Osteo Thread Part 8

[teri_d]

Rivies osteo was on her rib - but that is where it presented. They always called it osteosarcoma.

 

Jen - I am keeping up with Zuri's news/treatment -- my heart aches for you that you're doing this again

[Annette]

The local vet is not sure what is happening with Pogo. He has developed a cough, but his lungs sounded clear. Our vet thought he may have an infection of some sort because his throat appears irritated. What concerns her is that there appears to be air between his ribs and skin on the side opposite of his amputation. Xrays were done locally and it appears there is either air or liquid (possibly) in the general chest area (I am not sure what to call it, I do know there is a lot of black space on his xrays where there normally is not black space).

 

Pogo at times is painful, letting out yelps. His coughing started when we had hot weather (for Wisconsin), but it stopped when the humidity dropped. Miriam had surgery just over 1 week ago to remove a couple lumps (benign) but we had her in a lamp shade the first two days and that totally freaked Pogo out. He frantically tried to stay out of her way. Maybe he aggravated his neck injury when he did this??? We don't know. The last day or two he started coughing again so I contacted our local vet.

 

Pogo is scheduled to go to Madison on Thursday for his monthly checkup. Our vet emailed the latest xrays to the oncologist in Madison. We are waiting to hear back from him to see if he wants us there a day early.

[NeylasMom]

I'm sorry, I'm not completely up on the timeline for Pogo - how long ago was his amp? Some chemos can cause heart issues, wondering if that could be what's going on? Hoping it's nothing like that. Maybe send the x-rays to Dr C in the meantime as well?

 

So Zuri just ran around like a nut. I figured the fluids would give him a boost, but he also seems less gimpy today. So of course I start thinking, what if the radiation just finally belatedly started to kick in, but the Zoledronate causes his kidneys to fail and I have to let him go. This is what goes on in my mind 24/7 these days even when I tell myself to just enjoy the moment and the fact that he's running around playing happily.

 

It just really SUCKS to have a dog who is his normal self, bright-eyed, playing, eating like a champ and barking for meals, wanting to go for walks and seeking out snuggles, but has this stupidly painful tumor. I felt so robbed when Neyla got cancer. Zuri is more of an older man that Neyla acted despite being similar in age because of his LS, but not so much so that I don't feel the same thing again.

 

Sorry, I'm on a roll with my ranting. Cancer sucks, period, but I really hate this disease.

Rivies osteo was on her rib - but that is where it presented. They always called it osteosarcoma.

 

Jen - I am keeping up with Zuri's news/treatment -- my heart aches for you that you're doing this again

Thank you so much.

[Annette]

I'm sorry, I'm not completely up on the timeline for Pogo - how long ago was his amp? Some chemos can cause heart issues, wondering if that could be what's going on? Hoping it's nothing like that. Maybe send the x-rays to Dr C in the meantime as well?

 

Pogo's amp was just over 7 months ago. He did have some high blood pressure but he is on meds for it. I have an email out to Dr. C and am waiting for a reply.

[NeylasMom]

Hope you get some answers.

[Annette]

Hope you get some answers.

 

Just got off the phone with the local vet. She spoke with Pogo's oncologist in Madison. He agrees that there is more air than there should be. They just have to figure out where it is coming from. According to the oncologist, Palladia can sometimes cause ulcers. Does Pogo have an ulcer on his trachea and this is where the air is coming from? Hopefully they will be able to determine that when he is in Madison.

 

The oncologist can't do a true comparison of the xrays done by our local vet to the xrays done last month in Madison because they are different machines, but he is hopeful that the lung mets may have shrunk possibly We will find out at least that much when we go to Madison.

[greysmom]

I just read (somewhere) where a dog had excess air in their chest cavity and it caused a kind of crinkly, crunchy plastic sound. Some sort of tuberculosis (not the disease) of the tissues??????? I can't remember the exact name, of course.

