Splaying Of Back Legs

[LaFlaca]

How is Snow doing today? I am really quite concerned.

[Guest kar]

I am at work now and have some one checking in on her. she did eat a little for breakfast, chicken, and her canned kidney foods, she has two kinds because she is so picky. still is not herself, hoping she improves. dropped off a urine to the vet today, will get results tomorrow. then we'll see when they want to repeat the blood work. he wants to see if the levels were higher because she was dehydrated. she does not do well on many pills, and I think adding the galiprant and the gabapentin at the same time upset her. she has always had a touchy stomach.

[Guest kar]

Any one have any ideas of what other meds a kidney dog can go on, should she recover, for her legs. She does not appear to have pain. I know my other greys had pain. But legs are not good. I had high hopes for adequen but she has finished the initial load dose and I do not see much difference. The first two shots I thought I did. I know I should be worrying about one thing at a time but for every dog I lost three in all I always tried to do everything I could.

[LaFlaca]

When is Snow's appointment with the vet?

[Guest kar]

Don't have one yet just saw vet two days ago they will call me tomorrow with urine results. She is eating biscuits now which she would not do before. But legs don't seem good. I think she does better when she walks but it is too hot for a walk. Yet she will jump on couch no problem. Very confusing to me. My others would not jump no more when they were bad.

Edited June 14, 2017 by kar

[Guest kar]

urine showed no infection. she goes back for blood work on Friday. vet had mentioned an ultrasound after blood work. said there is really nothing she can take for her legs that will not hurt her kidneys. I think I might just have the discussion with her.

[LaFlaca]

An ultrasound sounds like the right thing to do at this point to determine if there is a neoplasm. What a difficult journey for you both. Stay strong for your girl. Make all decisions from a place of love.

 

I wonder if something like this lifting aid would help:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Pfaff-Medical-Carrier-Lifting-Harness/dp/B008A62P0E/ref=sr_1_19?ie=UTF8&qid=1497541893&sr=8-19&keywords=dog+lifting+harness

Edited June 15, 2017 by LaFlaca

[Guest kar]

thank you. ultrasound last august was good. I hope same this year.

[DawnP]

Just saw this thread and tried to catch up with all of the posts. Kar, are you interested in a second opinion from another vet?

[Guest kar]

well the ultrasound is being done by a specialist. I will not talk to her but she will call my vet with results and recommendations. she will also have results from Snow's chart faxed to her before the ultrasound. Ultrasound will be done 7/1. blood work redone 6/23.

[Guest kar]

Just saw this thread and tried to catch up with all of the posts. Kar, are you interested in a second opinion from another vet?

Who and where

[NeylasMom]

Just saw this thread and tried to catch up with all of the posts. Kar, are you interested in a second opinion from another vet?

I would encourage you to get one. It is not true that all pain medications will affect her kidneys. Gabapentin does not, though it may not be what you need to address her pain, it's very hard to tell at this point. Not sure if things are getting lost in translation or your vet falsely believes she shouldn't have Gabapentin. It's also really worth considering, again, that if you are considering euthanizing her, those very mildly elevated kidney values that could just as well be due to dehydration perhaps should take a backseat to her pain management needs. Medication compromising organ function is NOT a given, it's a potential side effect, particularly with long term use. It's time for the bigger picture here. Your poor dog sounds like she is suffering. Feed her what she will eat, get her pain meds that will make her comfortable, keep her away from active kids and anything that is scaring her/causing her to slip, and then worry about the rest.

[DawnP]

_{We have an adopter who lives in Fairfield and uses Dr William Lovers at Animal Hospital of Greenwich and Stamford. It's on the Stamford/Greenwich line. Her family has used this vet for several years}

[Guest kar]

They want to hold meds because she had very bad diahrhes and stoooed eating. Her appetite is slowly coming back. They are afraid the galliprant was not a good choice for her. The gabepentin made her very tired. They want me to check kidneys and move on from there. Nothing really seemed to help her legs yet she will still jump on the couch and bed. Can't understand that. Over the years she has had her ups and downs. The vet wants her eating better before suggesting anything else. Have you heard of any bad side effects if adequen injections?

[macoduck]

You are ignoring all the good advice from experienced people HERE. You've asked the same questions repeatedly over the past 2 years. At this point I think YOU are doing more harm to your Snow than the vet is.

 

Reach out and take DawnP's suggestion of a different vet. What you have got to lose?

[Guest kar]

What advice ami ignoring? I certainly am not doing my dog any harm. She has been to an internal specialist in the past and they agreed with the treatment as far as her kidneys. Her legs are a new issue.

