Poochie is very sick

[TherapyGolden]

Pooch is sick. We don't know what's wrong with him... He started with a poor appetite and then he began to have accidents in the house. When I took him to the vet he got x-rays which showed chest congestion and an enlarged heart. Bloodwork and urinalysis were fairly normal. He was put on medication which helped those problems, the next x-rays taken earlier this week showed less congestion and his heart looked better but the spleen and liver were enlarged (compared to the last x-rays). He's been doing worse though, very lethargic and not eating much at all... His new bloodwork showed high kidney levels. My vet thinks he may have kidney disease or possibly lymphoma or irritable bowel disease. At this point I'm just struggling to get him to eat anything... He's on several medications and also sub-q fluids but he's not doing very well... On Monday we're going to a specialist for an ultrasound and possibly an echo.

[JoeF]

awwww Poochie. So sorry you're not feeling well

[BEAU]

Aww
Hope he feels better soon!

[Louisa]

Oh my...so sorry to hear this!!  We'll say a prayer for Pooch.  How old is he??   I really hope its nothing too serious and just a fluke deal. 

[TherapyGolden]

Pooch is 13.

[Louisa]

How is Poochie feeling lately? Any updates?

[TherapyGolden]

He has been doing poorly. I just got home from the specialist... Pooch is staying at the hospital overnight.
We saw a radiologist and a cardiologist. They did an ultrasound and x-rays, but they didn't find anything conclusive. They said his kidneys and heart looked ok, his liver is enlarged but not abnormal in appearance... They were concerned about heart failure but then they did a chest x-ray and said his heart looked good although he does have a heart murmur they don't think he has heart failure or anything.  He has something going on in his lungs but they couldn't tell if it is something like pneumonia or like a tumor. They are also concerned about possibly something happening with his brain because he is unsteady and kinda out of it.
 They are going to keep him overnight and give IV fluids (he is dehydrated even though I was giving sub-q fluids) and IV antibiotics and do a needle aspiration of what they saw in his lungs to try to identify what it is. If that doesn't seem to be the cause of his symptoms they talked about an MRI but it would be very very costly.
I am really relieved that his kidneys/liver/organs looked ok, I was worried about that because of what my vet suspected so I am very glad they did not find anything really bad on the ultrasound-- but we still don't know what is wrong with him.

[Carol]

Poor Poochie  Is it possible he got into some yard sprays or something similar?  How terrible....prayers are with you!!!

[Louisa]

Keep us posted, Pooch has been in my thoughts...

[Carol]

Therapy Golden.....what's going on with Pooch. Thinking of him.

[TherapyGolden]

I brought Pooch home while waiting for his test results (lung aspirate). He's still not eating on his own but he seems a lot more alert.
I wasn't home when a vet tech called about Pooch's test results yesterday, a family member got the call and said the tech said the results are "suggestive of cancer" which seems really vague to me. The vet we'd been seeing at the specialty center is gone until Monday but told me to talk to a different doctor if I had questions. I called about it this morning but they said the doctor probably won't be able to get back to me until this evening.

[Carol]

we'll be waiting to see what happens.  Good prayers for you Pooch!!

[TherapyGolden]

Ok I talked to the vet. They said the same thing, it was "suggestive" of cancer (but not totally clear cut). They said the lab found epithelial atypia and inflammation. They said there was also some rare bacteria but they didn't think it was enough bacteria to indicate that an infection was causing the problems. They also said that they would want to do an MRI as the other vet had said...but they said there is no treatment if the MRI does show something, and he is not a candidate for chemotherapy if it is indeed cancer in the lungs because of his heart murmur. So I don't really see how the MRI would help in treating him. I am now trying to figure out what to do next.

[Carol]

awwww hun, I feel for you.  The information and the decision making is so hard for our loyal friends.  Any possibility the bacteria could be enough to cause endocarditis which when then secondarily affect the lungs.  Sorry, t his may just add more stress cuz I'm thinking from my box as a nurse and may not even be close to being on target with a canine.  Hugs to you both!!

[TherapyGolden]

Well they said there was not enough bacteria present to be causing the issues...but I'm not sure. I am thinking about going to another vet to get a consult from them but I am not sure if I should go to my holistic vet, to the oncologist, or someone else.