatinine reading,, and what is the UPC /// protein in urine?

 

etd - again --- HAPPY BIRTHDAY JACK!!!

Edited September 28, 2012 by 3DogNite

[rascalsmom]

The vet said that other values were low, too...albumin may have been one of them....i was scribbling notes but didn't get it all.

 

They changed the ultrasound to Friday. On Monday they have a lot of pets coming in, and don't want to put Jack in a cage in the basement...he gets very stressed at the vet so she wants him where she can keep an eye on him.

[galgrey]

Sending good thougths for Jack!

[tbhounds]

Is your vet aware that ghs have lower blood protein numbers?

[JJNg]

Since he has hookworms, why not just start with treating that before proceeding immediately to an ultrasound? It might be as simple as that. As long as Jack is acting fine and not sick otherwise, I'd consider starting there, then recheck weight and bloodwork in a month or two, and see if things are back on track. Also ditto tbhounds' question about greyhound bloodwork differences.

[Charlies_Dad]

Good thoughts for Jack. He is such a handsome pup, I truly hope it's not what your vet is suggesting.

[rascalsmom]

Since he has hookworms, why not just start with treating that before proceeding immediately to an ultrasound? It might be as simple as that. As long as Jack is acting fine and not sick otherwise, I'd consider starting there, then recheck weight and bloodwork in a month or two, and see if things are back on track. Also ditto tbhounds' question about greyhound bloodwork differences.

Good idea...I will call on Monday and see if waiting for the hooks to clear, then retesting, would be feasible. I know other blood values were low, too, though. But redoing bloodwork is way cheaper than ultrasound, and Jack *seems* to feel okay. Not to mention, it would save him from a very stressful day at the vet, waiting for an ultrasound. Considering that this isn't his first bout with hookworms, I wonder if they have been in there for a while....did they ever completely clear up before?

 

And yes, our vet is thoroughly familiar with gh's differences. She does all the vetting for our adoption group, and in fact went to OSU, studied under Dr. Couto.

[Scooby172]

From one Jack to another, hope he's feeling better soon!

Linda, Jack and Keeva

[rascalsmom]

I'm happy to report that Jack is feeling somewhat better--he had the first dose of dewormer, and already his poop is more formed.

I put a call in to have our vet call me, see if we can retest after the hooks are gone....I want to get actual numbers from her, too--what his protein was at the last bloodwork, and what it is now. If she feels it isn't drastically worse, but just a little worse, maybe she'll be okay with a wait-and-retest approach.

 

He's happily consuming the probiotics (Forti-Flora), too.

[duncan41]

Glad to hear Jack is feeling somewhat better! It might be worth your while to get a copy of his last 3 blood tests, apply the OSU values and see if there appears to be a trend. Once the hooks are gone, wait a few weeks and repeat blood work. I hope that you find that the hooks were at the root of the problem. Hugs for Jack!

[JerseyGirlInOz]

Hoping Jack is on the mend, Melissa! Sending (((HUGS))).

[rascalsmom]

Talked to the vet last night. I got the numbers.

Total protein in 3/11 was 5.7 (in the normal range); then it went to 4.3 in 10/11; now it is 3.6.

 

She prefers not to wait, and risk the protein going even lower--says if it does, and he ends up needing 'scoping, the biopsy sites might not want to heal as well and he could end up with peritonitis.

 

The 'scoping *could* cost around $1000, she isn't sure, since he's have to go elsewhere for that.

The only other option would be an exploratory, and I'm not anxious to do something that invasive.

 

This really sucks.

[kudzu]

Can you post his numbers? All of them are really needed to get a fuller picture.

[rascalsmom]

All she gave me was the history of the protein numbers.

[kudzu]

The fact that those are on a steady decline is significant. My suggestion is that you get copies of all his lab work, including blood, stool & urinalysis results, & make a spreadsheet. It can be quite beneficial.

 

Good luck on getting to the bottom of it. It's very hard to not know what is going on.

[TheFullHouse]

Did she suggest anything dietary to try to bring his protein levels up a bit? Bullitt's are still low also and we have added cottage cheese and egg whites to his food to see if it won't bring his levels up a bit before we do any more tests to see what's going on with him.

[rascalsmom]

Judy, no she didn't suggest anything dietary. He has been on rx food--low residue--for almost 2 years. He has always had some digestive issues, since we got him.

[JJNg]

Can you ask your vet for a copy of all his bloodwork? The steady drop in total protein is definitely worrisome, but even more important is looking at the albumin level. And I'd also be curious about his CBC results, especially his hematocrit (PCV). When interpreting bloodwork, it helps to look at the whole picture.