Any Advice? (urgent Health Issue)

[persephone]

wuffles .. I was just wondering about an internal bleed .... it's similar to what my Hamlet was like ....but it was also then evident by abdominal swelling

[Flashsmum]

Best wishes, I hope you can find answers.

[FrodofromAus]

Whilst the lump on the head is a worry it may not be cancer.

In terms of one of the comments regarding chemotherapy making your dog sick etc that is not a correct statement. When used with skilled hands ie an oncologist who has had years of training with cancer patients only, the side effects can be minimised. They know precisely what to do if a reaction happens as this is part of their training. Some dogs like mine had no side effects at all from chemotherapy. Often what happens is that the wrong chemotherapy is used to treat the cancer and this in turn can not only make it unpleasant but it does not treat the cancer correctly and therefore you do not get the best results that you would otherwise get. An oncologist wont start any chemotherapy until they have conducted a series of tests to determine precisely what cancer it is, and the grading and staging. The treatment for harmangiosarcoma may not be the same for a mast cell tumour. I know of many, many instances where the correct tests were not done and the diagnosis was by breed (as certain breeds have higher incidents of some cancers) and physical examination/ Following that determination chemotherapy has been given out. The correct testing as required by an oncologist prior to treatment is not cheap and that is why it is better for most people to have insurance so that their dogs can get the best treatments.

[Tassie]

Another thought out of the blue - have they considred Addison's?

[dogbesotted]

Has a full thyroid panel been done ie these:

A complete thyroid panel tests these six levels, plus TgAA:

• Total levels of thyroid hormones thyroxine (T4), and

• Triiodothyronine (T3);

• The availability of T4, as indicated by “Free T4” (FT4);

• The availability of T3, as indicated by “Free T3” (FT3);

• The autoantibody levels of T4 (T4AA), and

• T3 (T3AA).

? often this is overlooked with blood tests and the dog has not presented as obese and has not lost its fur in the "typical" T pattern

some of the symptoms of an underactive thyroid are:

weight gain or loss

weakness,

muscle pain,

fluctuating body temp

high choloesterol numbers

listlessness

confusion

nausea vomiting

very susceptable to ear infections and eye infections

they may have a head tilt

may appear to have canine cognitive disorder

just putting this out there. have had several dogs with thyroid disease. The first took two years to diagnose...

H

[WreckitWhippet]

I'd tell my vet to start treating him for meningitis

[Pom]

Thank you all for the support and suggestions. We visited today and the fluids have at least made him look a little better. He now looks more like a Dogue and less like a brown Neo! He's still not interested in food and took him a while to realise we were there with him.

I will suggest Thyroid as I believe the initial vet mentioned it was pretty much the only thing they didn't test with the bloods. He didn't seemed concerned with that area and it was an off the cuff remark so I didn't really pay it much notice.

The lump is more like a hard knot slightly left of center on top of his head (about in line with middle of ears). To be honest, I really don't remember if it's always been there, but I do know that it's more pronounced and visibly noticeable now.

The current thought is that a byproduct of his earlier ear infection has caused the problem. They ruled out vestibular infection but something along those lines seems to fit.

[dogbesotted]

Thank you all for the support and suggestions. We visited today and the fluids have at least made him look a little better. He now looks more like a Dogue and less like a brown Neo! He's still not interested in food and took him a while to realise we were there with him.

I will suggest Thyroid as I believe the initial vet mentioned it was pretty much the only thing they didn't test with the bloods. He didn't seemed concerned with that area and it was an off the cuff remark so I didn't really pay it much notice.

The lump is more like a hard knot slightly left of center on top of his head (about in line with middle of ears). To be honest, I really don't remember if it's always been there, but I do know that it's more pronounced and visibly noticeable now.

The current thought is that a byproduct of his earlier ear infection has caused the problem. They ruled out vestibular infection but something along those lines seems to fit.

poor lad. with luck he will be back to himself sooner rather than later. If he is dehydrated and not eating lumps and bumps will become more pronounced than usual.

H

[rajacadoo]

If you do the thyroid testing, as mentioned above by dogbesotted, send the bloods to Jean Dodds. I dont think that most of those tests can be done in Australia, at all... Best of luck...

