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Losing Weight On Prednisone


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Last Saturday, I took Pinky to the ER because she was running a temperature and all three of her legs had edema. They did X-rays and discovered my baby girl has lung mets :( Two tumors, one the size of a golf ball, the other the size of an orange. So far she's had zero breathing issues though, thankfully.

 

She was put on prednisone 10mg every 12 hours, and Clavamox. Our vet added in Zeniquin because we were having trouble keeping her temperature under control and that has done the trick.

 

A week later and she still has the edema, which the pred was supposed to help with. Over the last couple of days I've noticed that she is looking really skinny in spite of the fact that she is eating her meals regularly.

 

I have seen some cases where pred has caused dogs to lose weight...if you're one of those people, can you tell me what you went to instead? Pinky's hips are now pretty prominent and I don't want her to get worse :(

Kristin in Moline, IL USA with Ozzie (MRL Crusin Clem), Clarice (Clarice McBones), Latte and Sage the IGs, and the kitties: Violet and Rose
Lovingly Remembered: Sutra (Fliowa Sutra) 12/02/97-10/12/10, Pinky (Pick Me) 04/20/03-11/19/12, Fritz (Fritz Fire) 02/05/01 - 05/20/13, Ace (Fantastic Ace) 02/05/01 - 07/05/13, and Carrie (Takin the Crumbs) 05/08/99 - 09/04/13.

A cure for cancer can't come soon enough.--

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Prednisone doesn't always help with edema. It only helps if the edema is secondary to inflammation that is blocking the lymphatic system which drains fluid from the tissues. If she's been on the pred for a week with no improvement in the edema, I'd consider tapering her off and see if the edema gets worse. Of course, you should ask your vet before changing her meds. If you do taper the pred, I'd also monitor her appetite and general attitude carefully. I find that pred often helps in cases with lung mets by stimulating their appetite and it also seems to make them feel better.

Jennifer &

Willow (Wilma Waggle), Wiki (Wiki Hard Ten), Carter (Let's Get It On),

Ollie (whippet), Gracie (whippet x), & Terra (whippet) + Just Saying + Just Alice

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Last week she mentioned adding furosemide to help with the edema.

 

Is there something you would recommend?

 

She seems to be feeling alright now that her temperature is stable, she's just uncomfortable because of the edema, and I'm now concerned about the weight loss.

 

She's always been a good eater and that hasn't changed, other than when her fever was high-she would eat about 3/4 of her meals and then finish it about an hour later.

Kristin in Moline, IL USA with Ozzie (MRL Crusin Clem), Clarice (Clarice McBones), Latte and Sage the IGs, and the kitties: Violet and Rose
Lovingly Remembered: Sutra (Fliowa Sutra) 12/02/97-10/12/10, Pinky (Pick Me) 04/20/03-11/19/12, Fritz (Fritz Fire) 02/05/01 - 05/20/13, Ace (Fantastic Ace) 02/05/01 - 07/05/13, and Carrie (Takin the Crumbs) 05/08/99 - 09/04/13.

A cure for cancer can't come soon enough.--

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Honestly, this is a bit beyond my level of experience. If I was dealing with a case like Pinky's I'd be calling my local oncologist or OSU for advice on how best to manage it. I can't remember if you're working with an oncologist?

 

Are you sure the swelling of her legs is edema? Have her lower legs been x-rayed to make sure she isn't starting to develop hypertrophic osteopathy?

Jennifer &

Willow (Wilma Waggle), Wiki (Wiki Hard Ten), Carter (Let's Get It On),

Ollie (whippet), Gracie (whippet x), & Terra (whippet) + Just Saying + Just Alice

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We do have our oncologist, but, he is currently out west.

 

I sent her films to OSU and heard back from Dr. Kellogg...perhaps I will email her tomorrow and ask for her recommendation.

 

We have not xrayed her legs. Will have to google hypertrophic osteopathy as I have no idea what that is. All vets involved (including OSU) have said the edema is likely caused by the lung tumors and/or an infection that she's got somewhere.

