Satchel Seems To Have Had A Stroke

[Guest Capslock]

I was walking my 10 year old, Satchel, yesterday, and as we got home, he started to walk weirdly - picking his front paw up as if it were hurting him somehow. I didn't like it and got him inside quickly. It was hot out so I cooled him down. He kept walking weird, and I noticed it was the back leg on the same side, too. He's previously been very sensitive to burning/freezing his paws, so I thought that was it. He had walked to drink some water, then to his bed to lie down, and didn't seem distressed at all, so I relaxed a bit. Went out to dinner, and when I got back, he was a bit worse - more wobbly and unstable. So we rocketed to the e-vet, where they thought it looked like a stroke, since he had some issues with his face on that same side, too.

 

So last night he got blood tests, and constant monitoring at the vet. This morning he's at least halfway better, so that's real good. Still wobbly, but much less weirdness in his gait, and he can walk around. We are going to get an MRI, but in the meantime, they did an ultrasound and found a bad kidney and spleen. Ugh. So we're waiting for the full blood test results, and have delayed the MRI till we figure out what's up with the kidney/spleen. Still a lot of mystery. Will update as I get new news. Anyone with any experience with this?

[Batmom]

Not much experience except that, from the stroke point of view, the significant improvement overnight is a good sign. What exactly did they say about the spleen and kidney?

 

Hugs and hopes your pupper makes a full recovery.

[Guest grey_dreams]

No experience, but sending good thoughts for Satchel's recovery.

[Guest SusanP]

Sending hopeful thoughts for a complete recovery for your Satchel.

[MP_the4pack]

Did they do a blood pressure. Hypertension can cause a bad kidney and stroke.

 

If there is something in the spleen (sorry...cancer), that too can cause strokes.

 

My Pearl had hypertension. When she threw a mini stroke, we rushed to her cardiologist to find that we had lost control of her BP. She had been on BP meds at that point. We started monitoring her BP after that every 6 weeks.

 

She developed cancer of the spleen and had another small stroke. They did her BP but said that cancer can throw clots. She was gone within a few days after that from the cancer.

 

I hope it's just hypertension that's high because with meds you can control it very well. Pearl had hypertension for 6 yrs with only that one incident 4 years into the hypertension.

[duncan41]

What was the wording on the ultrasound report to describe the kidney(s) and spleen. Were both kidneys viewed or only the one on the left side? I wouldn't expect a 10 year old kidney to be "normal" since they age along with everything else. Blood test is a good first step. (Make sure to convert the appropriate results to "Greyhound Values".) Was a urinalysis done? UPC?

 

Sending prayers for Satchel! The quick partial recovery is a very good sign! Hoping that it's just transient and that Satchel will continue to improve!

[Guest Capslock]

This is all happening in real time, so I don't have many details. I don't have an ultrasound report - just spoke to the vet. Both kidneys were viewed, and ONE was bad-looking. He reported a "huge, rough" spleen. But we don't even have full blood results yet, and his BP was normal. Urinalysis was done, but no results yet. His abdomen shows some signs of tenderness. That's all we know right now.

[Houndtime]

This is all happening in real time, so I don't have many details. I don't have an ultrasound report - just spoke to the vet. Both kidneys were viewed, and ONE was bad-looking. He reported a "huge, rough" spleen. But we don't even have full blood results yet, and his BP was normal. Urinalysis was done, but no results yet. His abdomen shows some signs of tenderness. That's all we know right now.

 

The tenderness in the abdomen could be from the spleen.

[RaineysMom]

if it was a stoke it's very important to get a 1/2 a baby aspirin in them asap. Our friend's grey had one and they got it in within 60 seconds and the damage was much less severe.

 

sending many hugs and prayers for your baby!

[tbhounds]

Doubt there's a 10 yr old hound with a "normal" looking spleen. Please look for protein in the urine-if present as already mentioned a UPC test s a must.

[Hubcitypam]

Poodle had a stroke about 5 or 6 years ago. He fell out of my bed with the loudest thud ever and began reeling and stumbling like a drunken sailor on shore leave. I scooped him up and took him to the vet who said that he had suffered a stroke and needed an MRI. She said that she could tell by his eyes he had had a stroke. I told her that I was on food stamps at the time and there was no money for MRIs. She sniffed and said "If it's a matter of how LITTLE you can spend on this dog we can try aspirin therapy." It worked and Poodle is here years later fine and all his blood work was perfect last month. The aspirin worked.

 

Agree with Jey early improvement is a VERY good sign.