[persephone]

Glad the hydration has helped :) here's hoping for more good news !

[dogbesotted]

If you do the thyroid testing, as mentioned above by dogbesotted, send the bloods to Jean Dodds. I dont think that most of those tests can be done in Australia, at all... Best of luck...

and here is the link:

http://hemopet.org/hemolife/thyroid-testing.html

another aspect of hemopet that i love is that they are part of the greyhound rehoming and are a registered blood bank.. which sources blood supplies ethically.. ie they do not bleed out unwanted greyhounds for profit... ( off my soap box now)

H

[Pom]

Well we are pleased to say he's back home tonight. The vet didn't see the point in paying the $100+ a day to keep him there when we can medicate and watch him here. Still no idea what the cause was and he's still very much disoriented and more lethargic than a normal Dogue. He also appears to now be blind in one eye (which explains the walking in circles one direction) and will only eat mushy food (no kibble, no big meat chunks). But he DID eat breakfast & dinner today and is drinking as well as actually moving around the house so that's better. His temp is up to 36.8 now from a low of around 35.3 and his heart rate is close to normal.

If he shows no sign of further improvement over the next few days then we will get the full thyroid test done. The vet's didn't think the symptoms where severe enough in that direction to investigate it further, but when I brought it up they said they could get it done if I wanted. After that, we need to look at getting an MRI done and hope that will lead to a solution. Would be so much easier if we hadn't recently had a baby, but she needs to be the #1 financial thought and the costs involved in those tests which may or may not lead to a diagnosis really need to be weighed up.

Still, he's perked up a bit and is on Macrolone and Cephalexin at the moment as they aren't sure which one is helping. He'll come off Cephalexin tomorrow and Macrolone at the end of the week if there's an improvement. It's drug central here now with our other dog on Rimadyl for her canine spondylosis.

Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts. A Dogue has a heartbreaking "happy" face at the best of times, so seeing it when unwell is almost unbearable!

[persephone]

Glad he's home :)

- We have had dogs suddenly lose sight in one eye, and they did not walk in circles ....in fact, we hardly noticed for a little while !

My thoughts are still with something such as vestibular problems , or something caused by a neurological problem. Hope he settles and sleeps happily tonight :)

[Rappie]

Glad to hear there is some improvement even if it is mild. If an MRI is not an affordable option, then I would still suggest a consult with an internal medicine specialist. They will be able to suggest the most likely causes and best treatments after a consult. If you've got a neurologist nearby (there aren't many in Australia!) then all the better.

[cassie]

Just a thought and it may not help, but have you considered contacting Dr Chris Girling? He's a vet (an excellent vet) who breeds Dogues, so perhaps if it's something quite specific he may have an idea? He's in country SA so a phone call or email, obviously :)

[dogbesotted]

I am delighted that your boy is home!!

I need to make strong comment about the symptoms not being severe enough to warrant proper thyroid testing...grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!! this is old fashioned ..

by the time symptoms are severe the thyroid is already extremely damaged.

this is for you to keep in the back of your mind. :)

read Dr Jean Dodds article here:

http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/ThyroidDisease.htm

here is quote from the beginning of the article:

"

CANINE AUTOIMMUNE THYROID DISEASE

AND SYMPTOMS OF HYPOTHYROIDISM

CANINE AUTOIMMUNE THYROID DISEASE: COMMON PROBLEM OF PUREBRED DOGS

by W. Jean Dodds DVM

The information provided here outlines an approach that has been used successfully by the author to reduce the prevalence of clinically expressed canine thyroid disease within susceptible families or breeds.

EARLY THYROID DISEASE (THYROIDITIS)

COMPENSATORY AND CLINICAL CANINE HYPOTHYROIDISM

Most of the confusion about the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disease in purebred or mixed breed dogs today stems from the expectation that affected animals must show clinical signs of inadequate thyroid hormonal production (i.e. hypothyroidism) in order to have the disease. The term hypothyroidism has been loosely applied to describe all stages of this disease process whereas strictly speaking it should be reserved for the end-stages when the animal's thyroid gland is no longer capable of producing sufficient hormone(s) to sustain clinical health. At this point, the dog can express any number of the non-specific multisystem signs of thyroid dysfunction. "

Edited November 11, 2013 by dogbesotted