Good luck today... will be thinking of you.
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Good luck today... will be thinking of you.
Popping in to let you know am thinking of you and Tipper today. Hope Chance has a good day too.
hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin
Right by your side, Patti. I know how scary this is but you and Tipper will be ok with whatever the outcome is. You are stronger than you think and can face anything that comes your way. And remember, you will never face anything alone. We are here for you all the way. I pray they find all is well.
Hugs,
Leslie and the gang
Hi Everyone:
First of all thank to all of you for you tremendous help and support. As you know I have no one but this forum and I treasure you all. Tipper had her ultra sound and the following is what the Dr. told me.
Her liver has some nodules on it now, it is not enlarged. With the nodular pattern he feels they are benign nodular hypoplasia- hope I got all that correct. There were some darkened spots on her liver. The Dr. said the spots and nodules can be seen in older dogs regularly. The nodules would have to be biopsied to see if it was cancer. At this stage she cannot undergo something like that so what good is the biopsy? Maybe I am wrong and need some direction from you all.
He said if the pancreas cannot be seen that is usually a good thing as that means no pancreatitis. Hers could not be seen.
He said I was right about the Gallbladder she does have sludge so she has to be on Ursidiol. We talked and he said I can start her on some of my cats as it is only 60 mg and I told him I want on top of this immediately, as I know what it did to my cat and he stopped eating. I will order the correct dosage which may be 60 anyway. I just gave it to her at 10:45 and due to her history of being allergic to everything I am closely monitoring her for any allergic reaction.
The bad part I saved for last. He could only find one adrenal gland, and not the other. Either it has gone down so small because her cortisol is so low, or he saw a large circular object that could just be nothing or it could be her second adrenal gland that has absolutely blown up huge. I have to be truthful, my heart sank when he said this. He is going to have another Dr. review it, and they and my vet will talk to the Dr. at Dechra. The reason I am worried really right now is if that has ballooned up, she is off her Vetoryl right now until Sunday. Is this going to make it worse?? I have put in a call to Dechra and am waiting for a call back. Of course my vet is nowhere to be found. The Dr. said he will more than likely want a second opinion if the other Dr.'s don't know either. I take Tipper to Pgh. the 22nd for her eye appt. If that is the case I would have to pay for another ultra sound and see if my vet could get her an emergency appt. to get this done the same day so we don't have to make 2 trips. I am trying to stay calm, ad get this all handled asap.
My thought is if her cortisol is so low, how could the other adrenal gland get so large? What would cause this? I am hoping it is too small and he could not see it which would make more sense to me knowing how low her cortisol is and it has been controlled for some time now. She started the Vetoryl last August. Her last ultra sound was 10-12 and her adrenals had gone way down from the previous ultra sound. Does anyone else know what would cause an enlargement? I am going to wait for Dechra to call me and then I will post more of what they say. Oh, just a reminder Tipper has Pituitary Dependent Cushings not adrenal. God Bless You All and all you babies.
Patti
Well that was quick !! - So good news and possibly some bad, but wait until he gets the second opinion of the gland. You are on top of it now and you now know what you are facing. That's the good part. You will get it all sorted out I'm sure and continue doing the great job you are doing looking after both Tipper and Chance. I hope you can relax a little more and what do you want to bet unless the vet is a radiologist, he may have just looked at the x-ray incorrectly. It's happened to me actually only it was my body... not the dogs.
Well, all in all that sounds pretty good to me! The adrenal glands are notoriously hard to see even on an US - it isn't at all uncommon for folks to tell us they only saw one gland so don't let this get to you just yet.
The liver not being enlarged tells me that organ is not contributing to her breathing issues. I had wondered if perhaps it was so large it was pressing on her lungs so it is good to hear it is not enlarged. That removes another possible cause for the breathing. ;)
Hi Patti,
It's great you are back already. So glad to hear this was mostly good news..and well with a bit of a question about that adrenal gland. Wouldn't it be more likely that the gland was too small too see like the vet first mentioned? Isn't it true that the adrenals are often very hard to see because of their size and location? I would think if the gland was blown up that big there would be no doubt of what he was looking at and also Tipper's level would not be so low? Was he leaning to that explanation too?