 

She was totally fine and then one day very sick, it's so frustrating. And of course she fell ill the day after I returned from being away for a week for work :(

Kristin in Moline, IL USA with Ozzie (MRL Crusin Clem), Clarice (Clarice McBones), Latte and Sage the IGs, and the kitties: Violet and Rose
Lovingly Remembered: Sutra (Fliowa Sutra) 12/02/97-10/12/10, Pinky (Pick Me) 04/20/03-11/19/12, Fritz (Fritz Fire) 02/05/01 - 05/20/13, Ace (Fantastic Ace) 02/05/01 - 07/05/13, and Carrie (Takin the Crumbs) 05/08/99 - 09/04/13.

A cure for cancer can't come soon enough.--

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Hypertrophic osteopathy is abnormal proliferation of the bone in lower legs, occasionally seen secondary to cancer in the lungs. It's a fairly unusual occurrence, but is mentioned in the OSU article that tbhounds posted in the Osteo thread. It can usually seen seen on x-rays, and can range anywhere from subtle irregularities around the margin of the bone to pretty dramatic changes.

 

ETA: Is there no way to contact your oncologist? Did he leave any alternate contacts for his clients while he was away? Seems odd for him to just leave his patients hanging while he's gone.

Edited by JJNg

Jennifer &

Willow (Wilma Waggle), Wiki (Wiki Hard Ten), Carter (Let's Get It On),

Ollie (whippet), Gracie (whippet x), & Terra (whippet) + Just Saying + Just Alice

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Dr. Kellogg will take care of you! She's wonderful!

 

My thoughts are with you.

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On prednisone my beloved Aggie did just as your girl is doing. Everyday she wasted away a little more and a little more till she was but a weak wisp of her pre- prednisone self and then she literally wasted completely away and crossed over. It was pitiful to watch-heart breaking. It melted away all of her muscles until she didn't even have any more. So horrible is my memory of seeing Aggie dissolve away I would not use it unless I was 100% positive that it was a life or death thing that my dog has to have . It is also hard on their stomach. I have used furosamide (lasix, salix) on a dog I had with a heart condition and I found it to be safe and effective at getting rid of excess fluids. They also give LOTS of it to racehorses ALL THE TIME(despite all their publicity to the contrary) and it is pretty safe other than that studies have shown it can possibly reduce bone density but that shouldn't be an issue in a pet dog and wasn't in mine. (Also I raced in 3 states so the above is first hand real life knowledge.)

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Dr. Kellogg wrote back this morning (whoa is she prompt!). She suggested trying to provide Pinky with more meals every day.

 

I spoke to our vet this afternoon - she wants me to bring her in tomorrow for some testing...she wants to look at albumin level as well as some other things, she wants her urine from first thing in the morning and wants her fasting for bloodwork. She'd like to determine the cause of this, if it's coming from her kidneys or if it's something else...

 

I had my mom check in on her today around 2 and she said the right front wrist is about golf ball sized. It happens after she's been up to go outside.

 

So on my way home I'm picking up some canned food with some calories in it. I'll begin feeding her as often as she'll take food. She's such a creature of habit, I don't think she would eat kibble unless it is breakfast or dinnertime and the other dogs are eating (she doesn't make a MOVE unless Ace is doing it too!). She's an odd duck in that if something is out of the ordinary, it agitates her...like Rain Man :lol We are lucky in that she does like to eat, so it's not tough to get her to eat, just tough to keep weight ON her.

Kristin in Moline, IL USA with Ozzie (MRL Crusin Clem), Clarice (Clarice McBones), Latte and Sage the IGs, and the kitties: Violet and Rose
Lovingly Remembered: Sutra (Fliowa Sutra) 12/02/97-10/12/10, Pinky (Pick Me) 04/20/03-11/19/12, Fritz (Fritz Fire) 02/05/01 - 05/20/13, Ace (Fantastic Ace) 02/05/01 - 07/05/13, and Carrie (Takin the Crumbs) 05/08/99 - 09/04/13.

A cure for cancer can't come soon enough.--

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