[Guest greytbookert]

Sending many good thoughts!

 

The improvement is a very good sign!

[carronstar]

Sending good thoughts and prayers for your Satchel.

[Guest DeniseL]

My 15 yr old, lab mix had a stroke...it was very scary and very similar to what you described. I thought it was the end. We opted not to dig too deep at the vet because of her age and some liver masses we had been aware of. She went home and, literally, slept it off. When she woke up she was almost completely back to normal and we enjoyed her for many more months....hoping all is well with your baby. Hugs and prayers.

[Guest Capslock]

Latest update -

Kidney levels actually aren't too bad. Urine is concentrating well still. Protein was present, and UPC tests are going on now. Blood pressure has been pretty normal. However, the doctor said his last exam a half hour ago or so showed some regression of symptoms and that he seemed to show discomfort. So that's bad. But not nearly like last night apparently. And knowing Satchel, he can be pretty pokey anyway.

 

The doctor is recommending doing an MRI tomorrow. It's expensive. Is there a consensus on whether it's worth doing, or that a specific treatment would be indicated by an MRI? It's $2000. Not that I care about the money, but I don't want to just be employing expensive vets for the purpose of curiosity. Meanwhile, my stress level is through the roof. I'm sure you all understand that.

[cometdust1]

The best thing to do is ask your vet why he is doing the MRI and will the information gained from it possibly change the course of treatment.Without going into detail,my grey was very ill and the vet recommended biopsies of the bone marrow, liver and spleen, at an estimate of $6000.00.His prognosis was poor and I asked the vet if it might change the treatment and he said no, it would just confirm a diagnosis but treatment would be the same.I did not do it.

[tbhounds]

I would wait until you receive the UPC results-they will be back tomorrow. If the UPC is high my guess would be she threw a clot and aspirin will be the medication of choice.

http://cvm.osu.edu/assets/pdf/hospital/bloodBank/wellness/newsletters/2009/ghwpNewsletterSummer2009.pdf

[45MPHK9]

No advice. Just thinking good thoughts for Satchel.

Edited November 6, 2012 by 45MPHK9

[Hubcitypam]

The best thing to do is ask your vet why he is doing the MRI and will the information gained from it possibly change the course of treatment.Without going into detail,my grey was very ill and the vet recommended biopsies of the bone marrow, liver and spleen, at an estimate of $6000.00.His prognosis was poor and I asked the vet if it might change the treatment and he said no, it would just confirm a diagnosis but treatment would be the same.I did not do it.

When Rex was so sick we went up to the specialists more than once. They said it was either GME (SP?) or a Smorles Nodule that had ruptured into his spine. They told me I was lucky that they just had a cancellation for an MRI and could take him in right then for $1,200...but if I didn't act right then the wait for an MRI would be 4-6 weeks.

 

I felt like I was in a used car lot. I said I'd like to consult my vet and they shook their heads and said if I didn't act right then it could be a very long wait. I consulted my vet and he said "what you are looking at is two things with very a bad prognosis and Rex is clearly in pain - do you want to spend $1,200 to find out which it is?" This was when I did have $1,200 to spend but it just didn't make sense.

[galgrey]

:hope

[Guest Capslock]

Update:

So, we did the MRI this morning because the doctor wants to see why he 1) regressed a bit, and 2) seemed to show pain in his neck. Neither is consistent with throwing a clot. But, that is still a leading possibility. It's a lot of money but truthfully I can afford it.

 

Don't have MRI results yet, and am waiting for the doc to call back. Satchel is back at home, and the good news is that he is walking as well as he has since the incident, and despite just coming out of anesthesia, walked up my 20-stair staircase to my house (he insisted.) So while he regressed yesterday, he re-progressed today. He's resting comfortably now, and other than being noxiously gassy seems to be comfortable. Will update with MRI results when I can.

 

Max

[Guest Downtownhoundz]

The waiting and wondering is the WORST !!!! Hope you come back with good news!

[Hubcitypam]

Feel better soon Satchel. Glad you're doing a bit better.

[MP_the4pack]

Waiting for results.

[Guest Capslock]

Preliminary update:

UPC test came back at .7, which is up a bit, but not enough to scare the vet much.

For the MRI we only got a cold reading, and will not see the neurologist till tomorrow. From what my vet says, there is no obvious ugly tumor on it. The MRI people said it didn't look like meningitis either.

So it's sort of good news for preliminary results, but it's JUST preliminary, no neurologist analysis yet, and we're still at a loss as to what most likely has happened.

 

Meanwhile, he's resting comfortably.