Also- I'm asking because I don't know, but with Pit. Cushings wouldn't both glands show enlargement if they were swollen up? It wouldn't be that just one is big would it?
I hope the medication helps Tippers gall bladder and that she's feeling okay after a morning at the vet.
Barbara
Hi Everyone:
I am breathing a little easier now that Leslie had posted. She is right on as usual. Dechra just called back. They feel because of Tipper's low numbers that her adrenals should be real small. They said the left is easier to see than the right, and the right can hide behind the kidney at times. That made sense to me to as I thought they would be smaller due to her numbers. They said there can be adrenal tumors that grow, and this could be a possibility, but I don't think anything indicated that??? They said sometimes the bladder can throw a shadow over that way and that is what he could have seen. My girl was so uncomfortable because of her back legs having to be held, her little tongue sticking out and dry, and all she did was shake. I went and got her a wet towel and put it on her head and tongue, and that helped her a bit as she was over heating from nerves and Cushings. I squeezed a little water in her mouth and I could see it made her feel better. I will be very glad if the other Dr.'s don't think she needs another ultra sound, as I think she has reached her limit with all this crap, and I have to put a stop to all this anxiety for her own well being. I am praying it was hidden and he couldn't see it and that this is not a tumor on her adrenal gland. She is taking a well deserved nap at my feet. We are at 1 o'clock and no reaction to the Ursodiol thank the Lord! So she will be able to take it I assume, and get her alk phos and alt numbers down hopefully. I just want to stay inside today and hug my girl, and let her know how much I love her. Blessings
Patti
Hi Patti, Glad to hear everything went pretty well with the ultra sound.
Glad you could be with Tipper while they were doing it so you could make her more comfortable with the wet towel. Hopefully she won't have to get another one.
May I ask you to remind me what symptoms prompted you to get the US done?
I am curious about the sludge in the gall bladder. Scoop had a lot. Did they say how much Tipper had?
Also you mentioned your cat. He had sludge? You said you know what it did to him. What problems did he have? Any besides he stopped eating? So can sludge cause them to stop eating or be picky? I'll never know why Scoop got so picky with his eating and why he would only eat a small amount then go for a drink and then didn't want to eat for a while after that. The vets seemed baffled by it.
Does anyone know what causes sludge in the gall bladder?
Back in the beginning of March when Scoop saw the local IMS she put him on Ursidiol. He was on it about a month. If I remember correctly when he finished it I told his GP vet and she said to stop it. Boy something else to drive me crazy. Now why didn't I question her about it. UGH!
Sorry Patti. I kind of took over here briefly.
Hugs to you and Tipper.
Thanks
Vicki:
Sludge in the Gallbladder is caused when the fluid that would go thru the bile ducts becomes thickened. It settles in the gallbladder as a back up of sorts as sludge. Tipper had quite a bit, my cat did too. I could see Tipper's moving as he turned her to show me how it all falls to one place depending on how they lay. You give them the Ursodiol to change the viscosity of the sludge. You are essentially making it more fluid like so it can pass. My cat would not eat a thing, lost weight, slept all the time. I tempted him with every kind of food possible he would lick it and not eat. He got rail thin. After many times going after the vet to get something done for him, he consulted with another vet that figured it out. I finally had to result to Periactin. Believe it or not he still takes 1/4 of a pill several times a week to keep him eating. This is about 2 years later!. I can tell when he is starting to not feel well, his coat gets dull, he sleeps and if I don't give him part of a pill he won't eat. I knew just by Tipper's ALT rising that had always been good previously that it was her Gallbladder, but the vet took credit for it when he called Dechra!! I am the one who told him and told him I wanted an Ultra Sound. Tipper may have to have her dosage raised as I am giving her the cats 60mg which the Dr. today said was fine. I heard from Dechra that it is common for Cush dogs to get this. Remember Kenny and Gracie? His dog had a mucocele on her Gallbladder. God I hope she did not pass as we never heard from Kenny again. It is very likely Scoop could have had sludge also, that could be why he did not want to eat. Had he gotten an Ultra Sound I forget?? Did they ever check his Gallbladder? Hope you are continuing to try and heal your heart, I am still so sad for you, and cry when I think how much you loved dear Scoop. Blessings
Patti