 

Jey, so happy to here Zuri is doing well for the moment. It's so hard to stay in that moment with them and just enjoy it without thinking ahead. {{{hugs}}}

[llm51807]

Sending good thoughts to Pogo for his visit to Madison tomorrow; hopefully they'll get to the bottom of this mystery.

 

Hoping Zuri is having another good day after the zoledronate. I read somewhere that it can start working in 24 hours for pain management, but often takes longer. Did they say if there was a danger zone you had to be aware of in terms of the potential for kidney damage? If he's fine after a few days is he out of the woods? I'm always looking for ways to clear my worry plate!

 

Cecil did well at his chiro vet visit; he adjusted him and also did acupuncture. Cecil only yelped once during the exam (not the treatment) when the vet manipulated his neck and shoulder at the same time. Like the ortho vet and the Cyberknife vet, the chiro vet also doesn't know what is causing the limp since the X-rays look pretty good. Again, could be bone pain, shoulder injury due to weak bone from radiation, joint issues, etc, BUT, as he's the chiro vet and Cecil has had neck issues in the past, he also said the neck could be contributing. His range of motion in his neck was terrible.

 

He's definitely less gimpy today after the adjustment. We added a Chinese Herb for cervical spine support (who knows what that is, but it smells like something that would taste good on roasted vegetables!). We'll go back in a few weeks for another treatment.

 

Today was a good day. Hope the same for Zuri and Pogo and the others who unfortunately find themselves in this thread.

[NeylasMom]

Glad Cecil had a good day and the chiro adjustment helped him.

 

I am amazed. Zuri has very spasmy muscles in certain places. This was an existing issue from his LS, but has been exacerbated by the tumor. We went in on Monday for his second massage therapy appointment and when I went to work on him a little last night, one spot would not spasm! I know it will likely come back, but she apparently worked that spot out completely. There are places behind his scapula that are much tougher - especially on his osteo side as she doesn't want to manipulate the leg while she's working like she would otherwise. The bummer is unless there's a cancellation tomorrow or Saturday we have to wait until the 9th to get back in. But I am doing a subpar job working on him in between visits.

 

Anyway, no timeline on the kidney issues. They don't expect it to send him into renal failure. That's sort of what I saw with Neyla. I can't remember how many days after her treatment, but she just started having accidents in her sleep. That was Pamidronate though. I think what's more likely is that over time the kidney values will just keep creeping up. The slight increases he has already could be from the Deramaxx, the first Zoledronate treatment we did, age, or some combination, we don't know. I think the sedation is also a possible culprit, but since the values creeped up ever so slightly in the past week I think we're looking at something ongoing.

 

I have a new worry. Just a few times this week I've thought Zuri's gums were very pale briefly, or twice he's been panting more heavily and more sluggish on a walk than I would expect (with no increased limp indicating more pain) so I am worried he's becoming anemic. Contemplating running him to my vet for blood work in the morning. I would rather watch and wait, but going into the holiday weekend I think I will just feel better having run it. Going to decide first thing tomorrow.

 

Will be sending good thoughts for Pogo tomorrow!

Edited June 29, 2016 by NeylasMom

[NeylasMom]

Sending good thoughts for Pogo today. Please update us when you can.

[NeylasMom]

Pogo update?

[Annette]

Pogo update?

 

Not too good. Will post more. Just got home and am in the middle of a thunderstorm and have a scared dog.

[Batmom]

Hugs, Annette. I'm sorry for the "not too good" part, and for the storm .

[NeylasMom]

 

Not too good. Will post more. Just got home and am in the middle of a thunderstorm and have a scared dog.

No worries, update us when you can.

[Annette]

Got back from Madison a couple hours ago. I haven't received the discharge paperwork with the technical jargon.

 

Here is my best understanding.

 

Dr. Fernandez believes that Pogo may have a torn trachea and that is causing all the air that we are seeing in his xrays. He thinks that may also be causing his coughing. At this point we are not going to do anything to get a positive confirmation of a torn trachea. He does not believe the mets are causing him to cough. That being said, he has more mets on his lungs and we have discontinued the Palladia. We will try doxorubicin every 3 weeks.