My vet did not say pain meds would affect kidneys she said anti inflammatory drugs would.

[NeylasMom]

What advice ami ignoring? I certainly am not doing my dog any harm. She has been to an internal specialist in the past and they agreed with the treatment as far as her kidneys. Her legs are a new issue.

My vet did not say pain meds would affect kidneys she said anti inflammatory drugs would.

Your own words several posts up:

"...said there is really nothing she can take for her legs that will not hurt her kidneys. I think I might just have the discussion with her."

 

Seems part of the issue here is poor communication.

 

I give up. Its incredibly frustrating for you to repeatedly ask for help in here and not fully understand what's going on, feel like there's help you could be getting that you're not, and have you repeatedly mention euthanasia. I hope the repeat bloodwork and ultrasound give you some clarity on the direction to go with this and still strongly encourage a second opinion from a neurologist or orthopedist, or at least anither vet.

[Guest kar]

as far as anti anti inflamatories. and if it is ls, there is not much that can be done, except pain relievers. I am not asking for advice, just asking if other people have used various medications. I have taken my other dogs for second opinions at other times and they always concur with my vet, just as the specialist did for her kidney disease.

[Neighsayer]

Those kidney values are not very concerning. Feed her yummy stuff that she will eat. You keep hinting that you may just give up and have her put down. If you have that plan, why worry about kidney food. She may feel better when she starts eating. Who cares if she used to walk for an hour? She doesn't want to walk far, so don't make her. Enjoy the dog you have now, and stop comparing her to the dog she used to be. I would get that ultrasound, and maybe a second opinion. Good luck!

[Guest kar]

She has been eating better, also got her some new treats. of course I do not make her walk any further than she wants. sometimes its a little longer, sometimes its down the street, and only when it is cool. my vet is very accommodating as she also has an older lab that she is trying everything on, also without much success. she is the one who told me to try the adequen shots, even though they did not work on her dog. she does consult with specialists if need be.

[Hubcitypam]

I agree with the above posters. Maybe you should be looking into palliative care and enjoy the dog that she is now. I watched my neighbor die of cancer and all the doctor visits, inability to eat good things that his body and battling a boat load of drugs that made him sick gave me a different outlook. His last year was a merry go of rounds, of vomiting, the runs and endless doctor visits. i don't want that for me if it comes to it and won't put my dogs through it.

 

The nice thing about the surgical speciality center here is that if they are not busy you get 5 vet opinions (neuro, ortho, etc. for one office visit. With Bella the majority said let her go. With Rex they narrowed it down to GME and some other nerve issue that i forget from whatever the fancy word is for x-rays.. They wanted an MRI. My vet said "they gave you two options both of which horrible prognosis. Do you need spend even more than you already have?

 

Peace :grouphugs

[XTRAWLD]

We can see you are frustrated and in turn it is making us frustrated because we are trying to offer suggestions and it seems like everything we are trying to say is falling on deaf ears (or blind eyes as the case may be). Honestly, stop what you are doing. It appears that you are thinking in a very closed box - time to open up and think outside of it.

 

Go and get another opinion from another vet other than the vet you are currently going to ASAP. Start again from scratch and forget all the specialists you've been seeing. If you can't take the perspective of a number of people on this board, take the perspective of another professional in person with a hands on exam of your dog without any other former biases from other professionals. Don't give them the whole story, just tell them her observable symptoms - only the splaying, let them do their own exam and bloodwork to come up with their own conclusions because she might not have a kidney problem after all for all you know. Then compare their results with what you've known to this point forward.

 

What you have been indicating in this thread is completely manageable and Snow is only 10. There is still a lot of quality of life that could be had but right now it's being managed poorly if you are seeing lack of improvements and regression in her attitude under the direction of the current vet. That vet is clearly impervious to greyhounds complexities. Perhaps you should seek out a vet that is familiar with the breed, but failing that, in the very least, go and see someone else that might have a better inkling and different concept of greyhound health than the one you are currently receiving.

 

This thread pains me. I wish all the best to you and Snow.

Edited June 16, 2017 by XTRAWLD

[LaFlaca]

Just checking in to see how Snow is doing.

[Guest kar]

Nice of you to do so. But don't think I'll post much for a while. Environment is too hostile. Again thanks for asking.

[Guest kar]

For those of you who found my situation painful, I consulted with two specialists one at ngap and the other who specializes in kidneys. Snow definitely has kidney disease with a little progression shown by ultrasound. So per their advice definitely no anti inflammatory and pain pills only as necessary. Sterile urine sample was drawn at ultrasound to recheck for infection. So I guess my vet was 109percent correct.