[NeylasMom]

I'm sorry. I've never heard of a torn trachea. Is there anything you can do for it?

[4My2Greys]

I'm really sorry to hear that more mets have shown up on Pogo's lungs.

I'm curious about the torn trachea. Did they give you any idea how it could have happened?

Edited July 1, 2016 by 4My2Greys

[llm51807]

Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear about Pogo's lung mets. We're still sending you both our good thoughts.

[Annette]

The only thing we can think of is that he hurt himself when he freaked out when Miriam was wearing a lampshade for the lumps she had removed. Dr. Fernandez seems to suspect it may have been caused by him acting like Pogo (black lab in a greyhound suit) and him pulling on his collar further injured his neck (which he hurt not long after we adopted him by running head on into the back door).

 

He is still happy. Our local vet suspected kennel cough with his coughing because they had a recent break out around here and he is/was on antibiotics and I think they are curbing his appetite I got the impression that radiology may be suspecting that he has pneumonia because Dr. Fernandez wants us to continue him on the antibiotics. We haven't received the discharge instructions yet, When I get them, if there is nothing in the notes regarding the suspected pneumonia, I will stop the antibiotics if he continues to lose his appetite.

I'm sorry. I've never heard of a torn trachea. Is there anything you can do for it?

 

We aren't going to do for it. Hopefully it will resolve on its own.

Edited July 1, 2016 by Annette

[NeylasMom]

Fingers crossed that it does. I couldn't help but google last night because I had never heard of it and did read that it can.

[Annette]

Pogo's official discharge information:

 

"Unfortunately, Pogo was noted to have progression of his pulmonary metastatic disease. He was also noted to have a
pneumomediastinum which is stable from 28JUN16 when radiographs were taken by your veterinarian. The cause of this finding is
unknown at this time. It is likely due to cervical trauma causing a tracheal tear but that cannot be confirmed without further diagnostics
such as CT scan and/or endoscopy under general anesthesia. It could have been from pulling on his leash while he was wearing a tight
neck collar or other type of trauma or a foreign body such as a grass awn. Typically, a pneumomediastinum is treated supportively with
oxygen supplementation if needed (not in Pogo's case as he is breathing and doing well) and it typically resolves on its own. However,
if he appears to be worsening or his cough does not improve or worsens, further diagnostics described previously would be
recommended. Please watch his resting respiratory rate a few times daily to ensure that he is not clinically affected by this. His
respiratory rate is taken by counting his respirations (chest movements) in 15 seconds and multiplying that by 4. It should not be over
30 to 36 breaths per minute. If his respiratory rate is increased or he develops increased respiratory effort and/or exercise intolerance,
please have him evaluated as soon as possible by your veterinarian or us as it may represent an emergency."

[NeylasMom]

That actually makes it sound less scary than I initially thought, though I know overall it's not what you had hoped for. that it heals up quickly.

 

Have you tried any holistic treatments for the lung mets? If you want me to email you a copy of Dr. Dressler's cancer guide PM me your email addy. He has some recommendations specific to lung mets that might be worth trying now that you've had to stop the Palladia.

 

I came home to a bouncy, trotting boy again for the second day in a row.

[4My2Greys]

I came home to a bouncy, trotting boy again for the second day in a row.

I love reading updates like this.

[NeylasMom]

I love reading updates like this.

Thank you. Trying to not get overly hopeful yet, but so far so good.

 

How is your boy doing? Can we help with anything?

[llm51807]

I came home to a bouncy, trotting boy again for the second day in a row.

 

Yay, yay, yay! Keep the good news coming!

 

And you know, I'm really trying to soak up every good day and worry less about what tomorrow will bring. Easy to say, hard to do though. Although, with all the alarms going off for meds, we shouldn't have any time to worry!